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AGONISTIC
CITY
Benjamin Wells
Thesis Programme
2017
The Agonistic City Contents
B e n j a m i n We l l s
2 An Overview
4 An Introduction
6 Compendium
8 1. Agonistic Urbanism
10 2. Material Context
12 3. Organisational Composition
14 4. Architectural Intent
65 Submission
Thesis Programme 2017 65 CV
Tbilisis urban condition has been shaped by many rulers, many conflicting
ideologies and many economic struggles - its continuity lies in its citizens.
Nino Tchatchkhiani. Tbilisi citizen and activist. (Interviewed Oct 2016.)
2
AN INTRODUCTION
4
THE AGONISTIC CITY
COMPENDIUM
1 AGONISTIC URBANISM
Outline of Chapter One
An agonistic arena
The practice of agonistic urbanism is contingent on a responsive
network connecting an assemblage of actors, and a dissensual
space for their conflictual confrontation and negotiation. The
projects core ambition is the design of this arena, exploring
architectures agency in composing and facilitating the emergence
of a polyvocal, agonistic urbanism.
8
2 M AT E R I A L C O N T E X T
O u t l i n e o f C h a p t e r Tw o
Typological parts
In an ambition to compose a meaningful and appropriate
architectural intervention, this program will explore four typological
parts that exist in Tbilisi; the monument, the informal intervention,
the courtyard and the ruin. An abstracted taxonomy of these
typologies reveals socio-political, historical and formal thematics
with which the project engages.
Site centrality
The boundary of the chosen site is somewhat ambiguous, allowing
for both an architectural and urban scale intervention. The primary
spatial object of focus is the ruin of a disused power station, lying
in a prominent location in the centre of the city. The urban strategy
explores a reconnection to the citys river and the duality between
the power station and one of the most significant public squares in
Tbilisi. The program will detail the various fragments of the power
The Great Hall station and offers a visual exploration.
10
3 O R G A N I S AT I O N A L C O M P O S I T I O N
Outline of Chapter Three
Programmatic actualisation
Exhibition / Event Forum Beyond
Council
theCommittee
architectural proposition, confined to the boundaries
of its academic framework, is an ambition to actualise certain
aspects of the project. The program outlines these strategies,
Presentation Debate
including the creation of a website and the potential hosting of a
Discussion
workshop in Tbilisi.
Conference
Cafe / Bar Event space Gallery Lecture Hall
Space
12
4 ARCHITECTURAL INTENT
Outline of Chapter Four
An aesthetics of a(nta)gonism
The presence of a disused power station on the site provokes
many questions that are central to Tbilisis urban discourse.
Namely, what to do with the problem of the citys existing urban
fabric. From accurate reconstruction to unreserved demolition,
the city manifests a whole spectrum of strategies and identities of
transformation. The project intends to resolve a number of these
strategies against the programmatic and formal organisation,
subverting their norms and questioning their validity, resulting in a
meaningful constellation of abstract qualities and characteristics.
A sustainable development
Organising a sustainable form of urban governance is central to the
subsequent formation of a sustainable city. Architectures agency
lies in facilitating, encouraging and protecting the sustainability of
that governance, through an evolving form of urbanism that does
not prescribe generalising rules but mediates individual issues
through negotiation.
14
CHAPTER ONE
The POLITICAL
AGONISTIC URBANISM
i F R O M A N TA G O N I S M T O A G O N I S M
AGONISTIC URBANISM
18
ii EPOCHS OF URBANISM
AGONISTIC URBANISM
Left With the fall of the Soviet Union went the centralised planning
Tbilisis current systems, and the city went into a decade of ad-hoc survival
urban condition is an urbanism. It wasnt until the formation of the 2003 democratic
accumulation of the
material ramifications government that the state really began to engage in the citys
of these conflicting development, but an adoption of radical neoliberal market policies
governance epochs. allowed for developer-led urbanisation to define the citys growth.
Here buildings are
obscured from their
The latter half of the 2000s was characterised by an increasingly
contexts, reflecting politically motivated urbanism, with a host of emblematic projects
their perceived built to project European and progressive ideals.
rejection by the city.
