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Date
2009-07Type
- Journal Article
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
“In most societies, conflicts have been viewed as dangerous, corrosive, and potentially destructive of social order and therefore in need of being contained and resolved. There is evidence, however, that social conflicts themselves produce the valuable ties that hold modern democratic societies together and provide such ties with the strength and cohesion they need; that social conflicts are themselves pillars of democratic society.”
In his introduction to a case study on urban development in Aalborg, Denmark, Bent Flyvbjerg points to the fact that conflict has often been considered antithetical to urban societies. Yet, the presence of difference in close spatial proximity is a fundamental quality of urban living. “The city is the place, where diverging interests are clashing, where conflicts are consciously fought out. The urban city is stage and subject of societal conflicts and political controversies.”
The confrontation and cross-fertilization of differences can stimulate cultural, social, and political dynamics. Hence, the coexistence of differences and the accompanying potential for conflict can be considered to be the impetus for qualities that are generally subsumed under the term “urbanity.” Show more
Publication status
publishedExternal links
Journal / series
Journal of Urban TechnologyVolume
Pages / Article No.
Publisher
RoutledgeOrganisational unit
03660 - Christiaanse, Kees (emeritus)
02226 - NSL - Netzwerk Stadt und Landschaft / NSL - Network City and Landscape
02655 - Netzwerk Stadt und Landschaft D-ARCH
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ETH Bibliography
yes
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