Urban (De)Evolution

Abstract

The evolution of landscape from wilderness to farmland to village to city is well documented throughout the world. What happens to the city? Does it continue to evolve? In some cases the city continuously reinvents itself in various forms. In other cases the city will be abandoned. If left alone the abandoned city will regress to the wilderness state in a remarkably short period of time. What can be done with this new wilderness, which in most cases is found in pockets within the limits of a larger city that may still be thriving? In this situation, neither the historic nor the current structure and organization of the city can be the model for the evolution of these spaces; a new program and plan must be created to direct future evolution. Removing the existing ruins and the few remaining individuals from this reverted landscape is not feasible on the scale at which this condition exists throughout North America. A plan must be developed to use the existing city as a set of building blocks to add to or subtract from to create new centers of growth within the abandonment. This plan should focus on inward looking communities that are self sustaining and easily adapted to many different sites, while keeping in mind the goal to use the abandoned city in a way that is sustainable and can evolve, grow, and spur further development.