This is part of an res -URGENT discussion needed of how globalization and the “just-in-time’ delivery networks of supermarkets and manufacturing business undermine a cities RESILIENCE and ability to withstand both large scale catastrophic disaster as well as the slower effects of global “shrinkage” in the face of economic downturn pressures which don’t make the headlines in the same way as tsunami’s and earthquakes, but having equally devastating results for the urban poor – especially in the marginalized cities of the global south. Shigeru Ban is an architect who has been outspoken in stating the case for responsible architecture and urbanization:

Two weeks after the worst earthquake in Japan’s history the discussions surround relieve and rebuilding bring multiple perspectives about what nations and NGOs are doing to help the country of Japan.  With this disaster effecting millions of people it is rather difficult to put these events into a human scale.  The two stories below attempt to do just that as two architects discuss their perspective on these events. Architect Shigeru Ban, in a Ne … Read More

via Encountering Urbanization