In the context of Chilean Metropolises such as Santiago, Valparaíso, and Concepción, ecological and social fragmentation of cities lead to significant environmental disturbances, including alterations to the urban climate, loss of biodiversity, and the gradual suppression of ecological corridors and native habitats, ultimately heightening current and future risks, and degrading the quality of life for urban residents stemming from excessive urbanisation, ineffective planning, maladaptive design, and environmental management in critical natural areas. Although an abundance of general frameworks and principles already exist, they necessitate a more contextual and integral approach that considers the natural dynamics of the landscape (landscape logic) as a base for social and economic development. This research presented a landscape approach taking the city of Valparaíso, Chile, as a case study. A methodological framework utilising mixed methods, was developed to analyse and diagnose potentialities of the landscape for developing practical knowledge for planning and design, conscious of the community demands and capacities, its ecological system and its complex geomorphology, and the future applications and assessment in biodiversity terms and social impact. A design-related research opens the opportunity as a methodology that will make it possible to incorporate different types of expertise and work on various scales. This research provides a means for developing spatial guidelines and design principles to strengthen Valparaíso’s green/blue infrastructure at multiple scales. It will ensure water security, biodiversity conservation, safer and more inclusive spaces, and better integration of informal settlements while enhancing ecosystem services for the community. Additionally, by incorporating the natural dynamics of the landscape, this approach provides ways to reduce risk, promote adaptation, and build resilience. ... Read more

Today, the world faces a multitude of complex societal issues, that need urgent attention for enhanced quality of life and resilient futures. With the help of a study on the daily mobilities of urban marginalised women (UMW) supported by state-of-the-art literature, this paper presents insights into the aspects of urban informality that can inform the design and planning of future cities capable of surviving the situations of crises. By adopting a combination of new technologies along with mobile methods and ethnography, this research centres around the everyday travel experiences of the urban marginalized women from the peri-urban areas of New Delhi who contest their right to access stationery and mobile public spaces. Following the elements of qualitative research, this study examines the socio-spatial environment comprising the daily mobilities of UMW to reveal certain conditions of informality that enable their access and participation in socio-economic activities. In doing so, the paper highlights the significance of various infrastructures emerging from the social conditions of doing things together (social interdependence), belonging to a community and the aspects of self-organisation that are crucial for the sustained functioning of cities. Moreover, it presents a perspective for designers to identify and embrace temporary ways of existing and operating towards resilient cities of the future. With the help of the findings from this study, this paper presents urban informality as a design paradigm for various systems and services of future resilient cities that are more equitable and inclusive, and at the same time adapt to the dynamic uncertain situations of crises by being flexible, adaptable and leaving spaces for the emergence of bottom-up citizen-led initiatives. ... Read more

This paper speculates on using blockchain and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) in agroecological regeneration, focusing on the case of Spain’s Mar Menor. It highlights the ecological challenges of intensive agriculture, drawing on theories like Haraway’s cyborg metaphor and Latour’s actor-network theory to contextualize the crisis within the interplay of human and non-human actors. The study introduces a conceptual blockchain-based prototype to automate ecosystem resilience through DAOs that manage land and agricultural practices. It proposes strategic interventions such as reforestation with nitrogen-fixing trees, cultivating flood-resistant crops, and the creation of new agro-settlements. The paper argues that blockchain technologies can optimize these strategies by enabling precise monitoring and management, thus enhancing soil fertility, sustainable agriculture, and community sustainability. It presents a vision of agroecosystems as resilient, autonomous entities capable of addressing ecological and economic challenges. ... Read more

The Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam on the Lower Xingu River has severely affected the river’s water pulse and threatens a multitude of endemic species and indigenous nations. A great number of dams are expected to be constructed in the years to come in the Amazon river basin which will bring further devastation. Historically, Indigenous and local populations have always opposed such endeavours and the preservation of biodiversity and forests within their territories is crucial to decelerate and revert climate change effects. Indigenous nations steward and protect over 80% of the world’s biodiversity even though they are only 5% of the world’s population. Despite this, defence of indigenous rights and land demarcation has been slow. Moreover, recommendations to expand hydropower generation have gained traction to enable the energy transition, as seen in last year’s Glasgow COP26. This proposal exposes the impact of Belo Monte dam on human and non-human existences and proposes an analytical framework which envisions the territory through a multitude of perspectives as well as various management arrangements. This framework intends to propose methods which can facilitate shared occupation and enable the coexistence of diverse groups in the region through policy and design. The limits of urban practice when acting over such territories must be questioned and re-defined. If our field intends to position itself within such regions, we must begin to propose an alternative paradigm which can adequately territorialize cosmopolitics. Is Cosmourbanism achievable? ... Read more

In the rapidly developing urban regions around the globe, the opportunity to link local urban development with actions targeted to prevent ecological catastrophe has become an imperative. Cities situated in geographical locations characterized by changing water regimes, such as flood exposed urban sites in deltas, on the coast, or along rivers, are particularly critical. Suggesting prevention or adaptation measures in these sites requires a process of interaction between diverse governmental bodies, civil society, and private actors – which is not easy in times of economic and political turbulence. Hence our commitment aims to activate stakeholder involvement and to facilitate a multidirectional knowledge transfer, recognizing the various levels of interactions necessary to advance both knowledge and action on site, within an ever-decreasing local government budget, and an ever increasing complexity of issues to be addressed by ever more tailor-made strategies – this prompts the quest for new knowledge transfer methodologies, responsive to both the local sites/ locally active site actors, and the global knowledge community/ globally active researchers. The question is then if sustainable socio-territorial transformation can be supported by a co-transfer of knowledge, catering to the different demands? Such a transfer concept relies on the co-creation of urban transformation knowledge while also involving the co-creators in the act of continuously translating their knowledge to each other and to different socio-political contexts and geographical locations. ... Read more

The urban conditions of many metropolitan regions in the Global South are marked by growing informal settlements, growing inequalities, and socio-spatial fragmentation. They face alterations of their natural-spatial context imposed by climate change and new hydrological patterns. Knowledge is needed to direct their transformation toward more sustainable futures. Academia plays an important role in this knowledge production process that bridges disciplines and geographies. It ensures links to professional actors, public authorities, and civil society in their respective localities. This chapter introduces the adaptation of a more collaborative, trans-disciplinary, and multi-directional working method called “Beyond Best Practice” that raises research questions around ever-evolving, multi-actor collaborations from a design thinking perspective. These research experiences allowed us to promote an open-ended, co-transfer thematic, and methodological knowledge process by developing and testing ideas in real-world laboratory situations. Its results can be redirected to the Global North, where patterns of informality increasingly characterize hotspots of critical urbanity and, in turn, would benefit from knowledge sourced in the Global South. ... Read more

The unprecedented speed and scale of urbanization in China calls for advanced planning and design strategies. This paper aims to explore a new pedagogical approach that cultivates morphological regional design studies to develop spatial strategies that acknowledge the complex and diverse urban landscapes of Chinese megaregions. Accordingly, the objective is to compare different morphological themes that form the basis for speculative gameboarding as a regional design methodology in the setting of academic planning and design studios. The paper evaluates a collection of outcomes from four years of collaboration between The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Design and the TU Delft’s Department of Urbanism. Here, gameboarding was used as a methodology to draft scenarios for large-scale spatial transformation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). Firstly, the paper explains the pedagogical trajectory of the studios along their three main phases — analysis, gameboarding, and evaluation. Secondly, it is investigated in how far the given morphological themes informed the design outcomes of the students. These outcomes are compared with regard to their spatial specificity as well as the radicalness of proposed transformations. Lastly, it is discussed if some of the themes are more suitable than others to respond to the socio-cultural and environmental specificities of the GBA. In six design studios, students worked on eight different morphological themes: pointillist, linear, strip, megablock, radial, ring, cross, and edge. It is found that redundancies exist between some of the themes, which suggests that the consolidation of themes might be worth exploring. Furthermore, the different context of the studios in the two universities seems to affect the role that gameboarding takes in the process. Overall, the teaching methodology has proven to generate a wide range of design strategies that point far beyond conventional spatial planning solutions. Speculative gameboarding with morphological themes is therefore a promising methodology that may be further enhanced and tested for other forms of stakeholder engagement. ... Read more

