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DIS Architecture and Design Spring 2013

European Urban Design Theories 3 Credits

Lecturer: Henning Thomsen (HT), byensojne@gmail.com

Course Assistant: Samer Khudairi (SK), sk@dis.dk

Mee ng Loca on: Vestergade 23-401

“Urban design is that part of city planning which deals with the physical

form of the city. This is the most crea ve phase of city planning and that

in which imagina on and ar s c capaci es can play a more important

part. It may also be in some respects the most diffi cult and controversial

phase … The urban designer must fi rst of all believe in ci es, their

importance, and their value to human progress and culture. We must be

urban-minded.”

(José Luis Sert, Progressive Architecture, August 1956)

“The right to the city is far more than the individual liberty to access

urban resources: it is a right to change ourselves by changing the city.

It is, moreover, a common rather than an individual right since this

transforma on inevitably depends upon the exercise of a collec ve power

to reshape the process of urbaniza on. The freedom to make and remake

our ci es and ourselves is, I want to argue, one of the most precious yet

most neglected of our human rights.”

(David Harvey, The Right to the City, New Le Review 53, 2008)

“Now, a er many years, a great deal of knowledge has been amassed on

the connec on between physical form and human behaviour. We have

extensive informa on about what can and should be done. At the same

me ci es and their residents have become very ac ve in crying out for

people-oriented city planning.”

(Jan Gehl, Ci es for People, 2011)

Course Descrip on: This course is an introduc on to contemporary

urban design in Europe and aims to establish a cri cal understanding of

the main theories and posi ons of urban design as they appear today

and have developed over the course of the past fi ve decades. Urban

design, as it will be understood within the framework of this course, is

a discipline that seeks to integrate aspects from a variety of diff erent

fi elds, such as planning, landscape architecture, architectural design,

sociology, geography, cultural studies and urban history.

A principal goal of the course is to e a connec on between theory

and prac ce, between thinking and doing. We will read and study texts

on urban design issues. We will visit urban design, architecture and

landscape architecture in Copenhagen and use these as case studies

throughout the semester. We will meet prac oners involved in urban

design and learn how they view the world. We will work on assignments

that try to bridge the gap between the world of thinking and the world of

making.

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DIS Architecture and Design Spring 2013

European Urban Design Theories

The course is structured in three sec ons. PRELIMINARIES deal with

a broad descrip on of the ambigui es of the fi eld of urban design.

PRACTICES e a connec on between theore cal posi ons and

concrete prac ces taking the cue from primarily a Copenhagen se ng

but involving also refl ec ons on the wider European scene. Finally

PERSPECTIVES tries to hypothesize what the future might bring in terms

of new prac ces and new posi ons in urban design in Europe.

Learning Objec ves

By the end of this course you should be able to

• orient yourself in the current landscape of urban design theory

• be familiar with the current main urban development trends

of ci es in Europe

• understand how urban design theory can be applied in a

prac cal urban se ng

• refl ect on the role and task of urban design and the urban

designer through the applica on of cri cal thinking

Required Texts

Required texts: Reading material will be from the course reader (Larice &

MacDonald). Supplementary material will be uploaded as individual texts

on DIS Forum.

• Larice, Michael & Elizabeth Macdonald. The Urban Design Reader.

London: Routledge, 2007

Approach to Teaching

The class will meet twice a week and consists of lectures, student

presenta ons and class discussions. Theory needs to be read and

therefore this course relies heavy on reading. Assigned texts must be

read in advance of the class.

The type of reading you will be required to do in this class moves beyond

fi nding informa on or loca ng an authorʼs purpose or iden fying main

ideas (as useful as these skills might be). It will ask you to dig deep in

theore cal texts to ferret out meaning, systems of rela onships between

ideas, and examine your own response to these ideas and their impact on

the world around them.

In short, cri cal reading requires that you ques on intensely. For cri cal

reading, you cannot sit back and wait. These texts are not necessarily

easy nor are you expected to swallow the words without considera on.

