The district and neighborhood of Bronzeville, located in the Near South Side of Chicago, suffers from crime, unemployment, abandonment, and... Show moreThe district and neighborhood of Bronzeville, located in the Near South Side of Chicago, suffers from crime, unemployment, abandonment, and urban decay; more so than many of its metropolitan peers such as New York City, Los Angeles, or San Francisco.In Latin America, multidisciplinary operations and strategies focused on the investment in public spaces, mobility, and public assets have been successful in transforming decaying neighborhoods and redeveloping slums and blighted areas turning them into vibrant communities.Contextualizing and abstracting such strategies has the potential to import such ideas into new urban contexts; in this case, the United States of America, and to be implemented over the decaying North American urban fabric. Show less
Urban segregation, violence, and crimes are linked to drug trafficking. El Castillo Social Factory is an urban strategy that aims to recover... Show moreUrban segregation, violence, and crimes are linked to drug trafficking. El Castillo Social Factory is an urban strategy that aims to recover the El Castillo neighborhood and prevent drug trafficking from advancing, understanding that police action is necessary but insufficient.This neighborhood is located on the southern periphery of Santiago in a commune called La Pintana and aspires to make its neighborhoods “more livable, healthy, and economically viable.” This proposal explores how investing in civic commons can make these goals a reality.
First, it is essential to increase the presence of the State, strengthening existing services and adding new ones, with a focus on the care of children and young people.
The second is to recover vacant lots and public spaces in poor condition or deteriorated through an “urban acupuncture” strategy based on the construction of many small or medium-sized projects. Art and sports are fundamental, allowing us to protect children and young people and offer them horizons of recreation and hope.
The public buildings, institutions, land, water bodies, and infrastructure inherited from earlier generations are ready for us to see anew—as a robust network of civic assets ready to be activated for the current needs, desires, and dreams of all the people who share and shape them.
El Castillo Social Factory offers a fresh look at our community anchors and the vibrant hubs our public spaces can become when we invest in collective urban life.
Its vision focuses on positive transformation at the architectural scale—where personal experience and aspirations meet broad, long-range planning efforts—to spark the imagination and spur us to work together toward realizing the abundant potential of what we hold in common. Show less
