Projects for a city in the time of crisis

Today, in the time of crisis as a continuous global event that still evolves, the state of uncertainty and indeterminacy has become a persistent condition, not only of the financial and economic systems, but, most of all, of the existing social, political and urban paradigms of the cities. The fact is that the financial crisis has not been restrained only to its financial emergences, but has brought to daylight the questions of legitimacy of the political and social systems in the societies. It has transformed the existing political and social system of distribution of power and responsibilities into technocratic urban management that has cleansed the process from its political relevance to the level where new and non-formal practices and organisations have started to emerge as a response to the lack of capacity of the system to cope with the challenges. The visioning of the urban development based on the existing policies and political agendas, has started to fade away, showcasing that the lack of political accountability has had a strong impact on the visioning and constructing of social and spatial orders in the cities, too. This volume contributes to this situation by providing a collection of, rather diverse projects, investigations and readings of the cities. It is an attempt to map the current conditions and to start a debate about the potential of the projects for a city in the time of crisis that will, hopefully, lead us to a better and more inclusive urban future.