Organized in three parts, this Master’s Design Study [MDS] book summarizes the efforts of a year-long exploration of finding a way to spatialize the lessons to be learned from the urban experiments of Michel Ecochard and members of Team 10 [ATBAT Afrique, GAMMA Group] that took place under the French Protectorate during the mid-twentieth century in Casablanca, Morocco. While a great deal of post-colonial scholarship exists on this topic [Avermaete, Cohen, Eleb, et. al.], missing from this body of work is a rigorous attempt to offer mappings, diagrams, architectural, and urban design strategies that can participate in the negotiation process between colonial modernism and the rich culture of Morocco. More pressing today is the necessity for strategies that can begin to negotiate between this existing culture and globalization. / text

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For the past several years, the term social sustainability has gained a strong foothold within urban studies and has become a pervasive and trendy term that seems to be on everyone’s lips. Public space is widely acknowledged as an important urban feature, often in association with the social sustainability. As cities around the world are experiencing rapid population growth, creating meaningful and enjoyable public spaces is more important than ever. The heightened interest in social sustainability, public spaces and placemaking (as a physical manifestation of social sustainability) has led to the emergence of several urban intervention movements, such as Tactical Urbanism. In 2012, for the first time in Los Angeles’ history, this tactic was used to transform a car trafficked street in Silver Lake into a pedestrian friendly public space: the Sunset Triangle Plaza. The aim of this thesis is to, by studying the use and function of the plaza after the conversion, highlight how a broad concept such as social sustainability can be understood from a relatively small-scale public space intervention. The case study was conducted during the spring and summer of 2018, using a variety of data sources including interviews and observations of the plaza during February and March 2018. Two interviews were conducted with managers of the businesses directly adjacent to the plaza. Moreover, street surveys were conducted on two different occasions to ask the public about their use and opinions about the plaza. The results from the case study are presented to illustrate the real-life experience of the theories about social sustainability, public space and a discussion regarding “Whose Public Space?”, when applied at a local context. The findings were then further divided into three categories: usage (what type of activities did the installation enable?), users (for whom were they enabled?) and change (indicators of how the site has changed), reflecting the notions of Tactical Urbanism. While certain changes have been merely “tactical”, others were more substantial; businesses flourished, traffic safety increased, the space has become a meeting place and therefore, it has now got an identity. Immediate change was evident in the process of the physical change when the plaza was constructed, but what has also followed is a continuous change. Even though the plaza with its painted dots may not look like much, a new space for engagement and interaction has been created, both physically and mentally. In addition, converting a street for the cars into a plaza dedicated to pedestrians is especially symbolic in a city like Los Angeles, where the automobile has been the predominant mean of transport for the last 60 years and instrumental in shaping the city’s layout. However, the case study also showed that it is one thing to launch a Tactical Urbanism initiative and another thing to maintain it and achieve long-term social changes. The examined concepts and models to evaluate whether a public space can be considered successful are not always useful. The Sunset Triangle Plaza has certainly changed, but it has implied a continuous change – for better and for worse. Thus, this study also shows that it is evident that the idea of the “organically emerged” city can imply both opportunities and limitations.

Privatization of the public realm is rampant in modern cities. Public space accessibility and usage is often determined by inhabitants’ socio-economic background in the mega cities of the developing world as well. The case of Chennai, a city of 9 million people drawn from different regions in India, is used in this project to understand this phenomenon and evolve an alternate approach to urban public space design and use, in which citizen-led initiatives are encouraged, instead of being ignored, by mainstream urban planning and design processes. Chennai is one of the fastest growing cities in the world today. Conventional planning has failed to direct this growth towards creating sustainable urban environments for all, and has instead encouraged lopsided development that caters only to the affluent sections. This trend has affected public spaces as well, which are now centered on consumption and dependant on heavy investment in real estate and technology. This has a considerable impact on the spectrum of socio-economic groups that are able to access and use them. The project questions the prevalent situation, and focuses on three aspects that have been ignored in recent times. The first (Everyday Urbanism) is explored as a method to revitalize the second (Public Spaces), in order to achieve the third (Sustainable Lifestyles) as a long term goal. This is done using analysis and design in parallel, and results in a proposal for a new design process and through it, scale specific design solutions for Chennai’s public spaces that will create a high quality of life for inhabitants of the heavily populated, demographically diverse and socio-economically fragmented city.

Placemaking is a collaborative approach to redesigning spaces into places that improve their community value. Placemaking practices claim to be quick and easy to implement which is true in comparison to government level plans and policies but do not appear quick at an individual level. Tactical urbanism tackles the problem of slow change with a bottom up process that allows for fast changes to urban environments that can be conducted at an individual level. The spaces addressed by tactical urbanism are spaces that do not work to their intended use; they are underused, empty, or unmaintained. These spaces can vary in size and type. They can exist within a timeframe that is shorter than a change can occur from a quick placemaking practice hence why tactical urbanism becomes the appropriate response. Many of these places require responsive and swift action if they are sought to be improved. The spaces and designs that are tandem often have lasting positive effects in their communities. Concepts from cosmopolitics will be tied with placemaking principles to see if they are able to enhance and bring another element to tactical urbanism. The combination of these elements will aim to create care in relationships between humans and place. This report will explore how placemaking principles, cosmopolitics and tactical urbanismcan be used to create meaning and sustainabilityin spaces making them great places. Experimental interventions are used to put these concepts into practice. The interventions are focused at several locations around Linnaeus University campus.

