Urban form and the social of space

Abstract

[EN] The essential purpose of any Urban Project is to shape Public Space. Buildings role, no matter their architectural qualities, is to shape that void and give it character. The failure of CIAM´s urbanism was its disregard for public space, merely a left over emptiness between isolated building blocks and highways. A good instrument to understand this fact is the Figure/ Ground plans that show in black and white the basic shape of buildings and voids. In the traditional city, the public spaces have a clear definition, a presence of its own. In a CIAM design, the public realm is shapeless, with no hint about either use or limits. These concepts are broadly accepted today, but two adverse conditions affect entire populations: 1. In poor Countries, there is an urgent need to make slums part of the city structure and services, with little budget left for public space. 2. In Asian Cities, mainly in China, immense areas are demolished overnight; its historic fabric replaced by endless rows of anonymous high rise blocks amid elevated traffic structures, with no place left for pedestrians.