Vishaan Chakrabarti: How we can design timeless cities for our collective future
Vishaan Chakrabarti: Cómo podemos diseñar ciudades atemporales para nuestro futuro colectivo
Vishaan Chakrabarti's book, "A Country of Cities: A Manifesto for an Urban America," makes the case that a more urban USA would result in a more prosperous, sustainable, joyous and socially mobile nation. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
in cities around the world:
en ciudades alrededor del mundo:
de España en Roma;
of Paris and Shanghai;
of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro;
de las favelas de Río de Janeiro;
escalonados de Jaipur;
peatonales de Venecia.
six continents in the 20th century.
construidos en seis continentes.
have any of the charming characteristics
tienen las pintorescas características
on six continents in the 20th century.
en el siglo XX en seis continentes.
any of the lyrical qualities
poseen las cualidades líricas
that we cherish the most?
lugares más queridos?
I'm just being nostalgic --
dejando llevar por la nostalgia.
sameness besetting our planet?
que se cierne sobre nuestro planeta?
most people around the world
de los habitantes del mundo
hacia núcleos urbanos a escala global.
could well determine
urbanas bien podría determinar
who live in transit-rich areas,
que viven en zonas de alto tránsito,
que sus homólogos suburbanos.
es que quien ama la naturaleza,
is if you love nature,
"desarrollo orientado al transporte"
transit-oriented development
going to attract people,
para poder atraer gente.
with distinctive appeal
con un encanto especial
nuevos urbanitas ecologistas.
an aesthetic issue, mind you.
de una cuestión estética.
of international consequence.
are moving into a city somewhere,
mudando a una ciudad en algún lugar,
about that, ask yourself:
in the same bland cities
en las mismas ciudades monótonas
how we got here in the first place.
aquí en primer lugar.
y las cadenas comerciales,
and concrete and asphalt and drywall,
asfalto y paneles de yeso en serie,
similar ways across the planet.
sumamente similar en todo el planeta.
a velocidades muy altas.
cuando nos toca diseñar una nueva calle,
to design a new street,
que debe tener una acera,
and vehicles over there,
y los vehículos allá,
y un área de descarga por allá.
in the 20th century
consiguió en el siglo XX
segregated landscape.
you know, those big ladder trucks
esos grandes camiones con escalera
from burning buildings?
atrapadas en edificios en llamas.
un radio de giro tan amplio,
of pavement, of asphalt,
de pavimento, de asfaltado,
important wheelchair.
absolutamente indispensable.
a landscape of minimal slopes
un paisaje con pendientes mínimas
there has to be an elevator or a ramp.
se requerirá un ascensor o una rampa.
I am all for pedestrian safety,
de la seguridad peatonal,
at the end of their lives,
estaban en sillas de ruedas
that all of these well-intentioned rules,
que todas estas normas bien intencionadas
unintended consequence
e inesperada consecuencia
in which we used to build cities.
solíamos construir las ciudades.
of the 19th century,
justo después de la invención del ascensor
edificaciones urbanas,
all over the world,
por todo el mundo,
10 or 12 apartments in them.
and a staircase that wrapped them
una escalera que los circundaba,
that were cost-effective,
que además eran rentables,
te encontrabas con tu vecino
on that stairwell.
se puede seguir construyendo.
a major new apartment building somewhere,
un nuevo bloque de apartamentos,
lots and lots of elevators
long, anonymous, dreary corridors.
largos, anónimos y lúgubres corredores.
when they're confronted with the cost
de toda esa infraestructura común,
over more apartments,
entre más apartamentos,
edificios más grandes.
apartment building being built
del mismo edificio de apartamentos
physical sameness,
are more expensive to build,
son más caros de construir,
en las ciudades de todo el mundo,
an affordability crisis
including places like Vancouver.
para toda esta uniformidad,
for all this sameness,
continuamente de sus clientes:
all the time from their clients:
have conspired together
that I think is deeply problematic.
que me parece sumamente problemática.
and culturally varied again?
ciudades emblemáticas?
with food, for instance.
con los alimentos, por ejemplo.
craft beer has taken on corporate beer.
se ha impuesto sobre la comercial.
still eat Wonder Bread?
siguen consumiendo pan de molde?
no quieren comida procesada en sus vidas.
you don't want processed food
mass-produced, bleached places
descoloridos y producidos en serie
and work every day?
y trabajar cada día?
of the problem in the 20th century.
del problema en el siglo XX.
what happened is,
parte de la solución,
sea interesante por carecer de conductor.
is exciting because it's a driverless car.
on the roads, frankly.