True reading demands that you fi rst ac vely listen to the author without

projec ng your own agenda. In this sense, you might imagine that you

are engaged in a conversa on with the author and once he/she has

completed what he/she wants to say to you, you are in a posi on to

speak back, to say something of your own, something meaningful and

thought-out. If you have no response, you are reading lazily and need to

instead, read cri cally: to formulate a response. Such response involves

analysis, synthesis, and crea vity.

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DIS Architecture and Design Spring 2013

European Urban Design Theories 3 Credits

Expecta ons of the Students

Students should be fully engaged in the lectures, par cipate ac vely in

any discussion and be open minded to your fellow students contribu on

to class. I hope to establish an environment where we can learn from

each other as well as from the texts and cases we engage with and I

expect you to ac vely support this approach. Readings must be done

before class and should be done with inquisi veness. The ability to frame

the appropriate ques ons and to apply cri cal thinking will be valued and

the class should form the se ng in which to ac vely exercise this ability.

In our discussions in class please aim to make references to our readings,

to support the points or ques ons you wish to raise.

Field Studies: Field studies form an integral part of the course to support

our understanding of how urban design theory is applied in a prac cal

urban se ng.

Evalua on & Grading

The fi nal grade is determined as follows:

20% Ac ve individual par cipa on, in-class presenta ons and

provision of ques on points

20% The Platzgeist assignment (poster presenta on: 400 words of

cri cal wri ng + illustra ons)

30% Mid term exam (essay type)

30% Documenta on of fi eld study learning points (essay type: 1500-

2500 words of cri cal wri ng (between 300 and 500 words per

fi eld study) + illustra ons)

Assignments

The Platzgeist assignment is a ten-day long exercise consis ng of a)

fi nding an overlooked space in the city, b) analysing it based on a

framework supplied by the course instructor, c) mapping it through

photos, maps, sketches, etc., d) producing a poster in A2 format

presen ng your fi ndings, and e) presen ng this poster in a joint class

session.

The mid-term exam is an essay type exam that takes place in class and is

based on ques ons about the readings.

The documenta on of fi eld study learning points consists of an A4

document for each of the fi ve fi eld studies that are integral to the course.

The documenta on should state relevant urban design learning points

gained from the fi eld study based on your notes. A learning point can be

a dilemma you describe, a solu on we saw, and/or a refl ec on based on

the per nent reading vis-a-vis the fi eld study visit. Images, wether photos

or sketches, that highlight the learning points, need to be included as

well.

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DIS Architecture and Design Spring 2013

European Urban Design Theories

Both in-class and fi eld study a endance and ac ve par cipa on is

required. For all types of ac vity students on a regular basis will be

asked to prepare ques on points for classes. These should refl ect on the

readings carried out and provide the class as a whole with a pla orm for

engaged and informed discussion.

Late papers will not be accepted. To be eligible for a passing grade in this

class you must complete all of the assigned work.

Disability and resource statement

Any student who has a need for accommoda on based on the impact of

a disability should contact Sean Green (sgr@dis.dk) to coordinate this. In

order to receive accommoda ons, students should inform the instructor

of approved DIS accommoda ons within the fi rst two weeks of classes.

Policies

A endance

You are expected to a end all DIS classes when scheduled. If you miss

mul ple classes the Director of Teaching and Learning, and the Director

of Student Aff airs will be no fi ed and they will follow-up with you to

make sure that all is well. Absences will jeopardize your grade and your

standing at DIS. Allowances will be made in cases of illness, but in the

case of mul ple absences you will need to provide a doctor’s note.

Academic Honesty

Plagiarism and Viola ng the Rules of an Assignment

DIS expects that students abide by the highest standards of intellectual

honesty in all academic work. DIS assumes that all students do their

own work and credit all work or thought taken from others. Academic

dishonesty will result in a fi nal course grade of “F” and can result in

dismissal. The students’ home universi es will be no fi ed. DIS reserves

the right to request that wri en student assignments be turned in

electronic form for submission to plagiarism detec on so ware. See the

Academic Handbook for more informa on, or ask your instructor if you

have ques ons.

