Two water cities?

By Paulien Hartog 

strategic advisor in Waternet, the public water authority of the city of Amsterdam and the region

Recife is known as the Brazilian Venice, a water city. Its city centre is located on islands in the end of the delta of Capibaribe river, looking out over the ocean. This sounds impressive, and it is. But when you are walking in the city centre, you notice that the physics are there, but that Recife is not a real water city at this moment. In the streets you can always smell waste water, due to poor sanitation. The banks of canals and rivers are full of waste, and they also smell. Most waterfronts are private in bad shape. And due to sharks the beach is not for swimming. There are only a few boats on the impressive mangrove river: some crab fishermen, inhabitants of the "palafitos" and an educational boat tour for kids. Most local delegates in our workshop enjoyed the river for the first time of their life!

As the "water lady" in the Amsterdam delegation I was impressed by the enormous water challenges Recife has to deal with. Sanitation and problems with water quality are the most obvious, but at the same time the drinking water resources (70% river water upstream, 30% groundwater) are under stress and floods occur frequently during extreme storm water events or high tide. In a metropolitan area with 4 million people and in a growing economy the opportunities are good. But where to start? 

During the 2 day workshop with an enthusiast group of (mainly) architects we could only make a little step to a strategy. Our main observation in the last year of rXa contact via video conferences and email was that there seems to be little integration of challenges in urban planning in Recife. Dealing with water challenges is from our European perspective essential for cities of the future. But if Recifians are not aware of the value of this, the politicians won't empower this. 
In the results of the workshop the "Water Tree" concept was presented as long term strategy for more cohesion in the city. In the structure of the delta, with the main rivers and the smaller streams, solutions for a more liveable city could be integrated: places where people could meet, sanitation, social housing, parks, biking routes and transport over water. The main challenge the coming months will be to have dialogues with a broader group of inhabitants about their dreams for the city. And, based on this, start with realizing a first branch of the Water Tree as a pilot project.
I expect that the smart, highly educated young people that I met in Recife, will change this city the next decade, and maybe develop it to a real water city again. They are eager, involved and connected to worldwide knowledge. Operational experience in water management is low, thus knowledge exchange like the rXa will be worthwhile. I enjoyed my stay immensely and want to thank all of you again for your enormous hospitality.

Recife journal, May 2012

By Eric van der Kooij, Spatial Planning Department Amsterdam


General background
From the 23rd until  the 28th of April a Dutch multi disciplined delegation was invited to come to Recife (4,1 mio inhabitants in the metropolitan area) to enhance further collaboration on the city’s planning aspects in the field of urban planning, water management, traffic control and cultural heritage.
The collaboration started a year ago and was initiated by ARCAM. It was based on the historic relations Recife with the Dutch. Since Prince Maurits was the founder of Mauritsstad in 1630, making Recife not only the new capital of Dutch Brazil until 1654. During this period, Mauritsstad became one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the world. Being such different cities in the first place, the question was what both cities could learn from each other.
In 2011 the ‘project’ started around 4 videoconferences where professionals changed ideas about planning aspects of the city. In addition Recife initiated a project by the School of Architecture called the Via Mangue. The project addressed the lack of integral planning approach illustrated by a new highway cutting through the mangroves and vulnerable neighbourhoods. Students were challenged to review the project as a whole and focus on several areas around the highway.
During this process it was not exactly defined what could or would become the impact of our mutual exchange. However in november 2011 ARCAM made an exposition of the Amsterdam/Recife Exchange showing the historic background of both cities and also contemporary challenges. It also showed the difference in planning approach and the momentum of change that both cities are undergoing and search for the right tools. Amsterdam from a top down planning approach to a bottom up approach (Structural vision 2040, Free State) and integrated planning of (waste) water management, mobility and cultural heritage. And Recife from an almost uncontrolled anarchistic planning approach towards a common and mutual understanding that is shifting the mindsets of the cultural elite and public collectives addressing a more cohesive and integrated planning approach.


So far so good.

