Reimagining the Mother City: ‘Counter Currents’ in Cape Town

Edgar Pieterse, director of the African Center for Cities and editor of Counter Currents presents in this recent volume on Cape Town, South Africa “a radical project of optimism, bringing into collision the work of architects, planners, scholars, poets and sculptors to explore new possibilities for the city’s self-image.”

In Miranda Iossifidis’ insightful review of the book on Global Urbanist, she discusses Pieterse’s hopes that this volume can provide an opportunity for Capetonians to reflect on and experiment with solutions to some of the city’s serious challenges, ranging from memory and social justice to changing cultural values and the ever changing, often disturbing, realities of the Mother City in the years during and since apartheid. However, Pieterse asserts that Cape Town “can save itself” through “shifting public ideas and discourses about the kind of Cape Town we should be imagining and nurturing.”

Iossifidis concludes that the book manages to portray a rich, dynamic and hopeful picture of Cape Town as it is and its way forward into the 21st Century:

“This city–the ‘Cape of Storms and the Cape of Good Hope at the same time’–is a uniquely complex case study from the perspective of local thinkers and practitioners presented in a well-designed and richly illustrated manner. Perpetually probing for glimpses of possible alternatives, the book avoids stagnation through an innovative multidisciplinary approach, combining poetry, photo-essays, and policy analysis alongside practical and theoretical essays, creating a rhythm of careful optimism.”

I look forward to reading it myself soon!

- Ariana K. MacPherson

Women and the City

In honor of the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day here three women who’s work on urban planning issues have shaped my enthusiasm for urbanization.

How Women Saved the City by Professor Daphne Spain, of the University of Virginia’s Department of Urban and Environmental Planning (and one of my former professors). Her book examines the lost contributions of women to the develop development of American cities.

Exploring this environment, Spain reconstructs the story of the “redemptive places” that addressed the real needs of city dwellers—especially single women, African Americans, immigrants, and the poor—and established an environment in which newcomers could learn to become urban Americans.

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Rediscovering Dharavi by Kalpana Sharma.  Sharma is a Mumbai-based independent journalist, columnist and media consultant with special interests in  environmental and developmental issues and gender.  Here book about Dharavi goes beyond the built environment of this 175 hectare slum, and explores the lives of its one million residents and their struggle.

…Dharavi is much more than cold a statistic. What makes it special are the extraordinary people who live there, many of whom have defied fate and an unhelpful State to prosper through a mix of backbreaking work, some luck and a great deal of ingenuity. It is these men and women whom journalist Kalpana Sharma brings to life…

Death and Life of Great American Cities by urban activist Jane Jacobs.  The New York Times best describes here perspectives on cities that questioned traditional urban planning in the 1960′s:

Jacobs’s enormous achievement was to transcend her own withering critique of 20th-century urban planning and propose radically new principles for rebuilding cities. At a time when both common and inspired wisdom called for bulldozing slums and opening up city space, Ms. Jacobs’s prescription was ever more diversity, density and dynamism — in effect, to crowd people and activities together in a jumping, joyous urban jumble.

- Melissa

Hong Kong Housing Infographic

I love infographics.

Especially visually stunning infographics from Information is Beautiful and Good.  So as I was working this morning I was very excited to find an online book on public housing typologies in Hong Kong.  Celia Ho presents clear and informative graphics about the growth of Hong Kong’s population, public housing milestones and the changing shape of housing estates from 1950 to the present.  I especially enjoyed the graphic that shows how housing estates have gotten taller with fewer flats per floor.  The whole book can be found here: Reinterpretation of Hong Kong Housing Typologies.

Melissa

New Book: Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser

According to Edward Glaeser, cities are the greatest invention of this species. His new book Triumph of the City elaborates on the success of the world’s cities and how “cities magnify humanity’s strengths.”  His book has been appearing in reviews from the New York Times, The Economist, an NPR Interview and Glaeser is even featured on tonight’s Daily Show.

Triumph of the City examines urban economics across the world in cities such as Athens, London, Tokyo, Bangalore, Kinshasa, Houston, Boston, Singapore and Vancouver.  As cities grow and change greater density is clearly the goal for Glaeser. However those focused on international development may be a little startled to read that even in considering greater density in the low income cities,

Glaeser is unfazed by threats of overwhelmed sanitation systems, unsafe housing or impossible congestion. These, he suggests, are problems more readily solved than the environmental consequences of sprawling suburban life. (Read more in the New York Times)

Despite his perspectives on issues in the developing world, I am excited to add Glaseser’s new book to my Spring Break reading list.  Until Spring Break though, I will try to find some time to read this excerpt on Google Books of Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier and Happier.

Melissa

Hot, crowded Cities

There are many debates about how the world’s cities, from the built environment to the behaviors of city dwellers, will adapt to rising temperatures and climate change. Tomorrow the Matthew Kahn, one of the world’s foremost experts on the economics of the environment and author of Climatopolis will be speaking at the Rudin Center’s Livability Summit.  Here is an excerpt from his book, a longer portion can be found here.

The rise of this mega-city foreshadows China’s trajectory over the 21st century—and that of the rest of the world. Hundreds of millions will be moving to cities like Shanghai to strike it rich and escape the rural life as more and more of the world’s population continues the shift that’s been going on, in fits and starts, since the Industrial Revolution: moving from the rural to the urban. By 1950,30 percent of the world’s population lived in cities. In 2000 this fraction grew to 47 percent, and the United Nations predicts it will rise to 60 percent by 2030. Like you and me these would-be city dwellers want economic opportunities and material comforts that we take for granted:cell phones (and decent service), personal computers, access to private transportation and household air conditioning.Given this search for the good life,and the amenities that go with it, the move toward urban life makes sense. Cities are capitalism’s growth engine, offering opportunity along every dimension from finding a job to support yourself, a mate to spend your money on, great cultural events to attend with them, and fantastic restaurants of all kinds.And, maybe, a bit later, parks to take the kids to. City growth has lifted billions of people out of poverty.

Melissa