topos Leseprobe 2021

no 115
2021
to po s.
right
to the
city
18 CRISIS AS
OPPORTUNITY
– The small step from
Lefèbvre’s “Right to the
City” to a new digital
urban democracy
40 NEW YORK’S HIGH
LINE AND ATLANTA’S
BELTLINE
– The boon and bane of
private funding for
public spaces
EXTRACT
66 URBAN HEALTH
MATTERS
– Planners as agents of
public health: achieving
the right to the healthy
city by design

Prototypes for
a real Utopia
People fleeing their countries due to persecution, oppression or political unrest can be seen in
a certain light as optimists, as they pursue a better life in their search for a new homeland. The
risk of leaving their homes, the sacrifice of their land, property, and communities to seek another
life only arises in those seeking a place that holds opportunity, freedom, and justice. The contemporary,
global geopolitical landscape is indelibly marked by rising international conflicts and
nationalism creating multiple regions and countries beset by massive migrations. Today, the refugees
are caught between borders with so few countries accepting their growing numbers, while
they become trapped in refugee camps. These expanding settlements were intended to be “temporary”
tent communities. However, the camps have increasingly become permanent, such as in
Rabouni, Algeria, in a camp that is now over 40 years old. Generations have been born in camps
that have never seen their homeland. It is within this context of the refugees’ search for utopia
that the idea for a City of Refugees was born. The city transcends the immediate fate of the refugee
and the reason they were torn from their homeland by proposing a new foundation for a city to
exist in a world that is increasingly not giving a safe haven to those fleeing their country: It is a
place created for a new society that welcomes those optimistic people looking for a place to be
free of oppressive politics and social injustice. The City of Refugees is a place that believes in the
future of the refugees becoming citizens of the world and provides a soft place to land.
And it is within the notion of a 21st century search for utopia that the City of Refugees developed
the proposition for four cities on four continents as prototypes for a real utopia for housing those
trapped between political borders. The utopian concept of the four cities creates a platform for a
new, global multi-ethnic society based on justice and tolerance: a city conceived as being economically
viable in a sustainable, net zero environment.
PETER J. ZWEIG & GAIL PETER BORDEN
The Bridge City is located on the Rio Santiago in Ecuador near the Peruvian border just south of the equator. Inspired by artist Sol LeWitt,
the structure acts as a bridge for the inhabitants across the Rio Santiago river, while creating local opportunities in industries such as
aqua-culture and a wharf for water markets. The city is self-sustaining: The Rio Santiago region is ideal for producing honey, fruit,
vegetables and flower cultivation. Traditionally the local culture produces palm weaving and clay pottery, which can now be used in the
construction of the homes for the city.
Illustrations: Peter J. Zweig & Gail Borden

BRIDGE CITY
South America
The architectural infrastructure is composed of a 30 x 30 x 30 foot grid, which
bridges a populated river that is used for fishing, trade and commercial movement.
The structural field has been eroded through light and wind apertures that allow
for concentrated volumes to emerge within the regular geometry. Activated
top and bottom through climatic and programmatic responses, the structure
arches over the river and creates a performative rooftop landscape for solar and
food production in park-like spaces. The infrastructure is free to take advantage of
its location on the equator through hydroponics, recycled waste, water capture
systems, and passive and solar energy production.

no 116
2021
to po s.
EXTRACT
the
resilient
city
28 IN DEEP WATER
– The fight against rising
water levels in Louisiana,
Miami, Bangkok and
the Maldives
54 THE CITY
ADAPTED
– Indian cities as
pioneers of resilience
96 DESIGNING A
RESILIENT RIVER
LANDSCAPE
– A closer look at
Agence TER’s
Peuple de l’Herbe Park

the resilient city
The Seven Mile Bridge,
Key West, United States:
The highway to Key
West, consisting of more
than 42 bridges, will be
under water
one day.
In
Deep
Cities near the sea, in delta regions and along rivers are
fighting their very own battle against climate change.
They are particularly affected by rising water levels. As a result
of the massive pressure to act, comprehensive infrastructure
projects such as artificial islands or entire resettlement programmes
are being initiated – especially in Asia and the USA.
They are intended to protect the population from
the rising water masses. However, not all approaches are
equally sustainable or socially just. The following discussion
presents four examples of controversial projects in Louisiana,
Miami, Bangkok and the Maldives.
TIM NEBERT
Water
Photo: CSRS

As a result of the rising sea level, the inhabitants
of Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, United States, are to be resettled through
a so-called state buyout programme.