Porous City From Metaphor to Urban Agenda

Sophie Wolfrum (ed.), Porous City: From Metaphor to Urban Agenda, Birkhauser 2018.

Among contributions from Paola Viganò, Alex Lehnerer, Marc Angélil, Philip Ursprung, Kees Christiaanse and many others: Florian Hertweck, "Toward a New Land Reform”.

Some time ago, Walter Benjamin and Asja Lacis used the term "porosity" with reference to Naples' urban characteristics - spaces merging into each other and providing the backdrop for the unforeseen - improvisation as a way of life. Today, the term "porosity" in this context is increasingly used conceptually. Well-known authors from the worlds of architecture, town planning, and landscape design embark on a search for new concepts for a life-enhancing, user-friendly city - with reference to this enigmatic term. The term refers to the overlaying and interweaving of spaces and structures, to urban textures and their architectural properties and qualities - to cities with radically mixed urban functions.