Impressions and experience
As a result of the exhibition and in order to enhance our collaboration the Dutch were invite to come to Recife. The program resulted in a 4 day workshop with field excursions to the old city centre and a boat trip on the Capibaribe River, lectures from the Dutch and openings of the exhibition of the students and the Amsterdam/Recife Exchange. And finally the inauguration of Roberto Montezuma as president of CAU, an new organization that controls, protects and promotes the title of planning and architecture in Brazil.
The workshop was attended by professionals from private offices (mostly architects), universities, the municipality, the state heritage foundation and students and focused on the livability of the old city centre and the several aspects of the water system of the city in general.
Within this context we experienced Recife as a city where the speeds of change have different  directions and slowly we became aware of our well organized and orchestrated position in the field of public debate and political agendas with a growing consciousness and urge to create a livable city (occupy, facebook, public alert). 
Impression 1: Recife – Speeds of Change in different directions
Over the last 30-40 years Recife, as other Brazilian metropoles alike, experienced rapid growth.
But it is not since the last decade that this growth turned from gradually into far more explosive. Over the last 10 years population of the city grew to 1.5 mio inhabitants (municipality). Economic growth is demonstrated by the purchase of  3000 (small) cars every month (state) leading to a direct traffic infarct in the city centre. Public transport (mainly bus) is insufficient and biking is not only dangerous but also facing the humidity and tropical temperatures.
Pollution caused by cars, waste management and uncontrolled real estate (housing in towers) are out of bounce, threatening ecosystems (rivers and mangroves) and increasing the gap between rich and poor. The city turned its back to the river, once the backbone of development and trade,  bringing all these aspects together, now a collector of the poor and dumpsite for garbage.

‘Planning behind’ and ‘planning to prevent worse’ seems to be the adagio. Cultural heritage does have a strong position in the inner city but seems too much occupied by mere protection and preservation than stimulate solutions for new functions integrated in old buildings. Public space is reduced to parking zones and buildings tend to withdraw themselves from public encounters to the streets by making fences and walls, creating islands of comfort and safety leaving the streetscape an uncomfortable no go area.
But in general it seems that the lack of planning culture is more eminent. Although Brazil has a strong tradition in historic and modern architecture, architectural interventions are preferred over integral solutions (90% of all planning is covered by architects). The planning system itself is organized in a vertical way and enforced by strong governmental and political powers making Amsterdam approaches and solutions not to be copy pasted to Recife.


Impression 2: Recife – Momentum of Change as orchestrated intervention
On the other hand Recife is also a young vibrant city with lots of creative and enthusiastic people. New cars and motor cycles show economic prosperity and growth. A city filled with places where people meet and gather with a strong sense of communities. Where students still live with their parents and student housing is a strange word.
Being in Recife we felt the sense of urgency, urged by a group a cultural leaders and young urban professionals. A force that made our visit just more than a regular visit.  We were part of a well organized and defined momentum to rise public attention to the problems of Recife. Our visit was covered by camera, our lectures attended by over more than 300 people, and even our presence at the inauguration was carefully chosen. And finally the results of the workshop were published in the local newspaper the day after the presentation.

Challenges
With the World Cup 2014 (Recife is hosting 6 matches) and the Olympics in Rio in 2016 ahead the city faces new challenges that offers opportunities to fill in the blanks and make a huge step forward.
However solutions defined by projects alone are simply not enough. And momentum can be lost. In order to handle the basic and fundamental issues of planning it seems that the organization and political focus is part of the solutions.
In the workshop the question was raised if Recife already is a Metropole or merely an exploded city? What makes a city become or behave metropolitan besides its vertical skyline? Is it cosmopolitan in a way that you experience encounters of different cultures and international exchange.
What kind of a city does Recife want to become? What defines quality of life in Recife? And what are the small steps towards a process of integrated planning? And will it be possible to use and combine the force of communities to inspire people to have a vision on the future of Recife, creating an invitation to participate and activate.

Dutch experiences in heritage development, Public seminar II

After the second day of the workshop about the future of Recife, a public seminar about heritage took place. Fernando Diniz (Cau, Ceci, UFPE) welcomed the public of monument experts, architects, developers, students and interested citizens.

Frank Altenburg of the Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency started with his presentation on how the Dutch government works with heritage. He explains the decentralized system of the Netherlands with state and city monuments. There are over 50.000 state protected monuments. Most of them are private houses, but also religious objects, castles and estates, mills, industrial heritage and civil and military infrastructure.

Another, more spatial oriented ways of preserving heritage are the protected townscapes. The notion of living in a protected townscape creates a proud feeling and a mutual identity to the inhabitants. It gives stability in the area. If you invest, your neighbour will probably invest as well and you have a certain guarantee that for example – when you live in a low-rise area – no high-rise complexes will be build right next to you. There are 425 areas listed, like historic city and village centres, social housing areas and industrial heritage complexes. To get things done The Netherlands work with incentives like tax reduction, low interest loans and subsidies.

