Papers by Patricia Simoes Aelbrecht
URBAN DESIGN International
Public space reader
Journal of Urban Design, 2021
European public space projects with social cohesion in mind: symbolic, programmatic and minimalist approaches
European Planning Studies
The last two decades have witnessed a growing commitment to European public space projects seekin... more The last two decades have witnessed a growing commitment to European public space projects seeking to promote social cohesion. These projects are built on the premise that social cohesion is under ...
The design of the public realm: emerging theories and practices
A world fair for the future: a study of the legacy of the expo '98 urban model
The feeling of well-being cultivated in the celebrations of science, technology, culture, nation ... more The feeling of well-being cultivated in the celebrations of science, technology, culture, nation states and icons of national pride of world's fairs/ expos was often short-lived. Grand plans and buildings were constructed to express these ideologies of progress. Money was never spared. Because these narratives of celebration rarely envisioned concrete urban plans for the future, however, most of them fell rapidly into decline. Most expo sites stayed undeveloped, if not abandoned, and were burdened with massive debts. Many became relics of an event that had promised to bring a glorious future to the hosting country, reminding us of the limited long-term benefits of expo sites. Knoxville Expo 1982, New Orleans Expo 1984, and Seville Expo 1992 are good examples of this. Because of these perceived failures, for some countries such as the U.S, the once popular fair is no longer conceived as a guarantee of success or attractive to city developments.
Journal of Urban Design, 2016
There is a growing belief that living with diversity is beneficial for social cohesion. To attest... more There is a growing belief that living with diversity is beneficial for social cohesion. To attest this, one just has to look to the great amount of research produced that focuses on the different ways that it can be achieved. Most of this research is strongly influenced by North American academic literature on social capital, namely that of Robert Putnam, who advocates that everyday social contact and encounters are crucial to overcome ethnic cultural differences. There is a shared consensus that interactions among strangers are positive for building community cohesion. Notwithstanding this consensus, it is interesting to note that most of this research has not yet come to terms with what is really meant by 'meaningful interactions' and how they can be achieved (
From mixing with strangers to collective placemaking: existing theories, policies and practices around social cohesion in public space design [Introduction]
Proceedings of the ICE - Urban Design and Planning, 2015
Knowledge exchange in urban design: the state of the art Knowledge exchange is a two-way process ... more Knowledge exchange in urban design: the state of the art Knowledge exchange is a two-way process of sharing knowledge, ideas, viewpoints, and skills. It can mean different things and involve varied activities, depending on the disciplines, actors and types of expert knowledge in question. Although such activities are just emerging in urban design, knowledge exchange between research and practice has rapidly risen up the political agenda in many countries (Decter, Bennett and Leseure 2007). In the UK, knowledge exchange became part of a broader 2007 innovation agenda to inject new ideas into companies and improve their competitiveness and profitability (Howlett 2010). Two key initiatives were the creation of universitybusiness links and Higher Education Academy funding for catalysts to facilitate greater sharing of teaching and research knowledge (Peel 2009). These have engendered many different knowledge exchange activities including contract research, consultancy, conferences and publications, spinouts and spin-ins, knowledge exchange partnerships, knowledge networks, and internet platforms (Howlett 2010). Knowledge Exchange or Transfer Partnerships (KEPs/ KTPs), funded by government through the Technology Strategy Board, have been considered the most effective mechanisms (Howlett 2010). These usually imply a three-way knowledge exchange between researchers, universities and businesses. Although these partnerships aim to benefit all three parties, the prime goal is to improve how businesses function and bring innovation to the economy. Universities must bring high-level skills and expertise, and the researcher must have appropriate qualifications to deliver them to business (Howlett 2010). The UK's Economic and Social Research Council has led in providing guidance on best practice in KE (ESRC 2013).
