Mapping the research:
A map that can become a fantasy city.
This map shows the direction of the research. Using the summer document as a starting point, and applying the four main insights into different explorations. The map is continuously updated as work and research evolves.
The insights explored are the following:
- Six Feet Unit: Professor Sara Jensen Carr explains that “six feet could be the new unit we use when we think about cities and public parks”. (2020) But I think the six-feet is more than a unit of measurement, as it might become a unit of wellness, where the public can have a specific amount of air and space to be healthy and feel safe. But this measure immediately wants to disperse the public, and this is a contradictory idea, as urban planners have traditionally place emphasis in human interaction. Designers recognize the value of meeting points as sources of collaboration, inclusion, and community-building. How can we achieve connectivity with social distance? I believe that connectivity will become more precious and valued, and whoever we let inside our six-feet unit space will have to be someone that we fully trust.
- ‘Reclaiming’ the Streets: Cities such as Oakland, Mexico City, Bogota, and many others are experimenting with closing roadways to through traffic to encourage cycling, thus reducing crowds on buses and subways. ‘Reclaiming’ the streets from cars can encourage wider sidewalks and more bike lanes, which can be safer methods of transport in a social distancing world.
- Density ≠ Crowds: Density does not mean a higher risk for pandemics to spread. A poorly managed density is riskier than density itself. Cities like Hong Kong, Manila or Mumbai are much denser than Manhattan, yet all of them were better at managing COVID-19. As Robert Steutevile puts it: “Crowding is distinct from density. Density is the number of housing units, or people living, per unit of land. Crowding is a whole lot of people gathered together in a space.” (2020).
- Small Green Spaces: A need of a network of smaller parks and green pockets being design and constructed in neighbourhoods, that can fit the means of the public. An abundance of green space that serve less people means less crowds and better access.
It is not a new concept, as there are many examples throughout many cities or neighbourhoods that have achieved this. Prospective models that already speculated pivotal shifts of urban designing – such as the 15-minute cities – will probably be the starting point for new designs.