Позитивные изменения. Города будущего. Тематический выпуск, 2022 / Positive changes. The cities of the future. Special issue, 2022

The spatial arrangement in Utopia is in many ways similar to the concepts of the "ideal city" that were prevalent during the Renaissance. The general principles of these projects were: clear geometric forms, symmetry and centricity, defensive buildings on the edges and public spaces in the center (Romanova, 2015). It is noteworthy that the projects of the "ideal city" were literally utopian – that is, they were abstractly spaced and were common in design, i.e. with no regard to the geographical features of the territory.

THE CITY OF THE BOURGEOISIE: WHAT DOES IT WANT TO BE?

The medieval city ends with the advent of a new social class, the bourgeoisie. They are no longer peasants who farm the land and belong to the landlord, nor craftsmen who are enslaved through the shop and corporate system.

In particular, it was the urban bourgeoisie who participated in the events of the Great French Revolution: the city dwellers opposed the feudal privileges of the aristocracy and advocated the freedom of private property (Hobsbawm, 1999). A French politician known as Abbot Sieyes, a contemporary of the events, formulated the postulates of the third estate (all citizens except the clergy and nobility) as follows: "What is the third estate? – Everything. What has it been so far politically? – Nothing. What does it want to be? – Something." (Sieyes, 2003). After the revolution, the city became "something": the revolutionaries wanted to reflect the new values in the architecture as much as possible, the city dwellers developed a new approach: the palaces of the nobility were turned into public and trade spaces. The French Revolution gave birth to the city of the future: ideal cities were no longer abstract, but became subject to rational design (Romanova, 2015).

Thomas More’s Utopia used Plato’s ideas. The book is known for then-sensational proposal of abolishing private property and achieving complete uniformity.

More laid the foundations of utopia – a separate genre at the nexus of fiction and journalism. In the 19th century, Enlightenment ideas produced a new class of writers, i.e. utopian socialists, who focused separately on the city and how people’s coexistence could serve the purpose of moral development.

The Industrial Revolution revealed iron as a new construction material: it was used to build exhibition halls, train stations and pavilions, or, in other words, – public spaces (Benjamin, 1996). Covered shopping streets – passages – became a feature of Napoleonic-era Paris. It was in the passages that Charles Fourier saw the Phalanst?re. The idea was to create a self-sufficient commune of about a thousand and a half people who would live in one phalanx house. Residential blocks are connected to the central multipurpose block by means of covered passage galleries, and the zoning is vertical: the underground level is allotted for utility rooms, and the upper levels – for living.

A series of revolutions and counterrevolutions drastically changed the face of the city. For example, as an act of counterrevolution during the restoration of the monarchy, one of the most famous urban redevelopments, the so-called Ottomanization of Paris, was performed. The mayor, Baron Osman, carved wide boulevards in order, among other things, to prevent the erection of barricades. Thus, narrow and unroadworthy medieval streets turned into a pedestrian area where one can enjoy contemplating the city and its social life. Depicted in the work of artists, the reconstruction strongly influenced the image of the ideal city, and pedestrian areas became a must in modern urban planning.

It was about the new, urban, class that the first research works on the city were written. G. Simmel's famous essay (2002) sees the city as a phenomenon of modernity, as the cause of the soaring individualization and dissociation of the inhabitants. In many ways, this critical work remains relevant to the present day, and is taken into account in designs of the city of the future. F. T?nnies (2002) linked the worldview of the urban class to the emergence of society as contrasted with the collectivity inherent in the village. It is worth noting that the division between the city and the village began in the early Middle Ages and led to social distinctions that only met with criticism in the late 19th century. This criticism is embodied in E. Howard’s Garden City project, which removes the division between the city and the village.

Howard’s idea was to unite suburban gardens and the city into one space without slums (Beevers, 1988). In particular, his ideas included still relevant remarks, that workplaces should be on the outskirts and public spaces in the center (Ibid.). This will reduce shuttle migration and prevent the creation of commuter towns, that is, the infrastructure addresses social challenges. These ideas will be reflected in the concept of the 15-minute city of the 21st century, which is used in the development of master plans for cities in Austria and France.

