Abstract
This paper conducts an exploration of the dynamic and potential of knowledge value for harnessing local capacity in public space. This occurs with agency of the individual decision-making, as worlds of knowledge collide through the individual. We inhabit the physical and virtual worlds daily, immersed in multiple realities simultaneously. In this context, the paper proposes a way to conceive the several worlds we live in as intertwined. Vast and diverse amounts of knowledge move through public spaces. Intertwinement and its application to real-life situations is approached through the (field*) study of several public spaces across three cities in East Africa: Dar-es-Salaam, Nairobi, and Addis Ababa. The virtual revolution is sharply outpacing physical change in the emerging economies of East Africa. The significant youth populations of these cities have access to global knowledge yet remain geographically static. Kenya’s start-ups are driving crowdsourcing innovations; Tanzania has the highest population growth in Africa while colonial urban planning remains imprinted; and Ethiopia faces significant rural-urban migration as the country moves to an era of privatisation. The case study spaces have highly polarised infrastructure, with a complex interdependent system of relationships and networks, where a great potential for harnessing knowledge is found. We are at a critical juncture to ensure the city remains a nurturing host for society. Just as it is redundant to conceive architectural space without its social or human constructs, and they are designed as one, it is essential to view the virtual world as equally intertwined. We must restructure our approach and notions of disciplinary silo and hierarchy. Townsend (2000) and others have written about the advent of complex new (digital) networks, challenging conventional notions of public space and ‘the very foundations of centralised city planning.’ . Willis (2008) identifies that the physical and virtual structures are layered, with a ‘bolt-on approach… overlapping, but in many instances not working as a unified domain’. Castells (2000) talks of a ‘structural schizophrenia between two spatial logics’ namely ‘space of places’ and ‘space of flows’. The public spaces investigated herein seek to interrogate these perspectives. A detailed ‘scan’ of the three cities was conducted, at city, district, and human scales. The study extends across three very different localities, remaining at the same scale, exploring ‘struggles that are global distributed in that they recur in locality after locality’ (Sassen, 2004). Many are underutilised and neglected, as poor city planning results in difficult access and lack of provision for circulation and shading. Increasing density and pressure on road networks often results in open spaces being taken over or isolated. These spaces are full of potential for increased local capacity through intertwinement. The study operates across all public space typologies and functions. The premise being that the Knowledge Society is not confined to a specific typology or activity, rather there are conditions under which it is intensified. This new way of perceiving the possibility for knowledge society unshackles it from preconceived notions of what is considered ‘knowledge’ and brings it closer to its true definition; an all-encompassing multi-level network of exchange crossing social, disciplinary, and physical boundaries. *The field study was led by the author, with support from the British Council, and in collaboration with the University of Nairobi, Ardhi University Dar-es-Salaam, and Addis Ababa University (Ethiopian institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development).
