In „Space of Flows, Space of Places: Materials for a Theory of Urbanism in the Information Age”, Manuel Castells lets us know he does not build urban theories based on other theories, but rather draws relevant theoretical conclusions based on the observation and interpretation of current social and spatial transformations.
Therefore, observation requires a careful mapping of certain structural conditions (power relations, cultural connections, connections between practices and customs, human interaction and attitudes) and a critical interpretation of these conditions in order to identify those relevant meanings capable of re-energizing professional education towards a more intelligent coordination of future spatial practices and articulation of fair urban living conditions.
Structural mapping offers Castells the concept of city as a socio-spatial system of cultural communication where changes of society are expressed, not reflected. Among the inevitable transformations, may be included: intensification of urbanization and rural depopulation phenomenon due to migration of work force; decentralization of urban space due to the prevalence of telecommunication systems; simultaneous development of individualism and communitarianism in new patterns of socialization; crisis of the patriarchal pattern; ever more radical cultural differentiations from one generation to another; multiethnic aggregations in the same urban space; mass tourism and migration of the work force; new patterns of public behaviour; new legal and illegal economic patterns; environmental issues…
In terms of interpretation, Castells mediates three kinds of oppositions:
- at functional level, the antagonism between global (economy, technology, communications, administrative power) and local (private life, work place, cultural identity, political participation);
- at significance level, the opposition between the individual (personal interests) and community (values articulated in the public sphere);
- at form level, the contrast between places (specific, material, phenomenologically moulded by human experiences) and networks (generic, ethereal, determined by technology and infrastructure).
Conclusions are optimistic and lucid. Castells lets us know that, although we have no dominant urban culture anymore to make reference to in order to legitimate our interventions (as in the 19th century or the early 20th century), we can operate with multiple cultural codes (physical, social, electronic) to the extent that they can be communicated and translatable, in order to avoid social exclusions and segregation. Then, local patterns of social communication can be integrated with global ones in the media culture, in terms of spatial practical actions, spontaneous or organized “from down upwards”, in order to balance formal institutional actions, “from up downwards”. I believe that this is the strategic place for urban participation and activism, for instance. Finally, the electronic communication medium, which corresponds to the new formulae of virtual socialization, in case it does not remain trapped in the “fantasy” zone, it can be naturally articulated with the world of specific, physical, actions, through strategies and tactics inevitably imposing professional creativity at an inter- and transdisciplinary level.
All these three conclusive aspects – multi-coding, participationism and coexistence of the actual space with the information space – may be found in the example of the urban project Superkilen in Copenhagen, achieved through the collaboration among BIG, Topotek1and SUPERFLEX, which will be published in the next issue of our magazine. Superkilen is a kaleidoscopic collage of diverse fragments, artefacts and ready-made, a hybrid urban tapestry with threads from over 50 different cultures. It is the inclusive urban design expression of a specific place, defined by the multiple social identity and the connection to the space of information networks which „enciclopediate” the in situ direct experience with significant online narratives. It is the success of a professional discourse that refuses endology, pessimism and radicalism and offers, instead, authentic spatial dialogues and “post-critical” mediations between oppositions, traditionally perceived as insurmountable.
* Photo:
Superkilen – a new urban park in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, where the urban furniture have been gathered from more than 50 different countries, and Superkilen App, containing text, images, and film footage for guiding visitors.
Project: BIG, Topotek1 & SUPERFLEX
