CHRONOLOGY OF THE URBAN THOUGHT

Transcription

1 CHRONOLOGY OF THE URBAN THOUGHT PAOLA BERENSTEIN JACQUES THAIS DE BHANTHUMCHINDA PORTELA JOÃO SOARES PENA OSNILDO ADÃO WAN-DALL JUNIOR PRISCILLA SCHIMITT HUAPAYA DILA REIS MENDES ADALBERTO VILELA AMINE PORTUGAL BARBUDA Address: FACULDADE DE ARQUITETURA DA UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DA BAHIA PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM ARQUITETURA E URBANISMO LABORATÓRIO URBANO [Gabinete 4] Rua Caetano Moura, Federação CEP: Salvador, Bahia, Brasil Phone number: / pbjacques@gmail.com ABSTRACT The Cronologia do Pensamento Urbanístico (Chronology of the Urban Thought) is a research that aims the systemic circulation of the urban thought in certain urban circles which form vast networks of intellectual exchange, academic, scientific and artistic works in a complex manner. Priority is given to the observation of these networks of intellectuals, artists, technicians and public figures in general, thereby shifting forms of the urbanistic understanding culture in Brazil and abroad. With our data a platform in the web was built as an instrument that systematizes and disseminates information on the professional and disciplinary fields. This open website is organized by two research teams since 2003 one at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and another at Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA). Its general purpose is to contribute to a better understanding on the movement of urbanistic ideas, both nationally and internationally, while promoting a better understanding of the circulation of new ideas in Brazil and thus contributing to the strengthening more sensitive disciplinary practices to the local specificities and cultures. The website provides new inputs for the research development and therefore aims to contribute directly to professionals training at different levels and, indirectly, to consolidate the fields of architecture, urbanism and landscape and its dialogue with related disciplines. The website is designed as a portal where each data inserted leads through other data in subpages that links them to several other types of related information and this display allows to show the ideas circulation on the urbanistic field. This information can be images, in the case of projects; reviews, in the case of books, or even other sites or texts assigned by researchers or professionals containing relevant information for deeper understanding and also critique of the urbanistic knowledge itself. The arrangement of data in a timeline allows, among other procedures, collating information, identifying the dominant theme in one period or another, view the circulation of concepts and technicians and artists themselves from one region to another or within the same country. Through

2 C i t i e s, n a t i o n s a n d r e g i o n s i n p l a n n i n g h i s t o r y these tools it is possible to realize the extension of the circulation of ideas, vocabularies, themes, plans and projects and their own intellectuals networks of thought about the city and the territory, which feed the dynamics of these flows. In our theoretical position, the Chronology of Urbanistic Thought intends to map the complex networks that develop urbanistic thinking. The research assists the work of historiographical review of the field of urbanism in Brazil, confluencing questions, from an incisive mode for the data it divulges and allows to collate and to disseminate, the relevance and/or fitness of the use of notions such as transference, model and/or tax influence of a linear, evolutionary, iconic and closed view of history that continues to mark out for the lack of mutual comparison and fine instruments that evidence their limits a great number of works of the area. THE URBAN THOUGHT IN OUR CHRONOLOGY The research presented in this article is the Cronologia do Pensamento Urbanístico (Chonology of the Urban Thought). With this work we intend to map the complex networks that has been developing the urbanistic thinking. From both theoretical and methodologycal points of view, the Chronology aims to assist the work of historiographical review of the urbanism field in Brazil, confluencing questions, from an incisive mode for the data it divulges and allows to collate and to disseminate on its various readings, the relevance and/or tax influence of a linear, evolutionary, iconic and closed view of history that continues to mark out for the mutual lack comparison and fine instruments that evidence their limits a great number of works in the area. We focus our historiographie thought study on the ideas circulation with the main purpose to subsidize one intellectual history interpretation of urbanism through the twentieth century, specially in Brasil, intending to show up new perspectives of analysis and new cuttings in the historiographical review movement in the area. Thus, we are interested in the synchronic tension between different ideas and theoretical assumptions and also its ability to a systemic and crossed geographic ideas contamination. During the research, as we have been following this synchronic tension between the ideas, we realized that the discussion in the area circulate, particularly in our country, mostly in project and plans formats, and also by themes divulged in events, rather than great circulation published texts (book and magazines). To encompass the complexity of urban thought, particularly from its debates and conflicts, it was needed to comprehend how those ideas circulate and allow other debates in other contexts. It was, then, necessary to think the historiographical research production in a more complex way than the traditional study through the speeches written by the documentary sources. WHY A CRONOLOGY FOR THE URBAN THOUGHT? The research started with the study, from the 1980 decade on, of the anthologies about urbanism, that were mostly chronological. Those follow the model organized in 1964 in Germany by Ulrich Conrad who simply arranged the texts by the dates

