8/12/2019 Architecture and the City as a Contested Space

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HUMANITIES-Toward Humane Architecture

Module1: Architecture and the City as a Contested SpaceConcept of space and Place: City as Human Network;

Public-Private sector interests: Public space as a Contested Domain

ANALYTICAL ESSAY-Eureka Khong .

Semester IX, 2011

The richness of a city lies in its soulin the everyday activities of the lives lived in the city. Lewis Mumford

thus, rightly says that the city is "a theater of social action". And the events of our day to day life, the politics,commerce and romance add layers to the richness of the drama that is staged. Without the opportunity of this

drama, our theatrical act is mundaneour life is mundane.

When we are asked, Do you think that a city should be considered like a human theatre or should the city be

just for commerce and functionality?It leads me to think of Mumbai. Is it not a city for commerceiseverything there not centered upon commercial gainhence, the commercial capital? Yes, it is. Does it then,

lack drama? No. In fact, its quite the contrary. So what is then, the cause of Mumbais Social drama? Much to

the disappointment of many Urban Planners, it bizarrely lies in the total madness of the city - The order in itsdisorder.

It is a city not for A given culture.In Mumbai you cannot decide who should be visible and what should notconcepts of order and disorder, and uses of aesthetic justification for urban transformation will fail in thecity. Spaces encourage mixed use (perhaps more so because of the value of the land rather than the success of

its urban planning). It is thus, successful in creating a sense of security and safety in the presence of people.The boundaries in Mumbai are blurred - it has public spaces, that is, spaces that belong to no one andyeteveryone and so, it has an interwoven spatial fabric. Mumbai thus I feel, is far (if not furthest) from followingthe American typology that most of our Indian Cities are falling prey to.

If we get to Dubai, we might be awestruck at one level at how much one can achieve with technologyA

paradise on desert, but a materialistic one at that. And if that conscious hits us, we realize that eachmeasurement we fuel our automobile with, is contributing to not just the melting glaciers but also adding tothe wealth of Sheikh Mohammed in Dubai and fueling his ever increasing obsession with creation - Thebiggest, The largest, The most magnificent, at the cost of child slavery, sex trade and loss of personalfreedom of the labors who are lured into this business that promises wealth. Such is the extent of our globalnetwork.

I believe segregation of spaces in an individuals daily life, in terms of work space and living space, in todayscontext, in vitalsuch is the nature of our workspace and its demand. But I disagree in urban planning thatmakes the entire populations work space one and living space another. This totalitarian attitude of zoning iswhat must be discouraged.

The importance of Third Place cannot be ignored. Much more so, in todays context where our communityliveshave shrunken a great deal. The clich Man is a social animal is true, but man is also territorial,especially against strangers. With the increase in transferable jobs and temporary friendly associations, theneed to encourage human interaction is increasingly important.

Is the cyber space then, (like it or not) the new Third Place? Well, by characteristics it matches the definitionof a Third Place rather wella neutral public place where one bonds with people beyond the realm of home

and work place, discusses issues, grassroots politics, create habits of public association, and offerpsychological support to individuals and communities.

Does the paramount success of social networking sites lie in the failure of our urban planning?

True, our cities are what each individual makes of it. But the role of the visionary has always been vital inthe shaping of the city. Thus, as Architects and Urban Planners, we have a tremendous social responsibility.

Our actions shape the world we live in,more literally than the general connotation of the phrase.