著：（美）戴維·加弗努爾 譯：鄧可 向嵐麟

1 引言：一個多元文化和多重影響下的地區(qū)

拉丁美洲是由多種因素形成的具有高度混雜的文化影響的地區(qū)：a）地域—地理、氣候和生物多樣性特征，因其橫跨大西洋、加勒比海和太平洋，從北向南延伸，綿延6 000多英里（1英里約為1.61km），擁有世界上最大的山脈、熱帶雨林和沙漠；b）自15世紀初起成為歐洲帝國主義列強（主要為西班牙、葡萄牙，其次為法國）殖民統(tǒng)治的“新大陸”；c）20世紀美國以及更近時期的其他新興經濟體的強烈影響。

雖然這些外來文化的沖突往往以強加于本土文化為結果，但隨著時間的推移，一種豐富的文化多元現(xiàn)象逐漸出現(xiàn)，并影響著生活中的各個方面，包括城市和建筑遺產。研究這種文化沖突或共存的過程可以幫助我們預見該地區(qū)仍然面臨的挑戰(zhàn)以及學術和專業(yè)的新趨勢。

下文中，將結合拉美地區(qū)混合建成景觀形成的主要歷史時期，同時圍繞其獨特的景觀、城市和建筑特點進行敘述[1]（圖1）。

2 前哥倫布時期：人與自然和諧共生的宇宙觀

隨著1492年克里斯托弗·哥倫布的登陸，開啟了歐洲人對新大陸的征服和殖民，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了拉美一些地區(qū)存在著高度發(fā)達的社會，一系列復雜的城市體系、區(qū)域聯(lián)合、純熟的城市布局和建筑[2]。

當時，阿茲特克文化和瑪雅文化代表了這一地區(qū)文化與經濟發(fā)展的主流，它們位于今天的墨西哥和中美地區(qū)，以及以秘魯、玻利維亞和厄瓜多爾的安第斯山脈為中心的印加帝國的龐大的城鎮(zhèn)群。這些城市的領土體系有著嚴格的社會和權力等級制度，由于強制勞動和奴隸制的作用，整體空間和主要建筑體現(xiàn)了統(tǒng)治者對民眾的絕對控制。

早期西班牙的歷史記載中描述了殖民者們第一次與這些文明相遇時所表現(xiàn)出的敬畏之情，不論是城市的組織、基礎設施的建設、城市的整潔程度，還是那些石構的廟宇和公共空間，在他們看來無不令人嘆為觀止。除此之外，這些城市在形態(tài)上與當地自然環(huán)境完美融合，采用了生態(tài)都市主義，使得大規(guī)模的都市農業(yè)、復雜的灌溉系統(tǒng)乃至城市中心的衛(wèi)生防護成為可能；這些在當時的歐洲城市中是沒有的，與在其他地區(qū)所見的也不可同日而語①。

來到阿茲特克中心城市特諾奇提特蘭城（今墨西哥城）的殖民者 Hernán Cortés，被這座建在湖心島上的巨大城市深深地震撼了—海堤公路、縱橫交錯的水網、衛(wèi)生系統(tǒng)以及以一種以豆莢（名為chinampa）為主的十分高產的水生都市農業(yè)[3]。

西班牙人和葡萄牙人在拉美殖民的主要目的是將他們攫取的自然資源（金、銀、寶石、優(yōu)良木材，后來還有農產品）運回歐洲，并將歐洲的宗教和文化進行輸入。這些原因導致了前哥倫布時期殖民城市受到侵蝕和破壞，并被破碎的歐洲模式的景觀所逐漸取代。因此，除了那些位于偏遠地區(qū)、在歐洲殖民者到來之前被遺棄的，或是那些日前在密林中被發(fā)現(xiàn)的城市和建筑的遺跡之外，前哥倫布時期的建筑遺產所剩無幾。這一時期最典型的建筑類型是儀式性的金字塔和紀念性的建筑群。在諸如特奧蒂瓦坎、奇琴伊察、帕倫克和蒂卡爾等地，都有著中美的石頭裝飾和浮雕；安第斯山脈的高地中如皮薩克、薩克塞瓦曼、歐雁臺和馬丘比丘等地，在房屋和廟宇中修建了精細的石墻，在城市和農田中還結合地形建造了石階（圖2）。大多數土著居民的房屋由輕質材料如木材、甘蔗、纖維以及土方等建造，隨著時間的推移，這些材料與當地自然環(huán)境很好地融為一體。

這個時期的建筑和工藝品中的重要美學元素在如今的視覺藝術中有所體現(xiàn)，特別是在壁畫、陶器、織物、平面設計中，有的則體現(xiàn)在當代建筑中（圖3）。

2 秘魯皮薩克，印加梯田Inca agricultural terraces in Pisac,Peru

3 圣地亞哥早期殖民地圖Early colonial map of Santiago de Chile

3 殖民城市：城市原型的植入

從歐洲殖民開始的殖民時期延續(xù)了3個多世紀，到了19世紀30年代，拉美大多數的殖民地發(fā)展成為獨立的國家。殖民地城市是文藝復興和巴洛克時期的產物，是為了實現(xiàn)對領土的迅速占領和政治控制的強大軍事行動的結果。為了開展這項被認為是歷史上最大規(guī)模的殖民運動，1573年，西班牙王國頒布了《新領地和平發(fā)展條例》，亦稱《獨立法》，對城市的管理和設計等作出了簡要規(guī)定②。

歷史上被認為起主要促進作用的城市殖民手段是笛卡爾方格網在近800個西班牙殖民點中的廣泛使用，通過這種形式對當地進行文化殖民（圖4）。新城建設的第一步是清除植被，體現(xiàn)了人類意志凌駕于自然之上③。公共廣場由于其枯燥乏味的風景，被改造成市場和宗教場所，同時提升了圍合在其周邊的公共建筑（教堂、市政廳、監(jiān)獄或軍事設施）的高度。正如丘埃卡（G.Chueca）和托里斯（B.Torres）所言：“城市與鄉(xiāng)村的區(qū)別不僅是其活動類型和人口組成的不同，最重要在于城市的幾何設計。城市是文明的標志。殖民者們通過新城建設來向當地人民展現(xiàn)他們至高無上的文化地位。[4]”

《獨立法》中明確地提出了選址、與水源的距離、是否有土著居?。ㄟ@意味著那里是否適合居?。?、中心廣場的位置和比例，以及引導城鎮(zhèn)擴張的次中心的選址等要求，同時限定了這些廣場周邊重要的市民和宗教建筑的位置和建造方式④。此外，法律中還建議在炎熱地區(qū)降低街道寬度，以便至少在街道的一側形成建筑陰影，如波多黎各的圣胡安、哥倫比亞的卡塔赫納⑤和巴拿馬的巴拿馬城[5]（圖5）。

條例中規(guī)定，每個街區(qū)被劃分成4個地塊并分配給這座城市的殖民者們。只有在非常富裕的城市里，這種街區(qū)劃分的方式才能很好地施行。地塊很快地被劃分并傳給殖民者的后代。越富裕的群體的地塊和房屋越大，且越靠近主廣場，反之亦然。

盡管條例中明確了重要公共和宗教建筑的基本模式，但住宅和商業(yè)建筑卻是按照西班牙和葡萄牙自身的傳統(tǒng)而建造的，又同時受到伊斯蘭的影響[6-7]。為了將公共空間和私人空間明確區(qū)分開，規(guī)定住宅和公共建筑要形成連續(xù)的街道立面。越靠近地塊前端的房屋越正規(guī)化，越靠近后端的房屋則越家庭化和生活化。建筑物的高度、立面欄窗的數量、多層建筑中陽臺的設置、主入口和面向街道一側的門窗裝飾等都體現(xiàn)了戶主的社會地位。

非住宅建筑上的裝飾物的大小和復雜程度取決于城市所在地區(qū)的富裕程度；建筑材料的選擇取決于它們在當地的可獲得性，主要是土坯、夯土厚墻、帶有泥墊的藤條、石頭或沿海地區(qū)的珊瑚礁。在原住民大量聚居的地區(qū)，建筑和藝術品中出現(xiàn)了許多本土的圖案。這時的拉丁美洲，文化混雜現(xiàn)象就已經在城市和建筑中產生了[7]。

大多數拉美國家都不乏杰出的城市和建筑實例，特別是在被殖民之前就已經有著更先進的土著群體和人口更稠密的地區(qū)，如：墨西哥、危地馬拉、哥倫比亞、厄瓜多爾、秘魯和玻利維亞；或者那些作為保衛(wèi)其港口的重要城市，以及準備運往伊比利亞半島的貨物的儲藏地，如今天的巴拿馬城、卡塔赫納、拉哈巴納或波多黎各圣胡安。

葡萄牙人在伊比利亞半島占領了一塊大殖民地—巴西。與西班牙人一樣，出于相似的經濟和宗教原因，他們制定了一個類似于新城建設的藍圖。然而，葡萄牙并沒有頒布一部像西班牙那樣的城市設計導則。因此，除了部分方格網城市的建設，更多的城市采用了傳統(tǒng)葡萄牙城鎮(zhèn)的有機增長模式。得益于其土地的富庶，且因葡萄牙議會于1807年決定將首都和平地移交給巴西，從而使其免受獨立戰(zhàn)爭的摧殘和破壞，因此眾多杰出的巴洛克式殖民建筑得以保留⑥。

如今，部分被西班牙和葡萄牙所殖民過的城市中的方格網整體或城市局部已經被聯(lián)合國教科文組織列入世界遺產地⑦。此外，對大陸殖民地的主要港口和加勒比海島起著防御作用的設施也同樣重要。

隨著時間的推移，殖民時期的城市所特有的城市形態(tài)和建筑遺產已經受到了拉美國家的高度重視，他們對其進行保護，將其視為獨特和多元文化的象征。此外，殖民城市依然存在著社會分層，同時也成為經濟活動的中心和旅游目的地（圖6）。

4 秘魯庫斯科，阿馬斯廣場Plaza de Armas,Cuzco,Peru

5 哥倫比亞卡塔赫納德印第亞斯，殖民街Colonial Street in Cartagena de Indias,Colombia

6 巴西里約熱內盧中心Avenida（19世紀下半葉）Avenida Central in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil (second half of the nineteenth century)

4 共和時期：城市綠化

到了19世紀30年代，拉美大多數前殖民地國家獲得了獨立。西班牙能夠統(tǒng)治的僅剩下在古巴和波多黎各的加勒比地區(qū)嚴密防控的海島⑧。經過近20年的血腥暴力的獨立戰(zhàn)爭，拉美國家最終進入到法律、經濟、文化和城市發(fā)展變化的新時期。

與其他歐洲國家特別是英國、法國以及日耳曼國家的貿易往來，深刻地影響著這些新獨立的共和國，并改變著它們的生產、制造和出口方式以及城市景觀。法國在文化上被許多拉美國家所效仿，對這些國家的法律、政治、教育等制度都產生著影響，并成為城市、景觀和建筑設計方面的示范。這種新的經濟和政治關系影響著這些地區(qū)的農業(yè)生產和出口方式（如甘蔗、咖啡和可可）。這是經濟依賴和文化同化下的新時代的曙光⑨。

