Chapter 5 - Latent City

The discussion on adaptability and latency in this thesis has established that when it comes to creating adaptable cities, it is the planning infrastructure system that has the most impact to create adaptable potential. An urban planning framework can determine if an urban area stays stagnant or undergoes major changes. Ultimately it is through creating an urban framework that we can consider creating adaptable elements of the city, like architecture.

Through reconsidering the planning of the Port Lands, we can imagine an adaptable and therefore ecologically resilient vision for the area. This urban framework envisioned is titled Latent City. The name is informed by the framework concepts which create a city form that has latent adaptability built into its systems.

The urban form shown in this chapter describes an initial ecologically resilient starting point imagined for the Port Lands, where a dynamic urban system can change and adapt over time. The design is informed by the ecologically resilient urban concepts that were established in Chapter 3 through exploring Tokyo’s planning system as well as the writings of Jane Jacobs (with Saunders’ alterations) and David Sim.

To effectively establish a changing urban system, a framework of zoning-style rules is imagined. These rules act to guide the initial design form, and future changes that happen to the city, both in the interest of maintaining a continuing adaptable character.