Cover

The planner and the small Planet L'urbanista e il piccolo pianeta

Luca Marescotti

2013 Workshop - Knowledge and Appropriate Technologies for Sustainability in Planning

12 marzo 2013

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From the urban question

(it was a local one just until a few decades ago)

to the environmental question

(now, it is a global one)

systemic properties and cross-disciplinary knowledge

1. The planner and the small Planet an introduction

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Just to begin

What is this? Was is das? Che cosa è questo?

What are interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity?

a suggestion ...

1. The planner and the small Planet an introduction

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A transdisciplinary introduction two documentaries and a short

Home, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, producers: Denis Carot and Luc Besson, with PPR Group; coproducers Elzevir Films, Europa Corp, France 2, sponsored by UNEP, 2010.

Welcome to the Anthropocene, Planet Under Pressure conference, London 26-29 March, Copyright: Globaia. Planet Under Pressure, SEI, SRC, CSIRO, 2012.

planet RE:think, Eskil Hardt, producer Ace & Ace with EEA, UNEP, Eskil Hardt, 2012.

1. The planner and the small Planet an introduction

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Someone asked me:

“Be concise,write ten things

to improve the urban planning”

1. The planner and the small Planet an introduction

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Luca Marescotti 7 / 82

Complex problems require shared strategies,Complex problems require shared strategies,

Involving Public and Private Actors ...Involving Public and Private Actors ...

Projected in a Long Time,Projected in a Long Time,

Articulated in Many Areas,Articulated in Many Areas,

Funded with Adequate Resources,Funded with Adequate Resources,

Checked in their ImplementationChecked in their Implementation

and monitored in a Context that is in Continuous Changing …and monitored in a Context that is in Continuous Changing …

… … A GLOBAL CHANGEA GLOBAL CHANGE

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? present vs future ?In the place of a construction in which the

present implies the future, we have a world in which the future is open, in which time is a

construction in which we may all participate.

Grégoire Nicolis, Ilya Prigogine, Exploring complexity: an introduction, W.H. Freeman, New York, 1989, p.3.

1. The planner and the small Planet an introduction

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“We live in an age of transition, an age that demands constructive modification of our environment. We must find and

explore new resources, must understand our environment better, and must achieve a less destructive co-existence with nature.

The time scale of the qualitative modifications that are required. . . is of the order of the decade. . . . Some of the basic

questions remain largely unanswered.”

Ilya Prigogine,

Nobel laureate, 1977

Prologue: Science in an Age of Transition from Exploring Complexity

Grégoire Nicolis, Ilya Prigogine, La complessità. Esplorazione nei nuovi campi della scienza, Einaudi, Torino, 1991, p.5.

1. The planner and the small Planet an introduction

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Un tempo infatti si diceva (seguendo Laplace e Comte, per esempio):

AUTORITY IS POWER from science comes prediction; from prediction comes action ...

… if the world were deterministic ...

Yet at the same time someone else wrote

[and today we are convinced of this] ...

1. The planner and the small Planet an introduction

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Government in the name of the people, for the people, by the people

Using our knowledge and also knowing each other to build a multicultural space,

take precautions to prevent, prepare to repair, partecipate to governance of physical and biological systems, that are always in reciprocal relation, with indefinite probabilities of change.

Here it is: knowing how to handle the emergence of new conditions.

1. The planner and the small Planet an introduction

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Here it is: knowing how to handle the emergence of new conditions.

Where: “to emerge”

means that new conditions may cause the emergence of new properties.

That is why the socio-ecological system is really "complex".

1. The planner and the small Planet an introduction

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I had too many things to say,was not easy,

A REAL

HOTCHPOTCH

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HOW TO EXPLAIN?SAY WHAT?

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The conditions of our training

L'importanza della scuola e della società nella formazione dei valori

1. The planner and the small Planet the Cultural Context

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William Morris

The word Architecture has, I suppose, to most of you the meaning of the art of building nobly and ornamentally. Now I believe the practice of this art to be one of the most

important things which man can turn his hand to, and the consideration of it to be worth

the attention of serious people, not for an hour only, but for a good part of their lives, even though they may not have to do with it professionally.

But, noble as that art is by itself, and though it is specially the art of civilisation, it neither ever has existed nor never can exist alive and progressive by itself, but must cherish

and be cherished by all the crafts whereby men make the things which they intend shall be beautiful, and shall last somewhat beyond the passing day.

It is this union of the arts, mutually helpful and harmoniously subordinated one to another, which I have learned to think of as Architecture, and when I use the word to-

night, that is what I shall mean by it and nothing narrower.

A great subject truly, for it embraces the consideration of the whole external surroundings of the life of man; we cannot escape from it if we would so long as we are part of civilisation, for it means the moulding and altering to human needs of the very

face of the earth itself, except in the outermost desert.