3 they had been edited, without worrying about the discussed topic or the country or city each author depicts or comes from. The separation by dates of the first editions texts seemed to us the best way to evidence the debates of each period. For us, to approach, putting together the historical texts facilitated the answers, loans, reactions, clashes etc. recognition. From an organizational point of view, we aimed to gather international and national texts from an authors set and also other professionals that marked out the intellectual urbanism history in the twentieth century. Our chronology does not work linear temporality as a finality, as the chronological term may suggest, but we use the timeline as a data board that turns visible the ideas circulation, concepts, experiences between the presented debates in this knowledge field. CONTEMPORARY CLIP ( ) The Chronology was formed by the two research teams partnership, one from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and the second one from the Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA). Our main objective is to gather and to disseminate the complex relations and networks which develop the urban thought. To enable this, an online platform was created. This platform gathers data related to projects, publications, events and facts considered relevant to the subject. It grounds different readings of the intellectual urbanism history from 1800 until The research, therefore, aims to contribute for a better comprehension of the urban ideas circulation and the disciplinary field historiographical review. The research began with a critical anthology elaboration, annotated and illustrated from texts about urbanism written by brazilians and foreign professionals of the area. There were gathered anthologies already published and it was noticed that the available anthologies on the disciplinary field were organized into four types: thematic, chronological, geographic and mixed. The first european anthologies were mostly thematic or geographic as Françoise Choay's classic anthology from 1965 which separated progressive planners and culturalist ones. The division of thematic texts seemed as a problem, since what mattered to the present study was precisely, as we said, the synchronic tension between them, as well as the different ideas and theoretical assumptions and also its ability to a systemic and crossed geographic contamination. As mentioned, since the 1980's the anthologies have become largely chronological, following the model by Ulrich Conrad. The separation of the texts he made by dates of their first editions showed the debates difficulties by the mere historical proximity between texts. Thus, in addition to clarify the comprehension of theoretical historicity, it was possible to show a better contradictions view, dissents and ambivalences than other ways of sorting, particularly the thematic ones. It was brought together brazilian and international texts from professionals and authors who marked the intellectual history urbanism, showing, above all, the ideas circulation, concepts and experiences among them. After deciding the chronological order for this anthology, this one was organized by order: first the international texts that have had the greatest circulation. After that, the brazilian texts