對外貿易的新機遇促進了拉美地區(qū)的城市發(fā)展，推動了基礎設施的建設，如港口、鐵路、公路、渡槽、工業(yè)區(qū)以及醫(yī)院、市場、學校和大學等服務設施和軍事設施。這也引發(fā)了20世紀初的第一批社區(qū)住宅的誕生。因此，原本緊湊的殖民地城市開始采用歐洲的城市建設模式和建筑風格并不斷擴大[8]。這使拉美的城市景觀發(fā)生了許多重要的變化，并對其社會關系產生了一定的影響，主要是：

1）農村土地迅速轉化為城市土地，激發(fā)了投機性房地產市場，也造福了一群企業(yè)家（即那些殖民時期的土地所有者）。這個新興的富人階層開始遷移到不斷擴大的城市的周邊居住—在綠色景觀的庇護下—以逃避傳統(tǒng)城市中心區(qū)所帶來的擁擠、污染和社會問題⑩。

2）人們普遍熱衷于景觀和城市綠化，并將其作為城市美化的手段，建設了林蔭大道，使其不僅成為社交和休閑的場所，同時還吸引了房地產投資者。與殖民地城市忽視當地的景觀和文化不同，共和時期早期的城市在注重地域、環(huán)境和植物的和諧方面有了很大提升（圖7）。

共和時期自然要比殖民時期更具探索性和開放性，以便將歐洲的城市和建筑類型朝著適應當地條件改善。這期間，政府通過不同渠道的借鑒、充分汲取公眾的意見，對拉美良好的自然本底和豐富的植物資源有了深入的認識。這個時期可以被認為是拉美版的田園城市和城市美化運動。

許多城市試圖仿效奧斯曼式的巴黎大道和紀念碑，有時甚至將它們用在既有的城市肌理上；除此之外，這些城市建設手法還被用在以農業(yè)為主的自然環(huán)境中[9]。許多國家建設了新城，以適應新的經濟活動，開采或加工咖啡、香蕉、橡膠、礦產、木材或纖維等自然資源。歐洲的建筑師、工程師和市民被邀請參與到這些項目中來，并使用巴黎美術學院最流行的設計元素。

7 智利圣地亞哥的森林公園，連接起舊的殖民地方格網與19世紀的城市新區(qū)Parque Forestal in Santiago,Chile,linking the colonial city to the nineteenth century expansion

8 阿根廷拉普拉塔新城鳥瞰圖Aerial view of the new town of Ciudad de La Plata,Argentina

拉丁美洲所有重要的城市都不乏歐洲城市模式和建筑類型的影子?（圖8）。

智利港口城市瓦爾帕萊索因其杰出的折衷主義建筑群而被整體列入世界文化遺產。這座城市是南美洲重要的港口和商業(yè)中心之一。這座城市與陡峭地形的結合，使用傾斜的電梯，以及它的折衷式建筑，使之成為拉美后殖民混雜的獨特范例（圖9）。

5 拉美現(xiàn)代主義：適應本土文化的城市化

20世紀中葉之后，拉美國家經歷了快速的城市化、現(xiàn)代化和工業(yè)化，而此時，其富裕的北方鄰國—美國已成為全球的經濟和軍事霸主。

在此之前，大多數拉美國家還是農業(yè)國。在不到50年的時間里，這個地區(qū)的城市人口比例已經等同甚至超過了農村人口。如今，與其他主要為發(fā)展中國家的地區(qū)的城市化率相比，拉美的城市人口比例是最高的?。在當時經濟非常發(fā)達的國家，如墨西哥、古巴、委內瑞拉、巴西和阿根廷，移民中有相當一部分是來自其他拉美國家的，特別是那些在二戰(zhàn)期間飽受戰(zhàn)爭侵襲的國家（圖10）。

在這個地區(qū)走向經濟繁榮的同時，也開始廣為采用城市規(guī)劃和建筑中的現(xiàn)代主義思想，來自二戰(zhàn)中被摧毀的歐洲國家的重建，以及美國和加拿大的郊區(qū)化經驗。北美正在經歷的變化對美洲的其他地區(qū)產生了強烈的影響，這些地區(qū)通過學術交流以及通過修改規(guī)劃和建筑法規(guī)來仿效北美?。拉美當時正在經歷的社會、經濟和城市結構轉型，與中國過去20年所經歷的變化十分相似（圖11）。

在現(xiàn)代主義（起源于國際現(xiàn)代建筑大會，CIAM）的影響下，該地區(qū)誕生了一批現(xiàn)代城市和建筑設計的杰出作品，旨在得到世界范圍內的運用。然而，它們畢竟是適應拉美當地條件并帶有地域色彩的作品[10]，其特點是對本土環(huán)境和氣候的適應、紀念性強、強大的城市結構、注重公共空間的設計以及城市設計、建筑設計、景觀設計、藝術設計和其他設計的試驗性結合，并且在某些情況下，重新詮釋了本土、殖民和后殖民建筑的特征。

2015年紐約現(xiàn)代藝術博物館舉辦的名為“拉美建筑”的展覽，展示了拉美城市20世紀50年代和60年代在現(xiàn)代建筑和城市設計上的杰出成就。一些大規(guī)模的、大膽的公共投資項目成了其中的亮點，包括社會住房、公園、大學、公立學校、行政中心、酒店、醫(yī)院、游樂場等。

9 巴西貝洛奧里藏特，毗鄰帕姆普哈湖的舞榭（奧斯卡·尼邁耶設計）Dance pavilion,Lake Pampulha,Belo Horizonte,Brazil,by Oscar Neimeyer

10 20世紀60年代的巴西首都巴西利亞，紀念性軸線Monumental axis in Brasilia,new Brazilian Capital since the 1960’s

這些項目象征著公眾的意愿，以及在全球范圍內發(fā)揮突出經濟作用的強烈的國家自豪感和認同感。這里吸引了為逃離飽受戰(zhàn)爭蹂躪的歐洲甚至日本的高水平的專業(yè)人員、教育工作者和工匠。在這個開放的移民過程中，拉美的文化混雜被進一步加強，設計方案在質量和多樣性方面都得到了提升。

一些20世紀中葉最杰出的設計師，如瓦爾特·格羅皮烏斯（Walter Gropius）、喬斯·路易斯·塞特（Jose Luis Sert）、路德維希·密斯·凡德羅（Mies van der Rohe）、理查德·諾伊特拉（Richard Neutra）、羅伯特·布雷·馬克斯（Roberto Burle Marx），以及許多在學術和專業(yè)實踐領域對古巴有過重要影響的人曾到訪拉美。這些影響產生了與馬里奧·羅曼納赫的設計同樣杰出的地方現(xiàn)代主義作品，它們很好地結合了場地和當地氣候條件，并運用了本土工藝和材料?（圖12）。

許多設計明顯表現(xiàn)出受勒·柯布西耶（Le Corbusier）的影響。有人認為，柯布西耶所提倡的狂野、開放、通透和格網結構的建筑更適合熱帶地區(qū)，那里可以利用自然風的先天條件，而且建筑的形體可以通過對比強烈的光影得以凸顯，而不適合亞熱帶地區(qū)[11]。現(xiàn)代主義運動在拉美受到了廣泛的青睞，如在巴西，現(xiàn)代主義的遺存對當下的設計仍產生著持續(xù)的影響?（圖13）。

這其中最著名的有：位于巴西新首都巴西利亞的行政、住宅和商務中心區(qū)，位于墨西哥城的墨西哥國立自治大學（UNAM）和位于加拉加斯的委內瑞拉中央大學（UCV）—它們現(xiàn)在都已成為世界遺產。圭亞那城是區(qū)域和新城規(guī)劃中的一個典型，由哈佛大學和麻省理工學院城市研究聯(lián)合中心以及委內瑞拉圭亞那公司于20世紀60年代設計。其建設旨在讓這片無人區(qū)實現(xiàn)以鋼鐵和鋁生產為基礎的工業(yè)化。設計中采取的措施包括：保護流域和棲息地，從而保證水力發(fā)電，以及在20世紀80年代設計的、與大壩和公路等大型基礎設施一起建造大型公園系統(tǒng)。

這一時期的另一重要貢獻是景觀設計師所發(fā)揮的作用，這些迷人的公共空間在社會分層和空間隔離日益加劇的今天顯得不可或缺，它們?yōu)樗猩鐣后w提供了一個彼此交流的共同場所。這里我們必須提到20世紀最重要、最高產的景觀設計師之一：羅伯特·布雷·馬克斯。雖然他出生在巴西，但他的設計對整個拉丁美洲乃至全世界都產生了重大影響。他的設計為專業(yè)領域開辟了新的方向，并引發(fā)了對本土景觀和植物的廣泛重視，打破了此前崇尚歐洲形態(tài)、美學和表現(xiàn)技法的景觀傳統(tǒng)。

馬克斯的貢獻在于，他在拉美和其他大陸進行植物學探索的過程中，發(fā)現(xiàn)了數百種新的植物品種（圖14）。他所設計的大型休閑公園，如位于巴西圣保羅的伊比拉普埃艾公園，位于委內瑞拉的加拉加斯埃斯特公園、馬拉開波植物園，都體現(xiàn)了他對植物結構、形態(tài)和表現(xiàn)方面的深刻理解，通過巧妙的設計使之成為人們前來休閑、互動和學習的場所?。

馬克斯在巴西里約熱內盧海濱設計的兩處景觀都得到了世界級的贊譽，一處是科帕卡巴納海灘沿岸用石板重新鋪就的人行道，另一處是弗拉明戈公園，它們給這座獨具魅力的城市增添了亮麗的城市和自然景觀，享譽世界。他在全球留下了將近2 000個設計作品，這些作品又影響了拉美其他著名的景觀設計師，如墨西哥的馬里奧·謝特蘭（Mario Schjetnan）[12]，或與他一同在委內瑞拉工作的出生于智利的費爾南多·塔博拉（Fernando Tábora）。

這些項目中許多是由國家政府—多數是高度集權的政府—以及軍政府投資的，以展示這些政權“對國家福利的能力和貢獻”。這一時期，現(xiàn)代主義設計的狂熱對私人投資的項目產生了溢出效應：規(guī)模較小，但非常豐富，而且同樣具有探索性?。這無疑是拉美地區(qū)探索建筑、城市化、工業(yè)、平面設計及前沿美術的黃金時代。

但是，拉美的現(xiàn)代主義城市規(guī)劃作品遠不如其建筑和景觀作品受到認可，這是由于其廣泛地采用了標準化的設計規(guī)范，因此造成了如下結果。

1）現(xiàn)代規(guī)劃范式中將城市當作嶄新的功能體，通過房地產開發(fā)來推動建設，并通過不同等級的道路將不同的單一類型的功能區(qū)連接起來，同時鼓勵建造孤立的塔式建筑，這在很大程度上改變了城市的形態(tài)和性能，將老城不斷鏟平而新城毫無特色。

2）現(xiàn)代城市準則的應用還導致城市擴張、耕地流失、生態(tài)系統(tǒng)受損、社會和空間隔離以及高品質公共空間的缺乏，并造成了極大的機動化交通依賴和能源消耗。

