L18: Speculative Urbanism

Question 1

Speculative Urbanism

Answer 1

Introduced by Micheal Goldman
Defined as an endeavour (typically high risk) that instrumentalizes a new urban settlement for economic or political gain

Question 2

Land grabbing

Answer 2

the exceptional rules of dispossession enacted in the name of world-city making
- contentious issue of large-scale land acquisitions

Question 3

Bangalore’s Story

Answer 3

Used to be pretty town with lots of green, had amenities for modern living. People were attracted due to cooler climate (at a high elevation). Companies and manufacturing (research and development) moved in. Population went up like crazy.

Question 4

Negative Outcomes of Bangalore’s Rise

Answer 4

Results:
- demand for housing gone up
- more multi-story buildings
- congested roads
- developers using cities dry beds for potential housing sites
- emerged as an Indian Silicon Valley
- unsafe infrastructure (build super fast)
- Lots of issues with water and pollution

Question 5

World Class City

Answer 5

a city that acts as a primary node in the economic network.
- cities want to become world class
- strategies include hosting international events like the Olympics and focussing largely on urban redevelopment

Question 6

Profitability of Urbanizing Land

Answer 6

Land revenues are fully retained by local government as extra-budgetary revenues meaning there is a huge incentive for local governments to grab rural land for urban development

3 methods of this:
- expansion of pre-existing urban administrative boundaries
- use of special economic or development zones
- assembly of existing land resources within urban boundaries to put them into a better use

Question 7

Signs of Speculative urbanism in China

Answer 7

• real estate speculation implemented in a pre-emptive manner
• state-funded high speed railway projects
• construction of ghost towns
• very expensive housing projects

Question 8

University Towns in China

Question 9

Why has China built so many university towns to quickly?

Answer 9

• there is an increased demand for a skilled work force
• expansion in enrolment
• strategy by local governments to raise land value
• government officials get promotions based on urban schemes they have launched

Question 10

Ongoing Challenges with Guangzhou University Town

Answer 10

• villages forced to empty
• banks and privates investors have gone bankrupt (projects are risky)
• Villagers not making too much
• Facilities and infrastructure is criticized since the transportation is bad
• there aren’t really any sort of internships opportunities near by

Question 11

Kampung Sungai Temon Village Story

Answer 11

Speculative urbanism project taking place. Movement of sand effecting nearby village. Village also being told to leave. Villagers battled to prove that they own land legally. They found old colonial paperwork that proved it

Question 12

The role of financial and environmental speculation in Jakarta’s water crisis

Answer 12

• Dynamics of speculative urbanism and the associated impacts of water resources and flood events in Jakarta
• Author argues: financial speculation generates flood risk and the overexploitation of water resources
• Transformations in Jakarta’s hygroscope threaten to undermine the city’s viability as a site for speculative investment (city is sinking into sea)
• Environmental speculation is occurring because developers are specifically looking to invest into projects that will be unaffected by climate change (Aka. Garuda Sea Wall Plan)

Question 13

Definition of speculative urbanism and example of it present in the global south (EXAM)