Year 2 Studio - Climate Urbanism Studio

BA DESIGNING CITIES 2nd YEAR STUDIO: CLIMATE URBANISM STUDIO The Climate Urbanism Studio investigates how to build up climate-resilient local areas, exploring ways to improve the provision and quality of urban green in contemporary cities. Our Climate Urbanism Studio employs an integrated analytical and design framework to understand and map city vulnerabilities to address collaboratively complex urban challenges, and producing meanwhile scenarios of resiliency and inclusive design explorations at the local level. The case study selected this year is in located in the Lower Lea Valley, in East London. Due to its very fragmented nature, being comprised of mixed residential areas, in some cases with problems of social deprivation, and large-scale industrial areas, the area has remained relatively untouched by large property developments of the London Docks, but equally affected by the Olympic Games regeneration project in the North. Since then, a framework for a new linear park along the Lea was proposed but never fully implemented. Owing to its location, between the boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Newham, the area has been always considered as a ‘backyard’ without being politically relevant. However, nowadays this area has been reconsidered as an important ecological resource with the potential to reinforce its role as a key social and environmental infrastructure for the surrounding residential areas. Students have therefore worked on proposals aiming to provide resilient a