Schools and skills of critical thinking for urban design

Abstract

This paper explores possible ways in which urban design can engage with critical thinking and critical theory. After a brief explanation of the terms, with particular attention to the Frankfurt School of thought, it provides various answers to the question as to whether urban design is critical or not. One categorisation applied to planning critical theory is then used to explain the potential for employing critical theories in urban design. Critical thinking skills are then argued to be helpful for enriching the literature of urban design in order to achieve better practice. The conclusion is that urban design can benefit from critical creativity, that is an embodiment of critical thinking within the limits imposed onto creativity. In this paper, the ways in which urban design can engage with both critical theory and with critical thinking are explored in order to achieve better critical creativity in the field.

Towards a Deleuzoguattarian methodology for urban design

“…Marxist political economy, and its application to cities (Castells, 1977;Harvey, 1989;Lefebvre, 2011), has contributed to urban design studies (Cuthbert, 2007a;King, 1996). It has a highly critical stance with suspicions about whether creativity within the existing system can bring about any real change, suggesting that urban design could be a servant of neoliberal forces (Foroughmand Araabi, 2017b). The possibility of making change is a prerequisite for critical urban design.…”

“…In regard to deterritorialization, design is supposed to bring about something new benefiting those who are forgotten by the existing regulations. In this regard deterritorializing through urban design follows critical creativity (Foroughmand Araabi, 2017b). It is critical as it acts for the sake of minorities, forgotten groups and values.…”

Exploring the Contradiction in the Ethos of Urban Practitioners under Neoliberalism: A Case Study of Housing Production in Chile

“…The importance of the market in shaping urban spaces increased after the emergence of neoliberalism (Harvey 2005), but the way how decision making is made specifically on urban forms remains under theorised. Foroughmand Araabi 2017). Therefore, from the perspective of the provision of good spaces, one of the problems of urban practitioners applying neoliberal policies is the uneven distribution of good spaces throughout a city (Smith 2009).…”

“…Under neoliberalism, entire areas of a city benefit from the production of high-quality urban design, but less attractive spaces for capital are neglected. Despite being privately owned, most open spaces designed for catching value are publicly accessible (Araabi 2018). Therefore, from the perspective of the provision of good spaces, one of the problems of urban practitioners applying neoliberal policies is the uneven distribution of good spaces throughout a city.…”

“…Urban design adopts the important role of providing a snapshot of success to neoliberalism, crystallizing the idea of the built environment as a commodity (Gunder 2011). As such, “when topics such as social justice, emancipatory design and gender are discussed under the titles of urban design, they cannot act otherwise than [is] required by neoliberal forces” (Araabi 2018, 4). Kanishka Goonewardena (2011) questions the co-dependence between capitalism and urban space production processes, demanding the disarticulation of these two concepts to develop what he called critical urbanism, a way of critical thinking that informs practice.…”