Conversation

Interesting observations, and

Peter Harkness — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:58:40 +0000

Interesting observations, and in general I agree. However, I would add that another powerful part of this film is the dystopian idea that in a "dis-aggregated" world of suburban limbo, violent death is inevitable, and often emerges out of sheer boredom. One woman claims she fled the city to escape violence, but we are shown clearly how the only way for the young boy and his comrades to feel something in the anesthetized landscape of suburban sprawl is to commit increasingly dangerous, violent acts. Climbing a cell phone tower to spy on neighbors, war games, execution as a form of entertainment, and finally the killing the young boy's sister with "dad's gun". This is the same thesis running underneath Richard Linklater's film "Slacker". The pervasive fear of violent death that emerges from false community. I love this movie. It's a mockumentary version of the fictional TV show "Durham County". A clever work of speculative fiction that is undeniably true enough to stimulate real shivers.

Hello

Ranjita — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:12:48 +0000

Hello
Thank you Mathieu.. I find myself lucky to come across your articles recently when i really needed knowledge about theory of emerging cities..
Its my master's project and I was going through few references when I came across this particularly..
My topic is "Application of genetic algorithm in emergence of cities"
In above article, you have mentioned about cellular automata.. Can you elaborate it a little??
I would also like to know more about emergence of cities and how one can exactly apply GA to that..
I would also like to ask you few queries regarding my project.
Can I contact you on your Email Id.. Please share it if possible..
I will be grateful to receive your reply..
Thank you..

Haven't read it, but it's

Mathieu Helie — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:10:00 +0000

Haven't read it, but it's going on my list.

I've been keeping your blog

Marco Crosa — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 10:54:24 +0000

I've been keeping your blog as a personal reference in the last two years and I'd like to congratulate and to thank you. It seems we have close interests... I was wondering if you know "The Self-Organizing Universe" by Eric Jantsch. I was able to find just a pdf version of it 'cause it is a really expensive book. Thanks again, I will go through your posts again.

I don't see such a need. We

Mathieu Helie — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 02:48:00 +0000

I don't see such a need. We need only observe ourselves to arrive at this conclusion. We are not studying animals, but our experience of space.

Citations are not necessary,

Mathieu Helie — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 02:45:00 +0000

Citations are not necessary, if in fact we can construct a model that is emergent and reproduces the behavior we observe in history, then it becomes almost inevitable that this will happen somewhere.

Of course, in the complexity of the world, we can never know with certainty the cause of any particular phenomenon. An emergent model does not provide certainty, but it provides an explanation. What to do with this explanation is another matter entirely.

Vivid and well written text,

Frederico Flosculo Barreto — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 10:03:30 +0000

Vivid and well written text, Mathieu. I am writing from a city which should be appointed as a "huge non-place treasure", Brasília. But it is not so easy: the city works, in a way. Your approach to urban design (as a "carver" ou a "reformer") must be based in (very) clear and strong assumptions about social behavior. You not assert those foundations and it would clarify those big problems with the "non-place" concept - as a starting poit to any sound design. Non-place emerges as an undeniable construct since Marc Augé coined it. There is something authoritarian in the way that theoretical construct denounces authority and its maladies. Environment-behavior studies should be called to make non-place discussions more substantive and refutable. Do you agree?

I appreciate the content on

Chad Frederick — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 20:03:39 +0000

I appreciate the content on complexity, but I think many of the initial presumptions are unfounded, assumed, or contended. For example, when shall we assume that cities became "a normal, ordinary aspect of civilized living"? If it was say, after the Roman Empire, we can point to Roman forts as the core grid upon which many cities sprang. If we say before the Roman Empire, we would need some substantial evidence that suggests early monarchs did not employ the equivalent of architects or urban planners, in some respects. However, the example provided by many large scale ruins provides evidence to the contrary.

Also, to say that cities emerge "spontaneously and without conscious effort" ignores the plain fact that many cities emerge at the crossroads of trade, or for defensive purposes, or both. Geography plays a large role in that, and someone decides that the geography is suitable for some purpose. However, even if there was no role for agency in the placement of cities, to go from that to "the efficacy of urban design in doubt" contains a serious is/ought problem. If this is true, you have not made a convincing argument to that effect.

Hayek's claim that "spontaneous order arises when multiple actors spontaneously adopt a set of actions that provides them with a competitive advantage" is dubious. Is 'competitive advantage' a necessary condition? Do not some endeavors fail despite competitive advantage, and vice-versa? Do we not do things expediently for immediate concerns, only to find a resilient structure emerged? Do the actions have to be coordinated, or can they merely be complimentary?

Finally, the notion that the "scientific suggestions of Jacobs have been ignored" itself seems to ignore the universe in which urban planning takes place, rife with competing interests, values, powers, and resources. Is it possible that planners have tried to take Jacobs' advice, only to be thwarted by powerful and monied interests?

In short, I am not convinced urban development was necessarily spontaneous before modernism, nor do I think urban panning has had a threshold effect on the development of modern cities, for better or for worse.

I am open to all of these assertions, I just think some cited evidence is in order.

we might say that a sense of

Dom — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 08:15:25 +0000

we might say that a sense of place comes from connection, finding something to identify in.
Traces of life and dynamic use are the most obvious results of the time equation - wear patterns, repairs, repainting.
The idea of a sense of place relies heavily on the subjective experience of each participant in a space.

I find the article very

Linda faye — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 19:58:12 +0000

I find the article very inspiring. I specially become fond of this part "The city cannot have a designer. It cannot be built according to a description fine-tuned to perfection. This has become obvious to practically everyone, although urbanism in the english-speaking world is still tied down by the title "urban planner" in the face of all the evidence that planning makes no difference whatsoever. Still the practice of large scale zoning and site planning continues"...sounds very intriguing to me. More power to you