Miquel Lacasta on the Aircraft Carrier Paradox and Urban Transformation

Miquel Lacasta applies the 'aircraft carrier paradox' to urbanism and climate action, arguing that small, sustained course corrections (15-degree turns) are more effective than drastic immediate shifts. He criticizes the demand for instant solutions in times of crisis, using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of a temporary emergency, while emphasizing that the climate and social emergency is far more enduring. Lacasta draws on Hans Hollein's 1964 work 'Aircraft Carrier City in Landscape' from his 'Transformations' series (1963–1968), where Hollein placed monumental industrial objects in sterile landscapes to question architecture's role. Lacasta reinterprets the aircraft carrier as a symbol of the post-industrial city that must now shift from production to coexistence. He advocates for tactical urbanism—low-cost, immediate interventions like expanding pedestrian space and restricting combustion vehicles—that must be followed by systematic, long-term planning to create green infrastructure. Cities like Paris, New York, and Barcelona exemplify this shift. Lacasta references the 'Pentagrowth' concept by Javier Creus and the book 'La Nouvelle Alliance' by Ilya Prigogine and Isabelle Stengers (1986) to support his vision of a new alliance with nature. The ultimate goal is to transform cities into healthy, autonomous, resilient environments through horizontal projects encompassing streets, squares, and rooftops.