The Open Society in the Twenty-First Century: Comparative Critical Cartographies for Assessing and Designing in ‘t Hool, the Netherlands and Montbau, Spain

IntroductionKarl Popper (1945) appeals to of Athens in the opening pages of The Spell of Plato, Volume I of The Open Society and Its Enemies with the following excerpt:For the Open Society (about 430 B.C.):Although only a few may originate a policy, we are all able to judge it.Immediately as a contrast Popper quotes from Plato of Athens:Against the Open Society (about 80 years later):The greatest principle of all is that nobody, whether male or female, should be without a leader. Nor should the mind of anybody be habituated to letting him do anything at all on his own initiative; neither out of zeal, nor even playfully. But in war as well as in the midst of peace to his leader he shall direct his eye and follow him faithfully. And even in the smallest matter he should stand under leadership. For example, he should get up, or move, or wash, or take his meals . . . only he has been told to do so . . . In a word, he should teach his soul, by long habit, never to dream of acting independently, and in fact, to become utterly incapable of it (p. 3).Popper uses these two r eferences to frame a critical discussion of Plato's historicism. As a critical introduction to political philosophy his aim is to that civilization has not yet fully recovered from the shock of its birth, the transition from the tribal or 'closed society,' with its submission to magical forces, to the 'open society' which sets free the critical powers of man. In the final chapter he continues in this vein: is no return to a har - monious state of nature ... if we wish to remain human, then there is only one way, the way into the open society. We must go on into the unknown, courageously, using what reason we have, to plan for security and freedom.His initial reference is to Pericles' Funeral Oration (after 490 BCE) from Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War. It is a speech by Pericles that provides a eulogy for the pr inciples of Athenia n democracy. The statement of its underlying principles in fact provides a better warrant for the political concept of openness:It is true that we are called a democracy, for the administration in the hands of the many and not of the few. But while there exists equal justice to all and alike in their private disputes, the claim of excellence is also recognized; and when a citizen is in any way distinguished, he is preferred to the public service, not as a matter of privil ege, but as the reward of m erit. Neither is poverty an obstacle, but a man may benefit his country whatever the obscurity of his condition. There is no exclusiveness in our public life, and in our private business we are not suspicious of one another, nor angry with our neighbor he does what he likes; we do not put on sour looks at him which, though harmless, are not pleasant.Our city is thrown open to the world, though and we never expel a foreigner and prevent him from seeing or learning anything of which the secret revealed to an enemy might profit him. We rely not upon management or trickery, but upon our own hearts and hands. And in the matter of education, whereas they from early youth are always undergoing laborious exercises which are to make them brave, we live at ease, and yet are equally ready to face the perils which they face.1In these brief passages Pericles points to the advantages of democracy that thrives on openness and transparency, despite the fact that the words themselves are reported by an anti-democratic Thucydides who while admiring Pericles' leadership criticized the mob rule of democracy (Perry, 2012).George Soros, Popper's student, describes Popper's concept of the open society as an epistemological concept rather than a political one even though in Popper's hands it resembles liberal democracy and becomes a political instrument for societal improvement.Living in the twenty-first century it is necessary to revisit the notion of openness as it has become one of the most used concepts to analyze a welter of problems and situations, often with conflicting meanings. …

