Books by Asma Mehan
De Gruyter Brill Publisher, 2024
The Affective Agency of Public Space explores the pivotal role that public spaces play in fosteri... more The Affective Agency of Public Space explores the pivotal role that public spaces play in fostering social inclusion and community cohesion within various settings, including Europe and the United States. This scholarly work underscores the critical importance of developing inclusive public zones that enhance urban life and promote integration and interaction among diverse community groups. It also confronts and debunks common myths about ‘different people,’ actively addressing misconceptions while promoting the recognition of diverse identities and voices. Through a comparative lens, the book presents insightful case studies that illustrate its core themes. Serving as a timely and important academic resource, this text is indispensable for urban planners, educators, architects, designers, and sociologists committed to progressive urban planning methodologies.
Routledge, Sep 26, 2022
This book is an interdisciplinary research work designed to be of interest to a broad range of ac... more This book is an interdisciplinary research work designed to be of interest to a broad range of academics. The book examines the relationship between democracy and the (trans)formations of urban spaces through comparative perspective. It engages with the ideas of ‘modernity’ in architecture and investigates how they might align (or not) with other forms of radical power.
This book offers an understanding of the public spaces through political change, power struggle, and autocratic modernity manifested. It addresses the subject of politics in architecture and built environment by examining the various academic literature in urban studies, architectural history, urban anthropology, urban sociology, cultural geographies, planning history, philosophy, and the broader social and political sciences. Followingly, it will be focused on the less well-known traditions of architecture and democratic values drawing upon western and (non)western perspectives to decolonize the notion of public space in the global south. In better words, the book investigates the mechanisms of power struggles and the transformative dynamism of totalization and state-led modernization, which motivates or shapes a creative tension in the form of the city.
The topic of the work is novel and aims to examine the relationship between the affordances of public spaces, their micro-histories, and the emergence of critical social events and movements. The breadth of the topic demanded engagement with a rich body of architectural theory and history and relevant texts in urban sociology, colonial and postcolonial studies, political geography, and cultural studies, a challenge to which the book has responded outstandingly. The issue is urgent for policymakers and architects, urban designers, political and cultural geographers, and other practitioners working on the built environment to create more democratic public spaces in the global south.
by Svava Riesto, Kris Pint, Nevena Dakovic, Dalia Dijokienė, Juan A. García-Esparza, Katarzyna Kopecka-Piech, Karen Lens, Adriana Martins, Asma Mehan, Bie Plevoets, Angelos Theocharis, Jana Culek, Lamila Simisic, Mirza Emirhafizović, and Inesa Kurtinaitienė Vademecum. 77 Minor Terms for Writing Urban Places, 2020
Words help us to make sense of what happens in the city, and the words we use to describe urban p... more Words help us to make sense of what happens in the city, and the words we use to describe urban places imply a specific outlook. This book offers 77 concepts in the hope that they will stimulate new ways of describing and narrating European cities. The concepts are less obvious, “minor” terms that can nevertheless be used to write European cities anew, in ways that emphasize the local, alternative, disenfranchised, and overlooked. Minor concepts can reveal blind spots in urban discourse, or bring insights from one discipline or language to another.
Vademecum means walk with me, and we imagine this book as a field guide you can carry in your pocket while you explore real-life urban places. The arbitrary number of 77 terms captures a particular moment in a experiential collective process among 40 European researchers during the COVID-19 lockdown. This process brought together perspectives from different disciplines and urban settings—from Lithuania to Portugal, from Ireland to Croatia.
An incomplete and open-ended book, it is also an invitation for readers to add their own “minor concepts,” to open new perspectives and write urban places anew.
Edited by Klaske Havik, Kris Pint, Svava Riesto and Henriette Steiner. NAi Publishers.
Routledge, Jan 30, 2020
Kuala Lumpur is a diverse city representing many different religions and nationalities. Recent go... more Kuala Lumpur is a diverse city representing many different religions and nationalities. Recent government policy has actively promoted unity and cohesion throughout the city; and the country of Malaysia, with the implementation of a programme called 1Malaysia. In this book, the authors investigate the aims of this programme – predominantly to unify the Malaysian society – and how these objectives resonate in the daily spatial practices of the city’s residents. This book argues that elements of urban infrastructure could work as an essential mediator ‘beyond community’, allowing inclusive social structures to be built, despite cultural and religious tensions existing within the city. It builds on the premise of an empirical study which explores the ways in which different communities use the same spaces, supported through the implementation of a theoretical framework which looks at both Western and Islamic conceptualisations of the notion of community. Through the analysis of Kuala Lumpur, this book contributes towards the creation of more inclusive places in multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious communities across the world.
Encyclopaedia Entries by Asma Mehan
VADEMECUM: 77 Minor Terms for Writing Urban Places, 2020
English- Vademecum: 77 Minor Terms for Writing Urban Places offers a set of concepts that stimula... more English- Vademecum: 77 Minor Terms for Writing Urban Places offers a set of concepts that stimulate new approaches in planning, architecture, urban design, policy and other practices of spatial development. These diverse concepts might reveal blind spots in urban discourse or bring insights from one discipline to another. The term ‘minor’ refers to the ambition to look at the local and social specificity of urban places, and to challenge established discursive frameworks by giving voice to multiple actors in the debate. This publication hopes to be a fieldguide that inspires spatial professionals, researchers, students and communities to exchange knowledge, to engage with urban places and to discover and develop responsible approaches to current urban challenges.
Dutch – Vademecum: 77 Minor Terms for Writing Urban Places biedt een reeks concepten die nieuwe benaderingen in architectuur, stedenbouw en ruimtelijke ontwikkeling stimuleren. Deze uiteenlopende concepten kunnen blinde vlekken in het stedelijke discours onthullen of inzichten van de ene discipline naar de andere brengen. De term 'minor' verwijst naar de ambitie om naar de lokale en sociale specificiteit van stedelijke plekken te kijken en om gevestigde discursieve kaders uit te dagen, door stem te geven aan meerdere actoren in het debat. Deze publicatie is te zien als een veldgids die ruimtelijke professionals, onderzoekers, studenten en gemeenschappen inspireert om kennis uit te wisselen, over onderzoek naar stedelijke plekken, en om verantwoorde benaderingen te ontdekken en te ontwikkelen voor de hedendaagse stedelijke uitdagingen.
