How to Design Public Space for Maritime Mindsets? That’s a central question in the new Minor ‘Minor (Re)Imagining Port Cities: Understanding Space, Society, and Culture’.
Tag Archives: public government
Waterfront as Environmental Infrastructure
The waterfront is a fragile and thin marginal area where multiple interactions occur between the city and the water. It is not a border or a limit. On the contrary, it is a meeting space, an interchange area, a transition – and tension – between different biological communities. Like all environmental frontiers, the waterfront is an ecosystem with a dynamic and precarious balance. Water-related challenges such as protection from wave motion, and adaptation to multiple conditions (e.g. hydrogeological, health, and environmental risks), albeit relevant, are often addressed in a sectorial way through confusing and ineffective procedures and plans. The centrality that the environment assumes in the transformation processes of the land-water interfaces requires the preparation of a design approach that aims to operate as a device capable of providing a response to social and ecological rebalancing, in terms of resilience as well as energy efficiency, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and environmental safety. Urban design solutions need to consider the availability of resources; social-environmental changes are confronted with the long time of ecological-environmental processes and adaptations. At the same time, targeted interventions correlate with the many ongoing and planned activities in the specific territories.
According to this approach, the concept of a waterfront becomes an environmental infrastructure, overcoming obsolete ideas of waterfronts as purely related to commercial development. The design of a waterfront is incremental and inter-scalar and it considers the risks and socio-ecological environmental fragility of coastal territories as priority themes to trigger urban, and territorial, regeneration.
Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft
September 8, 2022
15:00-17:00h
Matteo Di Venosa (speaker)
Carola Hein (discussants)
Paolo De Martino
Elise van Dooren
Maurice Harteveld
Public Health + Public Space
Health is an important societal topic in the Netherlands. In one of the most densely populated countries in the world, healthy living environments reduce diseases, deaths, healthcare costs, and shifts focus from prevention and medicalising on the individual levels to taking care of communities. Still, for example, the air quality in the Netherlands is considered moderately unsafe, resulting in the highest rate of asthmatic children worldwide. The same goes for recordings of diseases related to polluting substances on land and in water. This makes public spaces social determinants of public health. We see similar correlations when it comes to the presence of infectious microbes and parasites, and environmental stress. Especially in world port-cities like Rotterdam unhealthy conditions coincide with unequal socio-spatial patterns. Here the impact on individual health is largely untraceable. Understanding the impact of inherent industrial and human activities on urban areas at the neighbourhood level and crossing it with heterogeneous data sets help us understand the socio-spatial impact of pollution-related and vector-borne diseases on cities. Measuring environmental pollution in public spaces can tell us e.g. more about the impact of air quality on citizens as a group. Statistical time series and cross-sectional data analyses can be applied to generate valid correlations if they are made geo-specific. By using machine learning and AI technologies we cross data on environmental pollution with other heterogenous socio-spatial and temporal data sets. The use of mapping, spatial statistics, and urban narratives including historical data can lead to a better understanding of the lived experience at the local level. Through workshops at the local level and notably in the public spaces of the city, we engage the general public and local decision-makers in discussions on public health using advanced computer models for visualisation. The Rotterdam case study provides insights applicable in other cities internationally.
