Clumsy City by Design—A Theory for Jane Jacobs’ Imperfect Cities?

Abstract

How do different concepts of justice correspond with the principles of diversity in cities introduced by Jane Jacobs? This contribution connects Jane Jacobs' ideas on the diverse city with Mary Douglas' Cultural Theory and its concept of clumsy solutions. According to Douglas' Cultural Theory, every social situation can be described in terms of the four ideal-typical "rationalities": individualism, egalitarianism, hierarchism, and fatalism. These four rationalities are again linked to different concepts of justice: libertarian, utilitarian, or social justice. Douglas' Cultural Theory assumes that in every social situation all four of those rationalities emerge in some way and concludes that if a situation is not polyrational, it is less robust. This opts for imperfect and "clumsy solutions". It is argued that clumsy solutions, the four rationalities and related concepts fit Jane Jacobs' claim for more diversity in urban design. This essentially calls for imperfect cities by design, 'built' by Jacobs' generators for diversity. Although this outcome might not be revolutionary in the current debates about urban design, the concept of clumsy solutions provide a foundation for Jane Jacobs' atheoretical claim for a diverse city. This contributes to new reflections on the urban planning paradigms of Jane Jacobs.

Dilemmas, Conflicts, and Worldview Diversity: Exploring the Relevance of Clare Grave’s Legacy for Planning Practice and Education

“…This is essentially an invitation for planners to develop Yellow meta-worldview abilities. Schmitt and Hartmann (2016) argued that planning should adopt clumsy solutions for city design, that is, those that are radically open to worldview diversity. They specifically identify a range of relevant worldviews to consider using grid-group theory (which is, in itself, a clear display of the Yellow worldview; see the seminal work of Douglas 1970Douglas , 1978.…”

“…The solutions proposed for the planning problem under analysis were creative and there were high levels of consensus on their desirability and applicability. To a large extent, and as desired, the solutions were all fundamentally clumsy (Schmitt and Hartmann 2016;Verweij et al 2006): they included elements as varied as solar panels and meditation areas, organic food and silent study zones, outdoor physical training facilities and vertical vegetable gardens, activities focused on personal development, volunteering for a A special forces commando will drill the team using military exercises After arrival, the student will meet a highly qualified team exclusively dedicated to enhance the student's skills and appearance…”

“…In the last decades, a growing body of literature has identified the diversity of worldviews that can be found among individuals and groups (e.g., Boltanski and Thévenot 2006; Douglas 1989; Graves 1970). This has significant implications for planning—a professional field characterized by wicked dilemmas (Campbell and Marshall 1998; Rittel and Webber 1973a, 1973b) resulting from worldview diversity (Davy 2008, 2014; Ferreira, Sykes, and Batey 2009; Schmitt and Hartmann 2016). Indeed, dilemmas and conflicts are likely to emerge at the interfaces between less compatible worldviews.…”

Korona ja kaupunkitila

“…Turvallisuuden määreenä ei tällöin ole ylhäältä alaspäin kohdistuva kontrolli, vaan toisten huomioimisesta ja luottamuksesta syntyvä turvallisuuden tunne (Puustinen 2019;Jacobs 1961). Monimuotoisen kaupunkitilan voi ajatella olevan inklusiivinen, koska se antaa kaikille ta-T&E 4|2020 korona ja kaupunkiTila -wiEn ja HElsinki sapuolisen mahdollisuuden käyttää kaupunkia (Franzen 2009;Schmitt & Hartmann 2016).…”

Fatalism in Co-evolutionary Urban Planning: Experiences from Infill Planning in Finland

“…For urban planning, Cultural Theory has been proposed as a way to conceptualize and understand the polyrationality of planning situations (Davy, 2008;, and manage expectations of the diverse rationales' utilization (Hartmann, 2011;. Cultural Theory has also been employed to distinguish political perspectives in urban policy-making (Hendriks, 1999), for complementary approaches to spatial policies (Hartmann & Hengstermann, 2014), motivations for participation in planning processes (Hartmann, 2012;Kuusisto-Arponen et al, 2014), and urban design principles that enhance diversity in cities (Schmitt & Hartmann, 2016).…”