3）由于現(xiàn)代城市準則中沒有一套機制來保障那些無力購置房產的低收入移民，因此非正規(guī)城市開始出現(xiàn)，它們別無選擇地散布在城市的郊區(qū)（通常在易受災地區(qū)），這無疑導致城市中嚴重的不平等以及社會和空間的碎片化?（圖15）。

6 城市設計實踐：對特定地域的適應

在20世紀最后幾十年中，拉美不乏有趣的城市設計和場地改造，并強調了公共空間、城市復興、場所的獨特性以及對歷史環(huán)境和建筑的重視和再利用，與普通的、缺乏場所感的、隔離的現(xiàn)代城市規(guī)劃形成鮮明對比（圖16）。

11 加拉加斯，委內瑞拉中央大學，帶“云”的瑪格納禮堂（亞歷山大·考爾德設計）Aula Magna ,UCV Campus,Caracas,Venezuela,with “clouds” by Alexander Calder

12 古巴拉哈巴納，與風景“對話”的住宅（馬里奧·羅曼納赫設計）Residence “connected” to the landscape in La Habana,Cuba,by Mario Romanach

這一時期的標志性設計項目中包括了對工業(yè)區(qū)的改造。以阿根廷布宜諾斯艾利斯的馬德羅港項目為例?，該項目重新利用了港口的倉庫和碼頭，以及梅爾卡多·德·阿巴斯托（20世紀30年代建造的中心市場）已經廢棄的混凝土拱形建筑，將它們打造為商業(yè)和娛樂設施；另一個例子是巴西圣保羅由生產倉庫改造的名為SESC Pompèia的大型文化和表演藝術中心。

其他旨在建立大型開放空間和混合用途場所的項目還包括，委內瑞拉加拉加斯市內一條長達一英里（約1.61km）的高速公路被改建成一條城市大道（Bolívar大道），以及得益于第一條地鐵的修建，一條同樣長度的擁擠不堪的街道被改建為一條商業(yè)步行街（薩巴納格蘭德大道）。此外，值得一提的是，厄瓜多爾瓜亞基爾在瓜亞斯河河口開辟了一條重要的海濱長廊，以此帶動了經濟活力，并成為社會互動活躍的場所。

得益于建筑和城市規(guī)劃師賈米·勒訥（Jaime Lerner，庫里蒂巴市長）以及建筑師愷撒·瑪亞（Cesar Maia，里約熱內盧市長）20世紀末的杰出執(zhí)政，巴西還奠定了許多重要的里程碑；在哥倫比亞，數學家兼教授塞爾吉奧·法賈爾多（Sergio Fajardo，麥德林市長）以及經濟學家恩里克·佩納洛薩（Enrique Pe?alosa，波哥大市長）的第一屆執(zhí)政期間都對城市做出了同樣的貢獻（圖17）。

舉個例子，佩納洛薩在任職僅3年的時間里，就率領高質量的管理及專業(yè)團隊成功地化解了非常棘手的城市問題，將城市環(huán)境放在首位，并以此證明了良好的公共服務可以改變一個地區(qū)治理中的習慣性低效、低質和腐敗。的確，他的管理是自上而下的，但不是誰都能成功地讓一座擁有近900萬居民的首都一躍成為領先的區(qū)域中心（圖18）。

具體地看，佩納洛薩在波哥大取得了如下成就：建立了健全的、也是該市第一個綜合性快速公交系統(tǒng)，修建了總長度達250km的林蔭道和自行車道，為20萬名學生新建或更新了幾十處教育設施。此外，他還新建了主要服務于貧民窟的數十個公園和一個大型公園圖書館系統(tǒng)，以及以增強公共空間和公共設施為重點的大規(guī)模住房補貼項目等。這些舉措對減少社會差異、實現(xiàn)大都市區(qū)域的均衡發(fā)展起到了積極的推動作用。波哥大市因此多次獲得國際榮譽，佩納洛薩的遺產為后續(xù)執(zhí)政者提供了不斷努力和創(chuàng)造性改進的可能?（圖19）。

13 加拉加斯，委內瑞拉中央大學（卡洛斯·勞爾·維拉努瓦設計）UCV Campus,Caracas,Venezuela,by Carlos Raúl Villanueva

14 委內瑞拉加拉加斯，東方公園（羅伯特·布雷·馬克斯設計）Parque del Este,in Caracas,Venezuela,by Roberto Burle Marx

7 非正規(guī)城市：從排斥到全面接納

拉美地區(qū)的城市化和現(xiàn)代化伴隨著農村人口的流動，但這種流動并沒有引起正式的城市規(guī)劃和房地產開發(fā)的關注。這就造成舊殖民時期城市中心的富裕階層不斷遷往新城區(qū)的同時，大量低收入者不斷涌入的現(xiàn)象。同時，隨著城市邊緣、舊城區(qū)、溝壑或陡坡等不利于城市開發(fā)地帶的非正規(guī)住區(qū)的逐漸形成，城市在這個過程中不斷發(fā)展、擴大和固化。起初，不管是政府、學者還是專家都不接受這種非正規(guī)性，并認為可以通過社會住房保障項目加以制止和消除。他們沒有意識到，正式的城市規(guī)劃解決不了這些不斷涌入的極低收入的移民對住房的需求，或者簡單地說，這些移民根本買不起商品住房，因為他們既沒有正式的工作，也沒有多少積蓄。幾十年來，當局和公眾已經清楚地看到，非正規(guī)的定居點還將繼續(xù)存在，并且在許多情況下，它們已經成為城市化的主要構成形式。

在這些走上民主道路的國家，盡管這些地區(qū)還存在很大的問題，但這里的居民同樣享有投票權等政治權利。因此，政府部門開始對這些居民點采取簡單的干預措施，如提供水、電，設立小型學校、醫(yī)院和體育設施，以及設置人行道和樓梯，有的地方還統(tǒng)一對房屋立面進行粉刷以使其更美觀。這些行動在選舉之前尤為明顯[13]。

大多數拉美國家修改了原先的法律制度，明確了非正規(guī)城市在城市組成部分中的合法地位，并使他們的訴求得到政府部門的考慮，同時探索其技術標準和管理機制。

在20世紀的最后10年中，政府為改善這些居民點的生活條件采取了許多重要的舉措。這些舉措好比城市手術，因為需要對原本緊湊的城市空間進行細致的操作，從而創(chuàng)建公共空間，改善可達性，引入基礎設施和公共服務，以及對危險地帶的居民進行搬遷。為了使這些項目順利實施，同時盡量減少對原有社會關系的破壞，原住民的安置點盡量選在住區(qū)內部或附近。這類項目在委內瑞拉的加拉加斯、巴西的里約熱內盧以及哥倫比亞的波哥大和麥德林得到了比較整體的實施（圖20）。

在麥德林市長塞爾吉奧·法賈爾多的執(zhí)政下實施的多個項目，以及建筑師亞歷杭德羅·埃切弗里（Alejandro Echeverri）的技術水平和實力，都已得到世界的認可，他們創(chuàng)造了高質量的城市景觀和建筑，使城市產生了可喜的變化和社會效益。在這類社會的城市化中，麥德林已經成為世界的示范?。這座城市中最貧困、最具暴力因素和破碎最嚴重的非正規(guī)住區(qū)是項目優(yōu)先關注并實施的對象，主要包括使用纜車或室外自動扶梯提供機動交通，建立公園、圖書館、新學校和文化設施等。此外，不同項目按分階段組織的方式、公眾參與和自治的方式、提供文化活動的形式以及維護管理等同樣重要。2014年，世界城市論壇在這座曾經備受挑戰(zhàn)的城市召開（圖21）。

非正規(guī)住區(qū)的改善項目所產生的積極的社會環(huán)境影響，最終影響了學術、實踐和行政等各領域，回應了作為復雜拉美文化和拼貼城市中重要組成部分的底層群體的訴求，同時也成為其他大陸的借鑒。

然而，拉丁美洲仍然是殖民時期以來社會經濟不平等程度最高的地區(qū)[14-15]。隨著非正規(guī)住區(qū)不斷在正規(guī)城市的外圍生長，這種不平等性也不斷擴大，加劇著城市問題。如果不解決非正規(guī)住區(qū)的擴張問題，勢必會增加環(huán)境和社會壓力以及治理難度，并直接影響到這些國家的國際市場競爭力。

但如果真的這樣做了，似乎也不合理，這必將導致非正規(guī)住區(qū)的進一步擴張。在筆者的研究和教學中，重點關注對非正規(guī)住區(qū)的擴張趨勢的預測和管理，以及根據不同的環(huán)境，制定標準、簡單和靈活的適應性設計方案。這在筆者的著作《未來非正規(guī)城市的規(guī)劃與設計：重塑自建城市》第3～7章中得到了具體的闡釋，亦可見西班牙語的增補版《新的非正規(guī)城市的設計》?（圖22）。

15 委內瑞拉加拉加斯，“1月23日”公共住房項目，建于20世紀50年代The 23 de Enero public housing project in Caracas,Venezuela,built in the 1950’s

8 景觀設計新動向：早期生態(tài)運動和社會化建筑趨勢

在最近的“拉美國家建筑·景觀·城市雙年展”上，為一些此類項目頒發(fā)了獎項，體現(xiàn)了學界和專業(yè)人士對從根本上解決這類城市問題的態(tài)度和責任心的提升。此類項目多是設計競賽的獲獎作品，這種方式給青年設計師和小公司提供了參與到這類解決尖銳社會和環(huán)境問題的前沿項目中的機會。除了形態(tài)和美學方面，這些項目還涉及實施層面，如設計環(huán)節(jié)中的公眾參與、建造和運營、借鑒自發(fā)建造技術的本土低成本和低維護材料的運用等。旨在發(fā)揚前西班牙時期的設計和材料的本土復興也是目前的一個趨勢，以應對當前不可持續(xù)的問題，當然，這往往會令建材經銷商不滿。學界在這類探索中發(fā)揮著主導作用，而哥倫比亞又一次引領了潮流22（圖23）。

目前，拉美地區(qū)在公共空間、公園和綠廊設計等許多重點項目中都有所實踐，并著眼于生態(tài)以及形態(tài)、水管理、行為學和植物學等方面的問題。這在智利和哥倫比亞的一些城市中有所體現(xiàn)?。

在防災減災方面也同樣有所作為，如2000年委內瑞拉加勒比海岸的加拉加斯遭受洪水之后實施項目?（部分實施），2017年智利海嘯和地震后的城鎮(zhèn)修復（計劃），2014年受森林火災影響后的瓦爾帕萊索高海拔地區(qū)非正規(guī)居民點的重建（部分實施），以及針對2017年波多黎各遭受的連續(xù)兩次颶風所造成的嚴重破壞的重建項目（正在實施）。這些舉措促使政府、機構、學界和專業(yè)人士以更加全面、開放的方式進行思考。

此外，氣候變化和環(huán)境規(guī)劃的缺失已被證明會使得自然敏感地區(qū)受到越來越顯著的挑戰(zhàn)，而貧民區(qū)又往往是其中最脆弱的（圖24）。