See: Dutch Research Agenda (NWA) initiative on Public Health and Public Space
Solving the Dutch Housing Crises
| The Port of Rotterdam as Solution The Dutch housing shortage is manifesting itself on all fronts. There are too few rental properties, but also too few homes for starters, large families, and retirees. Mortgage rates are low, but house prices are skyrocketing. And those who do not qualify for social housing will pay themselves blue. How do we ensure that everyone has the right to a suitable home? . “Anchorman Klaas van Kruistum, Michiel Hulshof of Tertium and Claire van der Meer of the Universiteit van Nederland believe that every complex problem has a solution. And together we use the best of Dutch science to find it!” . In episode 2 of ‘De Oplossers’ of KRO-NCRV, Maurice Harteveld explains how the current harbour areas of Rotterdam could be the game changers in the housing crisis. Do we want to sacrifice the green pastures around the city or the harbour areas with large-scale polluting industries? |
De Rotterdamse Haven als Oplossing De Nederlandse woningschaarste manifesteert zich op alle fronten. Er zijn te weinig huurwoningen maar ook te weinig woningen voor starters, grote gezinnen en gepensioneerden. De hypotheekrente is laag, maar de woningprijzen rijzen de pan uit. En wie niet in aanmerking komt voor een sociale huurwoning betaalt zich blauw. Hoe zorgen we ervoor dat iedereen recht heeft op een geschikte woning? . “Presentator Klaas van Kruistum, Michiel Hulshof van Tertium en Claire van der Meer van de Universiteit van Nederland, denken dat elk complex probleem een oplossing kent. En gebruiken samen het beste van de Nederlandse wetenschap om die te vinden!” . In aflevering 2 van ‘DeOplossers’ van KRO-NCRV legt Maurice Harteveld uit hoe de huidige havengebieden van Rotterdam weleens de gamechangers in de Wooncrisis kunnen zijn. Willen we het groene weiland om de stad opofferen of de havengebieden met de grootschalige vervuilende industrie? |
where:
Episode #2 – Woningtekort
KRO-NCRV, NPO Radio 1
Friday 17 December 2021
.
Listen as podcast: NPO Radio 1 – De Oplossers, or via Spotify, Apple Podcast, Podtail, and Google Podcast.
Cross-Media Website: De Oplossers
More: KRO-NCRV Press Release
Stress Reduction and Healing
Rosalie Moesker, an urban designer in training in our team, makes the cross-over to health. As the campus of Erasmus Medical Centre densifies, not only accessibility is at stake, more so, the human experience while traveling. In the city of the future, the medical centre needs new mobility concepts. When we design for these, we can relieve users of worries by reducing urban stress at their arrival, and rethinking public space as a healing environment during stay.
source: TV Rijnmond, Tuesday, November 16, 17:35
Continue reading
Empowering Resilient Communities
Resilient Communities | Comunità Resilienti
Following earlier presentations of the Design of Public Space research group from Delft, Maurice Harteveld participates in the ‘Empowering Resilient Communities’ event organised at the Italian Pavilion at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, on Friday 12 November, from 2 pm. As part of the international scientific committee of the pavilion, he will reflect on various Italian projects, which will be presented in this session. His review relates to a broader inventory of actions, which are being currently taken in the networks of public space to strengthen community resilience. Rotterdam serves as an exemplar, and as such these actions challenge the design of public space, and with that among others the disciplines of urban design, landscape architecture, and architecture.
The Italian Pavilion has organised the event as an opportunity to present and discuss some of the experiences already included in the research project Mapping Resilient Communities, while providing a platform for knowledge transfer and capacity development, especially in most vulnerable areas, in Italy and beyond, with the participation of UN-Habitat.
when:
Friday 12 November
14:00-17:00h
where:
17th International Architecture Exhibition
Italian Pavilion
Venice
Continue reading
Shaping Resilient Communities
Resilient Communities | Comunità Resilienti
With the event, the Italian Pavilion aims to raise awareness on urban resilience, from the environmental, economic, and social point of view, in relation to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, on the occasion of Urban October promoted by UN-Habitat. The event has also been scheduled on the occasion of the UN75 celebrations before the Venice Biennale was postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
An expert from the Joint Research Center of the European Commission will introduce the Agenda 2030, and invited Italian speakers will present case studies, which already are included in the research project Mapping Resilient Communities – co-created by professionals and urban activists who have experimented and implemented multidisciplinary practices of resilience in Italy and abroad. The event includes a thematic session coordinated by TU Delft, Netherlands, with professors and students affiliated to the Design of Public Spaces Research Group. Finally, a round table discussion is planned with the involvement of the audience attending the live streaming.
when:
Friday 6 October
14:00-17:00h
where:
17th International Architecture Exhibition
Italian Pavilion
Venice
Continue reading
Watching back, Looking forward
All webinars of the ‘2020 a year without public space under the COVID-19 pandemic’ are online.
