On Space and Time in Urban Formation and Design

As a project or workshop seminar, this course focusses on space and time and its interplay in urban formation and design. In so doing it is subdivided into five themes, preceded by a general introduction and proceeded by a summary and conclusion. The five themes begin with a fundamental treatment of both space and time as entities favoring classical definitions as distinct from those associated with spacetime and relativity. This is followed by particular emphases on both space and time and problematics introduced by concepts such as temporality, periodization and both spatial and temporal turns. A third theme deals with event time as distinct from clock time, including seasonal and religious events as well as so-called pseudo-events and the spatial and temporal aspects of use such as obsolescence and recycling. The fourth theme deals explicitly with the definition of hegemonic periods in historical time, how they might be measured, emerge and how they influence the sensing of space and time particularly in terms of cultural norms and different modes of spatiotemporal appreciation. Finally, the fifth theme is rather more conclusionary through the cataloguing, classifying of spatial and temporal influences in urban formation and design. Each theme will occupy about a two-week period in the academic calendar or four class periods.

The class is primarily oriented to students in the MAUD/MLAUD, DDes, and MLA programs at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. Other students will require permission from the instructor and be able to show how the interplay of space and time is germane to their interests. All students must have prior experience with GIS. Participation of students will be mainly in the form of small group exercises dealing with a New England regionally based case study area and the presentation of a final paper drawn from that experience. The New England Region was selected in order to internalize other spatial dimensions like city, county, metropolitan area and conurbation. The initial class period of each theme will be a lecture on its subject and with the second session devoted to methodological issues and the underlying New England case study area that will perpetuate throughout the class. Then the final two class periods will be workshop sessions largely in the form of studio-style desk crits. Students will work in small groups and produce a final product in the form of a New England based set of case studies applicable to the themes. Secondarily, students will be required to participate in all classroom discussions and be adequately prepared to do so.