然而，在大多數拉美國家，由于高成本和復雜的管理技術，生態(tài)恢復、綠色基礎設施、水管理、提高滲透性、改善或解決氣候變化和都市農業(yè)、創(chuàng)收活動等方面的實踐仍然較少，因此并沒有過多關注那些受挑戰(zhàn)的城市。但是，這里的學術機構以及一些對拉美感興趣的北美和歐洲機構，在讓學生了解這些問題方面發(fā)揮著關鍵作用，并且必將培養(yǎng)出一代年輕的專業(yè)人士和領導人，使他們參與到實踐中去（圖25）。即使拉丁美洲的區(qū)域多樣性和生物多樣性很強，城市的指數增長還是不斷侵蝕著脆弱的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)和寶貴的農田。城市建設和生態(tài)保護之間的鴻溝仍然存在。

9 新的挑戰(zhàn)

新世紀的到來，使世界經濟政治格局進入到全球化時代，也給拉美的城市景觀帶來了劇烈影響。值得注意的是，新技術、大型公司和特許經營已普及全球；同時，基礎設施、運輸和住房等城市相關領域開始給拉美地區(qū)或中國、俄羅斯和伊朗等國帶來投資和政治關系。

從城市形態(tài)—地域的視角來看，殖民時期的城市景觀是通過重復國外緊湊而方便步行的城市準則和建筑類型而形成的。在共和時期、現(xiàn)代、后現(xiàn)代的城市設計和生態(tài)設計時期，以及在當前的城市規(guī)劃標準和發(fā)展趨勢下，城市形態(tài)逐漸走向了多樣化。因為該地區(qū)已經變?yōu)槌鞘兄鲗У膮^(qū)域，城市呈指數式擴張。其結果是產生了拼貼式或復合式人工景觀的共存和變化，并通常適應于本土條件，形成獨特的拉美產物。

拉美的混雜性使得該地區(qū)成為接受不同影響的海綿，成為適應和實驗的沃土。這一地區(qū)從20世紀中葉開始經歷的快速經濟增長，現(xiàn)代化、工業(yè)化和城市化進程是采用外國模式進行的。這些外國模式給這里的自然系統(tǒng)以及城市、建筑類型和文化景觀帶來過挑戰(zhàn)。隨著時間的推移，它們被改造和完善，從而變得更本土化。

然而，最近引介的全球化城市和建筑語言的結果并不理想，并導致了該地區(qū)從未有過的蔓延和社會隔離。圣地亞哥、波哥大、圣保羅和墨西哥城的購物中心、商業(yè)中心和辦公大樓與亞洲的并無多大不同，而亞洲又與北美和歐洲相似。在蒙特利、巴蘭基拉、馬拉開波和拉巴斯，大規(guī)模開發(fā)的門禁小區(qū)成為這些不斷擴大的城市的共同特征。雖然這些小區(qū)以安全的名義出售，但它們在公共領域增加了不安全感，同時促進了城市的蔓延和汽車依賴，隔絕了人們在公共空間中的社交活動，并給城市管理帶來困難。

正如丹尼爾·費爾德曼（Daniel Feldman）所描述的，“拉美的城市和建筑藝術也受到跨國公司的影響，它們?yōu)樵摰貐^(qū)的政府提供標準化和規(guī)范性的城市設計導則，而忽視了本土特點。這些文件和預包裝的解決方案經常被地方政府當作支持大規(guī)模城市管理的技術和財政依靠（許多時候具有高政治回報），導致了對外國技術和投資的依賴”（作者與哥倫比亞建筑師費爾德曼的對話）。

盡管該地區(qū)的國內生產總值有所上升，但新千年伊始就出現(xiàn)了強烈的政治兩極分化（當然是社會經濟差異的結果），并產生了左翼軍事化運動和極端右翼運動這種不容樂觀的政治動蕩，民粹主義的出現(xiàn)加劇了社會分裂，并在國家內部和國家之間造成了文化和領土的割裂（可能類似于美國、歐洲、亞洲和非洲的情況）。

拉美地區(qū)未來復雜的社會經濟和環(huán)境議程懸而未決，它要求拉美國家對外國影響以及城市、景觀和建筑類型的本土化發(fā)展做出更具選擇性和批判性的適應調整。該地區(qū)需要進一步加強國內研究，并以實踐、學術和項目為依托，使之具備現(xiàn)代主義那樣的創(chuàng)新性，或者就像最近應對非正規(guī)城市的方法那樣，為公共和私營部門提供適合的路徑。

拉丁美洲豐富、多元、實踐性的城市、景觀和建筑作品，以及其融匯外來文化、適應本土條件，同時善于創(chuàng)造富有特色和多元化設計的能力，或可以成為那些正面臨挑戰(zhàn)又不忘本國歷史遺產的其他新興經濟體和快速城市化國家的借鑒。

致謝：

誠摯感謝奧斯卡·格勞爾（Oscar Grauer）、尼克·佩夫茨納（Nick Pevzner）、伊莎·庫馬爾（Ishaan Kumar）和哈里克·托馬西尼（Heryk Tomassini）給予本文的支持。

注釋：

① 馬里奧·謝特蘭，杰出的墨西哥景觀設計師，他對當代設計中傳統(tǒng)材料的運用做了大量的研究。

② 這部名為《獨立法》的皇家法律以文字和條款的形式成為廣泛的新城規(guī)劃中所遵循的城市設計導則，具有法律地位的同時，也塑造了新城的同質性。

③ 土地清理雖未被明確列入條例，但卻是普遍采用的做法。

④ “廣場應該是正方形或長方形，在這種情況下，它的寬度至少應為其長度的一半，因為這種形狀最適合使用馬匹的節(jié)日和任何其他應該舉行的節(jié)日”，“廣場的規(guī)模應該與將要建立的城鎮(zhèn)的預期重要性成比例”。這些是條例中所提出的類型。

⑤ 卡塔赫納·德·印第亞斯，位于加勒比海岸的西班牙殖民地新格拉納達（今哥倫比亞），重要的港口和防御城市，便于從面向太平洋的富有的西班牙殖民地運送物資。這些物資通過陸路，經巴拿馬地峽被運輸到加勒比海。物資在卡塔赫納整裝并運往古巴島，最終穿越大西洋到達其最終目的地西班牙。

⑥ 巴西殖民建筑的一個顯著特點是，盡管巴洛克式的教堂和其他重要的建筑位于公共廣場周圍，但看上去彼此分離，這增強了其標志性特征；在歐羅普雷托、馬里亞納、提拉丹蒂、圣若昂多雷、米納斯吉拉斯州等巴西城市中，隨處可見美麗的巴洛克式殖民建筑，證明這里富含黃金和其他礦藏。

⑦ 該名錄包括第一座被殖民的城市—厄瓜多爾的基多，以及厄瓜多爾的昆卡，古巴的拉哈巴納，波多黎各的圣胡安，墨西哥的墨西哥城、普埃布拉和瓜達拉哈拉，危地馬拉的安提瓜，巴拿馬的巴拿馬城，秘魯的利馬和庫斯科（這座殖民城市建于前西班牙印加方格網之上，并存在大量石砌的原住民建筑），哥倫比亞的卡塔赫納、蒙波克斯和波帕揚，巴西的歐羅普雷托和地拉丹蒂，巴拉圭的亞松森等等。

⑧ 此時的西班牙也對菲律賓進行著殖民。在亞洲，殖民地的城市模式和建筑類型與拉丁美洲類似。

⑨ 在殖民地時期，新世界被視為舊世界的試驗田；獨立后，舊世界又成為新生民主國家的參照。

⑩ 19世紀末，在委內瑞拉的加拉加斯，有軌電車被引入一個叫El Paraso（天堂）的地方，從而促使這里發(fā)展成為第一個城市郊區(qū)。這里的開發(fā)商不僅以他們的房子親近自然且離城市很近為賣點，還推出一種由金屬結構（從歐洲進口）建造、可抵御地震的分離式住宅。

?這一時期有著杰出的城市結構和建筑類型的城市有：布宜諾斯艾利斯（當時拉美地區(qū)最大的城市，以“拉美的巴黎”而自豪）、蒙得維的亞、里約熱內盧、智利圣地亞哥、墨西哥城、拉哈巴納、波哥大等具有久遠殖民史的城市。另有一些正在經歷快速經濟發(fā)展的城市，如巴西的貝洛哈里桑塔、累西腓、阿雷格里港和庫里蒂巴，以及阿根廷的拉普拉塔城。

?有關最新的拉丁美洲城市化趨勢和經濟數據，見www.bbvaresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Urbanization-in-Latin-America-BBVA-Research.pdf。

?例如，1951年，委內瑞拉加拉加斯總體規(guī)劃由國家規(guī)劃委員會制訂出來，并得到弗朗西斯·維奧利奇、莫里斯·羅蒂瓦爾和何塞·路易斯·塞特等國際專家的支持。該規(guī)劃提出按照現(xiàn)代理論，線性地建設城市，通過主要干道和高速公路連接起新城，并進一步引入區(qū)劃。維奧利奇為加拉加斯制定了第一部現(xiàn)代區(qū)劃條例，其中所提出的分離式建筑，從根本上改變了首都的城市景觀。這類城市法規(guī)后來被舉國仿效。

?1955年，約瑟夫·路易斯·塞特和馬里奧·羅曼納奇共同參與了古巴哈瓦那的總體規(guī)劃。該規(guī)劃提出建成區(qū)的密集化、城市擴張、新的交通網絡和開放空間系統(tǒng)，同時提出對歷史城區(qū)進行徹底的改造，如今這里已成為世界遺產;例如，出生于德國的建筑師亨蒂·克隆布，曾與弗蘭克·勞埃德·賴特一起實習，并與路易斯·康共事過。他在波多黎各的加勒比海島從事過重要的工作(1946—1966年)，包括位于皮德拉斯的波多黎各大學的總體規(guī)劃及其中許多建筑的設計。

?巴西里約熱內盧的教育部由勒·柯布西耶設計。在《美籍西班牙人的身份：適應還是采用》的文章中，羅納爾多·多爾斯·阿爾瓦拉多認為，這座建筑是大城市更新項目的一部分，位于城市的一個顯著位置，成為巴西現(xiàn)代化的標志，并激發(fā)了眾多該地區(qū)的此類項目（作者的翻譯）。

?關于羅伯特·布雷·馬克斯的遺產，和他在大型公園設計方面的工作，以及他對拉美景觀中植物學、美學和表現(xiàn)方面的觀點的更多信息，參見瑪利亞·比利亞洛沃斯著《羅伯特·布雷·馬克斯的植物園，一個創(chuàng)造性的過程—以委內瑞拉馬拉開波植物園為例》（法國，凡爾賽，高等景觀學校，2010—2015）。

?普蘭查特村，由著名的意大利建筑師龐蒂于1950年在委內瑞拉加拉加斯設計，作為普蘭查特的住所。龐蒂不僅設計了建筑，還設計了所有的家具、燈具、餐具，以及供展示苗圃里盛開的蘭花的器具。引自http://www.gioponti.org/en/archives/work-detail/dd_32990_6074/villaplanchart。