April 01 2022 Thresholds Revisited: Disentangling Public Space: Social Media and Internet Activism T.F. Tierney, T.F. Tierney T.F. Tierney is founding director of URL: Urban Research Lab and Emerita Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. She is a 2021 recipient of a Graham Foundation research grant that focuses on critical urbanism and the impact of policy-making on socioeconomic inclusion. Recent publications include “Intelligent Infrastructure: Zipcars, Invisible Networks and Urban Transformation” and “The Public Space of Social Media: Connected Cultures of Network Society,” which was a finalist for the Jane Jacobs Award. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Mariam Elnozahy Mariam Elnozahy Mariam Elnozahy is a curator, writer, and researcher based between Cairo, Egypt and Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she is currently completing her Masters degree in the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has curated exhibitions in Cairo, Jeddah, London, Basel, and Amsterdam. Her project titled “Whose Open Society? Understanding Neoliberalism and the Economics of Artistic Production in the Middle East and former Eastern bloc” was presented at the Kunsthalle Wien, the Warsaw Biennale, UJazdowski, the Matter of Art Biennale, and Tranzit in Prague. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Author and Article Information T.F. Tierney T.F. Tierney is founding director of URL: Urban Research Lab and Emerita Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. She is a 2021 recipient of a Graham Foundation research grant that focuses on critical urbanism and the impact of policy-making on socioeconomic inclusion. Recent publications include “Intelligent Infrastructure: Zipcars, Invisible Networks and Urban Transformation” and “The Public Space of Social Media: Connected Cultures of Network Society,” which was a finalist for the Jane Jacobs Award. Mariam Elnozahy Mariam Elnozahy is a curator, writer, and researcher based between Cairo, Egypt and Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she is currently completing her Masters degree in the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has curated exhibitions in Cairo, Jeddah, London, Basel, and Amsterdam. Her project titled “Whose Open Society? Understanding Neoliberalism and the Economics of Artistic Production in the Middle East and former Eastern bloc” was presented at the Kunsthalle Wien, the Warsaw Biennale, UJazdowski, the Matter of Art Biennale, and Tranzit in Prague. Online Issn: 2572-7338 Print Issn: 1091-711X © 2022 T.F. Tierney and Mariam Elnozahy2022T.F. Tierney and Mariam Elnozahy Thresholds (2022) (50): 67–80. https://doi.org/10.1162/thld_a_00755 Cite Icon Cite Permissions Share Icon Share MailTo Twitter LinkedIn Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Search Site Citation T.F. Tierney, Mariam Elnozahy; Thresholds Revisited: Disentangling Public Space: Social Media and Internet Activism. Thresholds 2022; (50): 67–80. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/thld_a_00755 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsThresholds Search Advanced Search This content is only available as a PDF. © 2022 T.F. Tierney and Mariam Elnozahy2022T.F. Tierney and Mariam Elnozahy Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

While high-speed train systems have accelerated mobility in China during the twenty-first century, the train systems of normal speed have gradually been replaced and abandoned, resulting in a "rust belt" in some Chinese cities. The reuse of abandoned railways provides a way to rebuild urban public transit based on the traditional tracks, and is also a way to transform towards urban regeneration of the surrounding neighborhood. Previous studies discussed the possibilities of three perspectives of reusing the abandoned rails: as a new transportation route, as a place for tourism and commerce and as a green corridor for the public. As a case study, this paper selects Zhangjiakou City, which is the terminal of the first railway routes built by Chinese, and explores methods of transformation from rail to urban rail transit. Under the background of the Beijing Winter Olympics of 2022 being partly held in Zhangjiakou City, the old North station and a 10-km rail between the North and South Station have been abandoned since 2014. This paper suggests conversion of the railway into an urban tram to meet the increasing commuter flow between the old and new city center. Additionally, transformation of the abandoned railway located in the city center will also trigger the urban space regeneration by increasing more urban functions and promoting urban public space. This research might shed light on other cities with similar transforming transportation facilities by analyzing the reuse possibilities of Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway in Zhangjiakou City.

Background WHO pointed out urbanization as one of the main troubles and defiances for public health in the 21st century because of the increasing urban health inequalities. The United Nations SDGs 11 promotes local strategies to create environments that expand the resources of a healthier, sustainable, livable for life. Basically, grassroots innovation practices (GIP) are shown as boosters and leading figures of urban social transformation in Slums. On average, 20% in Medellin live in Slums with poverty conditions extremely high. Methods In 2018, a qualitative case study focused on urban health and salutogenesis was carried out using an interpretative scope by communitarian narrative explanation building analysis. 32 participants, inhabitants and founders of the Slum, mainly adults, were involved in semi-structured Interviews, Photovoice and Mapping of Community Assets. All ethical aspects were conceived to respect the voices on the struggles for being renowned as part of the city. Results El Faro built on a settlement space by its residents through a process which they have called 'dignity and resistance' has transform as a consequence of a set of drivers of four GIP developed around the community. Among them, water management, creation of public space and artistic training. GIP have mobilized community health assets, allowing the development of an important sense of community coherence (SoC-C), with which the community faces their situation of poverty, modifying the conditions that reproduce it and setting up coherent experiences. Conclusions GIP are configured as an alternative response to local needs and structural limitations and confrontations. SOC-C has contributed to generate health and well-being, through a process of empowerment that promotes a critical, reflective and proactive citizenship in front of its environment. New research based on salutogenesis is needed as a spotlight institutional governance strategy to bottom up housing public policies. Key messages SOC-C generates mobilization of own community health assets to face the local situation of poverty in a bottom up process; alluring meaningful processes and raising social cohesion experiences. Social and urban transformation from the community are possible and attributable to a result of grassroots innovation practices.

