The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
Jan Gehl, architect, urban planner, and author of Cities for People, discusses what he calls "bird shit architecture," a trend in urban planning that originated in the 1950's and persists to the present day. This type of architecture, he explains, is designed to look good from a plane, but is not practical for the actual residents of a city.
He uses the example of the city of Brasilia, capital of Brazil, one of the most famous modernistic cities, to illustrate his point. "From...
Dubbed the "half-mile high tower," at 828 metres, Dubai's recently completed Burj Khalifa is the world's newest tallest building. Professor Philip Goad, Professor of Architecture at the University of Melbourne, Australia, argues, "Modern skyscrapers are simply 'very large consumer objects' that value excess over practicality and often indicate approaching economic doom. High-rises like the new Burj Khalifa in Dubai are a 'result of too much money...and too...
