From ¨Reconsidering the city since 9/11¨

An artistic representation of the towers. Google images

We all remember that day: How we first heard, whom we were with, how we felt as we watched an iconic American cityscape transformed into a burning, toxic wreckage, knowing that thousands were surely dead, many never to be found. We can all too easily recall how our disbelief quickly turned to horror, sadness and then fear – a fear that the world was now a fundamentally different place, and what that would mean for ourselves and our children.

In many ways our fears were borne out. The world is a very different place than it was on the morning of September 11th, 2001, wrought as it has been by a series of wars and the apparent growth in irrational fears of immigrants and associated political extremism. And our lives are certainly more scrutinized, particularly in urban areas where sophisticated cameras and sensing technology can follow our moves and transactions with unnerving accuracy. In additoin, with the costs of the "war on terror" now estimated to exceed $5 trillion, we must reflect on the "opportunity costs" that this figure represents: investments that could have been made into America's infrastructure, renewable energy and other urban amenities that instead went into the interminable and controversial wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Indeed, the U.S. Conference of Mayors issued a statement at their June meeting called on President Obama to bring these wars to an early end and redirect dollars to urban needs and to building a new, sustainable economy. (...)From the perspective of 2011, however, it is fascinating to see how the urban fears of 2001 have, by and large, not been realized. Increasingly tall skycrapers have been built – including the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which exceeds 160 storeys, while an even taller structure, the 1 kilometre tall Kingdom Tower, is being planned for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In his recent book, The Triumph of the City, author Edward Glaeser trumpeted the powerful role of the skyscraper in contributing to urban sustainability and vitality. Far from dissipating their functions to the suburbs, cities have continued to attract residents: indeed, in 2009 Planetizen cited the “Return to the City” as one of the top planning trends of the previous year, as young professionals are seeking to work and live near the centre to be a part of the “creative economy” and as a means to avoid high travel costs. And of course, the “Ground Zero” site itself continues to be rebuilt, with One World Trade Center – which will be the tallest building in the United States – slated for completion in 2013.

Read this article by Michael Dudley in full:

http://www.planetizen.com/node/51233

Two pictures to remember 9/11

Pictures by Eric O´Connell, courtesy HBO. From

 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/arts/television/911s-pain-through-the-prism-of-tv.html

The city as ¨simulacrum¨

Hollywood Blvd., many years ago. From topbesttraveldestinations.com

¨in the German version of his Hollywood book, Shadows in Paradise, Erich Maria Remarque perfectly anticipated Eco and Baudrillard´s idea of the city as ¨simulacrum¨:

Real and false were fused here so perfectly that they became a new substance, just as copper and zinc become brass that looks like gold. It meant nothing that Hollywood was filled with great musicians, poets and philosophers. It was also filled with spiritualists, religious nuts and swindlers. It devoured everyone, and whoever was unable to save himself in time, would lose his identity, whether he thought so himself or not¨. 

Quoted by Mike Davis in City of Quartz, page 50, New York, 1992.

Las villas miseria en Buenos Aires siguen creciendo sin control

Científicos de Ciencias Exactas trabajando en la Villa 31. Foto CEPRO/EXACTAS

Leía ayer en el diario La Nación que el 92% de las casas de la Villa 31 en Buenos Aires, han tenido ratas, enormes. Lo que ha afectado a los niños con parasitosis. Interesante es el comentario de un lector que dice que si las ambulancias y la policía no entran a las villas, menos los servicios de sanidad; aunque los doctores del Centro de Salud de la comunidad, están haciendo lo posible por ayudar.

El tema de las ratas me recuerda a la peste de Los Angeles y la de Buenos Aires, una endilgada a los inmigrantes mexicanos, la otra a los italianos; esta vez, se culpa a la gente, con lo cual el tema pasa a ser de sanitario a social.

Sin embargo, hoy leía otra nota en la sección Editorial, que me hace pensar, que la población de ratas aumenta porque las villas también aumentan en dimensión, y ya dejando de lado los orígenes del problema: construcción, sanidad, basura. Otro lector, para la nota que reproduzco a continuación, comenta que vive en Maquinista Savio, un barrio de quintas de la localidad de Escobar, frente a un terraplén de vías ferroviarias, ramal Capilla del Señor; dice que hace un año ya se ha instalado un asentamiento al otro lado del mismo, sin control alguno y los ocupantes tiran basura por dicho terraplén, generando cascadas de inmundicia que por supuesto afecta a los vecinos que tienen sus casa propias y pagan impuestos.

