Urban Nature Flashcards
Give two examples of futuristic art/literature about cities.
- Ballard Drowned world (1962)
- ‘I am legend’ (Dir. Francis Lawrence, 2007)
- Also book by Matheson (1954)
What does ‘I am Legend’ (2007, Dir. Lawrence) suggest about the urban condition?
- Urban nature pervades Manhattan in this (unlikely) apocalyptic future
- Yet makes it look as though nature could only reclaim the city once people are gone
- Reinforces an ‘urban realism’ (cf. Fisher 2008) devoid of nature
Who has commented on the agoraphobia aspects of cities?
Vidler 2000 - warped space
What did the “Ideal city” painting (c.1475) depict the city as?
A place devoid of people, industry and nature. Geometric
What is ironic about Garden Cities in the UK?
Actually rational and car-dominated!
How can different public spheres in the city be represenred?
- Private spaces for some activities (e.g., Warm Rooms in St Petersburg - Petri 2022)
- Public houses (drunkenness) vs cafes (civilised)
What was one of the first truly PUBLIC parks?
Birkenhead park (1847)
What is a good essay on gendered experiences of London?
Woolf 1930
Is there such a thing as inherently urban problems?
No, really the consequence of capitalism (e.g., Engels “And yet there is a great deal of money made here; good day, sir”
What did plants historically (and today) represent?
Represented geopolitical power
- The more ornate the plants = the more regional power dominance
What is significant about the Louisiana Sculpture park in Denmark?
People can access the art and nature
- est 1958
Is central park really nature?
No, it is as much an engineering feat by Olmsted
Was central park originally planned in NCY?
Not in the “grid-iron plan” (1811)
How did central park affect surrounding areas?
- Concerns initially (tax and disorder)
- Yet caused rent rise - speculative capital invested in surrounding properties
How many entries were there for central park?
31 entries for the design
- Olmsted’s pastoral landscape winner
- Features ‘the Ramble’, a simulacrum of a natural landscape
- Also formal elements - water features etc
What were Olmsted’s ideas of central park?
- TO create a pastoral landscape for romanticism-inspired improvement of city lives
- A city for the public + mass migration
- Yet technocratic, no consultation
FIND CITATION
What happened after central park opened?
- Elite playground (by 1859 according to photos)
- Millions of visitors by 1870s
- Complaints in 1930s “Let ‘em play”
- After ww2 a political space for civil soc movements and protest (cf. Nissen 2008)
What happened to central park from 1980s onwards?
- Disrepair in 1970s
2.Central Park conservancy from 1980s - Became semi-privatised, funded by philanthropic donations
.
What did Moses and Olmsted have in common?
- No consultation
- Simplified complex issues
What has Koolhaas (1978) highlighted about central park?
- A form of taxidermy
- A fragment of an original nature
YET ONLY A SIMULACRUM!
What is Gilles Clement’s “third landscape”?
That the landscape should be left alone - it is a space of resistance
(Clement 2015)
What is ironic about non-design?
Design is needed for it!
- There are intentionalities in the “Third Landscape” (Clement 2015)
- Parks are “in movement”
IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER