Patterns of self-urbanization

While talking to urban planners in Lima, it was interesting to note a frustration with the morphology of self-urbanization. Lack of structure and organization, poverty and the persistent presence of street vendors were referred to as a “crisis”, where urbanization is characterized by a patchwork rather than a coherent master-plan.

It is interesting to see how the rational, modernist search for a grid like urban plan is still very dominant in the urban planner’s minds. The desire for coherence, structure and efficiency seem to reflect an urban dream that never became possible but that nevertheless is still pursued with the construction of highways and sophisticated mega-projects aimed at reclaiming occupied lands.

The problem is that the unsettling landscape of slums will never really disappear if it continues to be rejected rather than embraced. What would the city look like if more effort would be directed into understanding, including and improving self-urbanization?

Photo by Iris Kuhnlein