“The Trend in the Western World Is the Dissolution of Cities”

[marmar]

MEXICO CITY, Aug 23 2012 (IPS) - The prevailing trend in much of “the Western capitalist world is the destruction and dissolution of cities,” which represents a threaten to democracy, “because the city is the place where public freedoms were born,” warns urban planner Jordi Borja in an interview with Tierramérica*.

The current urban planning model confines residents to places that urban transport does not reach, and leaves public spaces abandoned, stressed Borja, a political scientist, sociologist, geographer and director of city management and urban planning at the public Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia).

Borja (Barcelona, 1941) lived in exile in France from 1961 to 1968, worked as an adviser for the remodelling of cities like Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago and Bogotá, and is the author of a number of books, including “La ciudad conquistada” (The Conquered City).

Tierramérica spoke with Borja during the International Forum on the Right to Mobility, held this month in the Mexican capital, where he was one of the speakers. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/08/qa-the-trend-in-the-western-world-is-the-dissolution-of-cities/

[xchrom]

1. du rec. Nt

[BOG PERSON]

2. cool article