DENSITY
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Paromita Vohra 1969Born and works India
Q2P 2006
Video (extract)
Courtesy the artist
Density – the number of people living in a
given area, usually expressed as people per
square kilometre – is at the centre of public
debate on the future growth of cities. Used as
a planning tool, awareness of density can help
to curtail over-development and overcrowding,
or ensure that scarce urban land is not
under-used, especially in areas with good
public transport and social amenities. High
density does not mean high-rise; large
numbers of people can be accommodated in
five- or six-storey buildings arranged in a
compact and efficient manner, creating
congenial places for living.
Good design can produce desirable neighbourhoods
in cities across the world by balancing
dense development with access to open
space and good transport. Dense urban environments
can create sustainable cities; more
dispersed developments use up more land
and need more infrastructure – water, gas,
electricity, roads – with negative impacts on
the environment. High density housing can be
associated with poverty and overcrowding,
especially in the slums of developing countries.
However, good design can produce
desirable neighbourhoods in cities across the
world by balancing dense development with
access to open space and good transport – as
evident in some of the most successful neighbourhoods
in London, Paris and New York.
The four models shown in this section
compare, at the same scale, the number of
people living within the administrative boundaries
of four of the ten cities featured in the
exhibition. The peaks show the highest residential
densities, with the largest number of
people concentrated in a square kilometre.
They range from the high-density of Cairo and
Mumbai to the more dispersed, but bounded
London (contained by the Green Belt) and the
sprawling Mexico City.
MEXICO CITY
Residential density: 5,800 people per km2
(London 4,500 people per km2)
Located on a high plateau, with few geographic
boundaries to curb its growth, Mexico City has
developed as a low-rise, sprawling city; the central
Federal District's residential density is about 5,800
people per km2, slightly higher than the relatively
low density of London. But it has some denser areas:
wealthier parts in the south, east and the historic
centre, as well as less affluent areas such the urbanised
north.
The suburban sprawl continues to develop, fuelled
by low-cost mortgages, cheap petrol and a lax regulatory
framework. The municipal government has
tried to re-shape the fragmented city by luring residents
back into the historic centre, whose population
had decreased by 40% between 1970 and
1995. But certain programmes intended to bring
more people into the city centre have had the unanticipated
effect of pricing out some residents, forcing
them into the surrounding State of Mexico.
PROJECT: BRAZIL 44
The current regeneration of Mexico City’s historic centre
involves revitalising historic structures as well as creating
and upgrading commercial buildings and infrastructure.
Brazil 44 is part of a federal government initiative
in partnership with the Junta de Andalucia of Spain,
aimed at improving housing conditions for the poor
in the historic centre. The project’s name is taken
from the address of an existing dwelling, which is
being revitalized to include five housing areas with
retail space on the ground floor. Its aim is to provide
public space for communal living desperately needed
by Mexico City’s many inhabitants. ARCHITECT: JAVIER SANCHEZ
/ HIGUERA + SANCHEZ CLIENT: INSITUTO NACIONAL DE LA VIVIENDA EXPECTED CONSTRUCTION:
2007 PROJECT: EL FARO DE ORIENTE
El FARO (La Fábrica de Artes y Oficios) de Oriente, or
‘lighthouse of the east’ is a community cultural centre
in the borough of Ixtapalapa, on the eastern edges of
Mexico City. Ixtapalapa is one of the city’s most populated
and violent zones, with inadequate amenities
and poor urban infrastructure.
The building was originally designed as government
offices, but local officials re-appropriated it as a
community arts centre, with studios, galleries, libraries
and performance space. The project involves
extending the public space surrounding the building
to create an outdoor amphitheatre for large-scale
performances, gatherings and activities, to provide a
cultural oasis in this industrial desert environment.
CLIENT: EL FÁBRICA DE ARTES Y OFICIOS ARCHITECT: ALBERTO
KALACH / TALLER DE ARQUITECTURA X COMPLETION DATE: 2000
CAIRO
Hala Elkoussy 1974
Born Egypt, works Netherlands, Egypt
Peripheral Stories 2005
Digital video
Running time: 28 minutes
Production still by Graham Waite
Courtesy the artist
enlarge
Residential density: 36,500 people per km2
(London 4,500 people per km2)
Cairo has a high residential density, approximately
nine times that of London. Desert conditions limit
the amount of habitable land in Egypt, so half its
inhabitants live within a 100 kilometre radius of
Cairo. Its dynamic informal economy is a magnet for
people who continue to flow to Cairo’s already
congested neighbourhoods. As a result, the many
people attracted to the city have difficulty finding
affordable housing.
The Nile Valley frames the overall metropolitan
development of Cairo. The most dense urban areas
lie along a corridor stretching north east from the
river, and in parts of Giza, west of the Nile. Open
public space is scarce; as a result, Cairo’s citizens
have co-opted some unexpected parts of the city
for use as social space, including using the multilane
bridges over the Nile for evening picnics.
