The City: Public Space/Private Interests
Lecture series organised in collaboration with the Territorio Racional y Sostenible group. We will discuss fundamental concepts like the "social function of property", "public interest" and "public property" and how they are present in and applied to different processes of public asset management and environmental protection.
The concept of private property is deeply entrenched in our society, and the protections and guarantees afforded to it have been one of the pillars of our legal and economic system since ancient times.
However, other equally fundamental concepts such as the "social function of property", "public interest" and "public property" are far less clear and visible. When organising this course, we felt it was necessary to reflect on these concepts and, more specifically, on how they are present in and applied to the various processes of public asset management, environmental protection, land use and the universal right to enjoy our cities.
In this context, the prevalence of the interests of proprietors and other private concerns over the public interest, and the systematic prioritisation of short-term financial profits over social benefits have driven models of land use and urban development that go against the principles of equality, social cohesion and sustainability.
We have therefore decided to offer society a space for dialogue, for comparing and contrasting experiences and sharing different points of view about one of the most significant obstacles to the correct use of land and its preservation as a collective asset. By holding parallel sessions in Spain and Costa Rica, we hope to enrich this theme and capitalise on what the experiences of different people and contexts can contribute to the debate.
The complementary two-part series will take place at two venues. The first, La Casa Encendida (Madrid, Spain), will host six sessions from 7 to 9 pm (local time). The second, the School of Architecture and Urbanism at the Costa Rica Institute of Technology EAU-TEC (San José, Costa Rica), will offer three sessions from 10 am to 12 noon (local time). As in previous series, the blog territoriosostenible2011 will post information about the sessions as they unfold and documentation on the topics of discussion. All sessions will be filmed and uploaded to Vimeo by the Environment Department at La Casa Encendida and by the School of Architecture and Urbanism at the Costa Rica Institute of Technology (EAU-TEC).
The contributions of participants in the lecture series and other guest experts, as well as the material assembled by the TRyS group, will be compiled into a free, open-access online publication.
Directed by: Julio Vinuesa Angulo, professor of Human Geography at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), José María de la Riva Ámez, lecturer in Geography, and David Porras Alfaro, architect and lecturer at EAU-TEC
