CREATING SPACE FOR HABITECTS

One of the “main events” of 2 July at the Turin XXIII World Congress of Architects was “SLUM(e)SCAPE”, a panel/debate focused on constructive approaches to informal urban settlements. These are the preliminary conclusions offered by the event’s chairperson.

“CREATING SPACE FOR HABITECTS”

Chair’s conclusions on the SLUM(e)SCAPE main event, XXIII UIA World Architects Congress, Torino, 1 July 2008

URBANIZATION IS INEVITABLE, SLUMS ARE NOT

The world’s urban population has surpassed the rural population, and it will continue to grow. Most of the cities’ new dwellers, both in the North and in the South of the world, will be poor or with limited income. However, this does not mean we cannot create decent alternatives to living in slums or in slumlike conditions – overcrowding, poor structural conditions, vulnerable tenure, lack of essential urban services.

ACCESS TO DECENT HOUSING IS BECOMING A WORLDWIDE EMERGENCY

Access to decent housing is becoming a problem everywhere to growing portions of the urban population, both in the North and in the South. We can all learn from each other’s problems, efforts and solutions, no matter where we are and where we work.

GOING BAREFOOT WITH ROLLED-UP SLEEVES

To face this emergency, we need a new professional figure: the “Habitect” .
Habitects are defined as built-environment professionals (designers, architects, engineers, planners) who roll up their sleeves, step out of their professional architect’s shoes, get out in the slum, informal settlement or policy arena and re-possess the architect’s historical role: designing and building with a deep and wide sense of people, place, technology and participation.

THE AGENDA: TURNING SLUMS INTO CITIES, MAKING SURE THAT FUTURE CITIES DO NOT TURN INTO SLUMS

Settlements, however poor and precarious, are where places and people come together. Tearing down informal settlements and evicting communities is both a brutal and short-sighted policy. The best solution is turning slums into cities through slum upgrading: working with residents to ensure forms of reasonably secure tenure, improving services and infrastructure, provide the means for appropriate and affordable maintenance.

At the same time, prevention is better, and cheaper, than cure. We can prevent slums by providing viable alternatives. One of them is assisted self-help housing in suitable location. Both approaches require political engagement and sound urban planning, with special attention to sustainable development approaches.

CREATING SPACE FOR HABITECTS

More and more university students and young built-environment professionals are eager to test themselves as habitects both at home and abroad. Universities, and particularly schools and departments of planning and design, must respond to this demand by supporting special courses, and equally importantly, mainstreaming the issue of access to affordable housing, infrastructure and services shelter and planning solutions in their curricula. Networking initiatives going across North and South must also be encouraged. UIA should continue to devote attention to this issue, and perhaps take concrete initiatives such as instituting scholarships for aspiring habitects in the South and in the North.

Turin, July 2008