The Impact of the Pandemic to Street Life, Urban Culture and Beyond
Webinar 4.1 by Maurice Harteveld, published by ‘PublicSpace COVID19’ on YouTube.
Roundtable Discussion and Closing Remarks, as published by ‘PublicSpace COVID19’ on YouTube.
See the transcription of the closing remarks of Maurice Harteveld, including reflections and an outlook beyond, here: Public Spaces for Domestic & Local Life, a slightly adjusted transcription of the opening of the august series of our initiative here: Beyond the Pandemic and read more on the initiative 2020 a year without public space under the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public Spaces for Domestic & Local Life
While the ‘UN-Habitat State of the World Cities Report 2020 on the Value of Sustainable Urbanization’ has been launched, the international symposium ‘2020 A Year Without Public Space: Reflection and Outlook’ has been an opportunity to look back, reflect, and plan ahead for 2021.
The transcription of the closing remarks of Maurice Harteveld at our initiative ‘2020 a year without public space under the COVID-19 pandemic’, including reflections and an outlook beyond (online symposium on 7 November 2020, 3PM (+ 8UTC)):
2020 – A Year without Public Space has been an impressive initiative. We have seen 20 webinars, engaging more than 100 speakers all over the world, and over another thousand attendees watching the presentations and thematic discussions live. On the YouTube channel, we can see that the numbers of views continuously grow. From May to September; the global community of ‘public space’- experts have joined together. The networks of public spaces have become a world-wide-web. Non-Exclusive!
At the moment, we are online, but our concerns are at the human space, in its physical reality. We keep sharing our observations, in an immense challenge. It is not easy! Under the current pandemic crisis, the global death rate is approaching 1.5 million people; 50 million cases of positive testing. An extremely small minority of countries have not reported any coronavirus cases. Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu seem to be still on the safe side. In contrast, particularly, communities in urbanised areas are infected at large. LA, Miami, and New York City… Rio, and Sao Paulo. Here densities are higher, people live closer together, and thus, transmission may go too fast, & too easy.
My contribution to the round table discussion is not another presentation. Deliberately! Continue reading
Creating Value through Public Space
The United Nations just launched the ‘UN-Habitat State of the World Cities Report 2020 on the Value of Sustainable Urbanization‘. “COVID-19 has transformed our urban world. However, it does not signify the end of cities. Urban areas hold the key to resilient, green recovery, and building back better!”, Victor Kisob, th assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UN-Habitat states. The United Nations emphasises that we create “value through public space”. This includes interior public spaces, which were closed due to COVID19-induced lockdowns recently. In this case, “local governments must work to provide sanitation infrastructure in all public spaces in order to mitigate the health risk”. Yet, also, “when designed with climate adaptation, mitigation and resiliency, components of cities from buildings to public spaces can create communities that enhance environmental values”. They also enhance social and economic values. “Cities can unlock the intangible value of sustainable urbanization by creating public spaces and opportunities for democratic participation and social inclusion that allow the cultural fabric of urban life to flourish”. And, public space can offer a livelihood for people to be entrepreneurial and take part of labour work. Equality plays a huge role in sustainable urbanisation. “Diversity contributes to the social, economic and environmental value of urbanization through tolerance, integration, and coming together in public spaces.” This includes for instance the representation of the urban poor, migrants, and cultural minorities, hence this should lead to prioritising “their needs in any decision-making process, be it about the urban commons, atmospheric commons, public spaces or resource use”. And, “engage a wider audience – e.g. children and youth – in urban planning and design processes for safe, inclusive and accessible public space.” Everyone should “understand their rights to access public spaces and services”. I would like to add: Our challenge is to contribute to the design of public spaces for everyone.
World Cities Report 2020