Publiek versus privaat op straat

Summary
Remarkably, today we seem to reduce the
task of city building to the task of real
–estate-development too often. We
assume that the private market understands
what people will need and will underwrite
the risk of city development and also carry
it out for us. The problem appears to be
that where the logic of real estate
development dictates city development
processes and agendas – many of the
democratic control mechanisms and ageold
wisdoms of ‘growing city’ seem to fall
through the grid. Where a necessity for fast
money and fast returns drives the process,
the product seems to end up as a series of
generic dwelling types tailored to the most
lucrative target group of the time.
The resultant life in the public sphere
reects both the monotony of the virgin
population and the fact that our generous
space standards today create much
building – with very little going on
inside.
But, don’t despair! Good news is only a few
generations away. People are intuitive
masters at adapting urban structures in
time. In time it is the things that work well
that will stay and the things that fail that
will be replaced. So, who knows, in ve
generations time the new development
areas that are the ridicule of today might
have grown into desirable and complex
physical and social environments with a
level of street life that outperforms the life
in the upcoming growth areas of that time.
We will never know.
TOPOS / 02 / 2010 17