In the Netherlands urban construction and development has gone through a progressive process starting from the post-War era all the way to the 21st Century. The focuses have taken physical, economic, social and environmental aspects into consideration and Dutch cities witnessed urban policies addressing urban reconstruction, urban renewal, urban revitalization and regeneration. Prominent urban renewal policies including Urban Renewal Funds, ISV along with Big City Policy all indicate the trend of decentralization from the state to local municipalities and a new power structure between participants at the local level. Further as was observed, urban renewal process in the past decade has been facing obstacles.
\nThis dissertation aims at examining local sectors’ roles in the process of urban renewal and urban regeneration in the Netherlands, the trends of reforms and ramifications of their responsibilities, and governance strategies when decentralized administration is becoming the norm under Neo-liberal urban development era. Cases studies from the city of Amsterdam will serve as base stones demonstrating steering of direction of urban construction strategies with emphasis of urban renewal and regeneration, and the shifts of governments’ roles. Apart from that, municipalities’ roles will be examined by their actions along with the policies and the mechanism of cooperation with different social stakes in making projects happen. By understanding the cooperation mechanism and local endeavor indicated by municipalities, semi-public entities and public initiatives, the dissertation will proceed in discussing how different parties contributed in achieving public good in the ending sections.
\nLiterature review will project the development scope of urban renewal strategies in the Netherlands from post-war era till today. By synthesizing documents generalizing development patterns and critics about achievements and insufficiencies of urban renewal projects, it is possible to draw out emphasis and local characteristics of urban renewal strategies in the Netherlands. During the process of policy adjustments, national and local government changed their roles in urban governance in terms of financial supports and supervision. Local governments are key leaders in the administrative and cooperative mechanism. More partnership and cooperation happening in the local level with both public and private sector are the focus to be revealed through cases studies. Finally it comes discussions about achievements and insufficiencies with the Netherlands’ experience with evaluations of achievements in terms of public goods.
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\nAs this is a dissertation in aim at synthesizing policy instruments and in situ local practices, methods and methodologies from both inductive and deductive modes will be applied, covering methods of archival studies, field studies, cases studies, surveys and interviews and methodologies of content analysis, ethnographic methodology and discourse analysis.
\nIn the parts of implication and conclusion, governance structure will be discussed with observation of the new trend after 2000. Roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders will be revealed following with discussions of features of Dutch urban renewal. Achievements of urban renewal policies and projects will be evaluated and recommendations from cases studies will be presented in the last part.

Climate change, drought, floods, and other natural disasters are frequently encountered problems for cities in the 21st century. Today, urban sustainability is an essential resource for achieving sustainable development goals. In this context, many countries worldwide have started taking measures through of urban sustainability indicators to withstand environmental disasters and hazards. From a broad perspective, the vulnerability of cities to disasters has been identified in social, environmental, and economic dimensions, and solutions have been aimed at addressing these issues. In this context, within the scope of the study, urban renewal projects implemented in the Alipaşa-Lalebey Neighborhood, located in the historic Walled City of Diyarbakır, were compared with the old city fabric and evaluated by means of environmental, economic, and social sustainability indicators. Literature review, GIS (Geographic Information System), field study, and in-depth interviews were used as methods in the study. The Conservation Development Plan and Urban Renewal Projects of the old-new settlement pattern were mapped using the ArcMap program and then evaluated within the framework of social, environmental, and economic sustainability indicators. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the new housing texture in the urban renewal project implemented in the Alipaşa-Lalebey Neighborhood does not make comprehensive reference to the traditional texture. Changing the street texture, spatial changes in building blocks, parcel-building typologies, and non-use of traditional construction techniques and materials are environmental and social consequences that prevent the preservation of cultural heritage and social memory. The ineffective use of local resources and the decreased need for traditional professions have led to the failure to implement economic sustainability indicators. The absence of resources in the literature that discuss urban renewal project applications in a traditional historical context in the context of social, economic, and environmental sustainability indicators reveals the unique value of the study. This research aims to guide future urban renewal projects in historical contexts in hot-arid climate regions by comprehensively considering social, environmental, and economic urban sustainability principles to contribute to the creation of more effective and sustainable cities.

Historic cities worldwide continue to face challenges due to globalization in the 21st century. These challenges are particularly evident in the Gulf, where post-oil modernization brought about significant changes as historic cities evolved from small districts to commercial hubs. The effort to align historic cities with contemporary urban development places them at a critical crossroads, where the drive for urban branding often conflicts with the imperative to preserve their cultural heritage. This research examines how international recognition through urban branding is influencing the outcomes of urban regeneration in three Gulf historic cities: the Pearling Path in Muharraq,Bahrain; Msheireb in Doha,Qatar; and Al Mureijah in Sharjah, Emirates. The study adopts an inductive comparative case study approach, triangulating document analysis, literature synthesis, and promotional campaigns. The analysis shows a strong association between the pursuit of international nominations, such as the Creative City Network, Aga Khan Awards, and ISESCO and urban regeneration initiatives that emphasize heritage spectacle over heritage conservation. Based on this analysis, the study coins the paradigm of “Gulf’orification”, a branding-led urban regeneration process through which historic cities are not only revived aesthetically but are also valorized using international recognition to produce the symbolic elevation of heritage thriving on an inter-city economic competition on one end and the quest for UNESCO designation on the other.