Electronic devices in the classroom

Feel free to use your laptop for relevant note taking. The use of cell

phones must take place outside of class hours.

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DIS Architecture and Design Spring 2013

European Urban Design Theories

Day Date Session Time Topic

PRELIMINARIES

Fr Jan 18 1 08:30 - 09:50 Confl icts of the City The ‘urban’ in urban design is not an undisputed term. The city and the right to the city have been debated and con nue to be so in the hothouse that is the city. The loss of public space to private property owners and the infl uence of fear on the structuring of the city are some of the issues being played out. Confl ict as an important infl uence on the development of the city is explored.

Required reading: • Manuel Castells: The Process of Urban Social Change, in Designing Ci es - Cri cal Readings in Urban Design, ed. Alexander R. Cuthbert, Oxford, 2003, pp. 23-27 • Zygmunt Bauman: City of fears, city of hopes, Goldsmiths College, London, 2003 pp. 1-39 - fi rst published in Future Ci es - The Copenhagen Lectures, edited by Henning Thomsen, Copenhagen 2002 Supplementary material: • Anna Minton: The Priva za on of Public Space, RICS, London 2006, pp. 2-23 Tu Jan 22 2 08:30 - 09:50 Concepts of the City At the heart of urban design lies the city, an unequivocal concept if ever there was one. Our understanding of the urban design issues we are engaged in today, to a large degree are fl avored by our understanding of the city as a concept. What is ‘the city’ and how has our understanding of the city developed?

Required reading: • Georg Simmel: The Metropolis and Mental Life, 1903, pp. 1-9 • Jack London: excerpt from People of the Abyss, New York 1903 • Louis Wirth: Urbanism as a way of life, The American Journal of Sociology, 1938, pp. 1-25 • Sharon Zukin: Consuming authen city - From outposts of diff erence to means of exclusion, Cultural Studies, 2008, pp. 1-26 • Leonie Sandercock: When strangers become neighbors - Managing ci es of diff erence, Planning Theory & Prac ce, 2000, pp. 1-19 Supplementary material: • Lewis Mumford: What is a city? Architectural Record, 1937, pp. 1-3

Fr Jan 25 3 08:30 - 09:50 Cultures of the City The city is not just an agglomera on of urban forms. First and foremost it is a mee ng ground where both commodi es and ideas are exchanged. Through fi lm and literature we will try to understand various concep ons of ‘the city’ Required reading: • Georges Perec: An a empt at exhaus ng a place in Paris, excerpts, published in French 1975; in English 2010 • J.G. Ballard: Concrete Island, 1974 & High Rise, 1975, excerpts

Supplementary material: • Anthony Minghella: Breaking & Entering (fi lm), 2006, excerpts • Mike Leigh: Naked (fi lm), 1993, excerpts Tu Jan 29 4 08:30 - 09:50 Ambigui es of Urban Design Architecture and planning go back centuries. Urban design on the other hand started out less than half a century ago as a form of correc ve surgery to the mishaps of modernisms approach to city building. What do we actually mean by ‘urban design’?

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DIS Architecture and Design Spring 2013

European Urban Design Theories

Day Date Session Time TopicTu Jan 29 4 08:30 - 09:50 Required reading: • Ali Madanipour: Ambigui es of urban design (1997), in Carmona & Tiesdell: Urban Design Reader, Oxford 2007, pp. 12-23 Supplementary material: • Alex Krieger: Where and How Does Urban Design Happen?, in Alex Krieger & William Saunders: Urban Design, University of Minnesota Press 2003, pp. 113-130

Fr Feb 01 5 08:30 - 09:50 Urbanized We will discuss Urbanized, a feature-length documentary about the design of ci es, which looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design and features some of the world’s foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers. Urbanized is the third part of Gary Hustwit’s design fi lm trilogy, joining Helve ca and Objec fi ed.

Required viewing: • Urbanized by Gary Hustwi – separate viewing will be organized prior to class

Feb 04 - 09 Core Course Week

Tu Feb 12 6 08:30 - 09:50 PRACTICES - PART ONE The Prac ces sec ons (part one to three) aim to e a connec on between theore cal posi ons and concrete prac ces taking the cue from primarily a Copenhagen se ng but involving also refl ec ons on the wider European scene.

