Smart Design: Disruption, Crisis, and the Reshaping of Urban Spaces

This book explores the emerging smart urbanism, focusing on economic relationality and centrality, technological flattening and polarisation, and spatial division and fusion. It draws on international studies and observations to reveal how these processes impact urban design, development, and policy approaches. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated these changes, leading to a smart design manifesto that incorporates change, flexibility, collaboration, and experimentation to shape a new paradigm of urban thinking.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 168 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The book delves into the emerging realm of smart urbanism, seeking to revolutionize urban thinking and explore innovative design approaches. It uncovers intricate urban transformations characterized by dualities such as economic relationality and centrality, technological flattening and polarization, and spatial division and fusion. These dualities intertwine, coexist, and contradict each other, exerting a disruptive and transformative force on various aspects of contemporary cities and spaces.

Drawing from a wealth of international studies, experiences, and observations, including case studies in Beijing, Singapore, and Boston, the book unveils the profound impact of these processes on urban design, development, and policy approaches. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated these changes, presenting an exceptional opportunity to reflect on and envision urban spaces.

Through comprehensive analyses, thoughts, and visions, the book constructs an urban imaginary of smart design that embraces change, flexibility, collaboration, and experimentation. This paradigm of urban thinking extends the foundations of modernist and postmodernist urban design traditions, responding to and anticipating the evolving urban environment.

The book proposes a smart design manifesto to ignite intellectual discourse, provoke debate, and potentially shape the next generation of urban thinkers and smart designers. It appeals to scholars, students, and practitioners across urban design, planning, architecture, urban development, and urban studies. By unraveling the complexities of smart urbanism, this book offers valuable insights and practical strategies for creating more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive cities of the future.

Weight: 286g
Dimension: 233 x 156 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032132235