In the 21st century, the role of railway stations began to change, as they began to integrate various modes of transport to become multimodal transit hubs (MTHs). They are often part of urban transformation plans due to the vast and underutilized spaces associated with them. This paper aims to reveal the changes in urban functions within transformed city areas due to the development of MTHs, as well as within MTHs themselves, by utilizing a widely accepted theoretical concept: the “15-minute city”. All conclusions are drawn by analyzing MTHs in urban transformation areas of European metropolises: Barcelona, Berlin, and London. The research shows that areas previously designated only for one use—industry—become areas with diverse urban functions after urban transformation. The reduction in infrastructural areas has resulted in the concentration of urban functions within these areas. This concentration can be observed in the following two ways: urban diversity has increased, and urban functions occupy significantly larger areas than before the urban transformation. It has been established that MTHs are catalysts for comprehensive urban transformation, as indicated by economic investments largely directed toward the development of urban functions in their surrounding areas.

Governance and social innovation offer potential solutions to challenges and opportunities arising from urban redevelopment. However, clarifying their roles in the redevelopment process is essential to support long-term urban sustainability. Through a systematic literature review, this study integrated two frameworks: the urban redevelopment policy change and process (conditions-pathways-outcomes) and the innovation process (gradual-substantive-transformative). This approach allowed us to identify nine key attributes relevant to governance and social innovation in urban redevelopment: collaboration, public innovation, participation, sustainability, quality of life, governance, social innovation, creativity and strategic approach. From these attributes, this study developed a research agenda focused on transformative innovation in urban redevelopment. By integrating governance and social innovation in the context of urban redevelopment, the framework – transformative innovation for urban redevelopment – as a future research agenda offers a pathway to address urban challenges and promote sustainable, transformative change in redevelopment practices.

Historic preservation is largely an urban profession with strong ties to city planning and development. Advocates tout preservation as a key driver of urban revitalization, but there remains a dearth of empirical research that addresses this intersection. This article reviews the current state of affairs in preservation practice and scholarship and builds new connections with four leading discourses in urban revitalization: the New American City, place matters, anchor institutions, and legacy cities. We call for an expansive research agenda to address preservation’s role in revitalization and to rethink preservation policy in the twenty-first century.

The paper analyses the development of neighbourhood regeneration in Istanbul since the 1999 Marmara earthquake, contrasting initial concepts and policy recommendations with actual policies and outcomes. It draws on original research to develop an analytical framework which focuses on the evolving inter-relationship between academic and professional discourses, innovative neighbourhood projects and central government’s neo-liberal economic and political strategies. The analysis identifies three phases. The first was the initial response to the 1999 earthquake, in the context of recovery from the 2001 recession, the early EU harmonisation process and the advent of single party (Justice and Development Party-AKP) government. This focussed attention on the legacy of the unregulated growth of Istanbul in the second half of the 20th century – thousands of poorly constructed earthquake vulnerable apartment blocks. The metropolitan municipality commissioned studies from local universities and international experts. Combined with an EU funded pilot project, this innovative research established the key components of a Turkish model of strategic earthquake resilient redevelopment of poor neighbourhoods, with minimum gentrification. But in the context of a rapidly growing economy, faltering EU harmonization and a second term for an increasingly pro-development government the second phase was dominated by the controversial implementation of the 2005 renewal law No. 5366 in the city’s historic districts. The central government housing development agency TOKI became the leading actor, working in partnership with district municipalities. Implementation was epitomized by the Sulukule Project which destroyed the Roma community. In parallel, the Fener-Balat EU project was succeeded by a construction company-led project which promoted gentrification. There was growing collective resistance from residents to regeneration projects in gecekondu (squatter) neighbourhoods. The concept of neighbourhood regeneration as earthquake mitigation was marginalized - gentrification was seen as a greater threat. A third term AKP administration prioritised supporting the construction sector to sustain economic development in the aftermath of the global downturn, but it also had to respond to the 2011 Van earthquake. The third phase began with the 2012 urban regeneration law No. 6306 which aimed to stimulate neighbourhood regeneration outside historic districts. Forty Urban Regeneration Areas have been designated in fifteen districts, through processes controlled by central government. However these neighbourhoods are generally not those most vulnerable to earthquake destruction, but those where redevelopment is highly profitable. A case study of Bagcilar illustrates the limitations of contemporary practice but also identifies positive developments which could be built on under changed circumstances. The paper concludes that the 20th century solutions to the challenges of urbanisation have substantially defined the neighbourhood regeneration problems of the 21st century and that current ‘top-down’ neo-liberal urban policies will not protect the poor from future earthquakes. Two parallel tasks are proposed for progressive academics and professionals: ‘bottom-up’ empirical research to provide hard evidence of the socially regressive outcomes of current practice and its failure to deliver earthquake resilience; and the definition of alternative models of neighbourhood regeneration, together with a specification of the changes in national policies necessary to deliver them.

