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InterculturalPlacemaking

AnAmericanAcademicPerspec4ve

DeanSai8a,DepartmentofAnthropology,

UniversityofDenver,USA

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Theutopianimpulseattheheart

ofsomanyexperimentsincity-

buildinghasalwaysproved

disappoin;ng,ifnotdownright

disastrous,intheactualfleshand

stoneButtheutopianimpulse

is,andwillhopefullyremain,an

irrepressiblepartofthehuman

spiritIamdreamingcosmopolis,myutopia,a

construc7onsiteofthemind,a

city/regioninwhichthereis

genuineacceptanceof,

connec7onwith,andrespectfor

theculturalOther,andthepossibilityofworkingtogetheron

maAersofcommondes;ny,the

possibilityofatogethernessin

difference.

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Iproposeasimplecontrastbetweendiversity

anddifferenceinordertohighlighttwo

fundamentallydis4nc4vewaysofdealingwith,

andiden4fying,culturalvaria4on.thereis

considerablesupportfordiversityinthepublicsphere,whiledifferenceisincreasinglyseenasa

maincauseofsocialproblemsassociatedwith

immigrantsandtheirdescendants.

Diversityshouldbetakentomeanlargely

aesthe:c,poli:callyandmorallyneutral

expressionsofculturaldifference.Difference,by

contrast,referstomorallyobjec:onableorat

leastques:onableno:onsandprac:cesina

minoritygrouporcategory

Interes4ngly,poli4ciansandotherpublicfigures

oEenpraisetheimmigrantsforenrichingthena4onalculture.Atthesame4me,theymay

worryaboutimpedimentstona4onalcohesion.

Thisseemingcontradic4onindicatesthatcultural

differenceisnotjustonething.Broadlyspeaking,

wemaystatethatdiversityisseenasagood

thing,whiledifferenceisnot.

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1. Towhatextentshouldbuildingsandurbanspacesbedesignedto

begeneric,orspecifictopar4cularusersandtheircultural

predilec4ons?

2. Howshouldnewpublic,commercialandresiden4albuildingsandpublicspacestakeaccountofdifferentlifestylesandcultural

prac4ces?

3. Towhatextentcan/shouldurbandesigna8empttoinfluenceinterculturalengagement?

. Howcanweprepareaspiringurbandesignersandotherplace-makingprofessionalstofunc4oninaninterculturalworld?

PhilsQues4ons

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[Rem]Koolhaasbelieves

thegenericcityisalso

thefreest.Liberated

fromthecodesandrules

oftheoldcitycenter,its

afreezone,asafehaven

forthemigrantworkers

whomakeup(in

Amsterdamscase)0

percentofthecitys

popula4on.Genericplug-

in[developments]are

theproductofasimple

equa4onbetween

developersandcity

governments.

1.Towhatextentshouldbuildingsandurbanspacesbedesignedtobegeneric,orspecifictopar:cularusersandtheircultural

predilec:ons?

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Codesarenecessary

Designersshouldnotresistthis.

Theyshouldprefertoworkwithinknownrulesandforthe

commongoodratherthanbe

subjecttothewhimsyof

individualboards,poli;cians,

naysayers,andbureaucrats

Codescanassureaminimumlevelofcompetence,evenifin

sodoingtheymustconstrain

certainpossibili;esUnguided

townsandci;estendnotto

vitalitybuttosocioeconomic

monoculturesCodescansecurediversitywithoutwhich

goodurbanismwithersand

dies.

AndresDuany,

Co-FounderofAmerican

NewUrbanism

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Par;cipatoryprocessesmustbe[Inter-]culturallycompetent:processesmustengagegroupsinways[loca4on,venue,

format,etc.]thatgroupsthemselvesfindusefuland

appropriate,consistentwiththeirownculturalbackground

andexpecta;ons[andiden44es].

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2.Howshouldnewpublic,commercialandresiden:albuildings

andpublicspacestakeaccountofdifferentlifestylesand

culturalprac:ces?

BrandXUrbanisms

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UrbanBrandingBilbaotoBeijing

Displacement?

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Successfulexamplesofurbandesign,suchas17thcentury

msterdam,GeorgianEdinburgh

andLondon,and19thcenturyParis

arecharacterizedbythequalityof

streetsandsquaresandcanals

andtheorderlybeautyofeverydaybuildings.Therealchallengefor

ci;estodayisnottocreatemore

icons,butrathertocreatemoresuch

seAngs.Thecurrenteconomic

recessionmayaidinthis,since

fundingforlargeprojectshasdriedupandeconomiccondi;onsfavor

modestini;a;vesrepairing,

rehabilita;ng,andreusingbuildings

ratherthantearingthemdownand

star;ngover.

UrbanPlacemaking

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TheCongressfortheNewUrbanismviews

disinvestmentincentralci4es,thespreadof

placelesssprawl,increasingsepara4onbyraceandincome,environmentaldeteriora4on,loss

ofagriculturallandsandwilderness,andthe

erosionofsocietysbuiltheritageasone

interrelatedcommunity-buildingchallenge.

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The21stcenturymul;culturalprojectis,Iwouldargue,

preciselythat:acentury-longproject,along-term

processofbuildingnewcommuni;esandofac;vely

construc;ngnewwaysoflivingtogether,newformsofsocialandspa7albelonging,duringwhichfearsand

anxie;escannotbedismissedbutneedtobeworked

through.