Urban Design … deals with Placemaking Placemaking is arguably one of the main preoccupa ons of urban design and has been so ever since the fi eld emerged in the mid-1950s. Ini ally a reac on against what was seen as modernisms failed a empt to create livable ci es, urban design has kept raising its fl ag for humanis c values in urban development. Danish architect Jan Gehl is among the most infl uen al researchers and theorists in this fi eld. Required reading: • Jan Gehl: Ch. 1 The Human Dimension, in Ci es for People, Copenhagen 2011, pp. 3-29 • Jan Gehl: Ch. 2 Senses and Scale, in Ci es for People, Copenhagen 2011, pp. 31-59 Supplementary material: • Lars Gemzøe: Quality for People – A set of criteria for the design of pedestrian places and networks, with people in mind, paper presented at Walk21, Melbourne, 2006 • h p://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_ embedded&v=XKnqwpYsC0w#! - Interview with Jan Gehl

We Feb 13 7 08:30 - 12:00 Field Study #1 - Sluseholmen, Sydhavnen

Tu Feb 19 8 08:30 - 09:50 Urban Design … deals with Cultural Heritage The industrial landscapes of many European ci es have undergone drama c changes over the last 50 years. What were once areas of noise, pollu on and hard work have, due to the structural changes in economies, become fi rst redundant brownfi elds and then later a rac ve areas for new urban development. Today we view for example former harbor areas as part of our cultural heritage and as valuable land assets and the transforma on of urban industrial brownfi elds has become a very important challenge for urban design. Required reading:

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DIS Architecture and Design Spring 2013

European Urban Design Theories

Day Date Session Time Topic •Karl O o Ellefsen: Preserva on and/or Authen city, in European Ci es in a Global Era, Ministry of the Environment, Copenhagen 2002, pp. 58- 65 • Jens Kvorning: Copenhagen Restructured, in Urban Reports – Urban strategies and visions in mid-sized ci es in a local and global context, Zürich 2011, pp. 175-196 Supplementary material: • Peter Madsen: Iden ty and Urbanity – The Heterogeneous Democra c City, in European Ci es in a Global Era, Ministry of the Environment, Copenhagen 2002, pp. 44-49 • h p://bygningskultur2015.dk/

Fr Feb 22 9 08:30 - 09:50 Field Study #2 - Islands Brygge/Havnestaden/Havneholmen

Tu Feb 26 10 08:30 - 09:50 Urban Design … deals with Mobility The massive rise in private car ownership in the Western world from the 1950’s and onwards according to many researchers and theorists is to blame for the nega ve way in which most of our ci es evolved. With rising gasoline prizes, peak oil and pollu on as just a few of the challenges, many ci es are now looking for more sustainable ways of (mass) transporta on. Copenhagen is at the forefront of the cycling revolu on and urban design plays an integral part in the endeavor to achieve be er mobility solu ons. Required reading: • Good, be er, best - The City of Copenhagen’s Bicycle Strategy 2011- 2025 • Cecilia Vanman: Danish Bicycle Culture Goes Interna onal, in Copenhagen City of Bicycles, Copenhagen 2010, pp. 51-72 • Euan Ferguson: I have seen the future … and it bikes, in The Guardian/ The Observer July 26 2009

Supplementary material: • Copenhagen Bicycle Account 2010, Copenhagen Municipality

Fri Mar 01 11 08:30 - 09:50 Mid Term Exam

Mar 02 - 10 Travel Week

Tu Mar 12 12 08:30 - 09:50 PLATZGEIST - introduc on to assignment Required reading: • Marc Auge: excerpt from Non-places - Introduc on to an Anthropology of Supermodernity, in French 1992, in English 1995 • Graham Coreil-Allen: The typology of new public sites - A fi eld guide to invisible public space, Maryland 2010

