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

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

The challenges of planning in the unequal cities. "Urban poverty workshop" for innovating urban planners education path.

The recent shift from the Millennium Development Goals to the Sustainable Development Goals scored a point of no return in the international debate on development, stating that the separation between the rich part and the poor part of the population is no longer with the North and the South of the world, but between nearby areas in always more highly polarized contexts. In this framework, a deeper knowledge of the spatial dimension of poverty and of its spatial implications is required; especially in the Italian Faculty of Architecture where urban design and plan-making are frequently still considered "the real core" of the discipline with the general under-evaluation of the wicked problems. On the contrary, in the United States, thanks to the passionate work of Ananya Roy, this knowledge found its place, first in the university program at the Institute of Urban and Regional Development of UC Berkeley, and then in Los Angeles, being highly appreciated both by students, scholars and NGOs. According to this awareness, the first workshop "Urban Poverty. The praxis of planning in unequal cities" organized in September 2016 at the Sapienza’s Faculty of Architecture in Rome, gave the opportunity for discussing and testing theory and practices of urban research and city planning with issues of poverty, in particular regards of western cities and the city of Rome. This first experiment offered the opportunity to think about the interdisciplinary and/or international teaching aimed at preparing students for today’s and tomorrow’s planning challenges in the unequal cities

Reframing the Role of Public Open Space. The case of Cape Town

This book explores the growing spatial inequality in contemporary cities, and the opportunity of reframing the role of public open space as a tool of inclusion in a context of an increasing economic gap between the urban poor and rich. The first part outlines the geographical and theoretical frames of reference, which are then tested in the analysis of a case study: Cape Town. This city in South Africa was selected since its spatial aspects of separation are particularly evident due to the legacy of both apartheid and modernism. The examination of the policies of the City of Cape Town confirms the rising attention to public space since the 1990s. This slow progress of desegregation is tested through a critical study of one of the most disadvantaged areas of the city, Khayelitsha. The book explores the relevance and impact of an urban-design project, and reframes the role of public open space not only as a tool for restructuring the apartheid city, but also for reinterpreting other fragmented contemporary cities

South Africa's new challenges: planning inclusive connection spaces

The purpose of this paper is to define whether and how it is possible to create inclusive connection spaces through planning, by analysing some of the most segregated cities in the world. The starting point is an overview of the current urban situation in South Africa, twenty years after the first democratic elections. Scholars argue that, due to a history of colonialism and apartheid, cities there are increasingly segregated and fragmented. At the same time the political agenda is struggling to address the process of transformation in order to mitigate spatial inequalities and promote urban integration, while on the other hand taking global interests into account. Through the examination of three examples this work attempts to identify some progress in the creation of inclusive spaces, while looking at the complexities involved in operating in a South African context

African Cities: Defining a Paradox

African cities have been catalysing great attention in the past decades, the narratives referring to them oscillating similarly to those of their continent: from alarmism to overoptimism. Literature has turned to the subject and a great number of publications about African cities have contributed to push forward the debate about their features and dynamics. At the same time, the very definition of the subject has been blurry. This paper aims to investigate the concept of African cities through the analysis of some of the most recent and relevant works that have been written on the subject, and the words of its authors. Our goal is to illustrate the common trends and the differences in their discourse when it comes to African Cities, and ultimately understand whether it can still be useful to utilize this concept or whether it is time to move on to more refined categorisations

African Cities: Defining a Paradox

African cities have been catalysing great attention in the past decades, the narratives referring to them oscillating similarly to those of their continent: from alarmism to overoptimism. Literature has turned to the subject and a great number of publications about African cities have contributed to push forward the debate about their features and dynamics. At the same time, the very definition of the subject has been blurry. This paper aims to investigate the concept of African cities through the analysis of some of the most recent and relevant works that have been written on the subject, and the words of its authors. Our goal is to illustrate the common trends and the differences in their discourse when it comes to African Cities, and ultimately understand whether it can still be useful to utilize this concept or whether it is time to move on to more refined categorisations