When it comes to “Inclusive Urbanism” Clara Greed clarifies that “It Is Not Just About Toilets” in our interview with her. However, according to her, one of the fundamentals of creating inclusive cities is to provide more toilets, especially more accessible toilets. That is why we must never underestimate the importance of the level of toilet provision. Because the public toilet especially, where nature comes into direct contact with culture, is the petri dish for inclusive design, from space to product to service, as argued by Jo-Anne Bichard and Gail Ramster in their contribution “Wee the People: A Manifesto for the Bladder and Bowel”. If you as a designer can get this right, you can probably get anything right. That includes arranging urban spaces to solve the issues that affect people, such as: sufficient and adequate public transit; housing needs; provision of basic services; universal accessibility to public space, services, and safety, creating livable cities for everyone, in the full meaning of the term.
“To Eradicate Urban Conflict, Eradicate Urban Interaction” as Benjamin van Loon states in his satirical article that is structured as a memo to the members of a fictitious association: the North American Alliance for Gated Communities. Because urbanism is inherently conflict-driven as Eve Blau points out. According to her, processes of urbanization involve a certain amount of violence and destruction as cities are places of power, representation, and contestation, which she thinks is both positive and negative. But under most circumstances, conflicts cannot be definitively classified as either destructive or constructive, as Ai Weiwei wraps it up. The goal should not be to become a casualty of conflict, but to treat other lives and living environments in a humane and benevolent manner. Consequently, Nishi Shah urges that architects, urban and spatial planners - often dismissive of war-torn territories - must exhibit unparalleled adequacy in addressing spaces of conflict as the initial step towards reimagining an architecture for peace.
How is a “New Social Urbanism” possible if the hegemonic Western paradigm of space production revolves around the antisocial principle of the individualization of every aspect of life? asks Maria Reitano. Following Mark Gottdiener we have entered a new phase of global destabilization amplifying social deficits. However, Tatjana Schneider challenges us to engage with what causes these conditions. Because we already have many of the tools and the infrastructures needed to challenge the unequal, cynical, and anti-social system in which we operate as planners, as Christoffer Jusélius and Helen Runting clarify. We never know what new forms will emerge out of that, although if you think about democracy in a city as a role model, it is always very messy, as Sharon Zukin states, but according to her this may be what “New Social Urbanism” is all about.
“Unfinishedness” is probably most strikingly represented in works of art, but this issue of ‘MONU’ aims to investigate the concept through architecture and urbanism. By addressing its many different facets, from cities to regions and interiors, and looking beyond the physical structures and architecture to examine the economic, political, ecological, and social aspects of cities, it seeks to discover the potential as well as the shortcomings of the unfinished. In this sense, “unfinished urbanism” is a truly global topic. Despite some success stories, most unfinished structures remain as symbols of decay, financial hurdles, or corruption in cities, often leading to further challenges.
MONU #34 - Protest Urbanism:
Our social media age marks a shift in form and forum, but when it comes to this issue’s theme of “Protest Urbanism” the need for and validity of having physical bodies in a public space still gives a protest its impact. It is these visceral encounters in physical spaces that trigger deeper and more emotional connections. This issue examines the myriad ways in which such activism manifests in the urban realm, as well as how protests can become breeding grounds for the evolution of urban agencies, functioning as organisms within the larger urban theatre in their call to recognise and reconstitute the fundamentally plural and relational forms of making and inhabiting the city.
MONU #33 - Pandemic Urbanism:
There is much to discuss regarding what kinds of changes and shifts the coronavirus pandemic might bring to cities. Some of these could be spatial, subtle changes triggered by social distancing, confinement, and lockdown measures, and others might be articulated in new modes of social interaction and domestic activities. There will certainly be long-term effects on politics, socioeconomics, culture, and the environment. This issue of ‘MONU’ addresses what effects pandemics have on cities, both today and in the past, and analyses their urban impact, yet also looks for new ideas and approaches that improve our dealings with the current situation in these strange times.
MONU #29 - Narrative Urbanism:
This issue opens with an interview with Cassim Shepard in which he talks about creating a better general culture of understanding around architecture, urban design, and urban development issues by using all of the narrative tools we have at our disposal. For instance, collective walks through lost parts of cities, as suggested by Nick Dunn and Dan Dubowitz, or by observing people’s stories and involving them in creative processes, depicted in Carolyn Drake’s photo-essay. This can even change the urban dynamics, says Kathleen Gmyrek, thereby leading to participatory narratives, while OMA’s Inge Goudsmit reminds us that architects are great storytellers, too.
MONU #28 - Client-shaped Urbanism:
The importance of the client in shaping our built environment, whether it comes to buildings, neighbourhoods, or entire cities, is not sufficiently included in urban and architectural discourse, and thus largely forgotten, underestimated, and neglected. This issue is dedicated to investigating the topic in depth, to discover clients’ values, objectives, fears, and motivations, and the consequences of all of this for cities and buildings. What kind of design methods should be developed for better partnerships and results? How can communication between clients and designers be advanced? Which projects might never have happened without an ambitious and creative client?
MONU #27 - Small Urbanism:
When it comes to urbanism, small things matter, and the various contributors to this issue illuminate this idea further in various ways. Liz Teston, for instance, captures the theme when she writes about the transient micro-urbanisms of protest architecture. Levi Bryant claims how we design things can make a real difference in our lives, both socially and physically. Our cities’ less visible infrastructure is exposed by Julian Oliver, reminding us of our dependence on a deeper physical reality, while Marco Casagrande shows how small-scale interventions can also serve as a design methodology, creating ripple effects and a transformation of the larger urban organism.
MONU #26 - Decentralised Urbanism:
An interview with Lars Lerup on decentralised urbanism in the United Kingdom, United States, and the Netherlands kicks off this issue. It then goes on to explore the many facets of this concept at different scales. What does centrality mean for cities today? It addresses subjects like how “Paris had to be killed to save its homeland”, suburban identities in Frankfurt and Toronto, decentralised consumerism, the periphery as a prime location for radical modernisation, the potential shortfalls of automated vehicles, commuting within metropolises, and rising nomadic populations. With contributions by Michael Wolf, Keller Easterling, Constantina Theodorou, and many more.