Fri Mar 15 13 08:30 - 09:50 Jan Gehl in the movies - fi lm screening Required reading: • Peter Newmann and Anne Matan: Reigni ng Urban Design - The Theory and Prac ce of Jan Gehl, unpublished ar cle, April 2012, Cur n University, Australia

Tu Mar 19 14 08:30 - 09:50 Jan Gehl in the movies - discussion

Fr Mar 22 15 08:30 - 09:50 PLATZGEIST - presenta on of assignment

Mar 23 - 31 Travel Week

Tu Apr 02 16 08:30 - 09:50 PRACTICES - PART TWO The Prac ces sec ons (part two to three) aim to e a connec on between theore cal posi ons and concrete prac ces taking the cue from

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DIS Architecture and Design Spring 2013

European Urban Design Theories

Day Date Session Time Topic primarily a Copenhagen se ng but involving also refl ec ons on the wider European scene.

Tu Apr 02 16 08:30 - 09:50 Urban Design … deals with the Generic In 1975 Rem Koolhaas, together with Elia and Zoe Zenghelis and Madelon Vriesendorp, founded the Offi ce for Metropolitan Architecture, that soon became became one of the most infl uen al architectural prac ces in the world. Its famous hothouse atmosphere has cul vated the talents of hundreds of gi ed architects – among them several Danish .architects, spearheaded by infamous wonder boy Bjarke Ingels and BIG. What is the ‘new wave’ in Danish architecture all about when it comes to urban design? Required reading: • Rem Koolhaas: The Generic City, in The Urban Design Reader, ed. Michael Larice and Elizabeth Macdonald, Routledge, London 2007, pp. 216-226 • Kristoff er Lindhardt Weiss: The Pragma c Turn in Danish Architecture of the 00’s, in Arkitekten 01-2012, pp. 4-7 • Boris Brorman Jensen: The Prelude to the Breakthrough, in The New Wave in Danish Architecture, Arkitektens Forlag, 2012, pp. 127-133 • Tom Nielsen & Kristoff er Lindhardt Weiss: Welfare Urbanism, in The New Wave in Danish Architecture, Arkitektens Forlag, 2012, pp. 276-275

Supplementary material: • Rem Koolhaas: A kind of architect (fi lm) - h p://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=pLfcWKrvMZg • Paul Makovsky: Baby Rems, in Metropolis 01/2011, www.metropolismag.com

Fri Apr 05 17 08:30 - 09:50 Field Study #3 – Superkilen, Nørrebro Tu Apr 09 18 08:30 - 09:50 Urban Design … deals with Landscape(s) - Guest lecturer: Flemming Refn Thomsen, Tredje Natur Landscape Urbanism is a theory of planning and design for urbanism arguing that landscape, rather than architecture, is more capable of organizing the city and enhancing the urban experience. Landscape Urbanism has emerged as a theory in the late 1990’s. “The origins of Landscape Urbanism can be traced to postmodern cri ques of modernist architecture and planning,” says Charles Waldheim, who coined the term in 1997.

Required reading: • SLA/S g Lennart Andersson: Process Urbanism, from www. processurbanism.com, 2010 • Charles Waldheim: Landscape as Urbanism, in The Landscape Urbanism Reader, New York 2006, pp. 35-53

Supplementary material: • Interview with Charles Waldheim, www.LandscapeUrbanism.com, Winter 2011

Fr Apr 12 19 08:30 - 09:50 Field Study #4 – SEB/Rigsarkivet/Under Krystallen

April 13 - 21 Travel Week

Tu Apr 23 20 08:30 - 09:50 PRACTICES - PART THREE The Prac ces sec ons (part three to three) aim to e a connec on between theore cal posi ons and concrete prac ces taking the cue from primarily a Copenhagen se ng but involving also refl ec ons on the wider European scene

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DIS Architecture and Design Spring 2013

European Urban Design Theories

Day Date Session Time TopicTu Apr 23 20 08:30 - 09:50 Urban Design … deals with Temporary Measures - Guest lecturer: Jesper Kofoed-Melson, Givrum.nu Temporary Urbanism is an emerging fi eld in urban design and urban development. Growing out of the squa er movements of the 1970’s and 1980’s, the term today has been both acknowledged and appropriated by the main stream and by public ins tu ons and private developers as a valued tool in urban development. What is this new way of urban design all about?

