Thursday, February 12, 2015

Can architectural design elements found in informal settlements be implemented in formal developments in order to achieve the desirable attributes of informal communities?


Aidan Ferriss | 4061263

Introduction

As the world continues to urbanize, architects and designers must develop innovative and creative solutions to address the challenges of densifying urban regions. Informal settlements, which are quickly becoming one of the dominant urban typologies in the world are a rich source of design solutions that can be borrowed from and implemented in the formal sector. Robert Booth stressed the importance of learning from these informal places, stating that they are often sources of richer ways of living (2009).

Informal settlements have a wealth of positive attributes that can and must be applied in the formal sector in order to address the challenges of urbanization around the world. It has been stated that informal communities greatly exemplify what the rest of the world must grapple with as resources decline, such as sustainability, sanitation and safety (Ross, 2014). Many positive design elements can be found in informal settlements that may be implemented in formal developments to help create a better final product. These elements include participatory design, adaptable buildings, sustainable design, space optimization, improved social life, human scale and a lack of crime. It should be noted that this list is not exhaustive and many other valuable attributes exist in informal settlements and many researchers and designers are working to unearth these attributes.

Self-design / Participatory Design

            The nature of many informal settlements means that they are almost entirely self-organized which reflects the tremendous problem solving and innovative skills a collection of individuals have when forced to rely on themselves. Roads and pathways are identified, housing and shelters are built and designed by the user without any input from “professional builders” and commercial and service establishments develop where they are needed. This emphasizes the need to encourage participation of end users in the design process.  Michael McQuarrie in his article “What Mumbai’s Slums do Right and Why we Should Emulate them” not only identifies the many virtues of slums, but also showcases how the self-organized fashion in which they develop often creates a sound urban hierarchy that reflects the need and demands of the community that designs them. It may not be realistic to expect self-design to occur in the formal sector, however, given the successful self-organization of many informal communities it is apparent that an increase in community participation can result in a better, end product as the community can be a great resource of options and ideas.

Many architects, designers and developers have implemented participatory design principles in their projects. Lucien Kroll, a Belgian architect who is well known for involving the participation of the end users in the design of his buildings. Krolls most famous building the Maison Medical student accommodation (figure 1) built in the early 1970s incorporated students in the design process (Ellin, 2000). Ottokar Uhl is another well-known architect who utilized participative design in the formal sector. Not only can participatory design help develop a product that best suits its users, it can also help remediate some of the negative issues that accompany development in established urban neighbourhoods. Infill development can often disrupt, anger and negatively impact nearby citizens. By encouraging those to become involved in the design process, developers can build something that will be less invasive to the existing neighbours which will result in a smoother building process as existing neighbours will have less of a reason to protest and complain to politicians about the development.

Figure 1 Maison Medical Student Accomodation, (Kroll)

Adaptable Buildings

In addition to the success of self-design in informal settlements, the builders of these communities have also developed innovative ways to address financial restrictions, expanding families, structural limits of materials and changing urban needs by the use of adaptable buildings. For example, many structures in informal settlements are often built in a way to allow for additions and alterations to occur when a family expands.

Alejandro Arvena of ELEMENTAL have utilized this design approach while building community housing in Chile (figure 2). He designed residential units that were intentionally incomplete and arranged around common spaces. Not only did this result in a lower initial cost of development, it also encouraged residents to add and build upon their new homes as they saw necessary (Arvena, 2004). This allowed for the “personalization” of each unit and also resulted in a sense of ownership and pride by the resident. Involvement by the resident allowed for each home to look unique without compromising the overall coherent organization of the building with fixed setbacks and allotted space (Arvena, 2004).

Figure 2 Learning from the Slums (Castroni)

Arvena is not the only architect who has developed adaptable buildings. Ottokar Uhl, an Austrian architect who, in addition to utilizing participatory design principles as mentioned above, also designed highly flexible dwellings. His goal was to design housing that would adapt and change over the life span of the structure (Schneider & Till, 2009). This approach to design is increasingly important as the needs and desires of users is rapidly changing. By allowing for a building to change and grow over the lifespan of the structure, Uhl was also ensuring the buildings are greener by having a longer lifespan rather than tearing down the building to build new when desires change.

