Urban Regenration

Any city in the world suffers from density problems. From an urbanistic standpoint these problems are related to a shortage of public spaces and the presence of areas in poor conditions of ventilation and light, filled up with degraded buildings and small residual spaces that are misused or transformed into mere parking.
In this final project I am studying small-scale public interventions as a system or method of urban acupuncture and hygiene that has been applied across the districts of Barcelona tackling important problems related to public spaces.
I am studying the process of restoring, urbanizing and converting these degraded areas, that were occupied by "infected" buildings and deteriorated factories, or remained as left over junctions, into useful public spaces, mainly squares and gardens.
My research is based on the concept of urban acupuncture and hygiene. Just like the Asian medical acupuncture heals and unblocks energy channels in the body so does urban acupuncture in a city. Much like the pressure points on a human body, punctual operations on the urban fabric are chosen to apply urban acupuncture causing by that a ripple effect, what Bohigas called metastasis, that provides the city with a chance to breathe in a new positive energy, render a better image and improve the usage of the new public space. In short, offering the citizens a better quality of life.
All the research is based on the "Barcelona Model", where for the last two centuries, urban projects in every corner of the city were being carried out using the same system of urban acupuncture and hygiene.
As case studies, several small-scale public interventions are selected in the districts of Barcelona, and analyzed according to their history, transformation, design approach, usage, choice of materials, urban furniture and greenery.

The article addresses the contemporary debate on urban and environmental regeneration, investigating the need to establish new criteria to implement the defence of coastal ecosystems by climate problems. The research looks at coastal vulnerabilities, starting with the environmental fragility of flooding, as an opportunity to regenerate waterfront ecosystems. The research aim concerns the analysis of US advanced regeneration practices to learn and transfer the principles derived from them to the European context. This transferability takes place through the construction of regeneration criteria for the coastal ecosystems rebalancing. The regeneration criteria are resulted from an ecosystem reading of the winning projects of the Rebuild by Design competition. These practices represent in the scientific literature an exceptional example of a holistic response to the problem of post-disaster intervention. These cases offer an integrated response in terms of processes, investments, the d...

The Research Overview

[To reveal the production of space] we should have tolook at history itself in a new light. We should have tostudy not only the history of space, but also the historyof representations along with that of their relationships –with each other, with practice, and with ideology. History would have to take in not only the genesis of these spaces but also, and especially, their interconnections, distortions, displacements, mutual interconnections, and their links with the spatial practice of the particular society… (Lefebvre 1991: 42)

- Theoretical framework: Henri Lefebvre's spatial triad
- plus understanding role of capitalist abstract space
- Archival and interview research methodology
- Counter-projects led by civil society groups
- Aspirational urban regeneration
(Leary and McCarthy 2013)
- Five axes of public space
- Public space as crucible of democracy
- Production of differential space through
urban regeneration interventions
- Visual representations of space

The article addresses the contemporary debate on urban and environmental regeneration, investigating the need to establish new criteria to implement the defence of coastal ecosystems by climate problems. The research looks at coastal vulnerabilities, starting with the environmental fragility of flooding, as an opportunity to regenerate waterfront ecosystems. The research aim concerns the analysis of US advanced regeneration practices to learn and transfer the principles derived from them to the European context. This transferability takes place through the construction of regeneration criteria for the coastal ecosystems rebalancing. The regeneration criteria are resulted from an ecosystem reading of the winning projects of the Rebuild by Design competition. These practices represent in the scientific literature an exceptional example of a holistic response to the problem of post-disaster intervention. These cases offer an integrated response in terms of processes, investments, the d...

The article addresses the contemporary debate on urban and environmental regeneration, investigating the need to establish new criteria to implement the defence of coastal ecosystems by climate problems. The research looks at coastal vulnerabilities, starting with the environmental fragility of flooding, as an opportunity to regenerate waterfront ecosystems. The research aim concerns the analysis of US advanced regeneration practices to learn and transfer the principles derived from them to the European context. This transferability takes place through the construction of regeneration criteria for the coastal ecosystems rebalancing. The regeneration criteria are resulted from an ecosystem reading of the winning projects of the Rebuild by Design competition. These practices represent in the scientific literature an exceptional example of a holistic response to the problem of post-disaster intervention. These cases offer an integrated response in terms of processes, investments, the d...

The concept of social mix has been thoroughly examined in the housing literature. Research to date finds little evidence of encounters between socially diverse residents living in mixed settings. This paper provides comparative insights into new, socially mixed housing initiatives in Milan and Paris that have been conceived to promote encounters among diverse residents. Both initiatives, implemented by not-for-profit organizations, provide affordable housing for university students or young professionals in low-income social housing neighborhoods in exchange for their commitment to organize solidarity activities with and for their social housing neighbors. The paper examines how frameworks provided by housing practitioners for 'intentional' encounters between motivated youth and low-income residents shape these encounters and considers the receptivity of the youth population to intentionally engage in common projects across diversity. It distils some core conditions within these programs that promote encounters among diverse residents.