At this moment the Dutch government is modernising the national monuments policy. The main targets are: integrating heritage in spatial planning, deregulation and promoting re-use and transformation.

Trends:

- co-creation (of cultural, economic and social values)

- identity (people want to feel related)

- sustainability

- participation (experts versus citizens)

‘Heritage is not only about the object. It’s also a way of telling stories, and a search for meaning and significance. And thus a process.’

Karin Westerink from the Amsterdam Department of Monuments & Archeology took the floor and starts with a quick city tour of Amsterdam. 
Currently there are 7510 monuments in Amsterdam of which 1480 are municipal.
‘Heritage is who we were and are. Heritage is the cities mirror’.
‘Never waste a good crisis’: The lack of pressure from the market gives space to think about better solutions. And never forget that cultural heritage has economic value.
Amsterdam has a lot of nationalities: we hope heritage can unite. Each generation has the obligation to re-write the history. An important recent development is the acknowledgement of part of the Amsterdam canals as UNESCO heritage. 


Paul Meurs, architect and professor at TU Delft started his presentation with the statement that he actually learned a lot from the heritage practices in Brazil when he first came there back in the days. Modernism and heritage went hand in hand, a thing that was unthinkable in The Netherlands around that time.
A nice reference to describe the way we tend to work with heritage nowadays is the way Lina Bo Bardi was looking for ‘the soul of a place’. We always try to understand the stories of the area. The challenge is to make those stories understandable for architects.

We now have to deal with the heritage of the 20th century. Qualities are not so much in the materials, but in the areas as a whole. The question is how to transform these areas preserving some values and creating new value to the city. This challenge is also very valid for Recife.




Flora van Gaalen

The contemporary Dutch city and the future of Recife, Public seminar I

As part of the workshop rXa – Recife Exchange Amsterdam, CAU-Pe, the new installed board of architects, organizes together with Iphan and IAB a public seminar with the Dutch team as referents.

Zeca Brandao of the University of Pernambuco is leading the session and introduces the theme for today: how can the planning practice in Amsterdam inspire the developments in Recife?

“It’s great that so many people are here, it shows the great interest at the moment that citizens have in the future of their city. We feel like it’s the sixties again! More and more people feel responsible to contribute to a better future and stand up against the developments they don’t agree with.”

Eric van der Kooij from the Spatial Planning Department of Amsterdam takes the floor. He states that the realities in Amsterdam and Recife are very different: only now we are here we really feel the size of the problems that Recife faces. He hopes that the story of Amsterdam can be an inspiration.

Amsterdam has a long tradition in planning. With the recent structural vision we even think thirty years ahead. To make sure the plans can be carried out, it is key to agree with a broad range of stakeholders. This culture of discussion, the so-called ‘polderen’ was born from the need to collaborate to protect low-lying The Netherlands from the water.

In urban planning it is very important to have an integral approach from the start: architects and urban planners should work together with the water agency, the departments of infrastructure and heritage, developers and last but not least the citizens. What kind of city would you like to live in? It’s will not be about jobs only, it will be about quality of life. A good public space and diversification of functions are key.


Johannes Beuckens from the Amsterdam Department of Infrastructure and Mobility adds to this that to be able to work together, it is important to formulate mutual themes. The mobility plan in Amsterdam has the focus points that Amsterdam should be attractive, clean and safe. By differentiating areas and make them accessible for different types of transport it is possible to regulate the traffic in the city.

Paulien Hartog of the water company Waternet, tells in more detail how Amsterdam works with water. Water levels in the city are very different, with the lowest part being five meters below sea level. Due to the risks this brings about water management is the oldest democratic system in the Netherlands. To realize safe water management and enhance the quality of the water it is necessary to connect the water to other themes in the city like urban planning, city marketing , energy production and ways to have fun at the water.


Eric rounds up stating that city planning is for 80% about communication. How can you use the wisdom of crowds? How to connect bottom-up planning with top-down planning? How to affect people with ideas? It’s all about making a cohesive story and telling it to a small group of people that will be affected by it and spread the word further.

Discussion – questions and reaction from the public

Fernando Diniz, architect and professor at UFPE states it is interesting to see that Amsterdam is densifying and links the green spaces in between together. This is a big contrast with Recife where all the space in between buildings is being filled with more buildings.


