How will our cities change?
In recent decades, cities have become spaces of tension and aspiration for their inhabitants. Various factors drive their constant evolution but also expose their vulnerability. What happened recently in Valencia, Spain, on October 30 caught the world’s attention: in a matter of minutes, the city experienced one of the largest weather disasters in its history. Such events, usually associated with rural areas, highlight the fact that climate hazards are also affecting urban centers in alarming ways.
Valencia was named European Green Capital 2024 on October 27, 2022. This recognition, awarded by the European Commission, highlights the city’s efforts in environmental sustainability and quality of life. The award highlights initiatives such as the creation and protection of green spaces – including the Albufera Natural Park and the Turia Gardens – as well as its advances in sustainable mobility and waste management. In addition, Valencia has been a pioneer in measuring and offsetting the carbon and water footprint of tourism and is one of 100 cities selected for the European Union’s Cities Mission project, which aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. However, this tragedy calls into question the effectiveness of urban resilience “calculations” in the face of extreme events and underscores the need for more comprehensive and anticipatory planning.
The tragedy in Valencia was a powerful reminder of the reflections I shared in my lecture last Tuesday, 29 October, at the International Academic Congress of Architecture in Ecuador. Entitled ‘From Conceptualisation to Configuration: Urban Verticals and the Role of Technology’, I discussed how cities, once mainly political and ritual centers, have become economic engines and, more recently, sustainable and intelligent spaces. This transformation, while necessary, has increased the complexity of urban environments and requires integrative approaches that address their multiple dimensions.
– Urban Biology by Patrick Geddes.: sees cities as living organisms in constant adaptation.
– Complex Systems by Michael Batty: sees cities as networks of interdependent flows
From the industrial city to the smart city, urban planning has evolved from disorganised approaches to models that focus on resilience, sustainability and technology. However, the current climate crisis is exposing the limitations of technological systems and advanced remote sensing to mitigate large-scale events such as the one in Valencia. While communication systems and the impacts of climate change are evolving rapidly, policy, economy and society often fail to adapt as quickly. Our cities need processes that holistically integrate the complexity of their urban systems. For example, in cities where urban sprawl has occurred without adequate planning, such as in certain peripheral areas of Madrid, Rome and Lisbon, infrastructure deficiencies hinder access to basic services. As living systems, cities require a holistic approach that addresses both their physical structure and their functionality to respond to their multiple challenges.
Reducing atmospheric emissions remains a challenge from the days of the industrial city to the present day. Balancing housing demand with sustainable urbanisation is a gap that began to open in the mid-20th century with the emergence of the welfare city. Thinking of the sustainable city as a response to environmental demands also raises debates about resource exploitation, inequality and ecological balance. We cannot change the climate, but we can reduce the impacts that accelerate the ‘urban metabolism’ of our built environments.
Urban metabolism, a concept that describes how cities consume and process resources and emit waste, helps us to see cities as systems with flows of energy and materials.
I am constantly thinking about the need for a new conceptualization of our cities, an adaptive process that integrates and accompanies this ecological and environmental transition that we are already experiencing. This process must identify and articulate the essential elements for each urban context: culture, politics, citizenship, environment, economy and technology. Only by integrating these aspects will we be able to provide precise and effective responses to the specific challenges facing our cities.
How will our cities change?
๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐-๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ฆ๐ฒ, ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฌ. ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ “๐ง๐๐ฐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ ๐”, ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐๐ข๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง. ๐๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฌ, ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ, ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐ฐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ.
“As residents of these ever-changing cities, what can we do to promote more resilient and sustainable spaces?”
Sources: Book “The Condition of the Working Class in England” by Friedrich Engels; Book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” by Jane Jacobs; Brundtland Report in 1987; Book “Adaptive Cities” by David Harvey.
Juana Mercedes Perlaza Rodriguez
26 Nov 2024Hola muy interesante articulo!