Student: Anna Blythe
Graduation date: May 2017
Type: Area of Interest (double major)
Date approved: November 2014
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Summary
Several of today’s largest cities are situated in the ever-changing coastal regions of our world. These coastal megacities are defined as within 100km and 50m elevated from the shoreline, and maintain populations of 10 million or more people (Pelling 2014). As the location where land, water, and atmosphere connect, these regions are highly biodiverse and productive (Viles 2014), making for a biome unique in aesthetics and ecological value. Although there are only 16 coastal megacities worldwide, these global hubs, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo, certainly hold major portions of the earth’s total population.
As our world continues to globalize and the composition of the megacity’s population becomes increasingly complex, could there be a common identity among these citizens, as residents of coastal megacities? It is true that as individuals we can assume multiple identities; I’m interested in discovering whether or not there could be an identity shared between these populations, particularly across nations. Through the lens of identity, I’d like to continue studying other characteristic differences between the coastal megacities. Consider Shanghai and Jakarta, for example. Shanghai has long been known as a global city (Chen 2009), as compared to Jakarta, a metropolis relatively new to the coastal megacity status (Cybriwsky 2001). Perhaps older cities such as Shanghai are more likely to maintain residents that have historically resided there while inhabitants of a rising megacity such as Jakarta may have an entirely different set of motives for their residency there than those of traditional reasons. Although these cities are unified in their standing as a coastal megacity, are there differences in the identities of those residents long established in their megacity as compared to those newly transplanted?
There are a multitude of other comparisons to make as well: How does the nationality of a megacity play into the planning of the urban environment or identity of its residents? How strong of a role do borders play in the formation of the coastal megacity? Beyond nationality, I am also curious as to how different corporations with headquarters etc. in megacities influence their surroundings. Which megacities are known for the corporations present within them, and how does this affect the urban and social landscapes of coastal megacities? Region may also play an important role: is there a dominant climate of coastal megacities? How are issues such as global warming playing a role here and what are coastal megacities doing to mitigate or adapt to its effects? These are various examples of the comparisons to be considered in my area of interest.
Although there may be no scholarly literature explicitly connecting citizens’ identity to planning practices, I’m intrigued by the possibility. If design decisions are social decisions (Pickett 2013) then identity associated with the coastal megacity lifestyle may be expressed through use of space. Although there is a degree of anonymity in populations the size of megacities, there is a chance that collective identity as understood by planners has the capability to inform design decisions. As an example: coastlines act as catalysts for the geographic features, weather, and resource availability of these coastal megacities (NOAA 2013). Issues of rising sea levels, as caused by glacial melt are certainly pertinent to these regions. Perhaps, if one of the identities coastal megacity residents take on is that of shoreline stewards, urban planners who understand these views would potentially allow these opinions to influence their decisions regarding design of the city. Does collective identity translate into the planning of coastal megacities?
References
Anholt, Simon. 2006. Competitive Identity: The New Brand Management for Nations, Cities, and Regions. Palgrave Macmillan.
Bell, Daniel A., and Anver de-Shalit. 2013. The Spirit of Cities: Why the Identity of a City
Matters in a Global Age. Princeton University Press.
Chen, Xiangming. 2009. Shanghai Rising: State Power and Local Transformations in a Global Megacity. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Cybriwsky, Roman, and Larry R. Ford. 2001. “City Profile: Jakarta.” Cities 18 (3): 199–210. doi:10.1016/S0264-2751(01)00004-X.
Davis, Diane E., and Nora Libertun de Duren. 2011. Cities and Sovereignty: Identity Politics in Urban Spaces. Indiana University Press.
Gospodini, Aspa. 2004. “Urban Morphology and Place Identity in European Cities: Built Heritage and Innovative Design.” Journal of Urban Design 9 (2): 225-48.
Pelling, Mark, and Sophie Blackburn. 2014. Megacities and the Coast : Risk, Resilience and Transformation. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
Pickett, S. T. A., M. L. Cadenasso, and Brian McGrath. 2013. Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design: Linking Theory and Practice for Sustainable Cities. Springer Science & Business Media.
US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. “How Does the Ocean Affect Climate and Weather on Land?” Accessed October 21. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/climate.html.
Viles, Heather, and Tom Spencer. 2014. Coastal Problems: Geomorphology, Ecology and Society at the Coast. Routledge.
Questions
Please be reminded of my situated context when reading these questions: Coastal Megacities (within 100km and 50m elevated from the shoreline; population exceeding 10 million).
- Descriptive: What identities do coastal megacity residents assume? How do planners gather input on decisions regarding design from these residents? What makes coastal megacities distinct in the way they are planned? How do coastal megacities “brand” themselves? How do their brandings differ from city to city? How does a megacity differ from a world city, and which megacities are also world cities? Are these labels reductionist/exclusionary? What role do migrants play in coastal megacities? Which megacities were previously colonized?
- Explanatory: What forces drive the identities of coastal megacity residents? How have these identities driven the development of these coastal regions? Who is creating these brands and for what motives? Why are coastal megacities as populated as they are, and how do they benefit or not from their location on the coast? How does colonization permeate in certain coastal megacities?
- Evaluative: To what extent has using resident input in planning decisions been successful or unsuccessful? Do the so-called “brands” of a city connote positive or negative narratives? Are these brands productive/meaningful and do they influence the way a city is spatially planned and organized? Can a previously colonized coastal megacity be truly independent from their colonizers?
- Instrumental: How can urban planners translate collective identity into design decisions? How can identity understood in the context of planning be used to mitigate or adapt to ecological impacts of the coast? How can identity-based conflict be minimized through planning? How can architecture or planning translate to social solidarity?
Arts and humanities courses
- HIST 261 (Global Environmental History, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- JAPN 230 (Intro Japanese Lit Translation, 4 credits). 3 Japanese cities are defined as coastal megacities, so studying Japanese literature will allow me to understand Japanese lifestyle and identity, and how these could inform planning decisions.