?關于拉美現(xiàn)代城市規(guī)劃的弊端的更多信息，見戴維·加弗努爾著《未來非正規(guī)住區(qū)的規(guī)劃與設計：塑造自建城市》。

?承擔位于布宜諾斯艾利斯的梅爾卡多·德·阿巴斯托斯改造項目的是本杰明·湯普森（Benjamin Thompson）公司及其合作公司，他們于70年代末將美國馬薩諸塞州波士頓市廢棄的昆西市場改造成廣受歡迎的商業(yè)、餐飲和旅游綜合體，使這處濱海的廢棄地起死回生。

?關于波哥大恩里克·佩納洛薩和麥德林塞爾吉奧·法賈多的市政遺產的詳細信息，見戴維·加弗努爾著《未來非正規(guī)住區(qū)的規(guī)劃與設計：塑造自建城市》第2章。

?戴維·加弗努爾的這個在線教學視頻中，闡述了新興非正規(guī)城市所面臨的挑戰(zhàn)，以及采取預見性措施的必要性。

?由建筑師丹尼爾·費爾德曼設計的兒童發(fā)展中心，瑞加村（哥倫比亞考卡）。這是該地區(qū)社會意識建筑趨勢的一個實例。該項目獲2018年威尼斯雙年展拉美青年建筑師一等獎。

?這類新項目有：位于智利圣地亞哥的富人區(qū)中的兩百周年紀念公園和為貧民窟服務的雷納托·波夫萊特教士河公園，位于哥倫比亞卡塔赫納克雷斯波，通過縮窄通往機場的城市道路而連接起貧民窟與臨近海灘的濱水公園，從機場到城市，以及位于哥斯達黎加圣何塞，沿著對城市形成切割的河谷進行建設的，目前正在實施的魯塔斯·納塔努拉斯帶狀公園。

?有關該項目的更多信息，見奧斯卡·格勞爾著《濱海地區(qū)的修復》。該項目于2000年獲委內瑞拉建筑雙年展一等獎。這是該地區(qū)第一個針對災后重建和防洪的綠色基礎設施項目，此前，委內瑞拉中部加勒比海岸線被洪水大規(guī)模沖毀，造成近30 000人喪生。由于當地政治集權、軍事行動和腐敗，項目實施兩年后被取消。戴維·加弗努爾是該項目負責人。

?圖1來自墨西哥畫家迭戈·里維拉的壁畫《特諾奇提特蘭的市場》；圖2、6、8、13、15由奧斯卡·格勞爾提供，取自《法則，制度和城市形態(tài)：委內瑞拉案例研究》，國際微縮膠片大學博士學位論文，1991；圖3來自公共領域；圖 4、5、14、18來自David Gouverneur；圖7引自https://i.pinimg.com/originals/49/c9/75/49c97 5728df081319bd6c144d139cefc.jpg；圖9引自https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=oscar+niemeyer%E2%80%99s+marquesina+de+baile+pampulhas&fr=yhs-pty-pty_email&hspart=pty&hsimp=yhs-pty_email&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.revistaconstruye.com.mx%2Fimages%2FPAMPULHA_LA_MARAVILLA_DE_LA_ARQUITECTURA_MODERNA_EN_BRASIL6.jpg#id=3&iurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.revistaconstruye.com.mx%2Fimages%2FPAMPULHA_LA_MARAVILLA_DE_LA_ARQUITECTURA_MODERNA_EN_BRASIL6.jpg&action=click；圖10引自search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=pty&hsimp=yhs-pty_email¶m2=0f9998cb-d7aa-4747-91c1-2d3edd114954¶m3=email_～US～appfocus1¶m4=d-ccc1-lp0-bb8-dc2～Chrome～aerial+pictures+of+brasilia～7B6E62A1BA14 FE86940A8E0C889E8B89¶m1=20180803&p=aerial+pi ctures+of+brasilia&type=dc2；圖11引自https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=aula+magna+de+caracas+phot os+october&fr=yhs-pty-pty_email&hspart=pty&hsimp=yhspty_email&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ideasdebabel.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F11%2FAu la-Magna-de-la-UCV.jpg#id=0&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsmedia-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F35%2 F46%2Fd5%2F3546d5fffc8d0dec6393fff17570da26.jpg&action=click；圖12來自賓夕法尼亞大學設計學院檔案；圖16引自http://magiaenelcamino.com.ar/puerto-madero-delo-obsoleto-a-lo-exclusivo.html；圖17、19、20來自Alejandro Echeverri；圖21來自Giancarlo Mazzanti；圖22來自Daniel Feldman；圖23引自https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Parque_Renato_Poblete.JPG/1200px-Parque_Renato_Poblete.JPG；圖24來自Aubrey Jahelka,Shuwen,and Maria Altagracia Villalobos；圖25引自加拉加斯市中心、委內瑞拉城市文化基金會。.

（編輯/劉玉霞）

1 Introduction:a region of hybrid cultures and multiple influences

Latin America is a region with a high degree of cultural mix and amalgamation of influences as a consequence of different factors:a) its territorial richness,straddling the Atlantic/Caribbean and the Pacific Oceans,extending from North to South over 6,000 miles;including some of the largest mountain ranges,tropical forests,and deserts in the world;b)Being the “New World”,the region to fall under the colonial control of European Imperial powers in the early 15th century;c) the strong influence of the United States during the twentieth century,and more recently of other rising economies.

While these clashes or juxtapositions frequently resulted in the violent imposition of foreign values over local conditions,over time,a rich hybrid cultural pallet was to emerge,affecting all facets of life,including the urban landscapes.Understanding this process may help us envision the challenges that the region still faces,as well as the emerging academic and professional trends.

What follows is a synthesis of the main historical periods that have shaped the hybrid-built scenario of Latin America,including compelling landscape architecture,urban design,and architectural features[1](Fig.1).

2 Pre-hispanic period:cosmogony of territorial systems in harmony with nature

When the European conquest and colonization of the New World began,following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492,they encountered highly advanced societies that had developed a complex system of territorial links,sophisticated urban layouts,and architectural products[2].

The main areas of cultural and economic development of this period were represented by the Aztec and Maya cultures,of Mexico and Central America,and those of the Inca Empire centered in the Andes Mountains of Peru,Bolivia,and Ecuador.These systems relied upon a rigid social and cosmological hierarchy,fueled by forced labor and slavery.Consequently,the urban spaces and main edifices reflected an organization denoting a divine control of the rulers over the masses.

Early Spanish chronicles describe their first encounters with these civilizations,their urban organization,the infrastructure,and the cleanliness of the cities,the grandeur of the stone-built temples and public spaces;as well as the synchrony of the urban form with local environmental conditions.Cities deployed a sort of early ecological urbanism,allowing them to sustain large-scale urban agriculture,complex irrigation systems,and even sanitation in the urban cores;conditions that were not present in the European cities of this period①.

Such was the depiction of Tenochtitlan,the main Aztec center (currently Mexico City),by conquistador Hernán Cortés,impressed by the magnitude of the city built in a lake,with diked roads that connected it to the shores,a complex system of waterways,and a large extension of aquatic urban agriculture in pods called chinampa,which provided the city with high-yielding crops[3].

The main goal of the Spanish and Portuguese colonization of Latin America was the extraction of natural resources to be sent to Europe,as well as the religious and cultural imposition over the “discovered” lands.For these reasons,the colonization of Latin America resulted in the erosion and destruction of the pre-Columbian cities,and fragile landscapes,replaced by European prototypes.Consequently,there is not much left of this pre-Columbian built legacy other than the outstanding remains of urban layouts and edifices,located in remote locations,abandoned before the arrival of the Europeans,some recently uncovered from the dense tropical forests.

16 阿根廷布宜諾斯艾利斯，馬德羅港廢棄倉庫改造Puerto Maderos,recycling of defunct warehouses,in Buenos Aires,Argentina

The most relevant architectural prototypes of this period are the ceremonial pyramids and monumental ensembles,with ornate stone decorations of Mesoamerica in sites such as Teotihuacan,Chichen-Itza,Palenque,and Tikal,to mention just a few;or the carefully assembled stone walls that configured domestic homes and temples,as well as the stone terraces for urban and agricultural adaptation in the high Andes,as in Pisac,Sacsayhuaman,Ollantaytambo,or Macchu Picchu (Fig.2).

Most of the indigenous populations lived in constructions made of light materials:wood,canes,fibers and earthwork,which over time dissolved into the natural settings.

Important aesthetic references of the architecture and artwork from this period can be found today in the visual arts,particularly in murals,pottery,fabrics,graphic design,sometimes-incorporated in contemporary architecture (Fig.3).

3 The colonial-city:implanting an urban prototype

The Colonial period extended for over three centuries until the first third of the 19th Century,when most Latin-American colonies became independent nations.These cities were the product of the European Renaissance and Baroque periods,a large-scale military operation for rapid territorial occupation and political control.In order to accomplish this task,considered the major urban colonization operation in history,the Spanish Crown,enacted in 1573 a simple set of urban regulations and design criteria that were condensed in a legal instrument called the Ordinances for Discoveries,New Settlements,and Pacification,or Laws of the Indies②.

The main design tool of these Laws was the widespread use of the Cartesian grid,shaping close to 800 Spanish settlements from California to the southern tip of the continent.The colonial urban prototypes were to denote the imposition of the European powers over the local culture (Fig.4).As the first step to the foundation of new towns,vegetation was cleared,—the will of mankind was prevailing over natural forces③—The squares were treated as dry landscapes,used for markets and religious events,exalting the public buildings (churches,municipal buildings,prisons or military facilities) that surrounded them.As Chueca G.and Torres B.said:“The city was to be differentiated from the countryside by the type of activities,the population,and,most importantly,by its geometrical design.[4]”

17 哥倫比亞麥德林，娛樂和科學中心（亞歷杭德羅·埃切弗里設計）Parque Explora,in Medellín,Colombia,by Architect Alejandro Echeverri

18 通往西蒙·玻利瓦爾公共圖書館的開放空間（羅赫略·薩爾莫納設計）Access to Simón Bolívar Public Library in Bogotá,Colombia,by Rogelio Salmona

Laws of the Indies made explicit references to site location,proximity to sources of water,existence of indigenous settlements (which meant that they were fit for habitation),as well as the location and proportion of the foundation square and secondary plazas④.There were also prescriptions recommending the reduction of street widths in sites of hot climate in order for the buildings to cast shade on at least one side of the streets,as in San Juan de Puerto Rico;Cartagena⑤,Colombia;or in Ciudad de Panamá[5](Fig.5).

The Ordinances indicated that the blocks were to be divided into four parcels and assigned to the founders of the settlements.Only in wealthy cities this block-subdivision prevailed,the parcels were quickly subdivided into smaller lots or were partitioned and passed on to the settlers’ descendants.The larger lots and houses of the wealthier groups were located closer to the main plaza,the smaller properties of the less affluent,towards the fringe.

There were prescriptions for the treatment of important civic and religious buildings,but residential and commercial buildings were constructed following the traditions of Spain and Portugal,which in turn were influenced by the Islamic occupation,and thus embedded another layer of cultural hybridization[6-7].The buildings defined continuous street-walls,separating the public from the private realm,organized in a hierarchy of patios serving interconnecting room selimiate ;the more formal towards the front of the lots,and the more domestic and service-oriented towards the rear.Vegetation was introduced in the patios of public and private buildings.The height of the constructions,the number of windows,the use of balconies in multi-level structures,and the decoration of portals of the doors and windows facing the street denoted the social status of the occupants.

