Ecological Urbanism in the Context of Barcelona
I think that the “Ecological Urbanism” piece by Mohsen Mostafavi touches on interesting topics in discussing the future of ecological development and urbanization. Ecological changes are drastically occurring and the world’s population is rising, forcing people to flood from rural to urban locations. A lot of these urban spaces are outdated and not supported by current global conditions and technological advances in regards to sustainability. To elaborate, people are residing in cities that are designed poorly and outdated with current understandings of the world. How does this apply and what does it mean for our future as designers and planners? “Ecological urbanism can be seen as a means of providing a set of sensibilities and practices that can help enhance our approaches to urban development” (Mostafavi). I believe Barcelona is an example of a city that has approached ecological urbanism in a progressive manner. Barcelona was at one time a city that was densely constructed, unsustainable, and unhealthy with one of the lowest life expectancies in urbanized cities. Drastic change had to occur as the city progressed. The expansion of city blocks to allow for urban renewal projects that greenscaped the city fabric was an integral process of this ecological reurbanization. La Ramblas is a perfect example of this ideology. Superblocks are also something that has occurred within Barcelona, although it is under heavy politicization with the current state of Catalonia. I think Barcelona and the ideals they’ve presented could represent a framework in revitalizing cities under the scope of sustainability, although skepticism and political charge exists.
I agree with you. It is a city with regenerative design approaches that can be used as a model in other places. However, what about creating something that is purely American, is that possible at all, or should we keep borrowing urban design models to enhance Americn public realms? Just curious
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