1. The planner and the small Planet the Cultural Context

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Martin Heidegger

Wohnen, zum Frieden gebracht sein, heißt: eingefriedet bleiben in das Frye, d. h. in das Freie, das jegliches in sein Wesen schont. Der Grundzug des Wohnens ist dieses Schonen. Er durchzieht das

Wohnen in seiner ganzen Weite. Sie zeigt sich uns, sobald wir daran denken, daß im Wohnen das Menschsein beruht und zwar im Sinne

des Aufenthalts der Sterblichen auf der Erde. (…)

Die Sterblichen wohnen, insofern sie die Erde retten -das Wort in dem alten Sinne genommen, den Lessing noch kannte. Die Rettung entreißt

nicht nur einer Gefahr, retten bedeutet ei-gentlich: etwas in sein eigenes Wesen freilassen. Die Erde retten ist mehr, als sie ausnützen oder gar abmühen. Das Retten der Erde meistert die Erde nicht und

macht sich die Erde nicht un-tertan, von wo nur ein Schritt ist zur schrankenlosen Ausbeutung.

1. The planner and the small Planet the Cultural Context

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1881 William Morris - 1951 Martin Heidegger

WHY mention them, so different and after so many years?

What did they want to say in 1881 and 1951?

What has changed in the cultural context?

AND HOW MUCH IS CHANGED OUR TRAINING?

1. The planner and the small Planet the Cultural Context

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William MorrisFive Lectures Delivered in Birmingham, London, and

Nottingham (1877-1881), as the population grows (from 1 million in 1800 to 6.7 million in 1900), while the conurbation

was a continuos sprawls and public administration implemented great public works: sewers, subways and railroads.

Martin HeideggerDarmstad (1951), in a conference held on rebuilding of Germany

after nazism and WWII:

Social Identity Re-Building

Town Re-Building

1. The planner and the small Planet the Cultural Context

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The conditions of our time

The conditions of our time are incomparably different from those of the past; it is different the environmental awareness, the potential of

modern technology is immense, extensive and serious are the new social issues, exacerbated by financial powers. Once unthinkable.

Urban planning, however, one speaks and teaches with languages that refer to the past, a golden age ever existed, as far as the combinations of art and architecture, crafts and technologies were brilliant in building

the city.

But, in this mess, no one understand perfectly the language and context of that idealized past; and every man try to overshadow the main

features of this present

2. The Planner and the current Situation

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2. The Planner and the current Situation

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CITTÀ E INFRASTRUTTURE 2%≈3%: poco?

2. The Planner and the current SituationEarth Resources Measurement and Assessment

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Not only we don't have more arable land to use,

but a part of the existing ones are lost or altered

Irreversibly by our use / exploitation

(overgrazing, deforestation, plowing mechanics).

The dimensions of EarthOur shrinking Earth

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How much Water?

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Boundaries Boundaries

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Planetary Boundaries

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Where is forestry depletion. Where forestry grows up.

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Earth Forestry

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2. The Planner and the current SituationEarth Resources Measurement and Assessment

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No climate change ...

Human beings have not responsability ...

Nuclear power is cheapest and most secure energy ...

Green economy is too expansive ...…

2. The Planner and the current SituationThe struggles to dominate the information

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1848 Charles Robert Cockerel

The conditions of our timeArchitetture Masterpieces

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2. The Planner and the current SituationTechnology and power: you can do it all

From

architectural masterpieces

to

skyscrapers technological power

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1884 Gli edifici più alti del mondo

2. The Planner and the current SituationTechnology and power: you can do it all

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2. The Planner and the current SituationTechnology and power: you can do it all

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2. The Planner and the current SituationHarmony and Wholeness

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Earth Measurements: the Ecological Footprint

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Christopher Alexander, The Nature of Order as expression of wholeness and harmony among interconnected centers

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2. The Planner and the current SituationLocal must be global, the sum of elements in a system is not the total

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Only 2-3% of all lands is used by cities ...

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… but cities absorb more of the total resources available and in the cities there are the powers who decide the fate of the entire bio-productive system ...

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Ebla

… EBLA VARSAVIA HIROSHIMA ...

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Luca Marescotti 45 / 82 varsavia

Luca Marescotti 46 / 82 Hiroshima

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3. The Planner and the Biosphere… in name of the people, for the people, by the people ...

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3. The Planner and the Biosphere… in name of the people, for the people, by the people ...

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Lago d'Aral

Lago Ciad

Giordano e Mar Morto

Nilo e Progetto Toshka

California

3. The Planner and the Biosphere… in name of the people, for the people, by the people ...

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Le reti di comunicazione sono globali.

Il mondo è una città globale, un sistema di città

3. The Planner and the Biosphere… in name of the people, for the people, by the people ...

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Tropical forest lost

3. The Planner and the Biosphere… in name of the people, for the people, by the people ...

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Act and think globallya necessary governance among local authorities

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Act and think globallya necessary governance among local authorities

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2012 Piazza Tahrir

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Act and think globallya necessary governance among local authorities

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HARMONIOUS CITIESSOCIALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY

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HARMONIOUS CITIESSOCIALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY

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HARMONIOUS CITIESSOCIALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY

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WHOLENESS IS MORE

AND LESS THAN THE SUM OF ALL ELEMENTS

(Edgar Morin)

AND IF

RELATIONS

INTENSITY

And

INFORMATION

FLOWS

WERE

UNEQUAL...

