Slums, housing projects and urban blight

[TotalyMoo]

My view, having seen these Asian slums up close during my social volunteer phase, is an unambiguous 'not worth it'.

I do think we could work the white elephant towers degenerating and overtaken by homeless as a visual indicator of say, a Great Depression-ish severe prolonged unemployment that is spreading. Along the line of what Junna said above.

Or perhaps, a Policy by District, "slums/ homeless allowed". Some cities designate their homeless zones.

Yeah I figured what I said might have come off as a bit unsensitive, as slums like this is definitely not something we want. Still a bit magical, I don't know why, but it fascinates me the same way as old ruins or castles do.

Pssst, you have an unread pm by the way...

 

[vanadio]

The slums are just being replaced by ghettos, but im not trying to make a political debate.

I know. We have the biggest housing project in the iberian peninsula. We destroy the slums to build big fancy guettos.

Bairro Padre Cruz

 

[Bipin]

As was mentioned before, I've always wanted to build something like Kowloon Walled city. Many Asian ghetto and slum areas in general are intriguing to look at, for the overt juxtaposition between joyous and colourful neon signs against bleak, deteriorating structures is visually remarkable (especially to a photographer like myself). That type of dense architecture with a plethora of neon signs is something you just don't see that often in North America or Western Europe where it seems a lot of the city sim games come out of (and thus where much of the architecture in-game is based). I wouldn't want to see them persist in real-life cities, but I'd love some urban decay like this in my digital cities!

 

[robbiow]

robbiow is from Australia. So the idea of people liking where they live is astonishing.

Ha ha - Lots of things are astonishing.... But as Goldiva pointed out, it's mostly that high-rise, interesting, architecture is somewhat romanticised in "rural Australia". For the first time in 10 years I have moved into a house with more than a single storey. However, these places are not new - last place i was in was a renovated, relocated, military base residence... I don't think the move did its frame much good... but it was also "awesome".

 

[matlockman]

Ha ha - Lots of things are astonishing.... But as Goldiva pointed out, it's mostly that high-rise, interesting, architecture is somewhat romanticised in "rural Australia". For the first time in 10 years I have moved into a house with more than a single storey. However, these places are not new - last place i was in was a renovated, relocated, military base residence... I don't think the move did its frame much good... but it was also "awesome".

As an Aussie, when I first traveled to Singapore I was stunned. I really want to live there now! The idea of living in a tall tower with a tiny apartment is, for some reason, really appealing to me.

 

[TotalyMoo]

As was mentioned before, I've always wanted to build something like Kowloon Walled city. Many Asian ghetto and slum areas in general are intriguing to look at, for the overt juxtaposition between joyous and colourful neon signs against bleak, deteriorating structures is visually remarkable (especially to a photographer like myself). That type of dense architecture with a plethora of neon signs is something you just don't see that often in North America or Western Europe where it seems a lot of the city sim games come out of (and thus where much of the architecture in-game is based). I wouldn't want to see them persist in real-life cities, but I'd love some urban decay like this in my digital cities!

I challenge you to create a model of Kowloon that functions as a separate unit from the city, with a built in policy that it can receive no external care or assistance from public services.

 

[Goldiva]

As an Aussie, when I first traveled to Singapore I was stunned. I really want to live there now! The idea of living in a tall tower with a tiny apartment is, for some reason, really appealing to me.

I grew up in a 'dogs and garden' house so upon first arrival I too was stunned by the amazing sight of residential towers flanking airport-CBD highway. My prejudice of high-density tower living = cramped concrete misery was challenged and soon overturned. Singapore city planning really stretched the definition of what it means to be a livable city.

50 years since the nation's birth, more than a million housing units have been built in tiny Singapore. Today, SG has 90%+ home ownership, the highest in the world. More here.

The architectural form has evolved too, to recently completed Pinnacle Duxton shown below, the tallest public housing complex in the world. Complete with skybridges with community skygarden. The ground level is foodies paradise. Once again proved that just because it is low-cost high density, doesn't mean it has to be a slum or soulless-Chernobyl or human suffering.

Basically, in the vein of this topic, there are slums (could be flat fringe sprawls or squatter towers, culturally homogenous/ ghetto or not), and low cost public housing projects (could be urban decay, could be clean and efficient starter homes).

Most of the tall buildings in the foreground are "typical" public housing. The red tile roofed buildings are conservation shophouses of Singapore's Chinatown, not far from CBD.

 

[Bipin]

I challenge you to create a model of Kowloon that functions as a separate unit from the city, with a built in policy that it can receive no external care or assistance from public services.

Hey you, over there! Guess what...

You heard that right. Perhaps I will definitely, positively consider doing this maybe. In other words, as long as I can get the policies stuff down, and I find out how to not go overboard on the polycount with all those rectilinear albeit organic forms, consider it done. I want this as much as you do, I can assure you of that!

 

[TotalyMoo]

Hey you, over there! Guess what...

You heard that right. Perhaps I will definitely, positively consider doing this maybe. In other words, as long as I can get the policies stuff down, and I find out how to not go overboard on the polycount with all those rectilinear albeit organic forms, consider it done. I want this as much as you do, I can assure you of that!

Praise the Sun!

 

[vanadio]

Those Singapore blocs are cool