VADEMECUM: 77 Minor Terms for Writing Urban Places, 2020
English- Vademecum: 77 Minor Terms for Writing Urban Places offers a set of concepts that stimula... more English- Vademecum: 77 Minor Terms for Writing Urban Places offers a set of concepts that stimulate new approaches in planning, architecture, urban design, policy, and other practices of spatial development. These diverse concepts might reveal blind spots in urban discourse or bring insights from one discipline to another. The term ‘minor’ refers to the ambition to look at the local and social specificity of urban places and to challenge established discursive frameworks by giving voice to multiple actors in the debate. This publication hopes to be a field guide that inspires spatial professionals, researchers, students, and communities to exchange knowledge, to engage with urban places and to discover and develop responsible approaches to current urban challenges.
Dutch – Vademecum: 77 Minor Terms for Writing Urban Places biedt een reeks concepten die nieuwe benaderingen in architectuur, stedenbouw en ruimtelijke ontwikkeling stimuleren. Deze uiteenlopende concepten kunnen blinde vlekken in het stedelijke discours onthullen of inzichten van de ene discipline naar de andere brengen. De term 'minor' verwijst naar de ambitie om naar de lokale en sociale specificiteit van stedelijke plekken te kijken en om gevestigde discursieve kaders uit te dagen, door stem te geven aan meerdere actoren in het debat. Deze publicatie is te zien als een veldgids die ruimtelijke professionals, onderzoekers, studenten en gemeenschappen inspireert om kennis uit te wisselen, over onderzoek naar stedelijke plekken, en om verantwoorde benaderingen te ontdekken en te ontwikkelen voor de hedendaagse stedelijke uitdagingen.
Book Chapters by Asma Mehan
In: Cheshmehzangi, A., Roaf, S. (eds) Persian Vernacular Architecture. Urban Sustainability., 2025
Given the increasing frequency of severe weather conditions, it is crucial to reassess our design... more Given the increasing frequency of severe weather conditions, it is crucial to reassess our design strategies to establish architectural principles that protect individuals’ emotional and physical health and general welfare. Iranian master builders, known as Ostads, have historically devised effective methods to tackle climate change challenges and improve human comfort. Vernacular architecture in Iran showcases a continuity between its components, local construction processes, climatic adaptation, and cultural integration. Iran’s architectural solutions vary in response to different climatic zones. Vernacular and indigenous Iranian architecture, with a history spanning at least two millennia, demonstrates its adaptability through seamless integration within very different surrounding environments and climates and changing societies over time. The extraordinary buildings created by the Ostads of Iran have effectively enhanced the comfort and well-being of occupants while protecting populations from often already extreme climates. Contemporary architects can utilise Iranian traditional architecture to create cost-effective, comfortable, socially embraced, and environmentally aware communities prepared to withstand the even harsher weather conditions of the future. This research compares traditional and modern architecture of Iran’s residential buildings, designed and constructed from the Qajar era to the present day. The primary emphasis is on analysing specific examples within the Köppen regional division, which is one of the best-known and most efficient approaches for climatic zoning. The Köppen climate classification scheme which uses monthly and annual threshold values of precipitation and temperature.
Placemaking in Practice Volume 2 Engagement in Placemaking: Methods, Strategies, Approaches , 2024
Participatory budgeting (PB) is a paradigm that empowers residents to directly decide how a porti... more Participatory budgeting (PB) is a paradigm that empowers residents to directly decide how a portion of the public budget is spent. Specifically, residents deliberate over spending priorities and vote over how the budget should be allocated to different public projects. As such it is a mechanism of top-down transfer of decisions on the part of budgetary expenditure to citizens. In recent years, PB has become a central topic of discussion and an important field of innovation for those involved in local development, considered one of the most successful democratic innovations of the last 25 years. Participatory budgeting contributes significantly to participatory democracy, inclusiveness processes and placemaking, but some factors limit the scale of these aspects. However, a relatively simple idea – that “ordinary citizens” should have a direct say in public budgets that impact them – has travelled the world by the most unexpected routes and landed in unlikely sites. There is no precise model for PB programmes. While there are similar tenets and institutional mechanisms, PB programmes are structured in response to each city or state’s particular political, social and economic environment. Therefore, it is necessary to consider to what extent PB strengthens the discussed processes, whether it allows reaching new, inactive groups of citizens and includes them in the decision-making process regarding shaping public spaces. The popularity of this tool carries the risk that it will be used to build the image of local government instead of significantly increasing the participation of citizens in deciding on local public spaces. The chapter aims to present and analyse participatory budgeting practices in four European and North American countries (Switzerland, Poland, North Macedonia and the United States of America) to show the role of PB in placemaking processes by the levels and forms of participation, the analysis of representativeness of PB participants (inclusiveness), placemaking impact and its level of digitisation. The proposed comparative analysis allows for assessing the importance of the tool for increasing social participation, which is participatory budgeting, for understanding its limitations and suggesting directions for its improvement to shape more inclusive, friendly and open public spaces.