¿Es posible que no se tomen medidas? Cabe recordar que no todos los habitantes de estas villas son argentinos sino inmigrantes de países limítrofes, y bien conocido es el sistema de ¨camas calientes¨, donde se alquilan habitaciones aunque sea por noche: 

Un negocio en la Villa. Foto Marcelo Gómez

Instalando trampas de ratas. Foto CEPRO/EXACTAS

¨Los datos definitivos del censo 2010 (que abarcan el período 2001-2010) han permitido no sólo determinar que la población de la Argentina creció un 10,7 por ciento desde 2001, sino también aportar información mucho menos auspiciosa, como que la población en las villas porteñas creció más del 50 por ciento.

Es decir que ninguna de las medidas adoptadas desde 2001 -como el plan de urbanización de algunas de ellas, que llevó adelante el gobierno de la ciudad- ha servido para poner fin al avance de los asentamientos precarios, lo cual es un claro síntoma de que, a pesar de la declamada bonanza económica, la pobreza y la indigencia no se reducen, como ya lo vienen demostrando sucesivos estudios encarados por organizaciones privadas.

Actualmente viven en villas o asentamientos en la ciudad 163.587 personas (en 2001 vivían 53.000); la villa que más creció fue la de Rodrigo Bueno, de Costanera Sur, que quintuplicó su población, mientras que la más numerosa es la 21-24, de Barracas, con casi 30.000 ocupantes. Si se piensa que estos datos son los registrados en octubre de 2010, es probable que hayan sufrido incluso un ligero aumento, con todas las consecuencias ambientales, sanitarias y de infraestructura que se pueden extraer de este hecho. Por ejemplo, ayer, este diario informaba que en la villa 31, de Retiro, un relevamiento hecho por estudiantes de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales de la UBA reveló que el 92% de sus habitantes tuvo roedores en su casa.

Efectivamente, en contraste con el hecho de que casi una cuarta parte de 1.425.840 viviendas porteñas aparecen como deshabitadas (por distintas razones), la presencia en los barrios necesitados alcanza un grado tal de crecimiento poblacional que algunos especialistas hablan ya de una "conurbanización porteña", porque muchos de esos asentamientos son linderos con los partidos del Gran Buenos Aires.

También es preocupante, de acuerdo con estos datos, el hacinamiento en el que viven sus habitantes: en promedio, hay 4,1 personas por hogar, pero en algunos llega a 7,3 por vivienda. A ello hay que agregar, por supuesto, las dificultades para acceder al agua potable y a la red cloacal pública. Según el relevamiento de la Dirección General de Estadísticas y Censos (Dgeyc) porteña, las comunas 4 (Boca, Barracas, Parque Patricios y Nueva Pompeya) y 8 (Lugano, Villa Soldati y Villa Riachuelo) son las que tienen los porcentajes más altos de hogares que no disponen de inodoros con descarga a la red cloacal pública.

Podríamos seguir mencionando datos, todos igualmente preocupantes con respecto a esta lacerante realidad que no deja de conmocionarnos. Porque no se trata sólo de anotar cifras, sino de entender que cada una de ellas implica la falta de calidad de vida de muchos ciudadanos argentinos -y también bastantes extranjeros- que merecen recibir otras oportunidades por la dedicación al trabajo, honradez y ganas de tener una vida diferente de la mayoría de ellos. Pero es cierto, también, que con esta realidad convive otra, la de las minorías delictivas, dedicadas sobre todo a lucrar con el narcotráfico y la explotación de los que consumen.

Como hemos insistido al comienzo, el crecimiento poblacional de las villas y asentamientos precarios es un síntoma agudo de pobreza e indigencia, cuyas raíces las autoridades nacionales, provinciales y municipales no han logrado erradicar, ni han enfrentado con soluciones realistas.

También, de la cada vez más pavorosa falta de vivienda y la carencia de programas estatales que incluyan las necesidades habitacionales de los que, por falta de trabajo en sus lugares de origen, no tienen más remedio que desarraigarse y buscar por sí mismos una salida para ellos y sus familias en la gran ciudad.

Esta realidad contrasta una vez más con las distorsionadas cifras que proporciona el Indec, y que han llevado a la Presidenta a anticiparse a anunciar, el miércoles pasado, que la pobreza ha bajado al 8,3 por ciento de la población en el primer semestre del año, y que la indigencia se ubicó en apenas el 2,4%. Una mentira, a todas luces.