The size and richness of ornaments on nonresidential buildings depended on the wealth of the regions;construction materials varied based on the availability of local materials- mainly adobe,compressed-earth thick walls,cane structures with mud pads,stone,or coral rocks in some coastal areas.In areas with a strong presence of indigenous groups,the architecture and artworks incorporated indigenous by local motifs.Cultural hybridization was already taking place in Latin America[7].

Outstanding urban and architectural examples can be found in most Latin American countries,particularly in colonies previously occupied by the more advanced and populated indigenous groups,such as:Mexico,Guatemala,Colombia,Ecuador,Peru and Bolivia;or those that became important cities for the defense of their ports and storage of goods prepared to be shipped to Europe,such as today’s Ciudad de Panama,Cartagena,La Habana or San Juan de Puerto Rico.

Brazil,a very large colony under the domain of Portugal carried out a similar enterprise of foundation of new towns motivated by the same economic and religious reasons as the Spaniards.However,this Empire did not enact urban design guidelines as the Spanish Ordinances.Some cities in Brazil were founded using the urban grid,many others reflected the more organic growth patterns of traditional Portuguese towns.

Outstanding colonial baroque architecture⑥was produced in Brazil today due to the riches of the land,and to the fact that this country avoided a bloody and prolonged war of Independence,since the Portuguese Courts decided to peacefully transfer the capital of the Empire to Brazil in 1807.

Numerous of these cities are today UNESCO World Heritage sites,both in Spanish and Portuguese colonized Latin American Territories⑦.Notable are also the walls and military fortifications that protected the main ports of the mainland colonies and the most important colonial cities in the islands of the Caribbean.

In time,the colonial urban fabrics would produce urban forms and an architectural legacy that are today highly valued by Latin American nations,as symbols of their identity and hybrid culture.The colonial cores are frequently the main areas of the social encounter of these stillstratified societies,hubs of economic activities,and attractors of tourism(Fig.6).

4 The republican period:greening the city

By the 1830’s,most Latin American former colonies had gained independence.Spain was able to retain control of the fortified Caribbean islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico⑧.After almost two decades of bloody and destructive wars,the new Latin American nations would enter a period of legal,economic,cultural,and urban changes.

Open trade with other European nations-particularly with Great Britain,France,and to a lesser degree Germanic states- would impact the new Republics,modifying the patterns of production,manufacturing,exports,and urban landscapes.France became the dominant cultural reference for many Latin American countries,influencing their legal and political systems,and becoming the urban,landscape,and architectural point of reference.It was the dawn of a new period of economic dependency and cultural assimilation⑨.

The new open trade conditions would propel the growth of Latin American cities,introducing new infrastructure such as ports,railroads,roads,and aqueducts,manufacturing areas,as well as service facilities such as hospitals,markets,schools and universities,and military installations.It also led to the emergence of the first social housing programs at the dawn of the Twentieth century.Consequently,the compact colonial cores began to expand,following the urban patterns and architectural styles deployed in Europe[8].These new conditions resulted in significant changes of the Latin American urban landscape,mainly:

1) Rural land was rapidly converted into urban land,igniting a speculative real estate market,and creating a wealthy entrepreneurial class (the former landowners during the Colonial period).An emergent affluent class started relocating to the expanded urban periphery in urban areas –immersed in the green landscape- fleeing from the congestion,and the social problems associated with the traditional urban cores⑩.

2) A new appreciation for landscape features and the greening of cities,as tools of embellishment,reflected in the creation of boulevards and parks as places for social encounters and leisure,and serving as real-estate attractors In contrast to the colonial city,which was non-responsive to the local landscape and cultures,the Republican period can be considered one that exalted territorial,environmental,and botanical aspects (Fig.7).

This period was more experimental and open than the colonial one,adapting European urban and architectural prototypes to local conditions,taking references from different sources,carried out by a wider array of public and private actors,and recognizing the varied local natural settings,and rich botanical pallets;it can be considered the Latin American version of the Garden City and City Beautiful movements.

Many cities tried to emulate Haussmannian Parisian layouts ,sometimes introducing them over existing urban fabrics;in other cases,deploying to urbanize former agricultural land or natural settings[9].Extension of cities and new towns were created to accommodate the emergent economic activities.European architects,engineers,and urbanists were commissioned to carry out these plans and projects,using design principles in vogue at the école des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Examples of this type of European-modeled urban interventions and architectural prototypes can be found in almost every important city in Latin America?(Fig.8).

An outstanding example of the period is the Chilean port city of Valparaiso today a UNESCO World Heritage site.This urban center was one of the main ports and commercial centers in the continent.Its adaptation to steep topography,the use of inclined elevators,and its eclectic architecture,make it a unique example of Latin America's post-colonial hybridization (Fig.9).

5 Latin American modernism:adapting principles to place and culture as the region becomes urban

Latin American nations,from the mid-20th century onwards,went through a period of rapid urbanization,modernization,and industrialization,at a time in which the USA had become the dominant economic and military world power.Until then,most Latin American nations were predominantly rural countries.In less than five decades,the percentage of people living in urban centers had equaled or surpassed that of rural areas.Nowadays,Latin America presents the highest percentage of urban population in relation to urban indicators of other regions comprised of developing countries?.In nations as Mexico,Cuba,Venezuela,Brazil,or Argentina,with very strong economies at the time,migrants also arrived in great numbers from other Latin American nations and continents,particularly from those decimated during the II World War (Fig.10).

This period of economic bonanza in the region coincided with the widespread acceptance of modernist ideas in city planning and architecture,fostering the rehabilitation of war-torn countries in Europe and guiding the suburbanization trends in the United States and Canada.The changes that were taking place in North America were to have a strong influence on the rest of the continent,through the academic discourse,and by the adaptation of planning instruments and building codes?.Latin American cities were experiencing societal,economic,and urban structural transformations similar to the changes that China has experienced over the last two decades (Fig.11).

The region was to produce outstanding examples of contemporary urban design and architecture,following Modern principles(which derived from the Congrés International d’Architecture Moderne–CIAM–) which were intended to be of worldwide application.However,in Latin America,they were adapted to local conditions,and tinted with regional nuances[10],responding to local settings and climate,with a sense of monumentality,powerful urban configurations,emphasis on the design of public spaces,experimental integration of urban design,architecture,landscape architecture,art,and cutting-edge structural design,and,in some cases,reinterpreting features of indigenous,colonial and post-colonial architecture.

19 哥倫比亞麥德林，巴里奧·圣多明各，纜車站和綠廊Metro-cable station and green corridor,Barrio Santo Domingo,Medellín,Colombia

20 哥倫比亞麥德林，巴里奧·圣多明各，兒童嬉戲區(qū)和行人天橋Children play area and pedestrian bridge,Barrio Santo Domingo,Medellín,Colombia

21 哥倫比亞麥德林，阿塔納西奧·吉拉爾多特體育館（吉安卡洛·馬扎蒂設計）Atanasio Girardot Sport Complex in Medellín,Colombia,by architect Giancarlo Mazzanti

The exhibition of Latin American Architecture,held in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 2015,titled —Latin America in Construction—,offered an ample display of outstanding Modern Latin American architecture and city design from the 1950’s and 1960’s.Notable in this exhibit were the large-scale and audacious publicly funded projects.These included social housing developments,parks,university campuses,public schools,administrative centers,hotels,hospitals,fairgrounds,etc.

These projects symbolized the public will and a new sense of pride and identity of countries that were having a prominent economic role at a global scale.The open-migratory trends,receiving qualified professionals,educators,and craftsmen seeking opportunities and fleeing war-torn Europe and even Japan,reinforced the hybrid Latin American cultures,and enriched the quality and diversity of design solutions.

The region was visited by some of the most distinguished designers of the mid Twentieth century,such as Walter Gropius,Jose Luis Sert,Mies van der Rohe,Richard Neutra,Roberto Burle Marx,and many others,who influenced academic and professional practices.These influences transformed academic programs,and professional practices alike,producing projects that were carefully adapted to site and climatic conditions,and incorporating the use of local craftsmanship and materials?(Fig.12).

Projects displayed a distinct Corbusian undertone.It has been argued that Le Corbusier’s proposals of a robust and at the same time open,and porous architecture,were more suited for tropical settings than for subtropical areas,where they weathered better,could take advantage of the breezes,and their morphology/geometries were enhanced by intense contrasts of light and shade[11].The Modernist Movement was embraced with such vigor in Latin America that in some countries such as in Brazil its legacy continues to live on,in fluencing contemporary projects?(Fig.13).

The most notorious projects of this kind were:the governmental,residential and central business core of Brasilia,the new Brazilian capital,the campuses of Universidad Autónoma de México(UNAM) in Mexico City,and of Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV),in Caracas — all of which today are UNESCO World Heritage sites.An notable example of regional and new town planning is Ciudad Guayana,designed by the Joint Center for Urban Studies of Harvard and M.I.T,and the Venezuelan Guayana Corporation in the 1960’s.It was created to industrialize unpopulated areas ,based on steel and aluminum production.The efforts included the protection of the watersheds and habitats,in order to guarantee hydroelectric energy,and a system of large parks designed in the 1980’s,built in conjunction with large-scale infrastructures,as dams and highways.

Another important contribution of this period is the role of landscape architects,providing compelling public spaces,which still play a major role offering places of leisure where all socioeconomic groups can interact in cities that are today becoming further stratified and spatially segregated.Here we must refer to the pivotal contributions of one of the most prolific landscape architects of the 20th century:Roberto Burle Marx.While Brazilian-born,Burle Marx’s work would have a major influence in Latin America and around the globe,his projects set new directions for the profession and sparked a widespread appreciation for local landscapes and botanical material,breaking with a landscape tradition,which had previously followed foreign European morphological and aesthetic standards.

Burle Marx’s legacy includes the discovery of hundreds of new plant species,during his botanical explorations in Latin America and other continents (Fig.14).

His large parks,such as Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo,Brazil;or Parque del Este in Caracas and the Botanical Garden of Maracaibo,both in Venezuela,are masterpieces of recreational spaces with a profound understanding of botanical structure,morphologies,and performative aspects,with subtle pedagogical undertones,inviting users to appreciate these sites as places for leisure,interaction,and learning?.

His world-recognized stone-paved sidewalk of the redesigned street section in Copacabana beach,and the Landfilled Flamengo Park—both on the waterfront of Rio de Janeiro,Brazil—are among the most notorious constructed open spaces of this unique city,exalting the urban and the natural landscapes.His legacy includes close to 2,000 built projects,which in turn influenced the work of other renowned Latin American landscape architects,such as Mario Schjetnan[12]in Mexico,or the Chilean-born Fernando Tábora who worked in Venezuela.

Many of these initiatives were funded by national governments—frequently by highly centralized ones,—and military regimes,which showcased them to demonstrate their “efficiency and dedication to national welfare.” The Modernist design frenzy also had a spillover effect on projects carried out by the private sector in smaller in scale,but very prolific,and equally experimental?.It was certainly the golden era of Latin American architecture,urban design,industrial,and graphic design,as well as cutting-edge fine arts explorations.

