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Carl Steinitz Research Professor Department of Landscape Architecture |
Publications
Un Futuro Alternativo Para El Paisaje de Castilla-La
Mancha
This presentation is the result of a semester-long study about the future of a 200km by 70km corridor in the autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha, in the heart of Spain. It was produced by twelve students from the postgraduate masters program of the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University. The class was taught by Professors Carl Steinitz and Christian Werthnmann.
Spain as a country is undergoing massive changes. In the effort to create a balanced transportation network over the whole country. Spain's highway system and high-speed rail network are rapidly expanding, and reconfiguring the relations among its urban centers in Spain and to Europe. The accelerated growth of Madrid into a multimillion person metropolis with enormous demands for developable land deeply affects its surrounding regions including its southern neighbor, Castilla-La Mancha are dominated by agriculture and interspersed with small to mid-sized towns, and were for hundreds of years left fairly untouched by the not wo distant metropolis. For centuries, the sparse and dry lands of the elevated plain shaped the cities, the culture and society of the region. With the pressure and sprawl of recent urbanization and the immense infrastructure build-out, Castilla-La Mancha is on the verge of a vast shift in the historic relationships between its built structure and its landscapes wich will radically transform the identity of the region into a new, yet-to-be defined entity. At this significant point in time, we chose to study a representative corridor that offers a wide range of urbanization phenomena currently occurring in the region. Beginning at the outskirts of Madrid, the corridor extends past the historic capitol city of Spain, Toledo, to its souther boundary at Ciudad Rel, in total an area of about 14,000 square kilometers. The study operates on a twenty year planning horizon. It includes a vision for an alternative future for the region as a whole and policy and design proposals tht offer site specific solutions for locally significant situations. This study has some distinct limitations. It is not, and cannot be, as finely attuned to the complex realities of the Castilla-La Mancha region as are its many and diverse residents and their several levels of government. The work is not based on deep personal knowledge. Rather it was accomplished from the perspective of "some familiarity" based on a site visit interviews, published materials and consultation with knowledgeable persons. It is important to emphasize that the complexities of implementation such as cost-benefit assessment, institutional change or law changes were not and could not be part of this study. The work is overly conjectural. This type of study does not aim to predict the future of the region, nor produce immediately transferable solutions. The policies and proposals developed are investigations of possible futures, given the forces and factors in motion today. Their value is to allow one to visualize a possible alternative future, driven by market demands by tempered by historic, cultural and environmental considerations, and perhaps to decide whether it is the type of future that is wanted and what decisions might be needed to take one there. We express our thanks to the many persons who met and worked with us over the course of the study, namely Arantxa Muñoz, Juan Carlos Vargas Moreno, Antonio Casado Rubino, Miguel Angel Sánchez Pérez, Alejandro Moyano Gómez, Julio Torrijos Garrido, and Tess Canfield. We especially thank the Foro Civitas Nova whose financial, organizational and conseling support made this study possible. The primary purpose of the study is one of mutual education: for the Harvad students who are, or will become, professionals in landscape architecture and urban planning: and for the people of Castilla-La Mancha who bear the responsibility for developing their own proposals for their future and who may benefit from the insights and ideas developed in the study.
Futuros Alternativos Para La Legion de La Paz Baja California Sur, Mexico
In cooperation with the Municipality of La Paz, B.C.S. and the State of Baja California Sur. Fundació Mexícana para la Educación Ambiental, A.C.
The City of La Paz is rapidly approaching an important crossroads. Can La Paz maintain its character, sustain the quality of life for its inhabitants and continue to prosper as the region grows? Or will the forces of growth overwhelm the capacity of the region to manage itself, leading to an erosion of its economic, social and environmental foundations? These questions are at the heart of a study carried out by a bi-national team and presented here. The joint study by faculty and researchers from Harvard University, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, University of Arizona, and Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas seeks to assist regional leaders in assessing alternative futures for the development and conservation of the La Paz region. The study looks at a range of scenarios to investigate how economic performance demographic changes, private and public investments, and public policy choices could influence urban growth and land use change over the next 20 years. The study alsoassesses how these changes will impact the area's hydrology and ecology, as well as its visual and economic landscape. The future for La Paz will be influenced by the decisions taken, or not taken, by regional leaders in the immediate future. The aim of decision making to shape a future that reflects the values and priorities of the people of La Paz.
Padova e il Paesaggio: Scenari Futuri per il Parco roncajette e la Zona Industriale Padova and the Landscape: Alternative Futures for the Roncajette Park and the Industrial Zone Gruppo di lavoro / Student Authors A cura di / Authors Harvard Graduate School of Design, 2005
This study is of the future of the Parco Roncajette, the industrial zone ZIP, and the landscape of the eastern part of the region of Padova. It is the product of collaborative student work at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. The class was taught by Professor Carl Steinitz with the assistance of Juan carlos Vargas-Moreno and Laura Ciprani. We express our gratitude to the many persons who met and worked with us over the course of the study. This presentation has some distinct limitations. It is not, and cannot be, as finely attuned to the complex realities of the Padovan region as are its many and diverse residents and their several levels of government. The students' work is not based on deep personal knowledge. Rather it was accomplished from the perspective of "some familiarity" based on a site visit, interviews, published materials, and consultation with knowledgeable persons. The study takes a longer-term and a mor physical planning and design-orientated approach rather than focusing on the complexities of cost-benefit assessment, institutional change, or implementation. While recognizing its limitations, the study may have the advantages of distance and of taking a "fresh look" at issues and prospects for the Parco Roncajette and its context region. The work is overtly speculative. it is important to emphasize that this type of study does not aim to predict the future of the region, nor to product an immediately feasible master plan. The policies and proposals that the students have developed are investigations of possible futures, given the forces and factors in motion today. Their value is to allow one to visualize the future for a moment, and perhaps to decide whether it is the future that is wanted and what decisions might be needed to take one there. The primary purpose of the study is one of mutual education: for the students who are, or will become, professionals in landscape architecture, architecture, urban planning and design; and for the people of the Padova region who bear the responsibility for developing their own policies and designs and who may benefit from insights and ideas developed by the students.
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