Urban Collapse Paradigm
Today, experts in urban development need to understand how far they can push the urban infrastructure without negative consequences. For example, is it possible to expand a metro network indefinitely? By the same token, increasing the number of public spaces doesn’t solve the problem of lack of recreation space because urban population grows geometrically.
“What to do in those cases? Do we follow the example of Mexico, they build four-level traffic interchanges? Or are we going to have problems like in Los Angeles, where the authorities don’t know how to close one of the main roads for construction? Are we going to be able to respond to a challenge like a collapse? Collapse is the final point of infrastructure growth. I don’t know a single university that’s working on modeling collapses in our environment,” Muller said.
Climate Change Paradigm
Climate change research is very important for urbanists. Not everyone knowns that a global warming of just 3-4 degrees can cause flooding of dozens of cities, including St. Petersburg.
“It’s not just a hypothesis. It’s the data that’s getting real. Projects for infrastructure development should parts of cities be destroyed are already in the works. It’s important to include these issues into college curriculum,” Muller noted.
Local Manufacturing Paradigm
Scientists keep pointing out the need for the cities to go back to nature. New York, for example, already has urban farms that grow vegetables for local consumption.
“Is it possible to imagine that everything we need will be grown within a city? For example, in hot houses or in buildings with artificial lighting? It’s possible that large corporations are already looking into that,” he said.
Necessary Information Paradigm
Data gets old very quickly, making it impossible to use it for making complex decisions about urban development. That’s why it’s important to create a device that monitors the objects of research in real time.
“That will help us understand what to do with outdated elements, such as how long a stop light is needed as the main element for traffic regulating,” Muller said.
“Slow” and “Smart” Cities Paradigm
Urban dwellers are tired of the constant rush. At the same time, modern tech makes it possible to establish a close connection between each dweller and existing city systems, such as the transport system.
Willy, does an urbanist need to know everything about everything, or does he just need to be able to bring in the right people to solve urban problems?
I believe that the urbanist must possess a variety of skills. IAAC Institute, where I work, is currently developing an Urban Science educational program, during which students will study five areas of knowledge. Firstly, there is sociology. An urbanist needs to know the system and the technology of social interaction, and have the skills to attract specialists from different fields to solve various problems. Secondly, there is the economy. Already, 80% of production is concentrated in cities. Thirdly, the environment, no way around it. Fourth, is knowledge of modern technologies and technological development trends. And finally, the fifth - this is what I call the knowledge of the environment. This includes everything that a person needs for a quiet life in the city, it is all that surrounds them every day.
In addition, it is worth emphasizing that now there are different approaches to education. You used to go to university to pursue a specialty, received a package of knowledge, and after graduation you could apply it to various fields. Now the situation has changed 180 degrees. You get into a department and in the process of learning you increasingly specialize in a particular area of expertise.
One of the main ideas of your presentation is the creation of environmentally friendly cities. What should be done in this direction in the first place?
The most important thing is air quality. You know how they call cars the smog of the city. It is necessary to change the perception of private vehicles to more negative and develop a network of public means of transportation. But it is a task that requires a lot of effort that you need to make right now. A great example for motivation is Beijing. You can see what happens when a city is not regulated by the number of vehicles and factories continue to stand in the central areas of the city.
Now cities in Russia, including St. Petersburg, are expanding quickly. How to keep the social and manufacturing balance in these cities?
The authorities can’t concentrate all their attention on the central part of the city and to mass production there, educational sites and places of culture and leisure. It’s necessary to create jobs, public spaces in new areas, so people can live and work there. But at the same time it’s impossible to live in isolation from downtown and other cities. It’s very important to develop a system of communication between the different districts and regions. For example, it can be fast trains running on alternative sources of energy. In addition, the population must have as much information as possible about the opportunities that they have for getting around, study, work, in other words, the information about their urban environment.