However,the modernist urban planning heritage in Latin America is far less acclaimed,due to the widespread and standardized application of plans and zoning codes,with the following consequences:

1) The modern planning paradigms conceived the cities as entirely new functional entities,based on real-estate driven operations,favoring single-use developments,connected by a hierarchy of road works,with detached tower-like buildings,drastically modifying the morphology and performance of the cities;many times,leveling entire older areas,and creating new anonymous urban conditions.

2) The application of modernist urban criteria also resulted in urban sprawl,loss of valuable agricultural land and ecosystems,socially and spatially segregated cities,lack of good public places for socialization,and made them auto- and energy-dependent.

3) The emergence of the informal or unplanned city,since the modern urban paradigms did not have mechanisms to accommodate the very lowincome migrants,having no other option other than squatting on non-urbanized land outside of the urban plans (frequently risk-prone sites),resulting in severe inequalities and social/spatial fragmentation?(Fig.15).

6 Urban design practices:site-specific responses

The last decades of the twentieth century produced compelling urban design,and site-specific interventions in the region with emphasis on the public realm,urban revitalization,the uniqueness of place,and the appreciation and recycling of sites and buildings of historic significance,in contrast to the generic,spatially indifferent,and tabula-rasa approaches of modern city planning (Fig.16).

Some emblematic projects of this period included the rehabilitation of post-industrial sites.Such is the case of the Puerto Maderos project,which took advantage of port-warehouses and docks,and recycling the also defunct concrete vaulted-structures of the Mercado de Abastos?(the central marketplace built in the 1930’s),both for commercial and recreational activities,located in Buenos Aires,Argentina;or the conversion of manufacturing warehouses into a large-scale cultural and performing art center,known as SESC Pompèia,in Sao Paulo,Brazil.

Other initiatives aimed at the creation of large-scale open spaces,as the conversion of a mile-long stretch of an inner-city expressway in Caracas,Venezuela into an avenue reconnecting the city grid (Avenida Bolívar),or the transformation of an equally long traffic-congested avenue into a pedestrian mall (Sabana Grande Boulevard) thanks to the construction the city’s first Metro line,both projects in Caracas.It is also worth mentioning the creation of an important waterfront promenade that opened the city to the estuary of the Guayas River,in Guayaquil,Ecuador,triggering economic activities and becoming a site of intense social interaction.

Other important urban milestones at a metropolitan scale were taking place towards the end of the millennium,thanks to the proactive administrations of architect and city planner Jaime Lerner (Mayor of Curitiba),and architect Cesar Maia(Mayor of Rio de Janeiro),both in Brazil;as well as in Colombia,under the leadership of mathematician and professor Sergio Fajardo (Mayor of Medellín),and during the first administration of the economist Enrique Pe?alosa (Mayor of Bogotá) (Fig.17).

As an example,Pe?alosa was able to tackle very difficult urban conditions during only 3 years of his mandate,giving upfront priority to the built environment,and proving that good public service could make a big difference in a region accustomed to inefficient,unqualified,and corrupt political leadership.While his managerial take was of a top-down nature,he was able to reposition this capital of close to 9 million inhabitants as a leading regional urban center (Fig.18).

His achievements in Bogotá included:an extensive BRT system which was the first comprehensive mass transit system of the city,250 linear kilometers of enlarged and tree-planted sidewalks and bike lanes,schools for 200,000 students in dozens of new and renovated facilities.He was also able to deliver dozens of new parks,a system of large-scale park-libraries the majority serving the poorest neighborhoods,large-scale subsidized housing projects with emphasis on public spaces and communal facilities,etc.Such initiatives contributed in reducing social disparities and equalizing urban standards throughout the metropolitan area.The city of Bogotá was granted multiple international awards for these accomplishments,his legacy set the stage for ongoing efforts of following administrations to address urban affairs with creativity and vigor?(Fig.19).

22 哥倫比亞瑞加村，兒童發(fā)展中心（丹尼爾·費爾德曼和伊凡·基尼翁斯設計）Early Childhood Development Center,in Villa Rica,Colombia,by Daniel Feldman and Ivan Qui?ones

23 智利圣地亞哥，為貧民窟建造的雷納托·波夫萊特教士河公園Parque fluvial Padre Renato Poblete,serving low income areas,in Santiago,Chile

7 The informal city:from denial to holistic approaches

Urbanization and modernization in the region were accompanied by flows of rural migrations that could not benefit from formal city planning and real-estate interplay.This led initially to lowincome tenements in the older colonial cores,as the former wealthier residents moved out to new suburbs.Simultaneously,cities experienced the emergence,gradual consolidation,and expansion of unplanned informal settlements in the urban periphery,or on inner city sites,along ravines,steep slopes,and other areas designated in the urban plans as unfit for urbanization.Authorities,academics,and professionals considered first the informal occupations an unwanted new phenomenon that could be stopped and eradicated through social housing projects.They did not realize that the constant in flux of very low-income migrants would create a demand for housing units that could not be supplied by the formal sector,or that these migrants simply could not afford those homes,as they lacked formal jobs and savings.In a few decades,it had become obvious that the informal settlements were there to stay,and that in many cases,had become the dominant form of urbanization.

In countries that had followed a democratic path,these challenged areas also meant votes.Consequently,the public sector began to attend them,first with simple interventions such as providing electricity,water,schools,medical and sport facilities,or paving pedestrians lanes and staircases—and in some cases,painting the facades of homes to give them a better appearance-,and making more visible these public actions,particularly during pre-election periods[13].

Legal reforms were introduced,acknowledging informal urbanism as an integral part of cities,enabling the public sector to respond to their demands,and envisioning technical and managerial mechanisms to do so.

The last decades have witnessed important initiatives for improving living conditions in these settlements.Such projects can be considered -urban surgery-,since they require careful operations on the tight urban fabric to introduce public spaces,improve accessibility,incorporate infrastructure and communal services,or to relocate families living in high-risk areas.To make space for these interventions and minimize social disruption,it was indispensable to provide a relocation housing,within or as close as possible to the original dwellings.Holistic approaches were carried out in Caracas (Venezuela),Rio de Janeiro (Brazil),and Bogotá and Medellín (Colombia) (Fig.20).

Those delivered in Medellín,under the political leadership of mayor Sergio Fajardo,and the technical visions and drive of architect Alejandro Echeverri,have gained world recognition,due to the quality of the urban landscapes and architectural solutions,resulting in astonishing urban change and social benefits,and making the city a world reference for this type of social urbanism21.Attention was given to the poorest,most violent,and vulnerable informal neighborhoods.The projects included the use of aerial gondolas or outdoor escalators as means of mobility,cutting-edge park-libraries,new schools,and cultural facilities,among others.Equally important was the way in which the different components where phased,the modalities of communal involvement and local management,and the provision of cultural activities and maintenance programs.In 2014,the World Urban Forum took place in this once-challenged city (Fig.21).

The positive socio-environmental impacts derived from these holistic plans have certainly influenced the state of the art in academia,professional practice,and political leadership,focusing on the needs of the lower income populations in Latin America and have served as references for initiatives in other continents.

However,Latin America is still ranked as the region with the highest degree of socio-economic inequality[14-15].Informal settlements continue to grow at a further distance from the formal areas,increasing such disparities and aggravating urban performance.Not addressing the growth of the informal city will result in additional environmental and social stress and problems of governance,factors that are already affecting its competitiveness in the global marketplace.

But doing so,is still considered a taboo in Latin America,as if by planning ahead for this inevitable trend was to operate illegally,or to further induce this phenomenon.My own teaching and research focus on how to anticipate and manage the exponential expansion of the informal city,providing criteria,simple and flexible design solutions,and implementation tools,depicting how a preemptive approach can be adapted to different contexts.This is explained in my publication Planning and Design for Future Informal Settlements:Shaping the Self-Constructed City,or its expanded and edited Spanish version Dise?o de nuevos asentamientos informales?(Fig.22).

8 Socially oriented architectural trends,and new landscape and ecological movements

The recent Biennales of Architecture,Landscape Architecture,and Urbanism in the region have granted many winning prizes to projects addressing compelling social problems,which represent a change in attitude of the academic and professional milieu.Many of the awarded projects resulted from design competitions,allowing young professionals and smaller firms to advance cutting-edge projects with compelling social and environmental agendas.In addition to the morphological-aesthetic aspects,these projects address performative issues such as communal participation in their design phase,construction,and operation,the use of local low-cost and lowmaintenance materials with references to traditional architecture and buildings technologies.There are also new trends,which can be considered a vernacular revival,going back to Pre-Hispanic roots of design and materiality,which frequently result in clashes with commercial firms that supply construction materials and technologies.Colombia is pioneering this type of initiative?(Fig.23).

There have been important recent initiatives in the region creating public spaces,parks,and promenades,and addressing ecological issues,as well as morphological,water management,performative,and botanical aspects.Examples of this trend can be found in cities of Chile and Colombia?.

Risk reduction projects have been carried out,such as after the torrential flooding which destroyed the Caribbean shore of Caracas,Venezuela,in the year 2000?(partially executed);the rehabilitation of different towns hit by a quake and strong tsunami in Chile in 2017 (projected);the reconstruction of informal settlements on higher elevations of Valparaiso affected by forest fires in 2014 (partially executed);or coping with widespread damage of devastation by two consecutive hurricanes in Puerto Rico in 2017,(projects underway).These initiatives have forced governments,institutions,academia,and professionals to think in a more holistic and out-of-the-box manner.

It is becoming evident that climate change and lack of environmental planning is taking a toll in a region prone to the impact of forces of nature,or coping with sea level rise,where the lower income communities are frequently the most vulnerable (Fig.24).

24 厄瓜多爾查南加斯鎮(zhèn)重建的咨詢建議(賓夕法尼亞大學設計學院奧布里·賈赫爾卡和葉舒文設計)Proposal for the rehabilitation of Chamangas,Ecuador,by Aubrey Jahelka and Shuwen Ye,Department of Landscape Architecture,University of Pennsylvania

However,less has been done in terms of ecological restoration,green infrastructure,water management,increasing permeability,remediation,or addressing climate change and urban agriculture,income-generating activities,etc.,aspects that are still considered in most Latin American countries as requiring high costs and complex management.Despite the surge and vibrancy of landscape architecture practices during the second half of the Twentieth century,Landscape Architecture is usually taught today as courses or in master programs within architecture schools.Some,academic institutions in the region as well as some North American and European institutions interested in Latin America,are playing a pivotal role in exposing students to these issues and will surely prepare a generation of young professionals and leaders that will incorporate them into their practice (Fig.25).Despite the regional diversity and rich biodiversity of Latin America,exponential urban growth continues to erode fragile ecosystems and valuable agricultural land.Urban and conservation practices are still at odds.

9 New challenges

The dawn of the new century can be considered a period of economic and political forces at a global scale,with strong repercussions in the Latin American urban landscape.Notable is the influence of new technologies,large corporations and franchises operating worldwide,and the investment and political relations in the region or China,Russia,and Iran in urban-related fields as infrastructure,transportation and housing.