Zeca is interested in what we could learn from the contradiction that Recife is growing very fast and Amsterdam is growing at a much slower pace. Is there a conceptual parallel?

Eric: being in Recife, the feeling that overwhelms us is: “where should we start?” Problems are so big and you have to start with small-scale solutions. Planning in Recife seems to be in the architectural realm only. Could more parties participate? In Amsterdam we are also looking for new ways to interact with the public. So, we could say that we are both struggling to discover how to use the wisdom of crowds. We’re both searching how the stakeholders can be activated. We should check in a few years where both cities are by then…

How did Amsterdam make the public aware that cleaning the canals was important?

Paulien: There were strict regulations in the seventies to clean the water. Only the last ten to twenty years people became more aware of the quality of the water. And awareness still is a challenge: The people that use the water in their daily life (people living and recreating on boats) are our ambassadors. To make citizens aware of the good quality of the Amsterdam tap water we organized a ‘Canal bar’ where people could taste purified canal water on the spot.

How do you reach out to the different stakeholders to think along in the planning process? And how does your own role as City Planning Department change by this?

Eric: You need agents of chance to stimulate change. We have to know what is happening outside our office, by using internet, and organize discussions and exhibitions. But you still you have a unique position as professional. Our skill is to visualize different ideas together in one plan. By combining data, trends and expectations we can inspire people by giving them a context. Our function maybe changed from directing into more listening, more visualizing. In this way we hope to work towards the city we all want to live in.

Did Recife contribute anything to you?

Eric: What we learn from the situation in Recife is that you can have big ideas of planning, but that whatever happens, the city will go on. The fascinating part is the question when you will notice that you went a different way. Learning about these crucial points of timing in Recife gives us inspiration in how to approach issues in Amsterdam.

Flora van Gaalen

DERBY BEACH

Workshop 'Recife pensando o futuro', part I

After more than a year of virtual contact in the framework of the rXa project, the Amsterdam team, finally gets to see Recife with it´s own eyes. The representatives of the Spatial Planning Department Amsterdam, the Monuments Department Amsterdam,  the Department of Infrastructure and Mobility, water company Waternet and the Cultural Heritage Agency are teaming up with the planning departments of the city of Recife, the State of Pernambuco, the University of Pernambuco, the heritage institutes Iphan and Fundaj, as well as architects connected to Cau and Iab, in a four-day workshop to discuss the future of Recife in more depth.

A few important questions rise, like: ´What is ´quality´ for the Recifians?´ Is it the ultimate wish for citizens to live in one of the spatious highrise apartments on Boa Viagem with a nice flatscreen TV or do people wish to live in the old city centre where you can easily get around by foot and visit all kinds of cultural activities and shops? ´Where is the energy of the city´, or to put in differently, where do water, heritage and infrastructure clash and therefore create the opportunity to tackle problems in an integral approach? 

After a intensive tour through the old city centre and a boat tour along the Capibaribe river, some observations are made that will shape further discussion.

The first thing which the Amsterdam team cannot deny is the warm climate in Recife. The second thing is the overall traffic conjunction. Beacuse of recent rise of the middle class more and more people can afford to have a car. 3.000 new cars are ´welcomed´ in Recife every month, which huge traffic jams as their consequence. The logical Amsterdam observation that promoting the use of bicycles could be a solution, is put into perspective by the temperture: it´s simply to hot to cycle during daytime (or every office should get a shower).

Another observation is that heritage policies seem to be firmly in place, but there is a huge gap between the available instruments and the will of society and politicians to implement them in a cohesive way. Only when citizens an politicians see the (economical) value of integrating heritage in the overall development of the city it can be meaningful.

The third important thing noted today is that, with all the challenges that Recife faces, it could be helpful to start with the basic layer of the city: the water. Although the city turned it´s back to the water and citizens do not really seem to care about the quality of the water, it only takes one boat trip along the Capibaribe river to immediately experience the beauty of it. If this value would be recognised by a broader range of Recifians, this water could be the tangible asset that makes clear why Recifians are so proud to live here.

Flora van Gaalen

Concebido originalmente pelo Arcam (Architecture Center Amsterdam) e desenvolvido em conjunto com o Departamento de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, o evento Recife Exchange Amsterdam (rXa), realizou em 2011 um ciclo de debates atrelado a uma exposição em Amsterdam, dentro da programação oficial do Ano do Brasil na Holanda.