Placemaking in Practice Volume 2 Engagement in Placemaking: Methods, Strategies, Approaches , 2024
Citizen participation today needs to be understood as both an empowerment practice to create urba... more Citizen participation today needs to be understood as both an empowerment practice to create urban futures as well as the perpetuation of entrepreneurial and neoliberal modes of planning. The exponential progress of technologies and the digitalisation of everyday life have led to a surge of innovation. Since hybridity has become a key factor, citizen participation now involves citizens and governments meeting online and offline in a multi-stakeholder setting to plan the city in parallel layers, often according to controversial or even contradictory logic (Horelli et al., 2015). As digital citizen participation opens up new tools and means to mobilise people and shape urban futures, this chapter analyses these new aspects through the categories of top-down/bottom-up participation as well as formal/informal practices. Using four case studies comparatively, our aim with this chapter is to find a new theoretical basis and contextualisation for digital citizen participation. The case studies are situated across Europe and North America: we study participatory budgeting in Helsinki, digitalising citizen participation in Lubbock, Texas, the National Map of Security Threats in Poland, and digital placemaking by a grassroots movement in an urban planning participation process in Zürich, Switzerland. The findings of the article show that (1) digital citizen participation fosters novel multi-actor networks negotiating governance of the urban space, (2) studies of citizen participation need to acknowledge the multi-layered hybridity and (3) new modes of governance enable novel senses of informality in participation.
Placemaking in Practice Volume 2. Engagement in Placemaking: Methods, Strategies, Approaches, 2024
Urban spaces require increasing their attractiveness by exploring the social and spatial implicat... more Urban spaces require increasing their attractiveness by exploring the social and spatial implications of new lifestyles. Broad civic knowledge is the basis for placemaking to shape user-centred and inclusive spaces of everyday life. Gathering information on the sense of the place is crucial to finding out and understanding the place-related identity of its users to make the place more appealing and usable. The most popular survey tool is a questionnaire constructed as a series of questions and used for collecting information about a population’s attributes, attitudes or actions. Administered in person or online, questionnaire surveys may provide broad coverage of urban communities – however, they require significantly large human resources to carry out. The survey based on personal contact with the respondent may limit time allocated to its implementation, thus affecting the sample selection. Also, the researcher’s involvement in the questionnaire-filling process can be problematic if he or she reveals the topic of interest and if the sequencing of questionnaire themes influences responses. Similarly, an online questionnaire may not reach some potential respondents due to their reduced access to the internet etc. These limitations may affect the results’ reliability. Taking into account the above-mentioned aspects, the idea of this chapter is to present selected types of questionnaires (textual, visual, in-VR and survey gamification). The main aim is to discuss these questionnaires in the context of their main advantages and disadvantages resulting from the specifics of a type and a form of survey (in-depth and online) to facilitate their use in the process of data collection in placemaking research. The results show that the variety of types of questionnaires, as well as the form of the conducted survey, allow their better selection to the specificity of the community, increasing the place-related identity, thus may provide a more reliable and complete set of information possible to be used in placemaking.
In book: Placemaking in Practice Volume 3. The Future of Placemaking and Digitization. Emerging Challenges and Research Agenda, 2024
Home and place are two interrelated concepts that have overlapping meanings. They are both referr... more Home and place are two interrelated concepts that have overlapping meanings. They are both referring to physical spaces that have meanings and feelings, spaces where common experiences shape and identities are formed. The concepts of home and place are intrinsically linked and are used interchangeably but the most important line that ties these two together is through the notion of belonging and attachment that bind individuals to meaningful spaces. However, there is a gap in the home and place literature about understanding these meanings through negative attributes. This chapter explores the similarities and differences of home and place through negative experiences of two groups of vulnerable people: homeless people and migrants. In this chapter we examine how a lack of physical attachments leads to a lack of belonging and how, together, they create ruptures that ironically help to understanding of the meanings of home and place by separating them from the notion of space. The chapter acknowledges that not all places are called home and not all spaces have the capacity to be made into meaningful places, but that one must focus on the theoretical distinctions underpinning the two terms. The authors suggest that focusing on two vulnerable populations (migrants and homeless people) can offer a pathway towards a theoretical understanding of these two generic concepts. By examining the negative experiences of marginalization and exclusion, in relation to the meanings of home and place, the chapter discusses how negative experiences of displacement and homelessness can offer valuable insights into further theorization of the concepts of home and place.
In: Calabrò, F., Madureira, L., Morabito, F.C., Piñeira Mantiñán, M.J. (eds) Networks, Markets & People. NMP 2024. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, Dec 19, 2024
This paper focuses on the adaptive reuse of industrial heritage as a crucial strategy in urban pl... more This paper focuses on the adaptive reuse of industrial heritage as a crucial strategy in urban planning, particularly in the context of profound climate change-related transitions in urban environments. It differentiates between ‘urban transitions,’ characterized by gradual, adaptive changes, and ‘urban transformation,’ implying a more abrupt overhaul. The paper centers on the sustainable repurposing of industrial buildings and spaces, ensuring they retain cultural and historical significance while meeting modern urban requirements. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, it scrutinizes the role of adaptive reuse in sustainable urban development, assessing the impact of such initiatives from local neighborhoods to city-wide scales. Additionally, the paper critically discusses potential adverse effects, such as gentrification. The study encompasses a variety of global regions, including Europe, the Americas, Canada, and Australia, using case studies to demonstrate the efficacy of adaptive reuse in promoting sustainability, revitalizing urban areas, and conserving cultural heritage. Furthermore, it raises questions about the long-term viability of traditional sustainable urban development strategies in rapidly changing environmental and social landscapes, suggesting the need for a paradigm shift in urban planning methodologies.
In: Calabrò, F., Madureira, L., Morabito, F.C., Piñeira Mantiñán, M.J. (eds) Networks, Markets & People. NMP 2024. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, 2024
This study explores the sustainability transition in Iran's oil towns, emphasizing Masjed Soleyma... more This study explores the sustainability transition in Iran's oil towns, emphasizing Masjed Soleyman’s evolution. Stemming from the Industrial Revolution, the search for new energy led to the early 20th century D'Arcy Concession, catalyzing oil exploration in Iran. This resulted in the pivotal discovery of oil in Masjed Soleyman in 1908, transforming an uninhabited area into a thriving town intricately linked to the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC). This research critically analyzes the unsustainable nature of oil exploration, particularly highlighting APOC's colonial practices, like racial segregation between European and Iranian staff. Despite these challenges, the study identifies pathways for sustainable development, emphasizing the role of Masjed Soleyman's oil heritage. It advocates for the adaptive reuse of historical buildings for diverse community functions, thereby promoting sustainability and cultural preservation. This approach not only safeguards the town's rich historical and cultural fabric but also marks a significant stride towards sustainable urban development in oil-dependent towns.