From a morphological-territorial point of view,the urban landscape of the colonial period was shaped by the adoption and repetition of foreign urban principles and building typologies as compact and pedestrian-friendly urban scenarios.The Republican,the Modern,and the Post-Modern urban design and ecologically-driven periods -as well as the current city planning standards and development trends- resulted in a multiplicity of urban forms,as the region became predominately urban,and cities expanded exponentially.The result has been a mosaic or composite of constructed landscapes that coexist,juxtapose,and transform,frequently adapting to local conditions,and producing compellingly Latin American products.

25 委內瑞拉加拉加斯，佩塔雷—拉烏爾維納的正規(guī)和非正規(guī)的城市景觀The formal/informal,Petare-La Urbina,in Caracas Venezuela

The hybrid nature of Latin America makes the region a sponge for receiving different influences and,a fertile ground for adaptation and experimentation.The rapid economic growth,modernization,industrialization,and urbanization processes that Latin America experienced from the mid Twentieth century on,was carried out following foreign models.Although these foreign models resulted in the distortion and erosion of natural systems,as well as of urban,architectural patterns,and cultural landscapes,in time,they were adapted and re fined,and thus became more in tune with local conditions.

However,the most recent layers of borrowed urban and architecture references—of a global nature—tend to be more generic,inducing sprawl,social segregation,and identity loss.The shopping malls,business centers,and office complexes in Santiago de Chile,Bogotá,Sao Paulo,or Mexico City are not that different from their Asian counterparts,which in turn mirror those in North America and Europe.The proliferation of largescale developer-driven gated communities is a common feature in the ever-expanding urbanizing territories of Monterrey,Barranquilla,Maracaibo,or La Paz.While sold in the name of safety,they are increasing insecurity in the public realm,while promoting social segregation,urban sprawl,cardependency,discouraging people from socializing in public spaces,and straining city management.

As Daniel Feldman describes,“the urban and architectural state of the art in Latin America is also being influenced by the role of globalized firms,offering governments in the region standardized and prescriptive urban design/urbanization guidelines,ignoring local conditions.Such documents and prepackaged solutions are frequently taken by the local authorities as a technical and financial justification to support large scale urban operations,resulting in projects dependent on foreign technologies and investments” (Author’s translation from a conversation with the Colombian architect Daniel Feldman).

Despite the rise of the region’s GDP,the Millennia has experienced a strong political polarization (surely as a consequence of socioeconomic disparities),witnessing leftwing-militarized movements,and extreme rightwing movements,worrisome political fractures,promotin social divisions by means of populism,and creating cultural and territorial barriers within and among nations (perhapd not that different from similar trends in the United Stated,and in Europe,Asia and Africa).

There is still a complex socio-economic and environmental agenda pending in the region,which demands being more selective,critical,and adaptive of foreign influences,and the development of new urban,landscape and architectural prototypes.The region needs to further rely on solutions that emerge from within,anchored on applied research,academic training,and project/performative solutions,as innovative as those advanced during the modernist era,or that have emerged more recently dealing with the challenges of the informal city.

The rich,hybrid,and experimental urban,landscape,and architectural pallet of Latin America —and the region’s ability to receive foreign influences,adapt them to local conditions,and favor solutions with a distinct and diverse identity,may serve as references for other emergent economies and rapidly urbanizing nations that are struggling to respond to contemporary challenges without ignoring or deleting their own rich historic legacies.

Acknowledgement:

I appreciate the contributions of Oscar Grauer,Nick Pevzner,Ishaan Kumar,and Heryk Tomassini.

Notes：

① Mario Schjetnan,a distinguished Mexican Landscape Architect has done ample research on traditional practices of this nature as sources for contemporary design.

② This Royal Document known as Las Leyes de Indias(Laws of the Indies) constitutes urban design guidelines for the planning of new towns formalized in written rules and regulations.It provided legal status and structure to common practices,providing homogeneity to the foundation of new towns.

③ The clearing of the land was a common practice,but it was not explicitly included in the Ordinances.

④ “The Plaza should be a square or rectangular,in which case it should have at least one and a half its width for length inasmuch as this shape is best for fiestas in which horses are used and for any other fiestas that should be held”,and “the dimension of the plaza should be proportionate to the expect importance of the towns that were to be founded”.These were the type of dispositions included in the Ordinances.

⑤ Cartagena de Indias,located on the Caribbean coast of the Spanish colony of Nueva Granada (current Colombia),was a major port and walled/fortified city,which allowed for gathering products arriving from the rich Spanish colonies facing the Pacific Ocean.These goods were transported by land through the Panama Isthmus to the Caribbean Sea.In Cartagena,the goods were here secured and prepared to be sent to the Island of Cuba,before crossing the Atlantic to Spain,their final destination.

⑥ A distinct feature of Brazilian Colonial architecture is that the Baroque churches and other important edifices,while located adjacent to public spaces,they appear as detached objects,enhancing their iconic character;Outstanding Brazilian Baroque colonial architecture can be found in the cities of Ouro Preto,Mariana,Tiradentes,Sao Joao do Rei,in the State of Minas Gerais,an area that was rich in gold and other minerals.

⑦ This list includes cities such as Quito,the first urban center to receive such denomination,and Cuenca both in Ecuador,La Habana in Cuba,San Juan de Puerto Rico,Mexico City,Puebla and Guadalajara in Mexico,Antigua in Guatemala,Panamá City in Panamá,Lima and Cuzco in Peru (this colonial city was built over the Pre-Hispanic Inca grid and indigenous stone constructions);Cartagena,Mompox,and Popayán in Colombia;Ouro Preto and Tiradentes in Brazil,Asunción in Paraguay,and many others.

⑧ Spain also was able to retain at this point in time of The Philippines.In this Asian domain,the Colonial urban patterns and architectural typologies were similar to those deployed in Latin America.

⑨ During the Colonial period,the New World was seen an experimental ground of how the Old World could be;after Independence,the Old World became the source of reference for the emerging Republics.

⑩ In Caracas,Venezuela,the first suburban areas appeared towards the end of the Nineteenth century,facilitated by the introduction of streetcars in an area Called El Paraíso (Paradise).The developers of this district,besides marketing the benefits of -living in nature but close to the city-,also informed about the advantages of residing in detached residences built with metal structures (imported from Europe),which would resist earthquakes.

?Cities with outstanding urban configurations and architecture of this period include:Buenos Aires (the largest city in the region at the time,which took pride in nicknaming itself the Paris of Latin America),as well as in Montevideo,Río de Janeiro,Santiago de Chile,México City,La Habana,Bogotá,etc.,cities that had a solid colonial tradition or that were experiencing rapid economic growth.Among the most notable new cities of this period are:Belo Horizonte,Recife,Porto Alegre,and Curitiba in Brazil,and Ciudad de La Plata in Argentina.

?For recent data of urbanization trends and economic data in Latin America,see www.bbvaresearch.com/wpcontent/uploads/2017/07/Urbanization-in-Latin-America-BBVA-Research.pdf.

?As an example,in 1951 the Master for Caracas,Venezuela was presented,by the National Planning Commission,and supported by international experts as Francis Violich,Maurice Rotival,and José Luis Sert.The Plan proposed the linear growth of the city following modern principals,the creation of new sub centers connected by large avenues and freeways,and the introduction of zoning.Violich was to produced the first modern zoning ordinances for Caracas,which envisioned detached edifices with setbacks,radically transforming the urban landscape of the capital city.This type of urban codes was to be emulated throughout the country.

?Josep Lluis Sert and Mario Romanach worked together in the Master Plan of Havana,Cuba in 1955.The plan envisioned the densification of existing areas,the city expansion,a network of new vehicular links,and a system of opens spaces.It also proposed a radical transformation of the historic district,today a UNESCO World Heritage site;For instance,German born,Architect Henty Klumb,who had interned with Frank Lloyd Wright,and worked with Louis Khan,did important work in Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico(1946 to 1966),including the Master Plan for the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras,and many of its buildings.

?The Ministry of Education in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil was designed by Le Corbusier.In the article written in Spanish American Identity:Adaption or Adoption,Ronaldo Dobles Alvarado posits that this building,being part of larger urban renewal project and located in a prominent site of the city,became an icon fort the modernization of Brazil,and inspired numerous projects of this type in the region(Author’s translation).

?For ample information on the legacy of Roberto Burle Marx,and his work on large public parks,and his views on botanical,aesthetic and performative aspects of Latin American landscape architecture refer to María Villalobos,“The Botanical Garden of Roberto Burle Marx as a creative process.The case of the Botanical Garden of Maracaibo,Venezuela”,Ecole Nationale Superior du Paysage,Versailles,France,2010—2015.

?Villa Planchart,designed by renowned Italian Architect Gio Ponti in the 1950’s in Caracas,Venezuela,was commissioned by the Planchart facility to be their residence.Ponti was asked not only to design the house but also all the furniture,lighting fixtures,cutlery,and elements to display blooming orchids from the property’s nurseries.http://www.gioponti.org/en/archives/work-detail/dd_32990_6074/villa-planchart.

?For further information on the negative impacts of modern urban planning in Latin America see David Gouverneur,Planning and Design for Future Informal Settlements:Shaping the Self-Constructed City.

?There reconversion project of the Mercado de Abastos of Buenos Aires was carried out by the firm of Benjamin Thompson and Associates,who in the late 70’s converted the abandoned Quincy Market of Boston,Massachusetts,USA into a popular commercial and restaurant venue and tourist destination,acting as a catalyzer for the transformation of the defunct waterfront district.

?For information of the legacies of the municipal administrations of Enrique Pe?alosa in Bogotá,and Sergio Fajardo in Medellín,see David Gouverneur,Planning and Design for Future Informal Settlements:Shaping the Self-Constructed City,Chapter 2.

?This online education video by David Gouverneur offers a synthesis of the challenges of the emerging informal settlements,and the advantages of acting in preemptive manner:www.coursera.org/lecture/designing-cities/rapidurbanization-and-informal-settlements-G5jjZ.

?The Centro de Desarrollo Infantil El Guadual,Villa Rica(Cauca,Colombia),designed by architect Daniel Feldman,is an example of recent socially-minded architectural trend in the region.This project received the first prize in the category of Young Latin American Architects of the Venice Biennale 2018.

?Among these new projects we can include:the Parque Bicentenario in an affluent community,and the Parque Fluvial Padre Renato Poblete serving low income areas,both in Santiago de Chile;or the waterfront park in Crespo,Cartagena,Colombia that connects a low-income district to the neighboring beaches by means of depressing the main entrance road to the city from the airport,and the ambitious Rutas Naturbanas linear park system currently being developed in San Jose de Costa Rica,along the deep ravines that segment its metropolitan area.

?For further information on this project see The Rehabilitation of the Littoral Central,edited by Oscar Grauer,Todmann Editores,Caracas,2000.This project received the first prize in the Venezuelan Architecture Biennale of 2000.It was one of the first green infrastructure projects in the region,dealing with post-disaster recovery and flood control,following massive destruction of the central Caribbean shoreline of Venezuela caused my torrential flooding resulting in close to 30,000 fatalities.Political centralization,militarization and corruption led to the dismissal of the projects after the first two years of its implementation.David Gouverneur was project manager of this project.