Next to Howard’s Garden City is Le Corbusier’s Ville Radieuse. Ville Radieuse consists of high-rise buildings with green areas, with high population density and compact buildings. Standard houses repeating the monotonous elements of accommodation units were to state the concept of social equality (Khasieva, 2022).

THE POSTMODERN CITY: AGAINST THE DECORATIONS OF THE MARKET

After the end of World War II, policy in general and urban planning in particular had one main goal – not to go back to the pre-war state of crisis. To build a postwar (and postmodern) society, it was necessary to rebuild cities, for which the projects of Le Corbusier and Ebenezer Howard[8 - Harvey, D. (2022). The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change. Retrieved from: https://iq.hse.ru/ news/454730955.html. (accessed 31.10.2022).] were used.

However, at the same time, development projects began to unify and depersonalize the space: cities were built according to the same designs, with a division into functional zones and reducing the citizen to an economic function. Guy Debord (2000) wrote that the postwar arrangement of territory was "capitalism’s appropriation of the human and natural environment" and sought to "reconstruct the totality of space as its own decoration." Trends in modern cities are described as the creation of "increasingly enclosed and isolated urban spatial structures, the predominance of defensive architectural forms in the core of the urban environment." (Cooke, 2002).

G. Simmel’s essay "The Metropolis and Mental Life" sees the city as the cause of the soaring individualization and dissociation of the inhabitants. This critical work is taken into account in designs of the city of the future.

The postmodern concept moves away from the totality of large-scale and technologically rational urban planning. It refers to local identities and local stories to create specialized and customized spaces. Postmodern architects abandon the monofunctional zoning of space, when city blocks perform a certain function within some larger social project[9 - Harvey, D. (2022). The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change. Retrieved from: https://iq.hse.ru/ news/454730955.html. (accessed 31.10.2022).]. In their view, no space may be simply a function of social mandate, because space is valuable in itself and is never empty: it has its own inhabitants, nature and ecosystems, architectural structures.

Lеon Krier presented an example of postmodern urban design in Poundbury, Britain. To avoid functional and social differentiation, the project doesn’t have functional zoning, the urban environment is a combination of social, trade and office spaces. At the same time, following the principle that no city may have a universal identity, this city uses the traditional British image – historicity is reflected in the building materials, the management system and the absence of advertising. The distinctive principles of "Poundburyism" were the interfusion of area functions, the 10-minute accessibility of places of work and service, and the social amalgamation of residents[10 - Lozhkin, А. (2013). Searching for the future in the past. Essays on Urban Environment. Retrieved from: https://archi.ru/russia/46873/ocherk-6-poiski-buduschego-v-proshlom. (accessed 31.10.2022).].

THE IMAGE OF THE CITY OF THE FUTURE AS A PHYSICAL SPACE

Cities of the future may be conceptualized in at least two paradigms: as infrastructure projects and as social projects.

With increasing importance and density, cities are facing problems: overcrowding, low transport accessibility, environmental issues, ghettoization and social exclusion.

The first paradigm refers to new forms of the city, new location environments – for example, underground or in the water, as well as the economic and ecological functions of the city, such as sustainable development (Romanova, 2014). The cities of the future are intended to solve these problems by redesigning the physical space of the city (Kisheyeva, 2017). Modern concepts are developing in three main directions: technological (search for new urban forms), informational (creation of information systems for citizens), environmental (reduction of the negative effect on the habitat).

THE IMAGE OF THE CITY OF THE FUTURE AS A UTOPIA

When talking about the concepts of the city of the future of past centuries, the biggest mistake one can make is to try to seek there the answers to the current questions and challenges. The historical insight into the understanding of the city of the different ages is intended to show that not only have the problems and the image of the city changed, the very framework of how one can make sense of the city has changed as well.

The second paradigm perceives the city as the basis for new social relations, as a certain social and political utopia. Thinking on the city of the future is utopian for the most part in the first place. A review of the literature shows that the very formulation of the question of the city of the future is a relatively young phenomenon – the expression "city of the future" dates back to the 19th century, when the city was moved from an undefined space to an undefined future time.