In: Calabrò, F., Madureira, L., Morabito, F.C., Piñeira Mantiñán, M.J. (eds) Networks, Markets & People. NMP 2024. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, 2024
The “Golden Triangle” of Southeast Texas presents a remarkable story of economic transformation, ... more The “Golden Triangle” of Southeast Texas presents a remarkable story of economic transformation, rooted in the Spindletop oil reserves discovered in 1901. This research aims to explore the significant impact of this discovery, which shifted the region’s economic focus from lumber and cattle to becoming a pioneering center in the petroleum era. The study examines the socio-economic and urban changes in the foundational cities of Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange, as well as the environmental consequences of industrial growth in the area. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining archival research and oral histories to capture socio-cultural shifts, along with spatial analysis tools to quantify urban expansion post-Spindletop. Environmental impact assessments were also conducted to evaluate the ecological side-effects of industrial development. The Golden Triangle’s journey is a microcosm of global themes such as the balance between innovation and sustainability, and the tension between economic growth and ecological responsibility. This research highlights the historical reliance on fossil fuels and the pressing need for sustainable energy paths, reminding us of the cyclical nature of progress and the importance of aligning human aspirations with environmental stewardship.
The Routledge Companion to Smart Design Thinking in Architecture & Urbanism for a Sustainable, Living Planet, 2024
Materialization practices in the architecture and building industry have evolved with the advance... more Materialization practices in the architecture and building industry have evolved with the advancement of manufacturing and information technologies. This evolution is evident across various design and production phases, with a pronounced impact on prototyping. Advances in design and fabrication tools have empowered prototypes, integral in any production cycle, to furnish a growing array of information and feedback for designers and manufacturers. In this context, prototypes have transformed from merely showcasing data-driven building solutions to presenting socio-environmentally conscious systems. Innovation in prototyping connects the initial design and construction stages to the operational phase, creating a seamless transition throughout the project lifecycle. This chapter provides a range of definitions and prototypical case studies for smart prototyping by identifying practiced approaches in integrated design to production workflows. This chapter introduces three paradigms for smart prototyping: Digital prototyping focuses on data-driven design for mass customization, phygital prototyping involves mixed-reality-enabled design and assembly, and thirdly collaborative prototyping explores human-machine hybrid intelligence and co-production in architectural and urban contexts. The chosen case studies in this chapter and how they are categorized aim to provide a comprehensive overview of smart prototyping, covering projects conducted in both research and practice. This chapter concludes with potential future trends and the role of emerging and evolving mediums of prototyping for smart design and construction.
ADAPTIVE REUSE: Theoretical Glossary and Design Labs, 2024
Adaptive reuse embodies a significant transition in the evolution of urban landscapes, representi... more Adaptive reuse embodies a significant transition in the evolution of urban landscapes, representing a paradigm shift from industrial or obsolete uses to vibrant, sustainable, and community-centric functions. This transformative process, deeply rooted in the principles of sustainable urban development, emphasizes the conservation of architectural heritage, environmental sustainability, and socio-economic revitalization. At the heart of adaptive reuse is the concept of sustainability, which challenges traditional notions of development and conservation by repurposing existing structures, thereby conserving resources, and reducing the carbon footprint associated with new constructions. These initiatives align with broader sustainability goals, such as those outlined in the 2030 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), particularly those related to sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.
Decoding Cultural Heritage: A Critical Dissection and Taxonomy of Human Creativity through Digital Tools, 2024
This chapter navigates the confluence of immersive design, critical mapping, urban heritage, and ... more This chapter navigates the confluence of immersive design, critical mapping, urban heritage, and socio-environmental justice. It elucidates the potential of these intersecting domains to engender inclusivity, bolster urban resilience, and challenge prevailing power dynamics within urban spaces. Initially, the chapter illuminates the nuances of critical mapping, emphasizing its pivotal role in understanding and advocating for socio-environmental justice within the tapestry of urban heritage. By taking Amsterdam and Houston as primary case studies, the exploration accentuates the power of immersive art and design in forging embodied experiences. These experiences, intrinsically holistic, seamlessly meld the cognitive and affective realms of design-centered embodiment. The showcased city narratives unravel the myriad ways immersive art interventions can stimulate critical reflections on core issues interlinking urban heritage, socio-environmental justice, and the nuances of public space occupation.
Situating itself within the broader discourse of the book on digital interventions in cultural heritage, this chapter carves a distinct narrative niche. It accentuates the transformative potential of immersive art and design in envisaging and actualizing vibrant, inclusive, and adaptive urban transition zones. By interlacing threads of critical mapping and socio-environmental justice, the chapter augments the discourse on urban heritage, offering a profound dive into its manifestations in both North American and European landscapes.
Educational Research and the Question(s) of Time, 2024
In an era where decolonizing architectural pedagogy is imperative, cities stand as the forefront ... more In an era where decolonizing architectural pedagogy is imperative, cities stand as the forefront of radical thought, acting as crucibles for ideological, activist, and spatial dynamics. These urban landscapes are not just breeding grounds for new paradigms, but also reflect significant shifts in political and social frameworks. This study adopts the concept of the “radical city” as a prism to understand how local events echo global political and sociocultural disturbances. This research takes an innovative approach by integrating mixed-method pedagogies, student-driven inquiries, and diverse case studies, spanning continents from Asia to Latin America, Europe to Africa, and the US to the UK. The aim is to explore the deep-rooted changes in these cities and to promote a decolonized approach to architectural education, moving beyond traditional, Eurocentric narratives. The backbone of this research is the course “Visualizing Radical Urbanism,” offered at the Huckabee College of Architecture, Texas Tech University, in Fall 2022 and Fall 2023. Through this course, students engage in a pedagogical journey involving exploration, research, analysis, and introspection on their selected radical city. Their diverse methodologies and expressive mediums converge in a comprehensive portfolio, showcasing their intellectual growth and culminating in a reflective essay on their urban subject. By focusing on educational research and time investment in this course, the study highlights the importance of sustained, critical engagement with urban environments. This approach not only enriches architectural education but also contributes to the broader discourse on urban activism and decolonization, reinforcing the need for diverse, inclusive, and globally aware architectural pedagogies.