URBAN DESIGN International, 2017
Postwar modernism heritage is being reassessed, revalued and somehow successfully rehabilitated, ... more Postwar modernism heritage is being reassessed, revalued and somehow successfully rehabilitated, even though there are still many people that refuse to accept this analysis. What is striking in this whole process is that these assessments are only centred on the architectural objects that make up these projects. No attention is given to the urban design, namely the public spaces of these modernist cityscapes, nor do the assessments take into account the user's experience or the designer's aims. This paper seeks to address this knowledge gap. To do so, It offers a multilayered assessment of the urban design visa -vis the designers aims, user's experience and heritage challenges involved in the contested masterplan of urban regeneration of the Southbank Centre in London. Given its iconic status and long history of conservation and regeneration attempts, the Southbank Centre Masterplan provides a productive case to assess different design-led regeneration approaches, to reflect on its achievements and failures, and by doing so it offers new lessons for guiding and assessing future urban design practices in complex postwar heritage contexts.
URBAN DESIGN International, 2021
This paper aims to initiate reflections on what an antifragile (Taleb, Anti-fragile. Things that ... more This paper aims to initiate reflections on what an antifragile (Taleb, Anti-fragile. Things that gain from disorder. Penguin Books, London 2012) built environment might look like by furthering the debate on dynamic non-equilibrium resilience, specifically in terms of scale, urban morphology and social life in urban areas. It will do so by presenting a critical review of relevant literature on resilience in the built environment and linking it to what we know so far about the physical (i.e. geographical, morphological and so on) and socio-cultural conditions that have likely limited the spread of COVID-19 while maintaining quality in urban space in early 2020. As the current pandemic is sharpening our understanding of both the link between local and global action and the power encompassed in the exercise of professional and technical knowledge and practice, the paper concludes with (i) speculations on how the current crisis and its management (i.e. lockdown and social distancing measures in public space' use) might lead to radical changes to the way we think of, and design the conditions for, urban public life and sociability; and with (ii) an agenda for further research on what role urban forms and uses play in speeding or slowing viral spread in different contexts. Keywords Resilience • COVID-19 • Antifragility • Urban form • Research agenda At the root of every pandemic is an encounter between a disease-causing microorganism and a human being. But that encounter, along with the events that lead up to it and the events that ensue from it, is shaped by numerous other events taking place at the same time-as well as by the weather, the price of bread and ideas about germs, white men and jinns. The pandemic in its turn affects the price of bread, ideas about germs, white men and jinns-and sometimes even the weather. It is a social phenomenon as much as it is a biological one; it cannot be separated from its historical, geographical and cultural context. Spinney (2017, p.5)
What role does the design of public spaces play in enhancing social cohesion
Millennials and the contested urban legacy of post-war modernist social housing in the UK
Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 2021
Attitudes to the European modernist social housing experiments of the 1950s and 1960s are complic... more Attitudes to the European modernist social housing experiments of the 1950s and 1960s are complicated and contested. Once derided as a failed and elitist social project, over the last two decades, ...
Since the 1960s, post-war modernist heritage has been largely criticised and victimised by the pu... more Since the 1960s, post-war modernist heritage has been largely criticised and victimised by the public opinion because of its material failures and elitist social projects. Despite these critiques, post-war modernist heritage is being reassessed, revalued and in some places successfully rehabilitated. There is a growing recognition that most of the critiques have often been the result of subjective and biased value and taste judgments or incomplete assessments that took into account neither urban design nor the users’ experiences. This paper aims to contribute to these reassessments of post-war modernist urban heritage legacies. To do so, it places the user’s social experiences and uses, and the urban design at the centre of the analysis, by using a combination of ethnographic methods and urban design analysis and focusing on the public spaces of South Bank Centre in London, the UK’s largest and most iconic and contested post-war modernist ensemble with a long history of conservation...
Rick Mather architects and their South Bank Centre Masterplan, Knowledge Exchange Project Report
European public space programs with social cohesion in mind
Spatial strategies and tactics: a study of the everyday uses in the Parque das Nações in Lisbon
Conclusion: Emerging knowledge at the intersection of public space design and social cohesion
A world fair for the future: revisiting the legacy of the expo 98 urban model
New public spaces of circulation and their scope for informal social interaction and cohesion
Public space design and social cohesion: lessons from the global north and global south
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Papers by Patricia Simoes Aelbrecht