Adaptable building techniques are also being implemented in the construction of high-rise condominiums in many western cities. For example, many new units in the City of Toronto contain “blow-out walls” which allow residents to purchase adjacent units and combine them into one larger unit as their space needs grow.

Space Optimization

Similarly to adaptable buildings, space optimization can result in a better, more usable urban form. In informal settlements, each space can have a multitude of uses, streets can be used for transportation but also social gatherings, commerce and even livestock. Research by Akhtar Chauhan has stated how mono-functional units are not used in informal settlements; living spaces have over-lapping functions of living and family interactions (1996). Chauhan further explains that “homes in slums are, perhaps, the best examples of the most optimum utilization of living space (1996).

            This approach has been implemented often in the formal sector, especially as micro units are becoming more and more prominent in large Western cities. For example, many small bachelor apartments allow for a space to serve multiple purposes; the living room, dining room and bedroom may occupy the same space, but with a simple rearrangement of the furniture their use and appearance will change greatly. Gary Chang’s Domestic Transformer, a tiny 344 square foot apartment integrated moving furniture allows for over 24 different layouts.

Figure 3 Gary Chang's Domestic Transformer, Hong Kong. (Designboom.com)

            Space optimization can also be implemented in Urban Design, where not only a tighter, closer urban fabric can be designed to mimic informal communities, but spaces can be designed to serve a multitude of uses. A right of way can be designed to serve in the traditional way for cars, cyclists and pedestrians but also be useable for farmers markets and community events when desired. 

Sustainable Design

            Sustainability is an enormous component of architecture and design; informal settlements can provide numerous solutions to try to create more sustainable designs in the formal sector. Low-energy design techniques, increases in recycling and a reduction in travel time are all present in informal settlements.

            In Analysis of Vernacular Architecture in Terms of Sustainable Considerations by Hilal Halicio it was stated that:

“Vernacular architecture presents basic and simple solutions for the sustainable issues because it has significant environmentally features that respond to sustainability such as low-energy techniques to provide for human comfort, approaches that are integral to the form, orientation, and materials that are obtained from local resources.” (2012)

As stated above local materials help reduce the environmental footprint of a building. This approach has become very popular with the advent of the LEED designation system which gives credits for designers using local resources from within 250 km of the site. This is a simple, age old approach to sustainability. Many informal communities also utilize passive design to ensure their homes are better equipped to withstand the environments of their respective geographies. This design method has also recently seen a resurgence in the formal sector. The energy use per building can be cut far more in terraces and apartments than in free-standing housing (Satterthwaite, 2011).

            It has been well documented that residents of informal communities recycle at an extremely high rate. In 2014, Phillip Ross stated that residents of Dharavi recycle an estimated 80 percent of their plastic waste without formal collections. Formal communities are trying to improve their rate of recycling and there is no doubt that informal community’s hold great insight into improving this.

            Sustainability and density in linked in numerous ways. Often denser communities have a lower time and cost of travel to work and to services which result in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.  David Satterthwaite has conducted a tremendous amount of research on the density and sustainability of informal settlements. In 2011 David wrote:

 “High density informal settlements usually benefit residents by lowering the time and cost of travel to work and to access services – including those services that make cities special places to live, such as theatres, music venues, museums, libraries, the visual arts, dance, festivals, the enjoyment of historic buildings and districts, diverse choices for eating and the enjoyment of being in a diverse and vibrant place.”

Many cities in the western world are already striving to increase their density which will in turn result in shorter travel time and therefore reduce the collective emissions of the City. It should be noted that informal settlements achieve density without formal incentives or rewards while many western cities are forced to provide incentives to developers for building denser.

Human Scale

            The “Human Scale” is a term identifying a set of qualities and quantities of information reflective of the human body. In urban design and architecture it embodies a physical scale relating to buildings, steps, doorways, walking distance and other features that fit well with the human senses. Informal communities are often designed in a way that encourages walking and contain a built form that does not overshadow the individuals that live in them. It has been argued that informal settlements embody many of the elements that result in a good human scale of urbanism; Marco Castroni, in 2009 stated that many architects tried to capture the urban scale of slums in their projects:

“The first glances at slums were from some of the architects involved in urban renewal projects, who started to integrate in their projects some elements of the slums. Some of the recurrent features are:

      narrow courtyards and alleys

      division of the building into small blocks

      use of different colors and materials within the same building” (Castroni, 2009)

The “Human Scale” is not an exact science, and designing with it can be a challenge, however it is clear that informal settlements contain some urban design qualities that would greatly suit the formal sector and contribute to a better urban form.     