This internship report describes both my learning process and working experience as the project manager for nine months with the Project of Creative Taipei Action Programming. Initiative by Mr. Charles Landry in the late 1980s, the International Strategic Consultant usually assisted cities identify and make the most of their resources to assess their potential by triggering their inventiveness and thinking. Creative City is a thriving trend of urban development in the 21st century. In short, creativity is a concept of change, and the city is under the leadership of innovation and creativity to start the city's transformation. It requires imagination and ideas rather than concrete and steel to make city revival. There are more than 80 cities worldwide now claim themselves as ‘Creative City’ under the global tides of change. In parallel with global trends, Taipei, while not directly express a ‘Creative City’ policy, but there has been an increased recognition of the need to develop strategies for urban regeneration and urban marketing over past decade. Landry stated Taipei has unique and distinctive potential assets but has not been harnessed well. Taipei needs more ambition in order to move decisively from a 1.0 city to a 3.0 city. The three-year Project of Creative Taipei Action Programming, which sought to map a range of criteria stepping towards Creative City for Taipei, was commissioned by the Urban Regeneration Office of Taipei. In the course of my internship on this project, I have examined the concept of creative city through both theory and practice, and in doing so this report contains two parts that deal with the academic knowledge and the practical experience. The academic knowledge comprises the Creative City and the Creative Class related study by two mainstream scholars Charles Landry and Richard Florida, as well as brief history of local practice in Taipei. Similarly, this part also summarizes the various strategies and insights generated through the implementation of the project. On the other hand, the practical experience is about motivation, purpose and reflection of my internship, and done through conducting various sessions to achieve the goal of this project. Finally, this report concludes that the urgent needs for Taipei to consider as well as recommendations to help implement change.

Integrating resilience with urban sustainability in neglected neighborhoods: Challenges and opportunities of transitioning to decentralized water management in Mexico City

Up to now, research has focused on the effects of urban renewal programs and their impacts on health. While some of this research points to potential negative health effects due to gentrification, evidence that addresses the complexity associated with this relation is much needed. This paper seeks to better understand when, why and how health inequities arise from urban renewal interventions resulting in gentrification. A realist review, a qualitative systematic review method, aimed to better explain the relation between context, mechanism and outcomes, was used. A literature search was done to identify theoretical models of how urban renewal programs can result in gentrification, which in turn could have negative impacts on health. A systematic approach was then used to identify peer-reviewed studies that provided evidence to support or refute the initial assumptions. Urban renewal programs that resulted in gentrification tended to have negative health effects primarily in residents that were low-income. Urban renewal policies that were inclusive of populations that are vulnerable, from the beginning were less likely to result in gentrification and more likely to positively impact health through physical and social improvements. Research has shown urban renewal policies have significant impacts on populations that are vulnerable and those that result in gentrification can result in negative health consequences for this population. A better understanding of this is needed to impact future policies and advocate for a community-participatory model that includes such populations in the early planning stages.

Various mixed-use buildings have been developed in the process of resolving the issue of 'urban regeneration' in the modern city. In this urban regeneration process, the size of the mixed-use buildings and the level of their functional complexity have been increased. It requires a quantitative and systematic approach in order to analyze the internal circulation flow within the large-scale commercial mixed-use buildings. Circulation system and environmental factors, respectively, have been vital criteria for the effectiveness of a Wayfinding design within the mixed-use buildings. The circulation system in this paper consists of 1) the number of the incoming paths at each node, and 2) the angle of directional transition from the incoming paths at the node. The environmental factors include 1) color tone, 2) materials, 3) lighting, and 4) pattern of the interior design of the mixed-use buildings. In this paper, the author develops a method of investigating the influence of the correlation between the circulation system and the environmental factors on the design of Wayfinding on the view of the remodeled COEX MALL interior design.