In book: Climate change related urban transformation and the role of cultural heritage, 2023
The adaptive reuse of industrial heritage, a critical component in addressing radical climate cha... more The adaptive reuse of industrial heritage, a critical component in addressing radical climate change-related urban transitions, is increasingly pertinent. This paper distinguishes ‘urban transitions’ from ‘urban transformation,’ emphasizing a more gradual, adaptive approach to urban development under the pressures of climate change. It explores the repurposing of industrial buildings and spaces, maintaining their cultural and historical value while meeting current urban needs. Through a mixed-methods approach, the paper analyses how adaptive reuse contributes to sustainable urban development, examines the scale and impact of such projects from local quarters to city-wide implications, and discusses the potential negative consequences, including gentrif ication. The study spans various global regions, including Europe, the United States, Latin America, Canada, and Australia, using case studies to illustrate the effectiveness of adaptive reuse in promoting sustainability, revitalizing urban areas, and preserving cultural heritage. The paper questions the viability of traditional long-term sustainable urban development strategies in the face of rapid environmental and societal changes, suggesting a potential need for paradigm shifts in urban planning.
Rooted Cosmopolitanism, Heritage and the Question of Belonging: Archaeological and Anthropological perspectives, Feb 4, 2024
Through analysing different case studies in the Middle East, this section uses rooted cosmopolita... more Through analysing different case studies in the Middle East, this section uses rooted cosmopolitanism as a theoretical lens to explore exported modernism and architecture between socialist and capitalist countries during the Cold War. This research analyses the circulation and local applications of urban development and modernisation paradigms in so-called ‘Third World’ countries. For assessing the socialist and capitalist-inspired modernisation processes in the Middle East, this chapter studies the cosmopolitan and trans-cultural architecture created by global and local influences. Comparing two types of cosmopolitan architecture (socialist and capitalist) during the Cold War period in third-world contexts will help us to analyse and compare their relative rootedness and to learn from the interconnected, multifaceted, and multilayered planning transfers and architectural exportations.
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Books by Asma Mehan
This book offers an understanding of the public spaces through political change, power struggle, and autocratic modernity manifested. It addresses the subject of politics in architecture and built environment by examining the various academic literature in urban studies, architectural history, urban anthropology, urban sociology, cultural geographies, planning history, philosophy, and the broader social and political sciences. Followingly, it will be focused on the less well-known traditions of architecture and democratic values drawing upon western and (non)western perspectives to decolonize the notion of public space in the global south. In better words, the book investigates the mechanisms of power struggles and the transformative dynamism of totalization and state-led modernization, which motivates or shapes a creative tension in the form of the city.
The topic of the work is novel and aims to examine the relationship between the affordances of public spaces, their micro-histories, and the emergence of critical social events and movements. The breadth of the topic demanded engagement with a rich body of architectural theory and history and relevant texts in urban sociology, colonial and postcolonial studies, political geography, and cultural studies, a challenge to which the book has responded outstandingly. The issue is urgent for policymakers and architects, urban designers, political and cultural geographers, and other practitioners working on the built environment to create more democratic public spaces in the global south.
Vademecum means walk with me, and we imagine this book as a field guide you can carry in your pocket while you explore real-life urban places. The arbitrary number of 77 terms captures a particular moment in a experiential collective process among 40 European researchers during the COVID-19 lockdown. This process brought together perspectives from different disciplines and urban settings—from Lithuania to Portugal, from Ireland to Croatia.
An incomplete and open-ended book, it is also an invitation for readers to add their own “minor concepts,” to open new perspectives and write urban places anew.
Edited by Klaske Havik, Kris Pint, Svava Riesto and Henriette Steiner. NAi Publishers.
Encyclopaedia Entries by Asma Mehan
Dutch – Vademecum: 77 Minor Terms for Writing Urban Places biedt een reeks concepten die nieuwe benaderingen in architectuur, stedenbouw en ruimtelijke ontwikkeling stimuleren. Deze uiteenlopende concepten kunnen blinde vlekken in het stedelijke discours onthullen of inzichten van de ene discipline naar de andere brengen. De term 'minor' verwijst naar de ambitie om naar de lokale en sociale specificiteit van stedelijke plekken te kijken en om gevestigde discursieve kaders uit te dagen, door stem te geven aan meerdere actoren in het debat. Deze publicatie is te zien als een veldgids die ruimtelijke professionals, onderzoekers, studenten en gemeenschappen inspireert om kennis uit te wisselen, over onderzoek naar stedelijke plekken, en om verantwoorde benaderingen te ontdekken en te ontwikkelen voor de hedendaagse stedelijke uitdagingen.
Dutch – Vademecum: 77 Minor Terms for Writing Urban Places biedt een reeks concepten die nieuwe benaderingen in architectuur, stedenbouw en ruimtelijke ontwikkeling stimuleren. Deze uiteenlopende concepten kunnen blinde vlekken in het stedelijke discours onthullen of inzichten van de ene discipline naar de andere brengen. De term 'minor' verwijst naar de ambitie om naar de lokale en sociale specificiteit van stedelijke plekken te kijken en om gevestigde discursieve kaders uit te dagen, door stem te geven aan meerdere actoren in het debat. Deze publicatie is te zien als een veldgids die ruimtelijke professionals, onderzoekers, studenten en gemeenschappen inspireert om kennis uit te wisselen, over onderzoek naar stedelijke plekken, en om verantwoorde benaderingen te ontdekken en te ontwikkelen voor de hedendaagse stedelijke uitdagingen.