PROJECT: AL-AZHAR PARK
By the mid-1990s Cairo had one of the lowest ratios
of green space per inhabitant in the world; at only
one square metre per resident it fell far below the
World Health Organisation’s recommended eight
square metres per person. Al-Azhar Park was one
solution to the problems of these extreme population
pressures.
Designed to rehabilitate one of Cairo’s poorest and
most populous areas, the park was created by the
Aga Khan Trust for Culture on a 30-hectare site used
as a dump for over 500 years. Mosques, palaces and
historic houses are being restored alongside initiatives
to provide residents with apprenticeships, employment,
health centres and women’s associations.
ARCHITECT/PLANNER: HISTORIC CITIES SUPPORT PROGRAMME (HCSP);
SASAKI ASSOCIATES; SITES INTERNATIONAL CLIENT: GOVERNORATE OF CAIRO
COMPLETION DATE: 2004
LONDON
Residential density: 4,500 people per km2
Greater London - the area within the M25 ring road
- has a residential density of over 4,500 people per
km2 - only a quarter of the average density of
Tokyo. Almost half (46%) of Greater London consists
of open and recreational space, including the royal
parks. Some of the most dense and affluent neighbourhoods
are composed of townhouses or
mansion blocks designed around landscaped
squares (some still in private ownership) in Chelsea,
Earl’s Court and Lancaster Gate. Most of London’s
housing stock is made up of two- and three-storey
terraced housing with small gardens.
The city’s ‘urban villages’ - such as Hampstead,
Greenwich and Chiswick - create clusters of higherdensity
development near transport hubs. Now
that London’s Green Belt, established in 1943, has
been reconfirmed as an urban growth boundary,
the city must become denser rather than more
dispersed. High-rise, high density office and residential
complexes have developed around existing
and new transport centres, particularly along the
river Thames, including London Bridge, Bermondsey
and Canary Wharf. The emerging shape of the
city’s skyline is an ongoing focus of debate, with
new clusters of taller buildings being planned in
the financial district of the City of London and
around transport hubs such as Victoria and London
Bridge stations.
PROJECT: LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC
GAMES AND REGENERATION OF THE LOWER LEA VALLEY
The Lower Lea Valley is a derelict area of East London
which is being transformed in preparation for the
2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The project
will regenerate one of poorest parts of the UK, and is
concentrated around a new 500-acre park, the Stratford
City development and the new Stratford International
Station, where high-speed trains from the
Channel Tunnel will arrive.
The Olympic Park, Olympic Stadium, Aquatics
Centre and Velodrome will be permanent structures.
All other, temporary, sports venues will be replaced
by a mix of 9,000 private and affordable housing
units, office space and community facilities.
CLIENT: OLYMPIC DELIVERY AUTHORITY ARCHITECTS: EDAW, ALLIES & MORRISON
AND FOREIGN OFFICE ARCHITECTS AND HOK SPORT DATES: 2003-ONGOING
MUMBAI
Residential density: 34,000 people per km2 (London 4,500 people per km2)
Paromita Vohra 1969
Born and works India
Q2P 2006
Video still
Running time: 53 minutes
Courtesy the artist
enlarge
Paromita Vohra 1969
Born and works India
Q2P 2006
Video still
Running time: 53 minutes
Courtesy the artist
enlarge
Paromita Vohra 1969
Born and works India
Q2P 2006
Video still
Running time: 53 minutes
Courtesy the artist
enlarge
The city of Mumbai (Bombay) covers 438 km2 of
Salsette Island, although almost a fifth of this area is
occupied by Borivali National Park. This means the
urban areas are condensed into about 350 km2, with
a high gross residential density, about seven times
the density of London. About half the population lives
in makeshift shacks with no sewers or water. Urban
housing is cramped and expensive, and open public
space is limited – only 1% of the city’s area – and often
poorly-maintained.
Mumbai’s more affluent classes live in a corridor
stretching along the city’s north-south axis. Taller residential
structures are surrounded by densely-packed,
low rise slum buildings. As the city diversifies from its
core industries, former mill areas and docklands offer
the potential to produce affordable housing and
accessible public spaces, but given current development
trends, are likely to become exclusive office and
residential zones.
Lack of investment means urban infrastructure
cannot meet the demands of a growing population.
85% of residents (the equivalent of the population of
Norway) use public transport every day; train carriages
are regularly filled well beyond their intended capacity.
Mumbai is a city where the vast majority of people still
walk to work, reflecting the strong link between the
location of informal housing and workplaces.
PROJECT: CHIKHALWADI SANITATION PROJECT
Mumbai lacks sanitation facilities for about half its
population. The absence of running water and sewerage
connections is unacceptable and potentially lifethreatening.
Children in slums cannot compete in the
long queues for scarce municipal toilets; they defecate
outside their homes.
The Chikhalwadi Sanitation Project consists of
community toilet blocks designed, constructed and
maintained by collectives. They include separate spaces
for men, women and children. Capital finance for
construction comes from the state or municipalities,
who also have to ensure that water and electricity are
provided to the blocks.ARCHITECT: VISTAAR ARCHITECTS AND PLANNERS CLIENT: SPARC
COMPLETION DATE: 2004