Overview page

P2P Urbanism as a global movement for improving urban environments

P2P Urbanism presented at the International Commons Conference in Berlin

Many separate efforts taking place over the past several years came together around 2010 to define P2P Urbanism. The movement combines social and geometrical notions into one unified approach on how human beings interact with their built environment, and how optimal socio-geometric conditions create society as we know it. This network of thoughts and the principal ideas of its participants were presented at the Berlin Commons Conference sponsored by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin, 1 November 2010. This was an event of major importance, as it helped to firmly anchor P2P Urbanism to the Commons movement arguing for and implementing a shared responsibility in both the design and use of the urban environment.

The book: "P2P Urbanism" by Nikos Salingaros and friends

Encouraged by the interest generated by the presentation in Berlin, some of the key recent writings are put together into a book draft: "P2P Urbanism" by Nikos Salingaros and friends (http://zeta.math.utsa.edu/~yxk833/P2PURBANISM.pdf), which will hopefully be published at some point soon, and also in other languages. It is now available for free download. The individual articles are all on the web and already available in several languages. Of course, this book represents but one portion of the broad range of thought behind P2P Urbanism, which is to be developed more fully in future essays by other authors.

Contents:

1. A Definition of P2P Peer-to-Peer Urbanism.

2. A Brief_History_of_P2P-Urbanism. Summary in POLISH (http://www.naszaprzestrzen.pl/2010/10/p2p-urbanism-czyli-urbanizm.html).

3. Peer-to-Peer Themes and Urban Priorities for the Self-organizing Society.

4. Socially-Organized Housing: a New Approach to Urban Structure (http://zeta.math.utsa.edu/~yxk833/socialhousing.pdf). Also available in PORTUGUESE (http://zeta.math.utsa.edu/~yxk833/socialhousing-portuguese.pdf) and SPANISH (http://zeta.math.utsa.edu/~yxk833/socialhousing-spanish.pdf).

5. Michel Bauwens Interviews Nikos Salingaros on Peer to Peer Urbanism. Also available in GREEK (http://www.greekarchitects.gr/gr/αρχιτεκτονικες-ματιες/peer-to-peer-urbanism-id1973) and ITALIAN (as Chapter 16 of "No Alle Archistar: Il Manifesto Contro le Avanguardie", Libreria Editrice Fiorentina, Firenze, 2009).

P2P Urbanism World Atlas

Agatino Rizzo has undertaken to map existing projects that exemplify the many diverse aspects of P2P Urbanism into the P2P-Urbanism World Atlas. The nature of these projects illustrates best the broad range of ideas that make up P2P Urbanism beyond physical planning and urban construction. This map also provides a central point for future reference, as other groups discover that they have not been working alone. Anyone can add to this map, and the ultimate purpose is to link all P2P Urbanism groups into an interactive network. To subscribe to the discussion group, please visit the P2P-Urbanism World Atlas webpage.

New Design Tools

The design component of P2P Urbanism that builds cities and restructures dysfunctional urban regions using urban microsurgery relies upon a recently-developed toolbox of methods. These methods are scattered among the work of different authors. "Socially-Orbanized Housing", which is Chapter 4 of the above book "P2P Urbanism", gives a detailed description of some techniques.

Those readers who don't already know the "Pattern Language" of Christopher Alexander are referred to an (unauthorized!) online summary (http://vasarhelyi.eu/books/A_pattern_language_book/apl.htm).

Further techniques are found in the books of Nikos Salingaros "Principles of Urban Structure" (http://zeta.math.utsa.edu/~yxk833/urbanstructure.html) -- most of whose chapters can be found on the web -- and "Twelve Lectures on Architecture: Algorithmic Sustainable Design" (http://www.bod.de/index.php?id=296&objk_id=354912), whose chapters are free on the web in an early version (http://zeta.math.utsa.edu/~yxk833/algorithmic.html).

A methodology for designing successful urban space is published by Nikos Salingaros and Pietro Pagliardini: "The geometry and life of urban space" (not yet available in english). ITALIAN version is Chapter 15 of "No Alle Archistar: Il Manifesto Contro le Avanguardie", Libreria Editrice Fiorentina, Firenze, 2009. SPANISH version is available online (http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/b55fd62e#/b55fd62e/8) published in Cuadernos de Arquitectura y Nuevo Urbanismo, Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Querétaro, Número 6/7, año 4, Marzo 2010, páginas 7-20.

Work in Progress

Even before the International Commons Conference in Berlin, many P2P Urbanism ideas and applications have been circulating in draft form. Hopefully, they can be catalogued here as soon as they are published.

Criticism of Anti-urban Geometries

The P2P Urbanism movement is founded upon evidence-based socio-geometric concepts; that is, experimentally verifiable reactions to different types of urban form and different types of social interactions that are either permitted by an existing socio-political framework or actual physical structure. Focusing on the physical structure of urban regions that represent the worst of inhuman environments leads to strong criticisms of post-world-war II urban planning. Michael Mehaffy and Nikos Salingaros have termed this type of anti-urban geometry "Geometrical Fundamentalism". This essay is published as Chapter 9 of Nikos Salingaros' book "A Theory of Architecture" (http://zeta.math.utsa.edu/~yxk833/architecture.html), with an older version online (http://www.math.utsa.edu/ftp/salingar.old/fundamentalism.html). ITALIAN version is Chapter 8 of "No Alle Archistar: Il Manifesto Contro le Avanguardie", Libreria Editrice Fiorentina, Firenze, 2009, with an earlier version available online (http://www.ilcovile.it/scritti/fondamentalismo_geometrico.htm) published in Il Covile.

Related Concepts

Projects

More Information

Article by Nikos Salingaros: Peer-to-Peer Themes and Urban Priorities for the Self-organizing Society
Interview: Nikos Salingaros on Peer to Peer Urbanism
P2P Urbanism: From Exclusion to Autonomy

P2P Urbanism