A exposição apresentou visões sobre o futuro das duas cidades. Os principais parceiros nesse primeiro momento foram a Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, O instituto dos Arquitetos do Brasil, a Prefeitura da Cidade do Recife e o Governo de Pernambuco.

No segundo ato do intercâmbio todas as atenções se voltam para o Recife.
Recife Pensando o Futuro – uma programação extensa composta por exposição, acompanhada de um ciclo de palestras – envolvendo técnicos da área de planejamento urbano do Recife e de Amsterdam, na Holanda, promovendo o debate de idéias e o intercâmbio de experiências sobre a produção e gestão do espaço urbano contemporâneo nas duas cidades, motivados pelo seu passado compartilhado.

Programação Geral

Observações:

As palestras abertas ao público Recife pensando o futuro, promovidas pelo RECIFE EXCHANGE AMSTERDAM, serão ministradas em inglês e acontecerão de terça,  24 à quinta, 26 de abril, começando sempre às 18h30. Haverá um sistema de tradução simultânea limitado a 150 pessoas. Para assistir a essas palestras não é necessário inscrição prévia.

Para a oficina participativa, que será ministrada na sexta, 27 de abril a partir das 13h,  é necessário fazer inscrição, pois a oficina é limitada a 15 vagas. Para mais informações acesse o link: http://tinyurl.com/7j2py7t

rXa Amsterdam, an impression by Roberto Montezuma and Luiz Vieira

The rXa project, with the rich presentations and discussions between the Amsterdam and the Recife teams, improved our perception of both cities, particularly the relationship between water, heritage and mobility. 
We both have been sometimes in Amsterdam along the last two decades.At that time we were both impressed by the architectural and urban landscape,  its channels and fillings, and the multitude fo people moving thorugh the channels or simply biking or simply strolling, but we did not perceive the intricacy of these systems in the Amsterdam urban planning.

The experience of exploring Amsterdam through differents spaces, places, pathways, waterfronts, channels and buildings provided a better understanding of the interconnection of these elements and their role as inseparable parts of a system which has a proper urban image. The hierarchy of public, semi-public, semi-private and private spaces resulted provided spaces in which unique identities in many parts of the city, such as in Java, KNSM and Sporenburg islands. At the same time, experiencing the city either by walking or biking offers unexpected views of the city and its people making their way through it. The green and blue spaces, discussed in the video-conferences, appear very clearly in the urban landscape as we moved by different ways of transportation such as boats, trams, trains, subways and taxis, all of them connected by an  internodal central station.Channel borders and waterfronts structure an unique urban pattern that permeate the territory resulting in different ways of facing the water such as housing, recreation, locomotion and urban water nature.
In our point of view, Amsterdam heritage is the result of a unique and complex relation among hardscape, water, nature and people.

Roberto Montezuma and Luiz Vieira

Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

Landscape versus Urbanization

A contribution by Luiz Carvalho

In the four video conferences that preceded the 'rXa - Recife Exchange Amsterdam' exhibition in Amsterdam the contrasts and similarities in terms of planning practices in Recife and Amsterdam were already remarkable. So it was no surprise that during the seminar at the opening of the exhibition such comparisons would be more evident. Personally, apart from all that is well know about urban planning and architecture in The Netherlands, what surfaced as one of the main lessons that Recife and Brazilians can learn from the Dutch is their approach towards landscape.

Here in Brazil we tend to treasure and protect mainly the landscape that is still perceived as natural or at least with not much human interference. This seems not to be the case in The Netherlands.
During the seminar we had a sample of a major discussion about the project for the new IJmeer connection between Almere and Amsterdam. The main controversy in this case is related to the effect of the new infrastructure on the environment. From a Brazilian point of view, part of that discussion would be pointless: why so much concern about the environment in a region that has suffered successive interventions, such as dikes and landfills that made it hardly recognisable? That is one of the lessons I learned in that process, that all land that is still free from urbanization should be treasured and object of careful study.

I think we can blame our vast territory and our “endless” natural resources for that lack of attention, but urban sprawl is already inflicting severe problems in our cities and the lesson from Holland, where land resources are scarce, is more than ever, a guideline for the future.

The ‘spiral-up’ movement in which our economy is now makes the coexistence of urban areas and landscape inevitable. What must be tackled is how to make the most of that interaction, how to balance urbanization and quality of life. 