Book Chapters by Asma Mehan
Situating itself within the broader discourse of the book on digital interventions in cultural heritage, this chapter carves a distinct narrative niche. It accentuates the transformative potential of immersive art and design in envisaging and actualizing vibrant, inclusive, and adaptive urban transition zones. By interlacing threads of critical mapping and socio-environmental justice, the chapter augments the discourse on urban heritage, offering a profound dive into its manifestations in both North American and European landscapes.
This book offers an understanding of the public spaces through political change, power struggle, and autocratic modernity manifested. It addresses the subject of politics in architecture and built environment by examining the various academic literature in urban studies, architectural history, urban anthropology, urban sociology, cultural geographies, planning history, philosophy, and the broader social and political sciences. Followingly, it will be focused on the less well-known traditions of architecture and democratic values drawing upon western and (non)western perspectives to decolonize the notion of public space in the global south. In better words, the book investigates the mechanisms of power struggles and the transformative dynamism of totalization and state-led modernization, which motivates or shapes a creative tension in the form of the city.
The topic of the work is novel and aims to examine the relationship between the affordances of public spaces, their micro-histories, and the emergence of critical social events and movements. The breadth of the topic demanded engagement with a rich body of architectural theory and history and relevant texts in urban sociology, colonial and postcolonial studies, political geography, and cultural studies, a challenge to which the book has responded outstandingly. The issue is urgent for policymakers and architects, urban designers, political and cultural geographers, and other practitioners working on the built environment to create more democratic public spaces in the global south.
Vademecum means walk with me, and we imagine this book as a field guide you can carry in your pocket while you explore real-life urban places. The arbitrary number of 77 terms captures a particular moment in a experiential collective process among 40 European researchers during the COVID-19 lockdown. This process brought together perspectives from different disciplines and urban settings—from Lithuania to Portugal, from Ireland to Croatia.
An incomplete and open-ended book, it is also an invitation for readers to add their own “minor concepts,” to open new perspectives and write urban places anew.
Edited by Klaske Havik, Kris Pint, Svava Riesto and Henriette Steiner. NAi Publishers.
Dutch – Vademecum: 77 Minor Terms for Writing Urban Places biedt een reeks concepten die nieuwe benaderingen in architectuur, stedenbouw en ruimtelijke ontwikkeling stimuleren. Deze uiteenlopende concepten kunnen blinde vlekken in het stedelijke discours onthullen of inzichten van de ene discipline naar de andere brengen. De term 'minor' verwijst naar de ambitie om naar de lokale en sociale specificiteit van stedelijke plekken te kijken en om gevestigde discursieve kaders uit te dagen, door stem te geven aan meerdere actoren in het debat. Deze publicatie is te zien als een veldgids die ruimtelijke professionals, onderzoekers, studenten en gemeenschappen inspireert om kennis uit te wisselen, over onderzoek naar stedelijke plekken, en om verantwoorde benaderingen te ontdekken en te ontwikkelen voor de hedendaagse stedelijke uitdagingen.
Dutch – Vademecum: 77 Minor Terms for Writing Urban Places biedt een reeks concepten die nieuwe benaderingen in architectuur, stedenbouw en ruimtelijke ontwikkeling stimuleren. Deze uiteenlopende concepten kunnen blinde vlekken in het stedelijke discours onthullen of inzichten van de ene discipline naar de andere brengen. De term 'minor' verwijst naar de ambitie om naar de lokale en sociale specificiteit van stedelijke plekken te kijken en om gevestigde discursieve kaders uit te dagen, door stem te geven aan meerdere actoren in het debat. Deze publicatie is te zien als een veldgids die ruimtelijke professionals, onderzoekers, studenten en gemeenschappen inspireert om kennis uit te wisselen, over onderzoek naar stedelijke plekken, en om verantwoorde benaderingen te ontdekken en te ontwikkelen voor de hedendaagse stedelijke uitdagingen.
Situating itself within the broader discourse of the book on digital interventions in cultural heritage, this chapter carves a distinct narrative niche. It accentuates the transformative potential of immersive art and design in envisaging and actualizing vibrant, inclusive, and adaptive urban transition zones. By interlacing threads of critical mapping and socio-environmental justice, the chapter augments the discourse on urban heritage, offering a profound dive into its manifestations in both North American and European landscapes.
Credits: Huckabee College of Architecture; Graphic Designers: Studio BLDG (Blossom Liu + Danny Gray); English Editor: Luke Studebaker; Spanish Translator: Jessie Forbes; Printer: Die Keure. Cover Photo: Derek Williams.
Generously supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and the Huckabee College of Architecture, Texas Tech University.
This research aims to clarify how the oil industry, in close collaboration with national governments, has materially shaped the oil cities through oil-specific architecture like company headquarters, gas stations, retail and infrastructure buildings. The current legacy of oil industry continues to reshape the industry, society and politics as well. This research uses a critical and analytical problem-based approach to examine the current policies that build a new image and identity through adaptive reuse strategies to promote sustainable local development in Iran’s industrial heritage.
The memory of past political events gives inspirations to those revolutionaries seeking to create a new state. In the case of Tehran, the production of insurgent urbanism as the result of utopian urbanism achieves its political status through semantic association depends on a historical memory within the collective imagination. In this way, Azadi Square appropriated based on new ideological interpretative. During the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Enqelab Street, and Azadi Square provided the main geography of protest. Azadi Square’s ambivalent nature and the co-existence of nearly incompatible realities made of this square a ‘heterotopia’. Moreover, to connect people with the larger population and to activate the collective memory embedded within the urban context, the previous geographies of protest in Tehran provided the primary space to connect people with the larger population. This research aims to represent the idea of Protest Square as a contemporary global phenomenon, which came to stand as a hopeful process of revolutionary changes from the Middle East to Europe with its distinctive urban characters during the political revolutions and social movements.