en las carreteras, francamente.
el vehículo autónomo es la promesa,
the autonomous vehicle is the promise --
dado el reciente accidente en Arizona,
these small, urban vehicles
estos pequeños vehículos urbanos
with pedestrians and bicycles.
con peatones y bicicletas.
to design humane streets again,
volver a diseñar calles humanas,
walkways on Fire Island.
de madera en la Isla de Fuego.
with the cobblestone of the 21st century,
con el adoquinado del siglo XXI,
kinetic energy, melts snow,
que derrita la nieve,
en forma mientras caminas.
and all the asphalt that comes with them
junto con el asfalto que suponen,
rescue people from burning buildings?
personas de edificios en llamas?
you'd be amazed to know
cuánta de esa tecnología
is already being used today
to really imagine with me.
que se imaginaran algo conmigo.
the hovercraft wheelchair.
la silla de ruedas aerodeslizadora.
la igualdad de acceso para todos,
not only allow equal access,
the Italian hill town of the 21st century.
y montaraz del siglo XXI.
responsive to human need,
sensibles a las necesidades humanas,
the way we could build our cities.
nuestra forma de construir ciudades.
or flying wheelchairs yet,
o sillas de ruedas voladoras,
usando la tecnología de hoy en día?"
with today's technology?"
comes from a very different city,
procede de una ciudad muy dispar,
a 21st-century open-air village
al aire libre para el siglo XXI,
using today's technology,
utilizando la tecnología actual,
with their frigid winters.
a sus gélidos inviernos.
about evoking the local:
en la evocación de lo local:
the spectacular light,
la luz espectacular,
the nomadic traditions
las tradiciones nómadas
of a catalogue of buildings,
de un catálogo de edificios,
that are fairly affordable,
razonablemente económicos,
materials and technology
y tecnología constructiva locales
nuevos conceptos de vivienda,
new forms of housing,
como un teatro o un museo,
like a theater or a museum --
sobre esto en nuestra oficina,
the work of our colleagues,
continuando el trabajo de algunos colegas,
working in Mexico City;
que trabaja en la ciudad de México;
Alejandro Aravena, working in Chile;
Pritzker, que trabaja en Chile;
Balkrishna Doshi, que trabaja en la India.
Balkrishna Doshi, working in India.
new forms of affordable housing,
magníficas formas de viviendas económicas,
cities of difference,
ciudades singulares,
that respond to local communities,
que responden a las comunidades locales,
we're researching a new model
estamos investigando un nuevo modelo
with gentrification pressures,
con procesos de gentrificación,
de finales del siglo XIX
that late-19th-century model
in response to local needs
en respuesta a las necesidades locales
to me, are nostalgia-free.
están libres de nostalgia.
ciudades capaces de crecer,
la diversidad de sus residentes;
the diverse residents
all income groups,
a grupos de todas las clases económicas,
that we could disincentivize sprawl
que permitieran desincentivar la expansión
ciudades de alta tecnología,
cultural needs of the human spirit.
a las eternas necesidades culturales
cities of difference
construir ciudades distintivas
to which so many of us aspire.
del mosaico global
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Vishaan Chakrabarti - Architect, authorVishaan Chakrabarti's book, "A Country of Cities: A Manifesto for an Urban America," makes the case that a more urban USA would result in a more prosperous, sustainable, joyous and socially mobile nation.
Why you should listen
As the designer for Brooklyn's Domino Sugar Refinery, the first mixed-use skyscrapers in Philadelphia's Schuylkill Yards project, a nonprofit artist space in Harlem, attainable housing in Newark and a contemporary urban bazaar in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Vishaan Chakrabarti is engaged in some of the most distinctive projects redefining global urban life in the 21st century. He has also advocated for more equitable and ecological cities in New York Times op-eds such as "Penn Station Reborn" and "America's Urban Future." In his 2013 book, A Country of Cities: A Manifesto for an Urban America, he illustrates through hard data and soft cartoons why Americans would be more prosperous, sustainable, joyful and socially mobile in a more urban nation.
Chakrabarti is the founder of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU), a New York-based architecture studio dedicated to the advancement of metropolitan life. He is also a Professor of Practice at Columbia University, where he teaches architectural design and urban theory. Prior to founding PAU, he served as the director of planning for Manhattan under Mayor Michael Bloomberg after the tragic events of 9/11, during which he helped to plan the High Line, the reconstruction of the World Trade Center and the expansion of Columbia University. Born in Calcutta, Chakrabarti holds degrees from Cornell, MIT and Berkeley.
Vishaan Chakrabarti | Speaker | TED.com