Sense of Community and Social Life

            One of the very positive attributes of informal communities is the increased sense of community and social life. Rebecca Rahus-Dubrow explained in Learning from Slums:

“Longstanding slum communities tend to be much more tightknit than many prosperous parts of the developed world, where neighbors hardly know one another. Indeed, slums embody many of the principles frequently invoked by urban planners: They are walkable, high-density, and mixed-use, meaning that housing and commerce mingle.” (Rahus-Dubrow, 2009)

This quote highlights the fact that the formal sector can learn much from informal communities in regards to designing places that will better harbor a strong community.  Additionally it has been highlighted that community members in informal communities work together towards achieving common goals. Daniel Benson stated the following about individuals in informal communities:

“Everything they do, they do together, be it washing clothes, washing dishes, or anything else – it’s all done in communal places or out on the street. Everybody knows everybody else, and there are high streets and corner shops of the type modern Western politicians now crave.” (Benson, 2009)

Community pride and a willingness to help you neighbour is a quality that architects and urban designers in the formal sector would very much like to capture and emulate. However, there is no one way to ensure this is accomplished, a strong sense of community goes beyond just architecture and urban design. It is apparent that further study of the topic and further research will need to be conducted to be able to quantify this.

            There are some elements that can be borrowed from informal communities that may help contribute to an improved social life in formal developments. For example, by providing shared communal space in formal developments designers can provide a space for community connections to be made. The same can be said about the inclusion of accessible recreational space, seating areas and neighbourhood hubs where members can gather and interact. Many of these aforementioned elements are already utilized in the formal sector, but it is clear that there is always room for modifications and improvements.

Lack of Crime

            Contrary to popular perceptions, many poor informal urban areas may be considered safer when compared to the daily robberies, burglaries and attacks experienced in large Western cities (Share the World’s Resources, 2010). Perhaps the strong sense of community, previously discussed, can be attributed to this improved safety. Daniel Benson explained it by saying “There is virtually no crime – for how could you ever steal from somebody you know, you neighbor, your friend?” (2009). The fact that many informal settlements have a tight-knit community has contributed to a safer environment, stressing the need to improve social and communal interactions as a crime preventative tactic.       

            The lack of crime in informal communities can also be attributed to its density and the sheer number of people living in the neighbourhood:

“Well over a million “eyes on the street,” to use Jane Jacobs’s phrase, keep Dharavi perhaps safer than most American cities. Yet Dharavi’s extreme population density doesn’t translate into oppressiveness. The crowd is efficiently absorbed by the thousands of tiny streets branching off bustling commercial arteries. Also, you won’t be chased by beggars or see hopeless people loitering…” (CNU, 2009).

It seems as though Dharavi, a large informal community in Mumbai, India has developed into a model of Jane Jacob’s “Eyes on the Street” theory. Urban designers and architects are actively implementing Jacob’s “Eyes on the Street” technique and there is no doubt that this approach has helped abate crime in the many communities it has been applied in.

            The shear density and strong community network have helped make informal communities safe places, despite what the Western world believes. The inward looking urban form of informal settlements could be mimicked by designers to try to optimize the “Eyes on the Street” method. Additionally, as formal developments continue to strive towards a stronger sense of community, the positive aspects associated with this, lack of crime included, will follow.