4 C i t i e s, n a t i o n s a n d r e g i o n s i n p l a n n i n g h i s t o r y and other international texts which had a smaller circulation, but had been read and broadcast in Brazil, and finally the brazilian last known texts which circulated abroad. The presentation sought to contextualize each text according to the time of the writing; the geography (where it was edited, and the author's nationality); the theme; the period debates and the geographic context; the author in his/her time of writing and in the geographic context; the author's work (theoretical and practical); its importance in relation to other debates and/or projects; the text inside the author's work (bio-bibliographical news); the relation between authors; the dissemination in Brazil and abroad, in other words, the ideas circulation. In this sense, the need to build those ideas chronology (initially on paper) as a methodological support for the organization of the anthology was felt. With this, it was noticed the speeches in the urbanism field, particularly in Brazil, circulate more often in the form of projects, plans or events, rather than in published texts with wide circulation (books or magazines). To understand the complexity of urban thought, in a given historical moment and in a particular geographical context, and comprehend how those ideas circulate and allow other debates in other contexts, as we said, it was necessary to think about the historiographical research production itself in a more complex way. Focusing on that, the documentary sources were not the only possibility of researching. The Chronology, thought as an auxiliary tool, gained autonomy and became a database. It became to gather information, illustration, and being continuously fed. In 2003 the database has become an open website with embedded database: The Chronology of the Urban Thought 1. With that, it was allowed to researchers to raise another hypotheses of research through its extraordinary and almost endless possibilities of readings; data crossings; pictures and information through hypertext where each inserted data leads through subpages and links to several other types of related information. The website is configured as an open gate to disseminate ongoing research, gathering research data generated by both university teams. The team at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro is responsible for indexing data between 1800 and 1950 while Universidade Federal da Bahia is responsible for indexing the contemporary crop, which comprises data between 1950 until the present day. In this way, it seeks to provide new inputs to the research development contributing to form directly, in different levels, professionals on the field and indirectly to the urbanism, architecture and landscaping field setting, through the other related disciplines establishment. Thus, the website has become a internet reference for consultation and/or disclosure of new research and it is open to external researchers contribution who wish to collaborate and disseminate the collective work in the form of Entries (Verbetes) according to the established model by the research. They must be related to events, projects, publication or relevant facts on the field. The authentication work of sent and collected data is made by both universities moderators. 1 As Chronology of the Urban Thought website: <

5 The Chronology of the Urban Thought became the main research product and a dissemination tool of the urban thought as a whole. Thus, the research intends to allow the user to view the ideas connected on net (intellectual nets technical, artistic, political) about urbanism to the strengthen of the urbanism field in Brazil. SEARCH METHODOLOGY The research has been developed based on what is meant here by circulation of ideas and internet is an agile and low cost tool to teachers, students and users who increasingly use the Chronology of the Urban Thought as an important information source. Electronic media offer several advantages in providing largescale search results, democratizing access to information. The adopted support to the Chronology's website presentation is a spreadsheet where data are temporally and spatially organized. Those data can be cut off by users suppressing lines (geographical continents or brazilian macro-regions) and/or columns (year by year). The contents also can be organized by the corresponding filters to the many categories (projects, publication, events, relevant facts) and/or axis or Markers (Marcadores) of relationships (such as Housing, Urban Social Movements, Slums etc.) The user can compare and cross information according to her/his interests creating clippings of own content, collating information, identifying dominant themes in one period or another, visualizing the authors, technicians, professionals and artists concepts circulation, from one region to another or within the same country. It is therefore emphasized that the initial spreadsheet of the Chronology is an only one historical presentation form. The described tools above were designed to highlight the relation complexity between data, as required to produce very different clippings, which highlight certain Debates (1) and stimulate the certain Readings (2) production. Initially, the research methodology prioritized the chronological data filling. Each researcher was responsible for a specific year and sought to get as much information and documents of that period. However, the relevance of the data was lost from the detailed information. To enhance more comprehensive understandings of possible links between the Entries produced, the research became organized by decades, primarily from existing connections in that time frame. At a broader scale, the dialogues, the ideological affiliation, formal or aesthetic become more evident. As well as the emplacement and/or resistance to the processes fostered by the hegemonic thought in the urban planning field. The researchers have gained investigation possibilities into the Chronology axes with the Markers that emphasize the associations between Entries. At this point, the actual research work has been interrelated with the network thinking prospect. From a theoretical and methodological standpoint, the Chronology assists the historiographical review work of the urban planning field, by enabling question precisely and disclose the data that allows comparison the relevance and/or suitability of using concepts such as transfer, model and/or influence: concepts that are tributary to a linear, evolutionary, iconic and closed history view which continues