EDGAR MORIN

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IN WHICH DIRECTION WE WANT THE SYSTEM WILL BE ORIENTED?

BUT HOW CAN WE PUSH THESE BUTTONS?

WHICH FORCES CAN WE IMPLEMENT?

EDGAR MORIN

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STOCKHOLM EUROPEAN GREEN CAPITAL

❙ 1 000 parks,❙ 7 nature reserves within city,boundaries (and more than 200 in thesurrounding area), 1 cultural reserve and❙ 1 city national park,

❙ 95 kg of recycled refuse annually perCitizen,❙ 12 000 trees in the city centre,❙ 24 official beaches,

❙ World’s largest district cooling network,❙ Set to become fossil-fuel free by 2050,❙ The city hosts 2 700 clean-tech companies.

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Norberto Bobbio, Elogio della mitezza, Il Saggiatore, Milano, 2010, p.45.

As I presented it, it is likely that the mildness there has appeared a feminine virtue. I readily admit it. I know I'm wanting to hurt

women in revolt against the old domain of the male when I say that the mildness has never appeared desirable because of its

femininity.

I think that would be destined to triumph the day when you realized the city of women (not that of Fellini, of course).

HARMONIOUS CITIES, SOCIALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLYECONOMY AS A TOOL, NOT AS A POWER

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HARMONIOUS CITIES, SOCIALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLYUNDERSTANDING NATURE AND ITS ECOSERVICES

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2012 CRS

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Resilience Center of Stockholm

The complexity of the biosphere and our relationships with the The complexity of the biosphere and our relationships with the environment will clearly show the need for systemic, cross-cutting, environment will clearly show the need for systemic, cross-cutting,

adaptive approaches, involving at the same time adaptive approaches, involving at the same time

our capability our capability

to learn to learn and to govern intersecting levels of government to learn to learn and to govern intersecting levels of government and populations.and populations.

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Luca Marescotti 73 / 82

What have I learned?

CITIES AREN'T ARCHITECTURAL PROBLEMS

LANDSCAPES AND ENVIRONMENT AREN'T AESTHETIC PROBLEMS

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Cities are socio-ecological systems, open systems, inducing more or less great impacts on physical and biological factors

What choices and for whom?Do we care for the environment? for the Earth?

the urban choices impact on the whole environment

and the environment must be considered in its entirety, wholeness and harmony...

What have I learned?

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shifting the architecture definition of Morris to urban and regional planning

WE CAN GIVE A DEFINITION OF PLANNING AS ...

What have I learned?

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Any action which tends to change the spatial organization, changing the distribution of the population, of manufacturing plants, of business and

commercial settlements, modifying infrastructures, altering the relationships between them, is an act of planning

positive or negative

access to social facilities, to transportation system, to natural beauty,

social exclusivity, degradation inconvenience, social segregation or unhealthiness

URBAN PLANNING IS A PROCESS, MUST BE CONSISTENT IN ALL SECTORS COMPETING TOWARDS THE SAME GOALS

strategic plans and implementation plans;

economic resources allocation and programming,

public works, transport, education and culture;

improving monitoring and assessment tools

What have I learned?

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THE COMPLEXITY OF SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM REQUIRES KNOWLEDGE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ITS

DYNAMICS,

AND CAPABILITY TO GOVERNANCE TO IMPLEMENT VARIOUS AND COMPLEX STRATEGIES ...

EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY OF PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT REQUIRES THE COLLECTION OF GEOREFERENCED DATA AND INFORMATION ...

AND ACCOUNTABILITY WHY WE WORK ...

What have I learned?

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in name of the people, for the people, by the people

that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that this government of the people, by the people, and for the people

shall not perish from this earth. 1865 - Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address

What have I learned?

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in name of the people, for the people, by the people

that this PLANET shall have a new birth of freedom, and that this government of the people, by the people, and for the people

shall not perish from this earth. 1865 - Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address [2012 revised]

What have I learned?

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FOR A NEW ALLIANCE

This speech is dedicated to

who is opinion leader, who governs the territory, who prepares plans and designs, who is a student or a scientist. In particular, to be honest, is dedicated to the citizens who inhabit the Earth: please, keep attention to its languages, investigate the past, be sensitive to the earliest signs of the future, because the Earth is fragile.

Aware, we must work for the poetry of living. Actions and energies should be combined in knowledge. The power of technology has to take care of the fragility in which we are immersed and of which we live. The alliance among living beings and alliance with the wholeness of biosphere.

In his name we must turn away from that terrible collective madness, we are sadly aware, which so far has directed a so considerable part of our history.

What have I learned?

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Enseignant qui ouvre les ailes des enfants et les fait voler pour leur enseigner la liberté, mais pas une liberté gratuite ou indifférente, ni pire encore, le rejet des règles qui permettent de penser et de faire.

… like a flock of starlings ...

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grazie per l'attenzione