Conclusion

            As stated at the beginning of this paper, informal communities are quickly becoming one of the dominant urban typologies in the world; this may not just be a result of social, financial and political factors, but a result of many informal communities creating safe sustainable and strong communities. Given the prevalence of this urban form and the factors identified in this paper, it is safe to say that these communities are doing many “things” right, and they are not merely the dirty, unsafe and illegal slums much of the Western world envisions. In fact, these communities are quickly becoming models of urbanism that the formal sector could learn a great deal from. Prince Charles has been quoted as saying:

"It may be the case that in a few years' time such communities will be perceived as best equipped to face the challenges that confront us because they have a built-in resilience and genuinely durable ways of living." (Booth, 2009)

Given the challenging environment that many informal settlements inhabit, they have been required to find new, affordable and innovative ways to address these challenges. As a result these communities have become a wealth of strong design attributes that could be implemented in formal developments to contribute to a better urban form.  As the world continues to urbanize resulting in land, resources and manpower becoming scarcer, the Western world and the formal sector should look to informal settlements for inspiration, as they have been facing these issues in even more dire situations for many generations.

The use of self-design, adaptable buildings, space optimization, sustainable design, the human scale, an improved social network and a lack of crime are all attributes found in informal settlements from throughout the world that would greatly improve formal settlements. Informal communities are an excellent resource to learn from and it is the responsibility of architects and designers to capitalize on the designs and approaches found within them.

 

 

 

Bibliography

1.         Robert Booth, “Charles declares Mumbai Shanti Town Model for the World”, The Guardian, Februaru 6, 2009. http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/feb/06/prince-charles-slum-comments

2.         Leopold Lamber, “Architects & Slums: a Few Ideas and a Debate”, The Funambulist, August 26, 2013, http://thefunambulist.net/2013/08/26/architectures-without-architects-architects-slums-a-few-ideas-and-a-debate

3.         Philip Ross, Climate Change Solutions: Architects Look to Slums As Models For Sustainable Living. International Business Times. July 14, 2014, http://www.ibtimes.com/climate-change-solutions-architects-look-slums-models-sustainable-living-1623418

4.         Michael McQuarrie, “What Mumbai’s Slums Do Right and Why we Should Emulate them”, Shelter Force, July 17, 2013, http://shelterforce.org/article/what_mumbais_slums_do_right_and_why_we_should_emulate_them

5.         Alejandro Arvena, TED Talk: My Architectural Philosophy? Bring the Community Into the Process

6.         Alejandro Aravena, Elemental Buildings, “Quinta Monroy”, 2004, http://www.elementalchile.cl/en/proyecto/quinta-monroy-2/

7.         Nan Ellin, 'Participatory Architecture on the Parisian Periphery: Lucien Kroll's Vignes Blanches', Journal of Architectural Education, 53 (2000): 178-183.

8.         Marco Castroni. "Learning from the slums (2/2): the rediscovery" 02 Apr 2009. ArchDaily. <http://www.archdaily.com/?p=16311

9.         Tatjana Schneider and Jeremy Till, 'Episodes in Flexible Housing', in Flexible Housing (Oxford: Architectural Press, 2007), pp. 9-202.

10.    Hilal Halicio, “Analysis of Vernacular Architecture in Terms of Sustainable Considerations: The case of Sirince village in Western Turkey”, Alam Cipta Vol 5 (2) December 2012.

11.    David Satterthwaite, “Upgrading Dense Informal Settlements: The Potential for Health and Well-being”, Cities, Health and Well-being, Hong Kong, November 2011.

12.    Akhtar Chauhan, “Learning from Slums”, Minimal Space – Minimal Housing, (1996).

13.    Daniel Benson, Dharavi, Mumbai: The Pros and Cons of Living in a Slum. 2009. http://danielbenson.hubpages.com/hub/Dharavi-Mumbai-The-Pros-and-Cons-of-Slum-Living

14.    Rebecca Rahus-Dubrow, “Learning from Slums.” March 1, 2009, www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/01/learning_from_slums

15.    Daniel Benson, Dharavi, Mumbai: The Pros and Cons of Living in a Slum. http://danielbenson.hubpages.com/hub/Dharavi-Mumbai-The-Pros-and-Cons-of-Slum-Living

16.    Share the World’s Resources, “The Seven Myths of ‘Slums’ Challenging popular prejudices about the world’s urban poor”, December 2010

17.    CNU (Congress for the New Urbanism)What if Jane Jacobs had directed “Slumdog”?, February, 2, 2009, http://www.cnu.org/cnu-salons/2009/02/what-if-jane-jacobs-had-directed-slumdog

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