Christian Werthmann is an Associate Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and serves as the Program Director for the Landscape Architecture Department. Werthmann explores the role of landscape as infrastructure in rapidly urbanizing areas with a special focus on urban poverty in the Gobal South.

Abstract:

1/3 of our urban population lives in cities that were built without the help of planners, architects or engineers. While Europe keeps shrinking, the nations of the Global South will expand, and with it nonformal urbanism. The matter of fact is that the nonformal condition will account for almost half of our future urban growth, forcing us to speak of future nonformal metropolises based on the sheer magnitude of the phenomena. The problematic nature of uncontrolled urbanization has been emphasized in the past, as described by Mike Davis in his influential book ”Planet of Slums”. But, there is also a growing understanding of the virtues, inevitableness and moral legitimacy of self built cities. Despite all well known shortcomings these cities provide a place for the urban poor to live. Today, a new generation of designers in the Global South has found strategies of useful and very pragmatic engagement. They tactically insert into the conflicted and large territory of self made cities carefully calibrated infrastructures and landscape interventions. At the same time European and North American trained designers and engineers increasingly pursue work outside of their countries. If willingly or not, they will encounter conditions in the nonformal cities that they are insufficiently prepared for. Can the designers of the Northwestern hemisphere learn from the designers of the Global South? What are key strategies and tactics? What can the designers of the Northwestern hemisphere add to the growing knowledge of urban poverty and nonformal city improvement in the Global South?

The lecture can be attended without previous notice.

All attendees are cordially invited to join the reception following the lecture.