Required reading: • Henning Thomsen: When people take charge, Urban Design 122, Spring 2012, pp. 16-18 • Tina Saaby: Urban life for everyone – temporary measures as a planning method, Urban Design 122, Spring 2012, pp. 19-21 • Peter Arlt: Urban Planning and Interim Uses, in Temporary Urban Spaces, Birkhäuser, Basel 2003, pp. 39-46

Supplementary material: • Irena Bauman: Introduc on to Temporary Urbanism, Urban Design 122, Spring 2012, pp. 14-15 • Florian Kossak: Temporary urbanism – its relevance and impact on teaching urban design, Urban Design 122, Spring 2012, pp. 32-33

Tu Apr 30 21 Urban Design … deals with Equity The city belongs to everyone – or at least that is how we hope it is. But ever since the fi rst ci es emerged, the city has also been a ba lefi eld between the haves and the have-nots, between business interests, poli cal interests and community interests. Any transforma on of the city involves changing the structure of its residents and its users – gentrifi ca on is but one of the many words associated with urban development. What is the role of urban design in this?

Required Reading: • David Harvey: Social Jus ce, Postmodernism and the City (1992), in Designing Ci es – Cri cal Readings in Urban Design, ed. Alexander R. Cuthbert, Oxford 2003, pp. 101-115 • David Harvey: The Right to the City, in Rebel Ci es, Verso Books, London, 2012, pp. 3-27

Supplementary material: • Jamie Peck: Struggling with the Crea ve Class, in Interna onal Journal of Urban and Regional Research, December 2005, pp. 740-770 • Michael Booth: Copenhagen’s New Cool Neighborhood, The Guardian 10 Oct 2009 • h p://rebelacademy.org/tv/view/Laerke_Hein_The_Crea on_of _ Karriere

Fr May 03 22 08:30 - 09:50 Field Study #5 - Vesterbro/Halmtorvet/Meatpacking District & My Very Own Back Yard

Tu May 07 23 08:30 - 09:50 PERSPECTIVES The Perspec ves sec on tries to hypothesize what the future might bring in terms of new prac ces and new posi ons in urban design in Europe.

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DIS Architecture and Design Spring 2013

European Urban Design Theories

Day Date Session Time TopicTu May 07 23 08:30 - 09:50 Ambigui es of Urban Design Revisited Urban design started out with an ambi on to correct the wrongs that modernism had cast on the city in the fi rst half of the 20th century. Peoples everyday lives and the longing for community were at the forefront of the humanis c ambi ons expressed by the founding mothers and fathers of urban design. And yet, many of them seemingly were entangled in the same view of the architect as the omnipotent creator of civiliza ons as the very people they were cri cizing. Fi y years later, what are the ambi ons and what are the possible futures for urban design at the beginning of the 21st century? Three arenas of possible future urban design interven ons will be presented along with the seminal ques on: What is an urban designer in today’s society? Required reading: • (The Small Arena - Public Space Acupuncture): Helena Casanova and Jesus Hernandez: The Regenera on of Public Life, in Scape, The interna onal magazine for landscape architecture and urbanism, 01- 2011, pp. 18-25 • (The Medium Arena - The Poli cs of Par cipa on and Programming): Ma hew Carmona et.alii: The Communica on Process, in The Urban Design Reader, ed. Michael Larice and Elizabeth Macdonald, Routledge, London 2007, pp. 479-489 • (The Large Arena - Landscapes of Sustainable Transforma on): Mohsen Mostafavi: Why Ecological Urbanism? Why Now? in Ecological Urbanism, Baden 2010, pp. 12-51

Fr May 10 Deadline for hand-in of Documenta on of fi eld study learning points. Send by email to byensojne@gmail.com no later than Friday 10 May 23:59.

Schedule subject to change with as much no ce as possible. All future edits to the syllabus will be made on Blackboard only.