6 C i t i e s, n a t i o n s a n d r e g i o n s i n p l a n n i n g h i s t o r y to mark out a number of studies of the area, by lack of comparisons and fine instruments evidencing their nonsense and limits. Currently the research is based on the following Markers: Cartographies, Housing, Urban Aesthetics, Participation, Slums, Urban Social Movements, Megastructures, Urban Utopias, Urban Centers, Urban and Landscape Elements. In this sense, the researchers started to work from clippings relationships that foster understanding and demonstration of the ideas circulation among the Entries, or what we call Debates (Debates). (1) DEBATES The Debates are created by Entries of the same Marker as well as between Entries of different Markers. By placing a Marker on the Search tab, an articles series appear in the spreadsheet as a result. It is possible then check the relationship between these Entries and tension arising from it. On the other hand, there is a Debate session alongside the contents of each entry with specific information (Presentation Documents, Critic Texts, Downloads, Links, Biographies, Bibliographies and a section Collaborate). The Debates section presents a list of the Entries that have some kind of approximation. To illustrate, we introduce a discussion depicted in Figure 1 which highlights the thought complexity that guided the housing production since The huge housing proposed by modern with ups and downs, criticisms etc. to the contemporary emptiness, who is satisfied with the gated communities production and few interventions in slums. The reading of this image shows the discussions importance between the Entries. In 1953 we approach the CIAM IX Entry, amid criticism of Team X prior to the CIAM dogmas. This group gave up the drafting of the Charter of Habitat in opposition to the Athens Charter, because they realized that this would be the same trap to establish homogenizers models. Despite of the well known criticism, in 1956, Lúcio Costa's pilot plan for Brasília is a plan based on the Athens Charter principles. In 1958, the austrian Hundertwasser deepens the critique of modernist functionalism in his Mould Manifesto but in the same year, it is opened in Rio de Janeiro the Pedregulho Housing, designed by architect Affonso Eduardo Reidy, built to accommodate 2,400 people. Pedregulho Housing was just one of many residential buildings carried out by enthusiastic architects with the concept of functional Ville Radieuse proposed by Le Corbusier.

7 Figure 1- CHRONOLOGY OF THE URBAN THOUGHT (Brazil). Spreadsheet as a result of search on housing production starting in the 1950 s. Access: The modern urbanism was again severely criticized by Jane Jacob's 1961 book "Death and life of great cities". Jacobs proposed to resume street life observation, ignored by modern planners and defended the diversity of uses in a more complex and dense way. The 1970 s decade was marked by the demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe. Completed in 1956, it concentrated 2,870 units arranged in 33 buildings of 11 floors each. Only a few years after its inauguration, it already showed poor maintenance signs, vandalism, crime and a huge number of vacant units. The Housing was deemed unrecoverable and it was therefore completely devastated. Ten years after the iconic demolition of Pruitt-Igoe, it was inaugurated in Italy the Housing Corviale, one of the most radical housing experiments already performed. Isolated on the southern outskirts of Rome, the huge building aimed to integrate 1246 housing units, church, commercial center, cultural center, health center, schools and offices. The Housing was advocated as an alternative to the periphery dispersion. Also in 1982, it was registered the inauguration of Seaside city (United States). With the emptying of speech, and even a consistent practice related to the housing theme, it began to appear outlying scenario towns, planned from the New Urbanism principles. The residents came to be selected based on their socioeconomic profiles, in order to "overcome" the conflicts that emerged in the past experiences. Submitted in response to violence, the big cities chaos and the exponential slums growth, these experiences were quickly exported to other locations, such as Brazil with its already numerous closed condominiums as Alphavilles.