 Afsluitdijk

Luiz Carvalho (1972) is an architect and urbanist graduated at Pernambuco Federal University in 1995. Since 2007 works as manager at NTOU (Urban Renewal Unity) for the State Government of Pernambuco. He was awarded with the 2º prize in a national competion for Recife´s Forum and 1º prize in the competion for the Tacaruna Cultural Center in Olinda. Luiz Carvalho is one of the key persons in the rXa project.

Recife and the WIC revisited: Comprehensive Atlas of the Dutch West India Company

A couple of weeks ago the Grote Atlas van de West-Indische Compagnie / Comprehensive Atlas of the Dutch West India Company, part I, 1621-1674, was presented during the Atlantic Day which was organised by the Dutch National Archive in commemoration of the Unesco denomination of the archives of the WIC as part of the ‘Memory of the World’. Based on information from these archives and with facsimile’s of more than 500 original manuscript maps and topographical drawings, the atlas gives an overview of the developoments of the WIC since its foundation in 1621 and its activities in the Atlantic region during the first fifty years of its existence.

It took the WIC twenty years before one of its main aims was realised: severely damage the Spanish-Portuguese power in the Atlantic. Large profits were gained from privateering in the Caribbean and along the coast of Brazil, with the taking of the Spanish Silverfleet in 1628 by admiral Piet Heijn as the most striking - and lucrative - example. After the conquest of Olinda and Recife in 1630 hopes for large profits from the Brazilian sugar mills however were dashed by the fierce resistance by the inhabitants. It was not until 1641 that the sugar export to Holland became substantial. In the same year Luanda in Angola was conquered in order to ensure a steady supply of African slaves to work the sugar fields and mills.
For Elmina on the Gold Coast in present-day Ghana, conquered in 1637, the trade in gold was of prime importance; for New Amsterdam, now New York, the trade in beaver pelts.


The maps reproduced here and taken from the atlas, illustrate the different situations in the conquered territories.
1. New Amsterdam on the island of Manhattan at the time was not more than a fortified trading post surrounded by ‘bouwerijen’ or European farms. The fur trade with the Indians was located inland along the Hudson and Delaware.

Nieuw Amsterdam: (blad 51o) LoC G 3291.S12 coll. H3 Vault: Harr vol. 3 map 12  Manatus, Noord Rivier

2. The Portuguese fortress of Elmina was conquered but trade along the Gold Coast was totally dependent on contracts and good relations with the local sovereigns; colonisation was not yet an issue.

Elmina, Goudkust: (blad 379b) ONB VdHem 36:21  Elmina en S Jago in opstand  

3. The town of Luanda in Angola was built by the Portuguese where the Dutch occupied the existing buildings and only added some fortifications on the promontory.

Luanda, Angola: (blad 404) NA 4.VELH 619.63  Kaart van Luanda.

4. Olinda in Brazil was built on a hill. The Dutch however did not settle there but preferred the busy trade centre near the harbour on ‘the Recife’ where goods were shipped and ships unloaded, where the company warehouses were situated and were also the free traders settled. In time however Recife became overcrowded to such an extent that governor Johan Maurits had a new city designed, on the island of Antonio Vaz. Most people however preferred to stay in Recife and only a handful of houses were built in new Mauritsstad. The ambitious layout as shown on many maps remained just a dreamed ‘ideal city’.

Brazilië: (blad 243) ONB Atlas Stösch 298-01  Kaart van Recife en Mauritsstad

Information on the WIC atlas: www.asiamaior.nl

Bea Brommer
All images are from the WIC Atlas.

Report Seminar rXa - Recife Exchange Amsterdam 14.10.11

After months of virtual contact, the Amsterdam and Recife delegations finally met in person at the opening seminar of the rXa – Recife Exchange Amsterdam project. The main aim of the seminar was to give the audience an idea of how Recife and Amsterdam are working on their future. A clear vision emerged of two dynamic cities, with both professionals and citizens looking to enhance the quality of life while struggling with a changing planning and construction context. The discussion focussed on the question as to what Recife and Amsterdam might learn from each other.

The seminar started with a presentation on the development of Recife by Noe Sergio from Recife’s planning department. Like Amsterdam, Recife is situated in a low-lying area that has water as its main feature. The 'Dutch' core of the former Mauritsstad is an important node in the city, as is the southern district Boa Viagem. The main challenge at the moment is to improve connections between the various parts of the city. The fact that most of the land in Recife is privately owned makes it difficult for the city council to implement a strategic plan.

