The Horizontal Metropolis

Two contrasting terms are joined to conjugate the traditional idea of metropolis with horizontality; to combine the center of a vast territoryhierarchically organized, dense, vertical, and produced by polarizationwith the idea of a more diffuse, isotropic urban condition, where center and periphery blur. Beyond a simplistic center versus periphery opposition, the concept of a horizontal metropolis reveals the dispersed condition as a potential asset, rather than a limit, to the construction of a sustainable and innovative urban dimension. Around 1990, Terry McGee, an urban researcher at University of British Columbia, coined the term desakota, deriving from Indonesian desa (village) and kota (city). Desakota areas typically occur in Asia, especially South East Asia. The term describes an area situated outside the periurban zone, often sprawling alongside arterial and communication roads, sometimes from one agglomeration to the next. They are characterized by high population density and intensive agricultural use, but differ from densely populated rural areas by more urban-like characteristics. The new book The Horizontal Metropolis investigates such areas alongside examples in the US, Italy, and Switzerland. The study highlights the advantages of the concept and its relevance under economical, ecological, and social aspects. The concept reflects a vision of global urbanization that does no longer allow for outside areas and that will test the urban ecosystem to its limits.

Chiara Cavalieri ist Architektin und Urbanistin. Seit 2011 forscht und lehrt sie an der Università Iuav di Venezia, seit 2014 ist sie zudem als Postdoktorandin an der École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) tätig. Paola Viganò ist Architektin und Urbanistin und Mitbegründerin des Planungsbüros Studio 015. Sie lehrt als Professorin für Stadtforschung an der Università Iuav di Venezia sowie für Stadttheorie und -design an der École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).