Cristina Bianchetti Knihy

The European tradition of urbanism has two main lines. The more influential of these clearly addresses the ?place? as the limit of architectural and urban design. We cannot conceive of life without profound roots in places. The other traditional line in urbanism gravitates around the ?body?. Although not as influential, it suggests a different approach to modern urbanism. The perspective developed here questions what happens in-between the ?body? and ?space?. To do this, the ?body? is understood as a transit channel between space and the urban project.0The book unfolds a critical reading of contemporary architectural design and urbanism and criticises the way design refers to ?space? using the ?body?. In doing so, it delves into the debates of architecture and urban planning of the eighties, as well as their ambiguous relationship with politics.

Europe’s current crisis is also a crisis of the European city. Economic, social, and political insecurities have changed our perception of territories, institutions, and forms of living, and have dramatically weakened the complex interactions within Europe. They have also compromised the reshaping of our physical landscape. Yet, the crisis is also creating new opportunities—for urban transformation, urban practices, and forms of participation. Based on case studies from Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, and Switzerland, Territories in Crisis describes the countless challenges faced by European Cities from historical, sociological, and economic perspectives and sets them in relation to existing and potential forms of urbanity. Territories in Crisis aims to develop a new European framework for architecture and urban planning in the era of crisis.