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THE SPONTANEOUS CITY BY URHAHN URBAN DESIGN
“The Urban Renaissance has been pronounced dead. The real estate sector is reeling from the blows of the recession. More than one in eight shops is empty, and new housebuilding remains sluggish. The regeneration sector is searching around for models. We believe the spontaneous city is part of the answer: the hacking of our built environment through self-organised entrepreneurialism can breathe new life into our cities… “
The authors of this book argue in favour of local resourcefulness, flexibility, and openness – in short, they argue for the Spontaneous City. The Spontaneous City is never finished, is about the user and is the result of supply and demand. This manifesto provokes discussion about the aims of urban planning in the twenty-first century. With the book ‘The Spontaneous City’ Urhahn Urban Design heralds another practice. Small-scale ‘make-ability’ combined with Dutch entrepreneurial skill: that is the basic principle.
The book is available in Dutch and English in bookstores as of December 2010!
By Paulo Meixedo
