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urban morphology (prof. ricky burdett)

the essay explored current contemporary uses of space, highlighting an incongruity in the city; the significant rise in the development or renewal of public spaces when at the same time the state has introduced and is readily using anti social behaviour orders via the crime and disorder act. the essay discussed civil life in london today proposing theoretical and practical contrasts and contradictions at work, often, as was shown, on site specific public spaces

the essay drew attention to the previous mayor of barcelona's 'outdoor living rooms' public space policies and projects and suggested that perhaps no new public spaces had been created in london (as at 2005), only a handful of public access spaces. these spaces needed to understood in the context of government which via techniques such as asbos were criminalising behaviour that is otherwise lawful, bringing into question current ideas on civil life

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urban infrastructure (sarah ichioka)

the essay traced the theoretical and historical contextualization of urban infrastructure, concentrating on the sociological changes in our understanding of infrastructure and the city. historical contrasts were shown, for example, between the romans and the saxons. two events were pivotal to our contemporary experiences of urban infrastructure; soho's broad street pump outbreak, 1854 and the great stink of 1858. these two events significantly shaped future ideas around the role urban infrastructure; maintaining cities functionality and pre-occupation with cleanliness and the development of city government as the metropolitan board of works evolved into the london county council - which is today the greater london authority (gla)

these events enshrined the 'cleanliness is next to godliness' mantra that still dominate policy and cultural perceptions of 'good cities'. the essay discussed how, today, international agencies such as the world bank and influential academics export these functions along with the governance structures across the globe and how the dominate narratives require 'good cities' to fit this model. urban infrastructure does not belong to engineers alone as expected, but rather to narratives that are cultural and belong to a time

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contemporary urbanism (dr andy pratt) i.

'publishing community' discussed the role publishing (area based newsletters, magazines, websites) contributes to forming ideas of community. the ever interesting and controversial spitalfields with its numerable 'communities' was used as the case study using a handful of existing publications as case studies

contemporary urbanism (dr murray low) ii.

'faith in the city' was a critique of the methodologies of the whitechapel based, saul alinsky inspired 'community organising' charity named london citizens. the essay charted the major shifts in governance in contemporary britian and how london citizens is seen as increasingly influential and an important actor in this changed governance context

the essay highlights many of the organisation's successes; perhaps the most useful has been a handful of living wage campaigns, which have included a living wage for cleaners in a few of the canary wharf towers and more recently at the lse itself. however the organisation is largely misunderstood, even by its many supporters as broad based organisation, which in governance terms commands a great deal of respect, when in fact it is almost entirely a faith based membership organisation

here in lies london citizens inherent flaw (though what they see as their greatest pragmatic strength), is that london citizens uses and relies on the hierarchical formula of religious structures to create a perception of significant numbers. this allows them to 'turn out' hundreds of people to rallies and events creating a striking congregation that seem to have significant numbers and depth. however this 'turn out' requires the convincing of the smallest number of people (the leaders of each congregation) who have the biggest number of flock that follow.

at the time of writing the essay, london citizens did not have one community or residents association in its membership. in interview, london citizens 'lead organiser' neil jameson suggested london citizens wouldn't waste its time with these organisations, as they take too much work and organisation. it was clear the organisation was a collection of faith based organisations and that it needed to be understood as this. London Citizens, started 15 years ago, has only recently been emboldened by the rise of religion due to geopolitics and rises in membership due to new immigrant communities; primarily catholics from the former soviet union states and muslims from asia. london citizens is not in any way a broad based community organisation

with this factual information in mind, the essay concludes, london citizens, should be understood as a faith based collective organisation, with faith based agendas, which may have little or nothing to do with credible new governance techniques and structures in the city. there is no doubt london citizens could do a lot of good work on inter-faith relations and understanding, of which at this time there is an increasingly acute need.

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foundations of urban studies (prof david frisby) urban theory (prof richard sennett) submission march 2007

I will document an area of east London, within a one mile radius of an earlier project (INTACT) and essentially record all the fenced green-spaces within this area via photography, drawing and text

the essay chapters will include:

i. the history of the fences / railings / when did they change role from ‘keeping things in to keeping things out’ / history of production of fences / the social history of fences & railings in London

ii. theoretical conceptualisation of fences in contemporary London society / fences Vs No Fences / policy Framework for fences / interviews with those involved with fences / railings (those that commission them, make them, live with them)

iii. data/study of fenced green-spaces / photographic documentation of fenced green spaces (all in the mile) / drawings – Aerials & Cross sections / text – interviews, historical documents, personal responses

in the summer i will exhibit of up to seven medium format photographs and the blue print for a book to be published – with all the photographs, text, theory and drawings

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