Eric van der Kooij from Amsterdam’s planning department linked his presentation on Amsterdam to this issue. Because most of the land in Amsterdam is owned by the city, a strong planning tradition was able to flourish for decades. The economic crisis is currently forcing the city council to plan with fewer resources. Instead of 'over controlling' the development processes, we should seek to activate the various players in the construction process in order to make a better city.

The discussion started with this topic. The Recifians stated that in Recife a long-term planning strategy is lacking. The planning horizon extends to 2014, the year in which the World Cup will take place. They see Amsterdam’s 2040 Structure Plan as an inspiration to connect the various plans and ambitions and persuade the participants in the construction process to work according to an overarching strategy. Both Amsterdam and Recife professionals noted that the era of large-scale construction projects is over. The fast pace of the market, difficulties getting financing (Amsterdam) and controlling building land (Recife) make a more flexible approach essential.

In order to achieve these goals, 'communication' would seem to be the magic word. Communication between architects, commissioners and the city council, and between planners and the public.

In this respect, it is important to have overarching goals that go further than building housing and infrastructure. Improving the quality of water – so omnipresent in both cities – is a good example. Paulien Hartog from Waternet, Amsterdam’s water company, pointed out the importance of connecting water management and city planning. Julien Ineichen, architect in Recife and initiator of the 'I want to swim in the Caipibaribe' project, stressed the importance of making citizens aware of their power but also of their responsibility to improve water quality in Recife.

Karin Westerink from Amsterdam’s Monuments and Archaeology Department observed that heritage is a good topic to get citizens involved in the development of their cities. Heritage represents a city’s historical story and gives a city its unique character.

The second half of the seminar focussed on two projects: the District Park Project in Recife: a student research project in response to a major infrastructural scheme, the 'Via Mangue' (Mangrove highway) and the IJmeer Line, a proposed public transport link between Amsterdam and Almere through IJmeer. A number of comparable conclusions can be drawn from these two schemes. It is of great value to make such large-scale projects more than just infrastructural works. They should be integrated projects that also address issues such as the development of neighbouring districts and the nature areas they pass through.

Over the coming months, the participants in the project will reflect on the themes in greater depth. In discussing the various topics, they will try to grasp the essence of the exchange project: how will Recife and Amsterdam benefit from sharing knowledge and how can they inspire each other to move forward?

Photos: Jan-Dirk van der Burg

Exhibition rXa - Recife Exchange Amsterdam opens at ARCAM, Amsterdam Centre for Architecture, at 14 October 2011

 
Photo: Thiago Pedrosa


ARCAM is presenting the results of a knowledge exchange between Brazilian and Dutch architects regarding future perspectives for Amsterdam and Recife, a city in northeastern Brazil. The exhibition will be opened on 14 October at 17.15, preceded by a seminar.

“We need to go from blueprint to zone planning” (Amsterdam team)
“We need to go from zoning to blueprint planning” (Recife team)
 
Both cities are on the threshold of major changes: In Amsterdam, the economic crisis appears to have put an end to the traditional top-down planning culture once and for all, whereas Recife, by contrast, is searching for ways of lending cohesion to bottom-up driven developments.
A dialogue between the two cities is interesting because of their spatial similarities, born of their historical ties. Recife, originally a Portuguese sea-port, was enlarged by the Dutch in the seventeenth century and, like Amsterdam, is a water city. What can be learned from that so very different city, which was in essence once the same?

With: a brief overview of Amsterdam’s and Recife’s history by means of a visual timeline; four high-profile future projects; short films; T-shirt Exchange (swap your Amsterdam T-shirt for a limited edition rXa shirt from Recife).

14.10.11 Seminar & Opening Exhibition rXa at ARCAM, Amsterdam Centre for Architecture
Location: ARCAM, Prins Hendrikkade 600, Amsterdam, www.arcam.nl
Seminar: 2-5 pm / Opening: 5.15 pm
Admission seminar: € 15
Spoken language: English
Please sign up via arcam@arcam.nl

15.10.11 - 26.11.11 Exhibition rXa - Recife Exchange Amsterdam 
ARCAM, Prins Hendrikkade 600, Amsterdam
Open: Tue-Sat, 1-5 pm
Admission free
www.arcam.nl

The project is organized in cooperation with Brazil expert Paul Meurs, the University of Pernambuco, the municipality of Recife, the state of Pernambuco and the Instituto de Arquitetos do Brasil (IAB, Institute of Brazilian Architects). The Amsterdam advisory board consists of the Amsterdam Planning Department (DRO), the Monuments & Archeology Department (BMA), Waternet and the Department of Infrastructure and Traffic (DIVV).

