Projects for a city in the time of crisis

Today, in the time of crisis as a continuous global event that still evolves, the state of uncertainty and indeterminacy has become a persistent condition, not only of the financial and economic systems, but, most of all, of the existing social, political and urban paradigms of the cities. The fact is that the financial crisis has not been restrained only to its financial emergences, but has brought to daylight the questions of legitimacy of the political and social systems in the societies. It has transformed the existing political and social system of distribution of power and responsibilities into technocratic urban management that has cleansed the process from its political relevance to the level where new and non-formal practices and organisations have started to emerge as a response to the lack of capacity of the system to cope with the challenges. The visioning of the urban development based on the existing policies and political agendas, has started to fade away, showcasing that the lack of political accountability has had a strong impact on the visioning and constructing of social and spatial orders in the cities, too. This volume contributes to this situation by providing a collection of, rather diverse projects, investigations and readings of the cities. It is an attempt to map the current conditions and to start a debate about the potential of the projects for a city in the time of crisis that will, hopefully, lead us to a better and more inclusive urban future

Inclusive/Exclusive Cities

In order to understand the potential for joint effort for construction of better cities this book aims to develop a platform of knowledge and promote an informative debate about concepts, approaches and tools that are coherent with the complex nature of the cities and societies, but comprehensible and simple enough to be useful for institutions and citizens that are affected by the processes that are shaping cities. The questions that could be addressed and topics are: 1. Where and how could we identify and analyse the issues of social inclusion/exclusion in a transformation troubled cities and what can we learn from good and bad practices of social inclusion and/or exclusion? 2. Is there a new complexity of the relationship between cities and society, uncertainties, and questions to be addressed? What are the new approaches, tools and practices that will enhance democratization of urban development through better inclusiveness? 3. To what extent could urban disciplines be engaged with urban progress in terms of theory, practice and education in an era with new social networks, new political policies, new digital tools and new forms of art and culture? 4. How cities can encourage urban inclusion at a time of intense social and cultural transformations, especially through design and urban planning? Moreover, to what extent are urban plans able to facilitate communication between citizens and institutions, society and the form of the cities

Inclusive / exclusive cities

In order to understand the potential for joint effort for construction of better cities this book aims to develop a platform of knowledge and promote an informative debate about concepts, approaches and tools that are coherent with the complex nature of the cities and societies, but comprehensible and simple enough to be useful for institutions and citizens that are affected by the processes that are shaping cities. The questions that could be addressed and topics are: 1. Where and how could we identify and analyse the issues of social inclusion/exclusion in a transformation troubled cities and what can we learn from good and bad practices of social inclusion and/or exclusion? 2. Is there a new complexity of the relationship between cities and society, uncertainties, and questions to be addressed? What are the new approaches, tools and practices that will enhance democratization of urban development through better inclusiveness? 3. To what extent could urban disciplines be engaged with urban progress in terms of theory, practice and education in an era with new social networks, new political policies, new digital tools and new forms of art and culture? 4. How cities can encourage urban inclusion at a time of intense social and cultural transformations, especially through design and urban planning? Moreover, to what extent are urban plans able to facilitate communication between citizens and institutions, society and the form of the cities? -- With the support of ‘Europe for Citizens Programme’ 2007 - 201

Projects for an inclusive city. Social integration through urban growth strategies

The SINERGI Project (Social Integration through Urban Growth Strategies) is a network of twinned cities that provides exchange of knowledge, experience and good practices of partner cities, Universities, civic organizations and social groups enabling better social integration through joint development of urban growth strategies. The project has enriched the sense of identity and mutual understanding between European citizens by bringing upfront problems and issues of urban life that are shared among them, but also by sharing common values, history and culture in an open dialog. The network organized two seminars as a platform for creative and open debate between local authorities, academics, experts, civil activists and citizens from local communities about the problem of social integration in ever-growing cities. The SINERGI Book One: “The Projects for an Inclusive City” is the result of these two seminars. The purpose of this book is to provoke decision-makers and citizens to challenge their perception of the city and, through critical understanding of mutual interests and shared values, to create a sustainable and lasting network of cities and active citizens