8 C i t i e s, n a t i o n s a n d r e g i o n s i n p l a n n i n g h i s t o r y Another debate is between the Markers Housing and Urban Social Movements. There was a period of military dictatorship in Brazil in the 1960's when social movements claim its ownership in occupied urban areas. The government creates (in 1964) the Banco Nacional de Habitação (National Housing Bank or BNH), but rather to meet popular demands, the Bank financed a slum clearance policy statements, often so criminal as the fire started in the slums of Catacumba (1967), and built numerous housing projects throughout Brazil in peripheral areas of cities such as Padre Manoel da Nóbrega Housing, in 1973, designed by architect Joaquim Guedes. By the 2000 decade, the Brazilian government sought to address the social movements demands with the City Statute (Law No. 10,257) approval in 2003, and some housing programs, highlighting the "Minha Casa Minha Vida" (MCMV), in The dialogue, affiliations and conflicts relations among the examples here punctuated not only call into question the possibility of a "historical evolution" thinking of Housing and Urban Social Movements, as emphasized by the comings and goings processes of ideas circulation. It is, therefore, nonlinear processes, whose complexity should be the ongoing research and criticism subject. (2) READINGS Many discussions emerged with the various associations from the research process. Also some critics were made by the team to the work methodology, very focused on gathering information. From this it was created the Reading (Leituras) section which includes texts, panels and other chronologies produced by individual researchers and former researchers at the chronology, the post-doctoral fellows to undergraduates. The Readings allow to show how the researchers, by building the Chronology, break with the very linear chronological order shown in the initial spreadsheet. With the Readings, the research work has been interrelated with the network thinking prospect. CONCLUSIONS This is an ongoing research, therefore there are no existing final conclusions so far about the historiography of urban thought itself. However, the data basis is already subsidizing our collaborators researches, who are focusing the historiographical review area in their individual researches. As well as the timeline outlined by the research allows along with the necessary country and world political moment contextualization in every decade the understanding of urban studies and process. This is a key facts that guide this study. From a broader view, it is possible to delve into the subject in a more solid way, always taking into consideration the complexity and critical studied processes understanding.

9 Finally, it perceive the scope of ideas circulation, vocabulary, themes, plans and projects and glimpse the intellectual networks of thinking about the city and territory, as they are created, and how to feed the dynamics of these flows. It demands to contribute to: the study of the history of the profession, and professional disciplinary field, discussing the training of professionals (teaching/research) in the urban area; the study of the ideas history in Brazil, discussing the issue of national and international trade and mechanisms for ideas exchange, and to deepen the urbanism history in Brazil, aiming to problematize and inquire some issues that yet have not been developed by historiography. REFERENCES ARANTES, O.; VAINER, C.; MARICATO, E. A cidade do pensamento único: desmanchando consensos. Petrópolis: Vozes, BASSUL, J. R. Reforma Urbana e Estatuto da Cidade. EURE (Santiago) v.28 n.84 Santiago set Available at: < Accessed in: Botega, L. De Vargas a Collor: urbanização e política habitacional no Brasil IN Espaço Plural, Paraná, n. 17, p , Ano VIII. 2º semestre de BRASIL. Presidência da República. Lei nº , de 10 de julho de Regulates the arts. 182 and 183 of the Federal Constitution, establishes general guidelines for urban policy and other measures. Available at: < Accessed in: CHOAY, F. Urbanisme, utopie et réalités. Paris: Seuil, CONRADS, U. Programme und manifeste zur architektur des 20 jahrhunderts. Berlin: Ullstein, JACOBS, J. Morte e vida de grandes cidades. São Paulo: Martins Fontes, LEME, M. C. (Org.). Urbanismo no Brasil, São Paulo, Ed. Studio Nobel, MARICATO, E.; JUNIOR, O. A. dos S. Construindo a Política Urbana: participação democrática e o direito à cidade. Teoria e Debate, n. 66, abr./jun SANTOS, Carlos Nelson F. dos. Movimentos Sociais Urbanos no Rio de Janeiro. Zahar, 1981.