Oscar Carracedo from the University of Singapore outlines five actions that has emerged in his research in relation to urban revitalization policies and processes.

VIDEO COMING 22 APRIL

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“On site urban renewal strategies for low income and informal settlements in inner cities” - Oscar Carracedo (AUDIO COMING 22 APRIL)

SYNOPSIS

“On site urban renewal strategies for low income and informal settlements in inner cities” focuses on the paradigm shift in the urban renewal and regeneration processes applied to the informal and low-income settlements.

In the current scenario of economic and housing production crisis, greater social involvement and where it is anticipated that urban development will mainly happen in cities, we confront a number of challenges concerning human settlements and their planning. Based on these arguments, the sole provision of housing by urban programs becomes inappropriate and insufficient. The lecture addresses the systemic approach to "on-site" -Ibid- strategies and as one of the essential changes in the urban renewal policies towards more resilient, sustainable and integrated neighborhoods.

The lecture is based on the qualitative and quantitative analysis of different on-site experiences in low-income and informal settlements in Asia and Latin America studied in the Innerhods Lab. In addition, the research incorporates the critical and innovative thinking by developing concrete urban proposals. Moreover, the research draws on the fact that urbanization is an unavoidable process and, to prevent this growth from continuing to happen in an informal and unplanned way, cities must shift towards the recognition and revitalization of the informal and low-income tissues as a part of a sustainable development process and an inclusive and participatory policy.

Propositions for addressing the issue: Oscar Carracedo proposes five fundamental actions aligned to the UN-Habitat principles that will impact our urban environments once incorporated as a part of the urban programs and revitalization policies and processes: 1. Connect - Spatial connections integrate neighborhoods and facilitate access to potential work places and services to residents, which will reduce inequality and increase resilience. 2. Collectivize - Public and collective space encourages the development of social cohesion and capital, improves quality of life, and promotes the sense of belonging, which results in community engagement and care for the neighborhood. 3. Decentralize - Decentralization incorporates two different concepts, infrastructure and decision making decentralization. Both are based on an even and democratic systematic distribution of management at different levels, which increases the redundancy and flexibility of systems by promoting autonomy and creativity. 4. Train - Education and training improves access to employment opportunities that will revert to local economy, creation of jobs, entrepreneurship and a greater appreciation for the living environment. 5. Regularize - Finally, security of tenure and land regularization constitutes a central component towards successful urban renewal proposals. Security of land tenure promotes attachment to the site and people's investment in their own house.

BIOGRAPHY

Oscar Carracedo is an Architect, Urbanist and Assistant Professor of the Department of Architecture at the National University of Singapore. He is the chair of the DRIA-Designing Resilience in Asia symposium and international competition, co-chair of the Asian Streets Symposium, and principal investigator of the InnerHoods Lab, where he develops his research on informal urbanism, integrated planning and liveability. Drawn on his research he has recently published 'Naturban' about the relationship between urban and natural milieu, and 'Urban Revitalization Strategies for Low-income communities in Manila', dealing with alternative urban development strategies for the renewal of low-income urban settlements.

ADDITIONAL READING MATERIAL

"Urban Revitalization Strategies for Low-income communities in Manila". Ed. Casa. Department of Architecture. School of Design and Environment. National University of Singapore. Carracedo, O., Hwang Y.H. 2014. 

"Ibid./ In the same place. On-site resilient regeneration strategies for informal and low income neighborhoods" Oscar Carracedo. ORO Ed. Singapore. 2016.

"The Form Behind the Informal. Spatial patterns and street-based upgrading in revitalizing informal and low-income areas" In 'Asian Urban Places'. Ed. CASA. Center for Advanced Studies in Architecture. National University of Singapore. 2014.

"Shaping informality. The role of street-based strategies in revitalizing informal and low-income areas" In 'Designing Productive Cities'. Ed. Urban Design Conference. Adelaide. Australia. 2014.

"Regenerating neighborhoods through identity and community places. Planning and developing strategies for resilient informal settlements" 7th Conference of the International Forum on Urbanism. IFOU. Tainan. Taiwan. 

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