Basura en Maquinista Savio. Foto bajada de http://www.realidadesdeescobar.com.ar/

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1404560-las-villas-miseria-en-crecimiento?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=titulares&utm_campaign=NLOpi

Lea sobre la población enorme de ratas en la Villa 31

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1404276-el-92-tuvo-roedores-en-su-casa?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=titulares&utm_campaign=NLCien

Lea la carta del abogado Juan Leiva denunciando el problema de la basura en Escobar

http://www.escobarnews.com/sociedad/cartas-lectores/2010-escobar-su-basura-y-maquinista-savio-juan-leiva.html

Lea más sobre el asentamiento ilegal de Maquinista Savio

http://www.realidadesdeescobar.com.ar/2011/08/%C2%BFcon-la-anuencia-de-funcionarios-municipales-en-savio-esta-creciendo-otro-asentamiento/

SupraSpace: On the Concept of Space and Place in Art and Visual Culture International Conference

Tel Aviv University, Art History Department, May 16 - 17, 2012

Deadline: Jan 10, 2012

SupraSpace: On the Concept of Space and Place in Art and Visual Culture International Conference

Space has been subject to aesthetic, art-historical, philosophical, anthropological, geographical and political investigations, each with its idiosyncratic definitions. Space maintains a close relation with illusionism, narrativity, and the performative qualities of art. Space is especially interconnected with time, making it impossible to separate one from the other. In the current dynamic reality in which we live, it is hard to remain confined to just one modality of spatial thinking that will capture all of its complexity; yet this problem is

not limited to our contemporary globalized moment, but is also relevant to different historical periods. Consequently, in order to engage effectively with the problem of space, recent studies have demonstrated

multiple methods of conceptualization, while emphasizing the dialectical relations and tensions between them.

Within the realms of art and culture, the discourse on space has often engaged with problems of representation (artistic genres such landscape, narrative space, chronotopos, interior/exterior, etc), or with political issues relating to territorial conflicts and borders. This conference seeks to investigate the dynamic formation, throughout history and art history, of sites, places, and environments, in which interactive relations, identities and signs are ceaselessly rewritten and redefined. These kinds of processes produce spaces that hover between the specific and the generic, the local and the global, the historical and the contemporary, the real and the virtual, along with the symbolized and the abstract. At the same time, these modalities emphasize the fact that any designation of places and sites is inseparable from the different ways in which they are experienced, perceived, imagined, and represented.

We invite papers that consider diverse conceptualization of space and forms of representations, as well as the varied ways in which lived environments trigger different forms of interventions and reconfigurations: legal, political, social, aesthetic and technological.

Abstracts are invited by 10 January 2012 and should be sent to:

supra.tau.conference@gmail.com

All abstracts must be in English and should be limited to 300 words.

Head your abstract with your name, professional affiliation, and the paper’s title. Submit with the abstract a one-page curriculum vitae, home and work addresses, and e-mail address.

Each paper should be limited to a 20 minute presentation, followed by dialogue and questions. All applicants will be notified of the acceptance or rejection of their proposal by 15 February 2012.

Suggested topics for papers (but not limited to):

Space before and after Giotto

Liturgical space

Sacred spaces

Medieval non-space

Perspective/Camera Obscura

Space and (non) rationalism in post-Albertian art theory

Emotional space

Pictorial space and voyeurism

Islamic space and its absence

Place and non-place

Art and culture in public space

Urban Planning and Architectural Space

The absence of place

Spatio-temporal dimensionalities

Memory and monuments

Narrative, meta-narrative and space

De-territorialization and Re-territorialization

Finite – infinite space

Information technology and space

Body and territory

Cosmopolitanism and globalization

Spaces of display

Heterotopia and utopia

WEB PAGE:

http://arthist.net/archive/1791

The Hyperion Factor

Hyperion treatment plant, aerial picture. From http://www.lasewers.org/

This week, I´m reading Crome Yellow, by Aldous Huxley, so I have his writings in my mind. And I suppose it was my perception what made me go back to City of Quartz, a book by sociologist Mike Davis. I still didn´t finish it, and I opened it randomly and found these paragraphs, from page 197, edition New York, 1992:

The sewer. 

