My personal interpretation of The Salto.
How is ‘the good life’ being perceived from a planning view in urban spaces?
The modernist theory defined in the in 1933 Charter of Athens still determine the generic form and physical organisation of the 21st century city (Burdett 2018). Hence, from a planning point of view the good life in cities is enabled by the practice of zoning where public green outdoor spaces are separated from housing and they are reachable a reliable mass transport system or via the street network.
In 2016 the UN Habitat III conference has recognised urbanisation should be a results of an open process, both iterative and incomplete and we cannot apply the functionalist approach aiming at simplify cities by ensuring minimum needs anymore.
How can socio-cultural strategies enhance urban life?
The contemporary city is way more complex and the paradigm shift towards restorative sustainability would only be achieved in a dialogical manner between all the involved stakeholders especially residents. Indeed district of the future should rely on incomplete design to be filled in by the citizens that are going to make it their own spaces and create a sense of belonging.
Indeed, the revised version of good urban life should open self correcting discourses that are forward thinking and shares multidisciplinary knowledge in order to live in harmony with urban and natural ecosystems .
How is designed space/technology influencing the livability of cities and well-being?
Living in a denser London (LSE 2020) has shown that livability of cities and district and well-being are based on the balance between density and built form as well as efficient management of common facilities and the provision of adequate outdoor spaces. With cities that need to adapt to changing climates and the outbreak of a global pandemics the question is how to design environmentally and socially sustainable dense city.
A jump, or better, a trustable relationship between micro (where residents can create a sense of belonging and take immediate action) and macro (where delegating decision on the future city to democratic elected representatives) is evidently both a practical and yet hot topic in the political agenda.
Which role has urban space in a political context?
The use of urban space is part of political agenda per se, because it takes into account the main pillar of our capitalist economy that is based on private property and return of investment to said the least. Redistribution of wealth and particularly right to a quality shelter are known issues in a world where is predicted that two-third of world’s population will be urban . The answer lies in the concept of democracy itself. We need a constant unbiased debate on how to use urban space to fulfil the dynamic needs of the 21st century society.