Discovering Patterns of Urban Development in Skopje

The goal of this research is to develop a tool that employs intelligent technologies to capture the patterns of urban change driven by a diverse set of context factors. Data mining provides opportunities and knowledge embedded in the urban structure, which complement and extend the data previously obtained with other approaches. A case study is in place to investigate the modeling and predictive capabilities of the tool. A number of simulations have revealed distinctive local patterns of urban change in the city of Skopje, shaped by local urban spatial and institutional structures. This study shows the possibilities of intelligent technologies in the interpretation of the historical evidence of urban development and better understanding of the urban phenomenon.Peer Reviewe

Urban project as a tool for spatial integration of urban knowledge and sustainable development in the case of Southern Boulevard in City of Skopje

In the context of a debate that examines the transformation, the continuities and the discontinuities in urban space as result of the post-socialist transformation of city of Skopje, this paper focus to the strategies, tools and social meaning of spatial integration of urban knowledge through project. The motivation behind this work is the belief that effective and useful urban development cannot be accomplished without proper knowledge base that integrates knowledge in a meaningful way in a variety of formats. This paper presents the research of the transformations processes and planning tools of the urban development along the route of Southern boulevard as a new axis of development of the city. This research has been performed in collaboration of researchers from Skopje and Torino exercising strong exchange of knowledge and experience from both urban environment

E se la forma seguisse la funzione? L’esplorazione della desiderabilità nella città di Skopje

The integration of interactive visualization with GIS technologies is nowadays a new frontier in supporting the processes of urban design and planning. Informed three-dimensional modelling systems can provide new insights in understanding both the elements which constitute the city and the relationships among these elements. One key outcome of this combination is the analysis of suitability of residential areas with urban functions. This topic, studied for the Taftalidze residential area in Skopje (Macedonia), generates a relationships between public facilities and perceived quality of life, providing a new urban morphology. The interactive exploration of this new landscape offers a large amount of project elements to investigate, allowing planners and designers to create an own knowledge and awareness on urban questions to be solved.L’integrazione della visualizzazione interattiva con le tecnologie GIS rappresenta oggigiorno un consistente supporto per i processi di pianificazione e progettazione urbana. I sistemi informatici di modellazione tridimensionale offrono nuove opportunità per comunicare i dati territoriali e far comprendere le relazioni che li interconnettono. Esiti rilevanti di questa unione provengono dall'analisi della compatibilità delle funzioni urbane con le aree residenziali. Questo tema, studiato per l'area “Taftalidze” di Skopje (Macedonia), genera una relazione tra i servizi pubblici e la qualità percepita della vita, fornendo una nuova morfologia urbana. L'esplorazione interattiva di questo nuovo paesaggio offre  elementi progettuali da indagare, consentendo ai progettisti di creare una propria conoscenza e consapevolezza sulle questioni urbane in esame

Discovering Patterns of Urban Development in Skopje

The goal of this research is to develop a tool that employs intelligent technologies to capture the patterns of urban change driven by a diverse set of context factors. Data mining provides opportunities and knowledge embedded in the urban structure, which complement and extend the data previously obtained with other approaches. A case study is in place to investigate the modeling and predictive capabilities of the tool. A number of simulations have revealed distinctive local patterns of urban change in the city of Skopje, shaped by local urban spatial and institutional structures. This study shows the possibilities of intelligent technologies in the interpretation of the historical evidence of urban development and better understanding of the urban phenomenon.Peer Reviewe

Challenges of Semantic 3D City Models: A Contribution of the COST Research Action TU0801

This technical paper is a contribution to the identification of current challenges of semantic 3D city models. They are presented in four parts, namely 3D enriched city models and their connection with urban information models and smartcities, urban models integration, urban analyses and data. This work is an output of the COST Action TU0801 “Semantic Enrichment of 3D city models for sustainable urban development”