In 1968, a major piece of legislation, the Urban Development and Renewal Act, enabled the municipality to implement Tehran’s Comprehensive Plan (TCP 1968), which integrated all the elements of a 1960s’ American city such as the separation of functions, highways, suburbs, shopping centers and housing area. The export of these American cities principles can only be understood from the background of the Cold War period, in which the east and west were both competing for cultural colonization of Middle Eastern strategically important cities like Tehran. During this period, the new developments supported by the oil boom of 1970s, were built in different forms to constitute an expanding metropolis. In 1974, the second “International Congress of Architecture” with the theme of “Toward a Quality of Life” held at Persepolis and brought together all leading world architects and planners to review Iran’s progress in its professional response to the challenges posed by increasing oil revenues. This research aims to represent the export of planning as a political means of cultural colonization of Third World during the cold war period.
Springer Book “After Oil: A Comparative Analysis of Oil Heritage, Urban Transformations, and Resilience Paradigms,” edited by Asma Mehan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Texas Tech University Huckabee College of Architecture, and to be published as part of the Heritage Studies book series by Springer Nature Group. This edited volume aims to explore the multifaceted impacts of the transition from oil-driven economies and landscapes to post-oil paradigms, focusing on urban transformations, resilience strategies, and the preservation and reinterpretation of oil heritage.
Themes and Topics:
- Socio-Economic Impacts of Oil Decline: Effects on communities, labor, and economies. - Environmental Justice and Sustainability: Challenges and opportunities in transitioning from oil. - Cultural and Social Narratives of Oil: Influence of art, literature, and media on oil perceptions. - Policy and Planning for Post-Oil Futures: Strategies for adapting urban spaces and infrastructure. - Global Energy Transitions and Urban Implications: Impact of energy shifts on urban development and geopolitics. - Innovation and Adaptation in Post-Oil Economies: New economic models and strategies for cities moving away from oil.
Submission Guidelines:
Abstracts should be no more than 300 words, written in English, and provide a clear overview of the proposed chapter’s objectives, methodology, and key findings. Include a brief author biography (maximum 100 words) and contact information with your submission. Abstracts should be submitted as a PDF or Word document to Dr. Asma Mehan ([email protected]) by April 30, 2024.
Important Dates: Abstract Submission Deadline: 30 April 2024 Notification of Acceptance: 15 May 2024 Full Chapter Submission Deadline: 15 July 2024
Editorial Process: Selected abstracts will be invited to submit full chapters, which will undergo a peer-review process to ensure the quality and relevance of the contributions. Detailed guidelines for full chapter submissions will be provided upon acceptance of abstracts. The editors look forward to receiving your abstracts and contributing to a comprehensive exploration of the post-oil urban landscape. For any inquiries, please contact the editor, Dr. Asma Mehan, at [[email protected]]
Link: https://lnkd.in/g2mTG64K
Consider submitting a paper to the TS_32 special session “Adaptive Reuse of Industrial Sites: Strategies for Climate Mitigation and Urban Sustainability” (chairs: Dr. Asma Mehan & Seyed Alireza Seyedi) at the international conference “Networks, Markets & People” (May 22–24, 2024, Reggio Calabria, Italy)
https://www.nmp.unirc.it/
The paper submission deadline has been extended to January 8th, 2024.
Accepted papers will be published in the Scopus-indexed proceedings (Springer).
https://www.nmp.unirc.it/.../uploads/2023/11/TS_32_Asma.pdf
Architecture Special Issue: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/architecture/special_issues/88LBI2J0B0
Trends in Higher Education Special Issue: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/higheredu/special_issues/H11D7862O2
Dr. Asma Mehan Dr. Sina Mostafavi Guest Editors
The call for paper is open now:
https://dinamiacetiul.wixsite.com/congress-archwar
Digital technologies are considered as a crucial building block for enhancing the potentially deliberative quality of participatory processes and for tackling historical shortcomings in such processes. As such, they carry the promise to enable a “more communicative action-oriented process of planning and city creation” (Houghton et al., 2015). However, digitalization also poses challenges and problems. In a society of access, where being connected is crucial, already existing inequalities and segregation can be perpetuated or even attenuated. Moreover, old problems related to citizen participation still occur in digital initiatives. Digital tools are not unbiased, butprogrammed and developed by human beings and their norms, values, and beliefs.In this thematic issue we are especially interested in the trajectories and (dis)continuities of citizen participation through different tools and means. The issue will focus on how they have opened upnovel approaches to mobilizing resources, addressing target groups, creating visibility and publicness, or enhancing participation through hybrid and multi-sensory approaches, and how they potentially affect, transform, contest, or reproduce hegemonic power relations.
Instructions for Authors:Authors interested in submitting a paper for this issue are asked to consult the journal's instructions for authors and submit their abstracts (maximum of 250 words, with a tentative title) through the abstracts system (here). When submitting their abstracts, authors are also asked to confirm that they are aware that Urban Planning is an open access journal with a publishing fee if the article is accepted for publication after peer-review (corresponding authors affiliated with our institutional members do not incur this fee).
This Special Issue of Religions aims to re-think and re-contextualise the notion of sacred space, questioning both phenomenological (Eliade) and constructivist (Knott) approaches. With this in mind, this issue hopes to study, analyse and map different intellectual and religious perspectives concerning the spatiality of religious practice and the notion of the sacred space itself.
Furthermore, this Special Issue intends to provide a dialectical space to foster intellectual exchange and cross-fertilisation among architecture, the built environment, and religious studies. Our focus will shift attention to less-known and marginalized religious traditions utilizing the insights of spatial and religious studies and drawing on the extensive academic literature of religious studies, cultural geography, urban anthropology, architecture and urban sociology, as well as that of the broader humanities, including the social and political sciences.