The governance of urban processes, in the face of the effects of variability and extremes of climate change, requires a complex approach, especially because of the inherent uncertainty and high infrastructure cost those solutions entails. The urgency of the responses and actions imposed by extreme weather events transfers additional complexity to less developed societies, given the drift towards sectoral responses and the structural lack of financing at the municipal level. This chapter proposes a two-pronged approach: 1) linking climate adaptation processes and 2) outlining strategies for local development. This double effect facilitates the process of climate change adaptation through the active integration of a wider range of actors in local development, integrates agendas and actions of greater complexity, and ensures a long-term perspective of evolutionary change. The chapter has a theoretical framework defined by its transdisciplinary perspective (Lang et al., 2012), i.e. a reflective, integrative, scientific principle articulated by co-participatory methods that aim to solve or transition social problems and at the same time relate to scientific problems by differentiating and integrating knowledge from various scientific and social disciplines to validate the link between climate change strategies and local development. This is presented through a case study establishing a framework for possible interventions with integrated objectives in order to determine policy recommendations and local development strategies within the characteristics and conditions recognised in the case study, paying special attention to the high number of informal settlements in abandoned areas, and the limited economic capacity of the municipality to cope with their needs. ... Read more

The governance of urban processes, in the face of the effects of variability and extremes of climate change, determines a complex approach to address them. In particular due to its inherent uncertainty and the high cost of infrastructure that its solution entails. The urgency of the responses and actions imposed by extreme weather events, transfers additional complexity to less developed societies. This given the drift towards sectoral responses and the structural lack of financing at the municipal level. This article proposes a double approach, linking the processes and strategies of climate adaptation to local development. This double effect, would facilitate the process of adaptation to climate change. This through the active integration of a broader range of actors in local development, incorporating more complex agendas and actions. Thus, ensuring a perspective of long-term evolutionary change. The article is defined from a theoretical framework with a transdisciplinary perspective, to validate the link between climate change strategies and local development. Presenting itself through a case study, establishing a framework for possible interventions with integrated objectives. This structure facilitates to establish policy recommendations and local development strategies within the characteristics and conditions recognized in the case study. Paying special attention to the high level of informal settlements in abandoned areas and the low economic capacity of the municipality to meet their needs. ... Read more

The effects of climate change have become increasingly visible in many coastal cities, where extreme hydrological events seem to occur more frequently causing severe flooding and other negative impacts over the territory and its communities. Although scientific evidence gives rise to predictions on the impacts of climate change, the level of uncertainty as to what these impacts are remains high, exhibiting a greater risk in areas where the planning process is fragmented and not coherent. This paper presents a reflection on the participatory processes used to address the potential of scenario development as a tool for integrating urban and environmental dimensions. Using this representative case study as an example, some methodological concerns about stakeholder participation and planning through scenarios were presented and tested as well. This is a study of the Lower Paraná Delta in Argentina, which is a complex estuarine delta and located near the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, the country’s largest urban area, with more than 13 million inhabitants. There, lack of coordination and the disjointed management of urban and environmental issues turn participatory processes into an opportunity to build awareness and to set networks of communication up between different categories of active stakeholders. These stakeholders play a key role towards improving a set of informed common development goals to help face the climate change risk incurred within the area's metropolitan development. ... Read more