Beyond the networked metropolis: tracing changes in urban infrastructure, public space and landscape in Lisbon and Tokyo

The research is focused on the morphological understanding of the intersection/mediation between public space, landscape and infrastructure, in face of changing paradigms of post-networked metropolises. These include changing demographic patterns (ageing, shrinkage), socio-political constructions (liberalization, glocal integration) and infrastructural-spatial apparatus (splintering, bypassing, distributed networks).

Lisbon and Tokyo metropolises stand as the territorial corpus for the research, combining the rich history of trade and cross-cultural exchange and the complex characters of large scale metropolitan features and small scale urban fabrics, sharing water and landscape as a common ground for its morphogenesis and offering a privileged perspective to contemporary urban debate.

In this context three questions are to be addressed:

- which spatial design tools and strategies to face latency, scarcity and shrinkage;

- while acknowledging the continuing presence and prominent role of ‘networked infrastructures’, the role of urban infrastructure in face of emerging post-networked features;

- the role of infrastructural landscapes as connective fabric and a support for the metropolitan spatial cohesion.

Main results are:

1. Post-doctoral research at the University of Tokyo/Graduate School of Frontier Sciences (Sept 2013/Feb 2014). Supervision by Prof. Hidetoshi Ohno.

2. Final publication/Report

3. Article accepted in edited book (Japanese Urban Culture) being edited.

4. Presentations and paper submission at international Conferences:

- AESOP, Dublin, 2013; EURA, Paris, 2014; AESOP, Delft, 2014; AESOP, Prague, 2015; Changing Cities II, Greece, 2015; Lisbon 2016

5. Academic contents: elective course 'Other Cities' (FAUL, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17) and PhD course ‘Metropolization: Networks, Dynamics and Project’ (FAUL, 2016/17, 2017/18)