The Pursuit of Inclusion in Unequal Contemporary Cities. Learning from Cape Town desegregation.

One of the greatest challenges of contemporary cities is to engage with their emerging inequality. This research argues that public spaces play a key role in contrasting the process of this growing marginalization. The objective of this paper is to determine whether it is possible to contrast the spatial disparity within the contemporary cities, through the design of more “just” and inclusive spaces. In the past two decades South Africa has been the subject of many studies regarding inequality and segregation, because of its entrenched history of apartheid and its severe imbalanced income distribution. The desegregation process of Cape Town has been attempting to use public space as social infrastructure to bridge its divide. Firstly, the shift towards a more inclusive city happened in academic writing. Secondly, the shift also occurs in municipal public space programmes. And lastly, the shift materialized in several innovative projects, which have been carried out mainly in township areas. Through the analysis of this progression, it is possible to delineate some visible improvements – punctual but fundamental steps towards a “city for all.

Urban Africa; key words

The state of the art of contemporary urban Africa is the focus of this poster. Africa is no longer a continent of villages and towns, and it is only now that both the size and importance of urban Africa are becoming widely apparent. A global reflection of the rapid urban growth happening in the African continent is necessary, especially in architectural and urban studies. Africa covers a huge area, with great differences within its borders; therefore the risk of generalising is high. To analyse the urban spaces, the socio-economic context has to be considered. Nevertheless, some recurring features occur when discussing urbanisation in Africa. This bibliographical research concentrates on the combination and the repetition of concepts in scientific books and articles dealing with urban Africa. This led to the identification of the key words, as shown above. The diagram simplifies the real complexity of the continent, but nevertheless it provides a framework of the essential issues involved. The use of the map of Africa together with key words and images is a deliberate choice. It refers to a common approach when presenting issues related to emerging countries, where the visual message is often more important than the content itself. Putting together the positive and pessimistic points of view generates a fragmented and uneven perception, that is probably closer to the real stratified and intricate situation. The bigger the key words are in the diagram, the more relevant or repetitive the concept appears in urban African bibliography. Some words are coloured; and the colour itself creates a link to the reference pictures. This is a fundamental step towards research into the African context, especially from a foreign point of view. Within this context, one of the most interesting topics is the understanding of the limit between formal and informal spaces, as a means of interpreting contemporary African cities

A change is needed. Urban regeneration may be the answer.

The limits to growth are clear from the ‘70s; nevertheless, a better definition and application of sustainable development is required. This is a global issue; however, it especially concerns urban areas. The challenge is to think against the tide, imagining the society of de-growth and using the concept of doing more and better withless. Resilience, flexibility and adaptability are key concepts in urban regeneration. Through the use of the Third Landscape, public spaces and urban agriculture it is possible to imagine a more sustainable approach to urban transformation

Changing Landscapes: Enduring Values

The campus of Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) seems pastoral with 160 acres of woods, a pond, and gentle grassy slopes. Two miles to the west are two golf courses and farmland. Two miles east are homes built in the 17th and 18th Centuries close to the North Branch of the Raritan River, close to a colonial cemetery and the soaring spire of the Reformed Church. This setting reminds us of an early American ethic of hope and change, the promise of vast spaces, new destinies and new communities

Reframing the role of public open space as a tool for urban restructuring. The case of Cape Town

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Il Louvre a Teheran, in equilibrio tra cultura e politica

In occasione dell’ottantesimo anniversario del Museo nazionale dell’Iran, una mostra ospita circa cinquanta opere del Louvre parigino e apre riflessioni sulla diplomazia cultural

Los sofistas: la filosofía como terapia

The article covers the steps of classical Greece through the mythology, the pre-Socratic, tragedy and the Sophists to the distinction of natural laws and social laws; distinction that allowed criticize the status quo justified in a natural order.El artículo recorre los pasos de Grecia clásica por la mitología, los presocráticos, la tragedia y los sofistas hacia la distinción de leyes naturales y leyes sociales; distinción que permitió criticar al statu quo justificado en un orden natural