P as in People; An exploration of how the right to the city can take spatial form by the redesign of a parking garage

Abstract

The question of how we can direct the world towards a climate neutral and just practise has never been more urgent. In an urbanized world, more and more people live in cities which give them a key role in this challenge. However, the profit driven logic behind the development of cities has led to a disenfranchisement of the inhabitants. The right to the city is both a movement and a theoretical concept demanding change of the current practice, why it is also the starting point of this master’s thesis. In connection with a theoretical exploration of the right to the city, the thesis further explores theories connected to the city and social sustainability. The purpose of the thesis is to problematize how space in the city is being used and developed by designing a transformation of an existing building in order to explore how the theory of the right to the city can take spatial form. The aim is to explore how design can be used as a tool for critical questioning. The thesis has been developed through literature studies, site analysis, research for design, research by design and critical reflection of the project throughout the process. With a framework from the theory and analysis, a parking garage is redesigned in order to explore how the findings can take spatial form. The suggested process and design of the building explore a possible way of giving radical access to the space to inhabitants of the city, questioning the profit driven, linear and disenfranchising way of developing urban space. The thesis concludes that in order to develop the city in a more democratic way than the current norm of profit driven development, there is a need for new strategies. The theory of the right to the city can be a way of approaching this. Furthermore, the strategies need to include feminist and intersectional perspectives, as well as an understanding of processes of deurbanization. The use of architectural design as a tool for critical questioning can be an effective way of starting discussions about problematic norms of urban planning.