Sticking together, through horizontal planning
By Akua Fosuhene, Anne-Helene Mai, Lulu Tan, Long Xiang & Carlos Huerta
When you think of Paris, what comes to mind? For most, it’s the Eiffel Tower, a vertical landmark that symbolizes identity and provides a sense of belonging while visually connecting neighborhoods. But can a single vertical landmark unite and create a cohesive identity throughout the diverse corners of a city? Across urban developments today, there is a growing emphasis on creating “new landmarks” as a marketing strategy, hoping these structures and neighborhoods will contribute to creating identity and community cohesion. This trend is evident in Sweden, where cities like Stockholm and Gothenburg have embraced the development of neighborhoods and buildings marketed as future landmarks. However, they frequently fail to address deeper spatial connectivity, equity, and community engagement issues. Vertical landmarks can symbolize progress, growth, and identity. However, they can fall short of addressing systemic issues of disconnection and inequity. They are typically designed to attract attention and investment but fail to integrate both the physical and social fabric of the neighborhoods that surround them. Vertical landmarks often concentrate resources and attention in specific areas which can lead to marginalization of other neighborhoods.
To be able to address these challenges, this project proposes a shift in focus from vertical to horizontal landmarks. Unlike vertical landmarks, horizontal landmarks are about enhancing the experience of more human-scaled spaces that prioritizes accessibility, community engagement, and the integration of neighborhoods. These landmarks are meant to create pathways that people will remember for interaction, mobility, and identity building. Simultaneously, adding a more large-scale effect, a horizontal landmark effect, where resources, attention and investments are distributed fairly for the purpose of strengthening social cohesion across fragmented neighborhoods in the urban landscape.
