Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Political ideology and physical attributes have always been closely connected. Exemplified by ‘Folkhemmet’ in Sweden and the ‘Bolivarian revolution’ in Venezuela, this connection is investigated through political organization, physical structures and the civil society. Through the study of the recently executed Metro Cable project in Caracas, Venezuela, alternative forms of community engagement and participatory planning is further investigated.
‘Folkhemmet’ is the political and physical structure known as the keystone of the current welfare society in Sweden. With the aim to decrease breaches between rich and poor, physical structures were used to express ideological aims of the good society. A political organization was formed, built on the enforcement of the collective, a homogenous population and a prosperous industry, by expanding the state through public sector and institutions. The functional and paternalist approach brought a special focus to the inferior housing situation and social inequalities. Through the great housing program, thousands of houses and apartments were built during three decades to provide the population with equal material conditions.
The ‘Bolivarian revolution’ aims to create a stable political structure after decades of dictatorships and political repression. The aim is to bring the power back to a local scale through community organization and local development projects. The historical exclusion of the poor population living in the ‘ranchos’ outside of the cities have created big material, social and economical indifferences within the population. Through creating formal structures within the informal city, social interventions can be launched as a first step towards creating a more equal society.
The Metro Cable project exemplifies the practical implementation of the ‘Bolivarian revolution’. Through a process of community engagement and grass root initiatives, a cableway is built to provide the inhabitants of the San Augustín neighbourhood with public transportation and social structures. The project aims for recognizing the historically neglected area of San Augustín, and reinforce the existing informal organization by combining it with formal physical structures. In this process, the use of planning and the role of the planner face new opportunities as well as challenges.