Miquel Lacasta Contrasts Urbanism of Uses with Infrastructure-Driven Urbanism
In a recent essay about Verdes, architect Miquel Lacasta examines various urban planning models: 'urbanismo de tejidos' (fabric urbanism), 'urbanismo de tubos' (tube urbanism), and 'urbanismo de usos' (urbanism of uses). He contends that the fabric urbanism approach, prevalent since the 1970s, fails to tackle the complexities of urban life effectively. Tube urbanism, associated with smart cities, emphasizes infrastructure and return on investment, often at the expense of public welfare and monopolizing digital resources. Lacasta criticizes ineffective innovations such as sensor-equipped trash bins. He promotes urbanism of uses, which prioritizes citizen behavior, arguing that programmatic planning has become outdated due to societal shifts since the 1960s. He advocates for a sociology-based, open-source methodology that views infrastructure as data, referencing William J. Mitchell's 'City of Bits.'
Key facts
- Miquel Lacasta published an essay on Verdes titled 'Urbanismo de Usos, Urbanismo de Tubos'.
- The essay critiques three urban planning paradigms: fabric, tube, and use-based urbanism.
- Fabric urbanism has dominated since the 1970s and focuses on morphology and naming spaces.
- Lacasta compares naming a street 'civic axis' to expecting a motorcycle to work by name alone.
- Tube urbanism is linked to smart cities and financial capital, prioritizing infrastructure and ROI.
- Lacasta criticizes private control of critical infrastructure and cites 5G as more efficient than fiber.
- Urbanism of uses focuses on citizen behavior rather than land-use programs.
- Social changes since the 1960s, like single-person households, have made programmatic planning obsolete.
- Lacasta advocates for an open-source, sociology-driven approach that is inclusive and reversible.
- The essay references William J. Mitchell's 'City of Bits' and includes an image of Berlin's drainage pipes.
Entities
Artists
- Miquel Lacasta
Institutions
- Verdes
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
Sources
- Veredes —