Reading Development

Random readings on society, politics and change – Jorge Carrillo

Head of the Dragon: The Rise of New Shanghai

Daniel Brook – As it did a century ago, the city’s embrace of modernity is breeding groups that will be hard to control. There is only so far the gap … Continue reading →

Wednesday, 20 February 2013 · Leave a comment

How democracy is forcing itself onto the global urban agenda

If the question of identity has emerged so strongly in urban planning this year, it is because it reflects the need for a major overhaul of how the wider public … Continue reading →

Saturday, 9 February 2013 · Leave a comment

Planning, Connecting, and Financing Cities–Now : Priorities for City Leaders

This book distils lessons learned into a practical framework for sustainable urbanization, which is organized around the three policy pillars of the title. The coordination among these pillars is critical, particularly the … Continue reading →

Wednesday, 6 February 2013 · Leave a comment

Public Space – A space of lost opportunities?

Aili Vahtrapuu – The 21st century urban model is controversial and changing everywhere in the world. It consists of a plethora of symbols, occurring as both visible and sometimes invisible … Continue reading →

Tuesday, 5 February 2013 · Leave a comment

Second Hand Spaces – Recycling Sites Undergoing Urban Transformation

At vacant sites, second hand spaces draw on the atmosphere, the traces, the remains, and the history of their previous uses. Their actors develop an individual aesthetic out of such … Continue reading →

Thursday, 29 November 2012 · Leave a comment

From Dom-ino to Polykatoikia

In recent years there has been a resurgence of the “informal city” within the discourse on architecture and urbanism. In times of economic recession, the “informal” is often advocated as … Continue reading →

Thursday, 8 November 2012 · Leave a comment

City, Space, Power: Lahore’s Architecture of In/Security

Sadia Shirazi – Personal observations and thorough analyses of the current use of architecture in the city of Lahore (Pakistan) as a securitarian weapon. The notion of security is cleverly … Continue reading →

Tuesday, 6 November 2012 · Leave a comment

Beyond Low and Middle Income Countries

Tezanos, S. and Sumner, A. – Many have challenged the use of income per capita as the primary proxy for development. This paper continues this tradition with a twist. The … Continue reading →

Monday, 5 November 2012 · Leave a comment

Safety for the urban poor: the complex taxonomy of security provision in cities

Jaideep Gupte – How the urban poor get access to security – for themselves, their families and communities and their assets – is however a neglected question. We know relatively little … Continue reading →

Sunday, 4 November 2012 · Leave a comment