Tactical Urbanisms

3 units

Over half of the world's population is now living in cities. Another half of the world is living in poverty. Urban slums and informal developments account for a growing, but overlooked majority in this new paradigm. By learning how these communities organize and prosper despite overwhelming disadvantage, the seminar will seek to empower students with the ability to enable the explosive growth of the developing world on its own terms. Through a focused series of case studies and readings in cultural theory, multiple images of the city will emerge--where the built environment is responsive and representative of the people it serves, and the global economy of which it is part. The course is divided into two parts. Part I will investigate communities that act and build on their own behalf, bottom-up urbanisms that arrive with limited input from the design community. Part II will investigate responses, negotiations, and proposals from the design community, and address issues of developmental planning, scalability, and professional responsibilities when working with or in such environments. Requirements: attendance at all class sessions and participation in class discussions; each student will be responsible for summarizing and presenting concepts, conclusions, and questions for discussion from the required texts, and will conduct one such class presentation during the semester; participation in school-wide Urban Design Symposia; midterm paper discussing a 'tactical urbanism' not discussed in class, topic of the student's choice with the agreement of the instructor; final research paper with original graphic content, expanding on the themes and topics developed at midterm, and project responsible design opportunities. Fulfills Urban Issues elective requirement.