Intermediate pump station

Cryogenic air separation facility

Egg shaped digesters

¨As Huxley recalled it, a few months before the outbreak of World War Two he and Thomas Mann were walking along the south shore of Santa Monica Bay, ¨miraculously alone¨and rapt in discussion of Shakespeare, when they suddenly realized that ¨as far as the eye could reach in all directions, the sand was covered with small whitish objects, like dead caterpillars¨. The ¨caterpillars¨ were, in fact, ¨Malthusian flotsam¨- ¨ten million used condoms¨ Huxley estimated -washed back on shore from Los Angeles´s main sewer outfall at Hyperion Beach. Whithout recording his famous companion´s reaction to this bizarre sight, Huxley contrasted the scene on the same beach fifteen years later: ¨the sands are now clean... children dig, well-basted sunbathers slowly brown... etc.¨ This ¨happy consummation¨ had been brought about by one of the marvels of modern technology, the Hyperion Activated Sludge Plant¨. 

In an otherwise ironic essay about hygiene and class distinction, Huxley took for granted that Hyperion really was ¨the triumphant solution¨ to an ancient urban problem. Indeed, other writers have evoked teh ¨euphoric feeling¨ of this Grand Coulée of sewerage plants which transforms the waste of three million people into what has been described as ¨the largest freshwater stream in Southern California¨. 

All pictures from  http://www.lasewers.org/treatment_plants/hyperion/tour/index.htm

Expectations for New York´s cityscape

Hudson Yards project by Kohn Pedersen Fox assoc. Picture by KPF

¨More than a century ago, the author O. Henry said about New York City, “It’ll be a great place if they ever finish it.” The point, of course, is that the city will never be finished: It’s always been driven by the tireless impulse to tear down and build up. Rather than revel in its history like many cities, New York pushes for the new — though a reverence for the mammoth structures of its industrial glory has led to innovative plans for adaptive reuse. As the Bloomberg years wane and the recession grinds on, a number of high-profile projects remain unfinished. Construction spending (including infrastructure) has dropped in the city from a peak of $33 billion in 2008 to a projected $26 billion this year. New building permits are down considerably; the city issued 2,110 in the first half of 2008, compared to 764 in the first half of this year. “Huge question marks remain, especially for publicly funded projects,” warns Richard Anderson, president of the New York Building Congress. Still, grand ambitions persist. From affordable housing and open space — hallmarks of PlaNYC, one of the mayor’s legacies — to cultural facilities and commercial development, the transformation of the cityscape may slow, but it will never stop.¨

REFERENCE

http://archrecord.construction.com/features/2011/New-York/City-Reimagined/

A discussion about the architecture of Romanticism

Frontispiece of Marc-Antoine Laugier. Allegorical engraving of the Vitruvian primitive hut. From http://thearchitectureofearlychildhood.blogspot.com/

I´m reading Crome Yellow, a book by Aldous Huxley, an ironic novel about the pretentious British upper-class trying to forget what happened at the World War I.

In chapter XI, there is a discussion about an ostentatious villa -Crome Yellow-, where the group is reunited. Supposedly, the house was rebuilt with the grandeur of brick technology, pretty far from the Romanticism of SXIX.

From page 59:

¨The great thing about Crome,¨ said Mr. Scogan, seizing the opportunity to speak, ¨is the fact that it´s so unmistakably and aggressively a work of art. It makes no compromise with nature, but affronts it and rebels against it. It has no likeness to Shelley´s tower, in the ¨Epipsychidion,¨which, if I remember rightly-

¨Seems not now a work of human art,

But as it were titanic, in the heart

Of earth having assumed its form and grown

Out of the mountain, from the living stone,

Lifting itself in caverns light and high.¨

No, no; there isn´t any nonsense of that sort about Crome. That the hovels of the peasantry should look as though they had grown out of the earth, to which their inmates are attached, is right, no doubt, and suitable. But the house of an intelligent, civilised, and sophisticated man should never seem to have sprouted from the clods. It should rather be an expression of his grand unnatural remoteness from the cloddish life. Since the days of William Morris that´s a fact which we in England have been unable to comprehend. Civilised and sophisticated men have solemnly played at being peasants. Hence quaintness, arts and crafts, cottage architecture, and all the rest of it. In the suburbs of our cities you may see, reduplicated in endless rows, studiedly quaint imitations and adaptations of the village hovel. Poverty, ignorance, and a limited range of materials produced the hovel, which possesses undoubtedly, in suitable surroundings, its own ¨as it were titanic¨ charm. W now employ our wealth, our technical knowledge, our rich variety of materials for the purpose of building millions of imitation hovels in totally unsuitable surroundings. Could imbecility go further?.¨

Abtei im Eichwald. Oil on canvas by Caspar David Friedrich. Google images 

Painting by Frank Forsgard Manclark, 'The Leith Artist' - Romantic Edinburgh. edinphoto.org.uk