The project takes place during the Brasil Festival Amsterdam (www.brasilfestival.nl) and the Ano da Holanda no Brasil (Holland year) (www.anodaholandanobrasil.com.br).

 
rXa is powered by Stimuleringsfonds voor Architectuur, het Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, the Brazilian Embassy in the Nederlands, the Dutch Embassy in Brasil and Microsoft.



Flora van Gaalen

From pollution to solution - Video conference # 4 – 05.07.11

During the fourth video conference three mayor issues were discussed: the final student plans on the Via Mangue project, the plan for revitalizing the inner city of Recife and the water situation in Recife. Since the first two subjects were extensively described in earlier posts, we will now focus on the water issue.

In Amsterdam cleaner water and a nice waterfront turn out to be huge assets for the identity of a location and a better liveability of an area. The water also offers opportunities to generate sustainable energy. In all these matters it's very important to have the community involved. How are these things going in Recife?

There is a big problem in Recife with pollution of the surface water by sewage because the sewage system is very basic. Architect Julien Ineichen investigates ways to work on a better sanitation system using architecture. A key thing is to tackle the cultural problem that the Recifens don't seem to care for cleaner water. For this purpose he conducts the campaign 'Eu quero nadar no Capibaribe, e voce?/I want to swim in the Capibaribe, and you?'. Via a website (http://capibaribe.info/, http://swimmingtherivers.net/) and regular events he aims to create a positive identity of the Capibaribe and invites the public to participate.

Paulien Hartog from Waternet is impressed by the project; it seems to be a good initiative to trigger community involvement. The main question if people are willing to change their behaviour, is a challenge in Amsterdam as well. We may have a good 'top-down system' but we have to combine it with bottom-up initiatives. A nice reference are swimming pools in the river like they have in Amsterdam, Kopenhagen and Berlin. People can experience what it would be like to swim in the river.

Regarding the sewerage system in Recife, this should obviously be improved. In Amsterdam we have an efficient system, but because this 'traditional' system is firmly in place, newer, better systems are difficult to implement. Having areas with no system at all is sometimes a good thing, so you can immediately start with realizing the best solutions.

Ana Virginia from COMPESA (Sanitation company of Pernambuco) explains how Recife is working on better water sanitation. The sewerage system is facilitated by Compesa, the public water drainage by the municipality. The two networks sometimes are interconnected – without the owners knowing! - which often leads to overuse. Together with private parties they now are working on a project to provide sewerage for the whole metropolitan region of Recife.

    Hanneke's Boom Amsterdam

A main challenge, both in Recife and in Amsterdam, is how to make sure drainage and sanitation solutions are integrated in urban development.

Flora van Gaalen

Students project: Transforming Via Mangue's territory into a District Park.

In video conference #4 the student's project presented a new concept of how to intervene in the area of study. Since there is a lack of green and public spaces in Boa Viagem and Pina's districts the idea is to expand the mangrove into the city, by transforming these districts into a District Park. The main objective of this concept is to highlight and to create new public and green spaces throughout the area providing a new pleasant environment where the citizens and the city interact.

One of the main challenges of this project is how to trespass the barrier created by the Via Mangue's construction. Although this freeway promises to relief Recife's chaotic traffic, other negative aspects of its design and characteristics must be discussed, such as the fact it does not contemplate public transportation, it mostly blocks the view and the access to the mangrove and it does not present any sustainable solutions.

The students developed ten different macro plans according to the concept of a District Park, indicating possible solutions for social and urban problems, which may already pre-exist or appear as a result of Via Mangue. One of the projects is the one located in a Zone of Special Social Interest (ZEIS). This project's proposal seeks to break high-density blocks and to transform the neighbourhood into an open and healthy space, guarantying a better quality of life the community.

After October's exposition at ARCAM the students intend to expose this project to Recife's City Hall to provoke a debate among the citizens about Recife's urban problems and necessities; projects developed by public/private partnership and, most importantly, what is their opinion and suggestions concerning these subjects.

Amanda Dias, Morgana Lima and Fernanda Lins