The goal of the Special Issue is to resituate the now largely discarded historiographical concept of sacred space within the context of an apparently secular, rationalized, pluralistic, and globalized modern world and to ask “How does this concept—or does it—remain generative and how has it been reimagined, repurposed, and reinscribed with new and surprising meanings in order to fit the changing historical situation?” To achieve this, our focus is intentionally interdisciplinary, bringing together different discourses and specialists to go beyond traditional academic disciplinary aggregations. Such an approach was devised with the intent of evolving our understanding of the concept of sacred space outside of phenomenological and constructivist lenses, in hopes of germinating fresh interpretations on the type of space that is and has been referred to as “sacred” in the present and past.
The issue will supplement the already existing reorientation in religious studies that have been ongoing for the last three decades, namely, material and spatial turns, which seek to interpret religious phenomena outside the traditional categories of dogma, belief, and ritual practice, focusing instead on configurations of space and relations, how religions ideas are lived out in a concrete way and how they are instantiated materially and socially. As an interdisciplinary issue, we hope this collection of research will also contribute to building bridges between academic disciplines, will the aim of reinvigorating dialogue between religious studies and built-environment-related disciplines.
Dr. Krzysztof Nawratek
Dr. Asma Mehan
Dr. Aaron French
Guest Editors
The special issue of NALANS aims to give room to explore the urban narrative identities of European cities as they have been written in contemporary literature. In this call, we would like to define the term ‘contemporary’ as fiction that has been published in the last 20 years. The issue thus wishes to explore 21st-century fiction, playwriting, and poetry that features the city as its (main) protagonist and as an element equally important as, if not even more than, its characters in the traditional sense. In doing so, we invite the submission of articles that place particular emphasis on urban narratives of cities or city neighborhoods that have often been overlooked until now, such as mid-sized European cities to explore their multiple narrative identities arising from but not limited to chronicles, generational novels, travel writing and other forms of literary texts.
Further emphasis on the articles should be placed on the discourse and the language this identity is created by. Roland Barthes (1976) argues that "[a]t the moment of speech’s utterance, language finds itself at the service of power on two levels. On one level, speech is immediately assertive and demonstrative of authority. On another level, speech seeks to be recognized by the other and finds this in the repetition of signs." Thus, we would like to receive studies that investigate further to what extent does the city itself speaks, possibly through the author of its urban narrative?
We thus encourage scholars to submit papers of 5.000 to 7.000 words that investigate the following topics that are not by any means exclusive:
how the city speaks in urban narratives and how is its narrative identity shaped (by language, discourse, geography, timeline, content, text from, etc.)
what function do memories and recollection of the past and present of a city have in shaping its narrative identity
investigations into the epistemology of urban writings
how do the urban narrative form a collective identity of the community and brings the members together?
urban places that are crucial in creating the narrative identity of a certain city (e.g. built heritage sites that speak such as hotels, cinemas, museums, historic cafes, statues, fountains, bridges, gardens, old universities, authors’/artists’ houses, etc.) in literature
descriptions of events that shape the narrative identity of a city (incorporated narratives of national and international festivals, theatres, exhibitions, art installations, and fairs, routes, performances) in literary works
novels/plays/poetry thematizing the architecture, art history, urban development, urban design, and planning
We invite submissions in form of abstracts of approx. 300 words to be submitted to [email protected] no later than 15th January 2022. After an initial review of abstracts by the editors of the special issue, selected authors will be invited to contribute full-length (5.000-7.000 words) original research articles written according to APA 7th edition and adhering to standard NALANS guidelines for authors that can be found here guidelines https://www.nalans.com/index.php/nalans/about/submissions . The deadline for full articles is 15th April 2022. The issue is expected to come out by the end of 2022.
Contact Info:
Issue Editors
Sonja Novak
Mustafa Zeki Çıraklı
Asma Mehan
Sílvia Quinteiro
Submission:
Proposals (abstracts) should be sent to [email protected] no later than 15th January 2022.
Contact Email:
[email protected]
URL:
https://www.nalans.com/index.php/nalans/about/submissions
Journal keywords are:
Systemic complex vision· Resilient systems· Sustainable development goals· Cities and human settlements inclusivity· Urban metabolism· Biophilic cities· Slow & smart innovation· Ecosystem services· Ecoplanning· Landscape urbanism· Landscape ecological urbanism· Sustainable urban development· Cognitive study of design· Architectural theory and criticism· Architectural history· Lessons from the past· Heritage, identity & culture
a cura di / dossier coordonné par / edited by // Elisabetta Risi, Riccardo Pronzato & Cristina Mattiucci
Guest artist / artiste présenté / artista ospite // Tommaso Vaccarezza
Texas Tech University College of Architecture (TTU CoA) Texas Tech University
I am excited to invite applicants to submit their application materials focusing on the following areas:
1. Architectural Humanities
2. Critical Urbanism
3. Heritage Studies
Timeline: Review of the applications starts on 20/10/2022 and continue until filled. Priorities will be given to applicants who apply before November 15th, 2022 with high level of qualifications and interdisciplinary experiences and background in the field of architectural theory and history as well as related fields. Funding resources are available for partial to full support depending on qualifications and starting date. The preferred starting date for the post is spring semester 2023 and latest Fall 2023.
STARTING DATE: SPRING/FALL 2023, OPEN UNTIL FILLED
Interdisciplinary proposals are more than welcome. The PhD post will be part of Interdisciplinary Land Use, Planning, Management and Design.
For further enquiries, PhD applicants may contact Assistant professor Dr. Asma Mehan, College of Architecture, Texas Tech University as the main supervisor of the available post via email: [email protected]. To be eligible for funding, applicants must apply and be admitted to the LDB track of the LPMD program.
Full info can be downloaded here (2-Page PDF file)
https://lnkd.in/epsA-9kp
Direct link to apply:
Applications to the LPMD program must be submitted through this program link: https://lnkd.in/e5-8PPYQ