The modern city of the future must have regard to the territory and the specific interests of the parties involved. Concepts of cities of the future rely on local identities and create opportunities for different life scenarios for their dwellers without the imposition of utopian social projects from above. The community of citizens is not just another type of building material, but a subject and addressee of the urban concept, whose notions are taken into account in the design. The city of the future now is a set of design principles rather than the actual project content.

REFERENCES

1. Beevers, R. (1988). The garden city utopia: A critical biography of Ebenezer Howard. Springer.

2. Benjamin, W. (1996). Paris, Capital of the 19th Century / Benjamin W. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, 48–60.

3. Gurevich, A. (2005). Individual and Society in the Medieval West. M.: The Russian Political Encyclopedia (ROSSPEN).

4. Debord, G. (2000). The Society of the Spectacle. M.: Logos Publishing House.

5. Simmel, G. (2002). The Metropolis and Mental Life. Logos, 3(34), 1-12.

6. Kamalova, K. V. (2021). Vertical City. Retrospective and modern stage of development of the multilevel structure of urban space. Academia. Architecture and Construction, (1), 102–109.

7. Kisheyeva, A. I. (2017). Concepts of "Cities of the Future" as a way to address the issues of urbanized cities. New Ideas of the New Century: Materials of the International Scientific Conference of the Department of Architecture and Design, Pacific National University (pp. 121–127). Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education Pacific National University.

8. Cooke, Ph. (2002). Modernity, Postmodernity and the City. Logos, (3–4), 34.

9. Polyakov, E. & Kryukova Yu. (2015). The concept of the "ideal" city-state in the works of Plato (427–347 B. C.). Bulletin of the Tomsk State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, (3 (50)), 9-23.

10. Romanova, А. Yu. (2015). Transformation of the concept: from the "ideal city" to the "city of the future." Architecture and Modern Information Technologies, (1 (30)), 19.

11. Romanova, А. Yu. (2014). New directions in the conceptual design of "cities of the future" in the 21st century. Architecture and Modern Information Technologies, (4 (29)), 14.

12. Svanidze, A. A. (1999). The city in the medieval civilization of Western Europe. Vol. 1. The phenomenon of medieval urbanism. M.: Nauka.

13. Siey?s, E.-J. (2003). What is the third estate? / Abbe Siey?s: From Bourbons to Bonaparte. (Composition, transl., introductory article) М. B. Pevzner. St. Petersburg: Aletheia.

14. T?nnies, F. (2002). Community and Society. St. Petersburg: Vladimir Dal.

15. Tilly, Ch. (2009). Coercion, Capital, and European States. 990-1992. М.: Territory of the Future Publishing House.

16. Khasieva, M. (2022). Sociocultural problems of polycentric urban development in the context of urbanization. Philosophy and Culture, (3), 1–8.

17. Hobsbawm, E. (1999). The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848. M.: Phoenix.

Старые новые вызовы городов будущего. Тренды, риски и возможности современной урбанизации

Цифровые горожане, искусственный интеллект, локальная повестка, девелоперы нового формата, осуществляющие инвестиции в социальный и природный капиталы – все это характеристики городов будущего. Урбанист Петр Иванов рассуждает, почему иногда нужно обратиться в прошлое, чтобы узнать будущее и какие перемены ждут городскую среду.

Петр Иванов

Урбанист, социолог, партнер лаборатории «Гражданская инженерия» (Красноярск, профессор Свободного университета

НЕ КОВИДОМ ЕДИНЫМ

Еще недавно все обсуждали COVID-19 и то, как он изменит города. Казалось, что главным вызовом городов будущего должно стать общественное здоровье. Пандемия коронавируса вскрыла критическую уязвимость наших принципов организации среды. Но по факту, ответы на это открытие уже давно были готовы и уже давно продвигались консалтинговыми компаниями и городскими активистами (Chemberlain, 2022). Малоэтажная многофункциональная застройка, развитие велотранспортной инфраструктуры, стимулирование пешеходного движения. Пожалуй, только общественный транспорт слегка потерял очков перед лицом пандемии. Тем не менее революции мышления не произошло, драма оказалась пережита на уже сформированном движении мысли.

Новый вызов городов будущего кроется в прошлом. Нечто похожее, что мы наблюдаем в городах сейчас, уже происходило. Речь идет об организации сообществ.