Beyond Bigness: The Everyday City

(3 Credits)

How is one to evaluate which urban design ideology to subscribe to, and thus design better environments? What are the different urban design ideals informing the design of cities? How can urban design facilitate everyday encounters? These questions underscore Jane Jacobs' warning of a global "dark age" in community life. Our neighborhoods are experiencing a collapse in everyday social interactions. Planners and designers criticize the excessive over-scaled urbanism seen in post-1990s developments, characterized by grand designs, fragmentation, vast expanses of glass and metal, and a loss of spontaneity within cities. In contrast to the traditional neighborhoods of the pre-1990s era, many new developments lack simplicity and dense physical layouts, which hampers neighborliness. To address this decline, it is essential to understand what enables everyday urbanism and good city forms. The course draws on unobtrusive observations of hidden sites to explore everydayness in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The course materials and engagement with sites are structured to unravel the complexities of urban design and promote vibrant communities.