Urbanization

Where to Work Urbanization

The City Isn't The Problem, It's The Answer

This idea has to be understood very clearly if the process of deterioration of our planet may be reversed. Cities are attractors of skills and investment at all levels, and this attraction generates urbanization.

By ISMAEL FERNANDEZ MEJIA

The city is the most important and durable invention of humanity. It provides services, social interchange, economies, creativity, culture and development.

INTENSE URBANIZATION

The rate of urbanization is strongly pressuring cities. In 2010, we surpassed 6 billion inhabitants and the 50/50 ratio on urban/rural population. By 2050 there may be some 3.5 billion people in rural areas and 5.5 billion urbanites.

MODERN DEVELOPMENTS

The city is a living entity that is in constant change. It reflects the social structure that inhabits its environment with its own values, norms, rules and behavior. The urban space is a reflection of the urbanite that lives there. The conversion that urban areas experienced in the past century was generated by the rise of the informational society. Following Manuel Castells’ intelligent arguments, these changes are mainly effects of the transformation in the basic economic structure that cities were and are experiencing due to technological advances. It’s clear that changes in the way technology evolves, society behaves, local authorities act and firms do businesses directly affect the urban realm. Authorities or firms initiate change after society demands a such. The service sector’s rapid growth, geographical redistribution of production factors and what is now called the Knowledge Economy have all generated impact in the city’s shape and function.

KEY CITIES OF CHANGE

Several global examples illustrate these possibilities: • Bilbao, Spain is one of the most well known examples of renewal. Beginning in the mid 1980's after a major flood, important transformations were proposed by the authorities with strong support of firms. The iconic Guggenheim Museum was built in the heart of the estuary in one of the most derelict areas of the city. This initial change generated an environment that attracted many firms of the knowledge economy, generating what’s now called the "Guggenheim Effect" in which mainly private firms and corporations, under guidance of a government company called Ria 2000, have participated in the renewal process. • Barcelona is another example. Founded by the Romans it surpassed several changes to its urban structure because of the urbanization process. The most well known is "Eixample" in the mid 19th century, corresponding to the present reticular structure of the city. Another example is the transformation of the old industrial seafront that began in the late 1980's as part of the work required for the 1992 Olympics. This process is a continuous one, still developing today. At the present there is a specific project of urban renovation in the old industrial area called "22@," an initiative of the local authority, with a major participation of the private sector. The aim is to develop an area of growth devoted knowledge economy firms. • One of the interesting cases of new or Greenfield projects is the Hyderabad capital of the state of India’s Andhra Pradesh. In the last 20 years the city has emerged as a major global center for information technology, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries following the examples of Bangalore and Delhi. The development of a Greenfield project with related technological infrastructure called HITEC City prompted global companies to establish their operations. The city is home to more than 1,300 IT firms and houses the Indian headquarters of Microsoft, Google, CA Technologies, Amazon and Facebook. The Microsoft campus in Hyderabad is the largest research and development facility outside the US. CA Technologies' campus is the company’s largest R&D facility. • Cambridge, in the UK, there has been an incredible explosion of technology, life sciences and service companies occurring in the city since 1960. In 1970, Trinity College decided to create the Cambridge Science Park, a Greenfield project designed to house firms and individuals of the knowledge economy. The St. John's Innovation Center followed in 1988 to provide accommodation for small and medium entrepreneurial companies. There are now around 1,000 technology and biotechnology companies in the cluster, 1,400 when service providers and support organizations are included. • The last example is Singapore’s project, one-north, an ongoing 200-hectare business park. Some key projects in one-north include Biopolis, a premier biomedical research hub, and Fusionopolis, a cluster hosting ICT, media, physical sciences and engineering companies. The one-north development was conceptualized in the National Technology Plan 1991, launched officially in 2001 with the goal to create a “global talent hub” and a knowledgebased economy to complement the country’s manufacturing and service economies. Masterplanned by Zaha Hadid and located near educational and research institutes and the Singapore Science Parks, it has easy access to social and recreational facilities. As a “science hub” another aim is to create a socially integrated community where individuals can gather to work, live, , play and learn; it is a project where government and private sectors contribute to provide amenities for residents. It’s clear that within the new economic transformations, the effects in the cities are most important, as they have been since the beginning of time.•

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In the “Camera Obscura” the simple process Abelardo Morell uses--he blacks out all of the windows leaving just a pinhole opening in one of them--produces photographs of astonishing, complex beauty. Due to the nature of refracted light, the world outside his darkened room is projected, upside-down, onto the interior space within which he works, converting the room into the interior of a camera. Morell then photographs the results with a large-format view camera.

01 Camera Obscura. View of Time Square in Hotel Room 2010 02 Camera Obscura: View of Volta del Canal in Palazzo Room painted Jungle Motif, Venice, Italy, 2008 03 Camera Obscura: View of a landscape outside Florence in room with bookcase, Italy 2009

© Abelardo Morell/Courtesy, Bonni Benrubi Gallery, NYC

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