Temporal Urban Design: Temporality, Rhythm and Place

Some cities are characterised by a vivid and contrasting sense of time, and so are particular places within cities. Fast cities are represented as complex, busy and agitated, while in contrast, slow cities are conceived as somewhat easy to understand, quiet and ordered. And within cities, specific urban places are perceived to be temporally distinct. Some are perceived fast as they form hectic hubs of activity and movement, whereas slow places are often experienced as temporary halts in the city, breathing occasions, and also moments of silence and encounter. These common temporal experiences of particular cities and places suggest the sense of time as not only somewhat intersubjective but also location or place-specific. As people go about performing their tasks in everyday life, they perform time collectively. Moreover, as everyday urban life accelerates and home - work distances increase and affect personal and social times, time increasingly becomes a conscious and collective objectivity. Starting off by questioning what actually influences the sense of time, and how this expresses itself in urban environment, this book then examines the value of the everyday sense of time and rhythmicity in urban space, and explores how urban designers can understand and ultimately play a role in the creation of temporally unique, both sensorial and affective, places in the city. Whilst focusing on urban place-temporality, the book defies conventional urban design perspectives on the aesthetics of urban places and the environment, which at predominantly focus on the visual dimension and the materiality of space. Instead, by using theories and concepts from the field of music, it brings forward an alternative approach which looks at urban spaces through the filter of time and rhythmicity, and with it experience, sensoriality and performativity. It explores the everyday sense of time as an indicator of quality in urban space, and how everyday rhythms of social life, nature and physical space, shape meaningful temporal experiences in city spaces.