Set A Boundary Or Build A Wall? Revisiting the ‘idea’ of a boundary wall and reconsidering it for conscious urbanism (original) (raw)

Walling and the city: the effects of walls and walling within the city space

The Journal of Architecture, 2011

This paper focuses on the effects of walls and walling within the city's history. It aims to contribute to the knowledge of the underlying dynamics of public space within the city, whereby the visible physicality of walls contains and sometimes belies the invisible logic of their effects. The argument opens up by taking the analysis of city walls from Mumford's City in History into the framework of contemporary theory about space as the extension of power. The essay proceeds by investigating these ideas within the legacy of Alberti's treatise on architecture in respect to walls, walling and the city. The focus is on the effects of the displacement of defensive city walls in the gradual process of ‘crystallisation’ of urban space from the fifteenth century. The paper concludes with the analysis of the consequences in relation to Modernism and the metaphysics of walls and walling. The essay is a theoretical piece that refers to historical examples in order to contribute to our understanding of the deployment of walls, their lasting effects and related play of simulacra.

Reading and reacting: from the research of border conditions to experimental methods in architectural and urban design

Nordlit, 2014

It is in marginal urban areas, borders of states, territories and cities that limits of normal behaviour are transgressed and social and political differences become apparent. Such sites, where other spatial conditions have emerged, and that are "teeming with suggestive meanings and unexpected potential", have hardly been analyzed and discussed within the contemporary architectural discourse (Schoonderbeek, 2009, 30). Even though the spatial analysis of the city and the territory are seemingly well established practices in architectural discourse, the incorporation of characteristics of border conditions via these analyses have also hardly been discussed. The "operationalization of the contextual" within architectural design strategies remains conspicuously absent in reflections on architectural design procedures. Our paper addresses the speculative nature of the relationship between the spatial analysis of border conditions and architectural design by emphasizing and clarifying the "modus operandi" of an architectural project.

Creating Secured Residential Places: Conflicting Design Elements of Natural Surveillance, Access Control and Territoriality

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2019

Territoriality, natural surveillance and accesses control are the preeminent strategies of most place-based crime prevention theories and practices. They have been extensively applied as non-detachable part of defensible space and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Even though, a large body of knowledge confirms the effectiveness of these three strategies in preventing residential burglaries, yet, they frequently diminish each other’s effect. Besides, there are divergent views about their implementation, which often brings about contradictory designs and planning decisions, all of which have left architects and planners with a state of ambiguity on hiring felicitous physical elements which prevent burglaries. Hence, the current paper aims to find the design elements of the CPTED strategies which are in conflict in creating security. The study employs the qualitative method of systematically reviewing and critically analysing the literature on the subject. Conjoin...

New design paradigm for boundary and urban public spaces

2006

Cities of today are shaped more by boundary rather than by rational design. Boundaries, on the other hand, are the result of the amalgamation of a community’s collective living experiences. Architecture defines boundary as a formal division of lines, walls and partitions. In public spaces, boundaries can be blurred arising from needs and usages. Conventional boundaries, because they do not take into account public and cultural needs, has resulted in unyielding spatial characteristics which stifle creativity in the utilization of space. In this paper, public space, in particular the streetscape will be examined in order to redefine the space usage. This paper also offers solutions in the use of street space in order to create a better quality of life

Challenges of the Urban Boundary Wall: The Case of Two Neighbourhoods in Accra, Ghana

Architecture research, 2018

Boundary walls are constructed for safety, privacy, security, territory demarcation, among other reasons. Their construction is however raising concerns with social interaction, integration and crime control etc. in many African cities. This research is aimed at studying two neighbourhoods to ascertain the veracity of these assertions and to explore the possibilities of using the design of walls to enhance them in addition to improving the aesthetic appeal of streetscapes. The study employed the mixed method approach to gather data using survey questionnaires and face-to-face interviews with relevant stakeholders. Some key findings indicated that walls hamper social interaction and integration and do not guarantee safety and security. Recommendations made included the formation of neighbourhood watchdog associations, installation of CCTV cameras, adoption of standardized boundary wall designs and front walls that allow for views into residences.

Open spaces, Walls and Housing. The Aesthetics and Politics of Social Order

Whether public spaces play a role as catalysts for change in the sake of the common good this is very much depending on the quality of governance and society. In Italy, deep changes are affecting the design and use of open spaces in new housing developments within the central core of the city. Our contribution focuses on the city of Milan. In a phase of re-urbanization and of so called "urban renaissance", the physical and symbolic features of the new open spaces being produced under the pressure of the real estate market are expressing new conditions and forms of social and spatial re-organization which seem to correspond to the expectations of suburban dreams within the city. Field research reveals that more and more, the design of urban transformation is using open space to organize separation and our interpretation is that the spatial character of urban change in Milan is endangering some fundamentals which made the European city renown as a place of emancipation and d...

Walls as a Reflection of Society and Culture

Focus, 2016

eginning as an simple utilitarian element to defend a place or one s home from e ternal threats, a wall re ects a societ s culture alls e press territorialit and are e ident s mbols of the percei ed relationship between the public and pri ate realms e i and del Rio discuss wh understanding the meaning of walls is fundamental for planners and urban designers, and for an attempt to design and regulate place

Desire lines and defensive architecture in modern urban environments

Urban Studies, 2017

Public space is being increasingly managed by defensive architecture, surveillance and other subtle filtering mechanisms to make it more palatable and attendant to the needs of capital. This reinforces social boundaries, making space inhospitable to those people whose presence is not welcome, and serves to ‘discipline’ city inhabitants into primarily consumption based modes of interacting with and in the city. However, disenfranchised urban populations still find ways to exist in and navigate these spaces. The purpose of this article is to highlight these ways by introducing the concept of ‘desire lines’ as a means of overcoming or re-imagining defensive space. We use Deleuze and Guattari’s theory of desire as productive force, combined with De Certeau’s notion of ‘walking the city’, to explore how individuals and social movements might practically, and in a metaphorical sense, create new collective paths, creating ‘desire lines’ of resistance and change within what is often an incr...

Defending Suburbia: Exploring the Use of Defensive Urban Design Outside of the City Centre

Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 2019

Defensive urban design, also known as hostile, unpleasant, or exclusionary architecture is an intentional design strategy that uses elements of the built environment to guide or restrict behaviour in urban space as a form of crime prevention, protection of property, or order maintenance. It often targets people who use or rely on public space more than others, like people who are homeless and youth, by restricting the behaviours they engage in. From benches specially designed to prevent lying down to the addition of elements that are meant to deter skateboarding, forms of defensive design vary according to the behaviour it is intended to restrict. While much of the current research on the subject privileges the urban centre as the site of research, this paper expands the focus from the centre to the periphery. Taking two public spaces in Toronto’s inner suburb of North York as a starting point, this paper examines how defensive urban design is used regulate, control, and maintain public space outside of the city centre.