Public space, where ordinary situations and everyday life takes place, is a concept that has gone from being ignored to becoming the core of urban development. As the interest of public space is increasing, so does the critique. A critique that in Kista criticizes public space for being neglected, segregated and scary. Nevertheless, Kista is standing before several urban renewal projects aiming to be a place of mixed functions and vibrancy. However, these projects are both time-consuming and complex and will not be able to address the issues within the nearest future. By introducing temporary use of public space, ideals such as placemaking and temporary urbanism may deal with the amount of time being consumed during the planning processes of formulation, approval, adaption and implementation. It is done so by activating space through meanwhile usage. By studying places, functions and actors in Kista, the aim is to develop a method to initiate and implement the concept of temporary use of space, in accordance to the Swedish planning system. Through a literature review, a city’s function is being analyzed, definitions of public space identified and urbans ideals/ theories explored. Furthermore, two urban renewal projects are being studied, where strategic structures of how to develop temporary initiatives is analyzed. From the literature review follows a case study where interviews and observations are being conducted to gain local knowledge and professional expertise. There are both general drivers and specific features found in Kista arguing for temporary use of space, which results in a strategy and a process. The strategy is of a comprehensive approach aiming to initiate the concept of temporary use while the process is about how to implement temporary activities. To initiate and implement temporary use of space several strategic structures are suggested. The study suggests an early implementation within a larger urban renewal project, developed together with a vision and municipal plan and program. The method should be of a top-down structure, led by Kista Science City and developed by the City of Stockholm and real estate developers in Kista. The community should act as co-creators during the development and implementation of temporary activities. Space chosen for temporary used should be done so with care, in relation to knowledge of what attracts people and preconditions in Kista. The structure of the process needs to be dynamic, giving room for changes and improvements.

The main subject matter of this thesis is to design a renewal strategy and revitalization of the Jewish quarter in Třebíč. Even though it has recently been filed on a prestigeous list of UNESCO heritage sites and the town has seen significant effort in the direction of its renewal, this quarter still has some drawbacks. One of the problems observed is the inadequate technical condition of considerable number of buildings, while other is the insufficient usage of public areas. One can still notice the stigma of a socially excluded and a dangerous district. These traits are most evident in the immediate vicinity of the Subak’s factory. Main goal of this work is to coin an identity change of this site and transform it into an attractive and safe place, unique for its history and atmosphere – a quarter suitable for long-term residence as well as short-term visit. In achieving these goals, methods of tactical urbanism have been employed in the form of public space intervention and then a long-term visions are proposed in the form of the design of new functions at the site and a reconstruction of the formerly torn down historical buildings. A very important aspect of the proposed solution is the preservation of the historical urbanistic structure of the quarter and a respect for contemporary requirements laid on modern functions of a residential area at the same time.

There is a growing interest of flexibility in urban plans, both within the planning profession but also by private investors. The collective idea, both among planners and literature, is that the urban is under a constant transformation. Further, flexibility in planning could be found as key of keeping updated to this constant development. Through the theories of temporary and tactical urbanism the positive and negative aspects of flexibility will be discussed and explored. The combination of literature analysis and interviews has formed the basis for creating an understanding how the practical field and literature interprets flexibility in a transforming era in Sweden. According to literature and interviews, this study has shown that flexibility within the regulations of the detailed development plan is key for cities to adapt to new circumstances.

A pesquisa analisa as intervenções urbanas realizadas no Largo da Batata pelo movimento A Batata Precisa de Você e na Avenida Paulista com o programa Paulista Aberta. Os dois movimentos tiveram suas reivindicações ampliadas a partir das Manifestações de Junho de 2013 com discussões em relação a temas como direito à cidade, ocupação de espaços públicos e uma agenda urbana em defesa de maior participação da sociedade civil. Estabelecendo novos diálogos entre atuações nos espaços físicos e nas redes sociais e tendo o urbanismo tático e seus similares como estratégia de ocupação, os dois casos de intervenções são analisados durante o período de 2013 a 2017 acompanhando seus modos de atuação nas duas plataformas, atores envolvidos, seus limites e potenciais. / The research analyzes the urban interventions carried out in Largo da Batata by the movement A Batata Precisa de Você and at Avenida Paulista with the Paulista Aberta program. The two movements have had their demands broadened since the Manifestations of June 2013 with discussions on issues such as the right to the city, occupation of public spaces and an urban agenda in defense of greater participation of civil society. Establishing new dialogues between actions in physical spaces and in social networks, having tactical urbanism and its similar as an occupation strategy, the two cases are analyzed during the period of 2013 to 2017 following their modes of action in the two platforms, actors involved, its limits and potentials.

A pesquisa analisa as intervenções urbanas realizadas no Largo da Batata pelo movimento A Batata Precisa de Você e na Avenida Paulista com o programa Paulista Aberta. Os dois movimentos tiveram suas reivindicações ampliadas a partir das Manifestações de Junho de 2013 com discussões em relação a temas como direito à cidade, ocupação de espaços públicos e uma agenda urbana em defesa de maior participação da sociedade civil. Estabelecendo novos diálogos entre atuações nos espaços físicos e nas redes sociais e tendo o urbanismo tático e seus similares como estratégia de ocupação, os dois casos de intervenções são analisados durante o período de 2013 a 2017 acompanhando seus modos de atuação nas duas plataformas, atores envolvidos, seus limites e potenciais. / The research analyzes the urban interventions carried out in Largo da Batata by the movement A Batata Precisa de Você and at Avenida Paulista with the Paulista Aberta program. The two movements have had their demands broadened since the Manifestations of June 2013 with discussions on issues such as the right to the city, occupation of public spaces and an urban agenda in defense of greater participation of civil society. Establishing new dialogues between actions in physical spaces and in social networks, having tactical urbanism and its similar as an occupation strategy, the two cases are analyzed during the period of 2013 to 2017 following their modes of action in the two platforms, actors involved, its limits and potentials.