Citizen participation
Tracing this urbanism history leads us to its current position
is widely considered in the domain of administrative representational governance,
as voting for which negates the inherent antagonism of citizen participation
politicians who will
and disregards the contradictory nature of heterogeneous
be assisted by civil
servants. Scientific socio-spatial practices.
experts are useful
to define minimum Whilst the city planning department is increasingly proactive in
regulation that
optimises markets,
restricting urbanisation, it does so through regulation rather than
while minimising political engagement, often resulting in reactionary opposition.
social problems The potential for democratic spatial form actualised through
Citizens participate
a political urbanism is therefore in perpetual conflict with the
by behaving in a
disciplined manner, homogenising tendencies of capitalist urbanisation and the
obeying the laws. 9 consensus of liberalism.
20
iii P R O TA G O N I S T S A N D A N TA G O N I S T S
Private Sector AGONISTIC URBANISM
Online networks
Tbilisi, revealing
a centralised introducing the future protagonists and antagonists of the project.
Tbilisi Heritage Group system around
Green Alternative
Iare Pekhit state organisations, Negotiated conflict
Soviet Past Research with developers
CAMPUS Tbilisi Laboratory and NGOs/
Extensive research, interviewing and mapping revealed the high
Guerilla Gardening
Activists
activists acting
MitOst Do.co.mo.mo Green Fist
independently. apparent that this conflict has very little space in which it can
emerge to be negotiated, utilised or resolved.
Creative Development
Center Association of Georgian
Critical Mass Cycling This suppressed conflict has led to an urban impasse, with a
Architects struggling city hall, disillusioned citizens and exhausted activists
I would rather talk allowing the powers of investor development to continue
Centre for about dissensus than business as usual. NGOs react to specific urban issues in isolation;
resistance.
Contemporary Art this absence of political engagement limits their reaction to
Jacques Rancire
Artforum resistance and prevents a coalescing of these fragmented urban
Non Governmental
International movements into a dissensual urbanism.
22
iv AN AGONISTIC ARENA
Mayors
Office AGONISTIC URBANISM
City Hall
City
Institute
Georgia
Association of
Georgian
Architects
Creative
Do.co.
Development
mo.mo
Center The practice of an agonistic urbanism in Tbilisi is contingent on
Tiflis
Tbilisi two things. Firstly, the establishment of a responsive network
Hamkari
Heritage between an assemblage of urban actors and their particular
Group CAMPUS
Green
Alternative Tbilisi concerns, and secondly, the provision of spaces for conflictual
public encounter and exchange.
Guerilla MitOst
Gardening
The former is vital in releasing urban conflicts (and actors) from
their isolated singularity and connecting them conceptually, and
the latter is required to allow these antagonisms to confront one
Goethe-
Institut Green Fist another in a symbolic and spatial political arena. This network would
Georgia
Ministry of visualise the diversity and complexity of conflict in Tbilisi, and then
Economy facilitate it through a specific spatial condition that grounds it in the
physicality of the city (refer to appendix D-2).
Iare Pekhit
Critical
This is an actor
This arena must allow antagonisms to be manifested and conflicting
Mass
network in the agendas to be negotiated between a diverse constellation of actors.
Parliament Latourian sense, To transcend the potential paralysis of hostility, this antagonism
Urban
as it recognises must be mediated through frameworks and spaces that aim to
Reactor the impact of
particular urban reach productive resolutions, moving beyond antagonism to an
objects on social agonistic urbanism.
networks, through
both material and
semiotic relations.
If Georgia is committed to the democracy project, then it seems
an apt moment to consider widening and diversifying this field of
Left actors to allow a polyvocal, conflictual urban politics to emerge.
Tbilisis urban This plethora of formalised and scalar conflicts, connected by a
actors, located
Soviet Past geographically.
responsive network and hosted by designed dissensual spaces,
Research Lab The size of circle could constitute a truly democratic, agonistic urbanism.
relates to perceived
influence, and
City Council The project intends to respond to this appeal, exploring
the map reveals
contentious architectures agency in composing an arena for negotiated conflict,
City Assembly buildings/areas. and through doing so expand and empower Tbilisis field of actors.
Caucasus
Environmental
ICOMOS NGO 24
CHAPTER TWO
The PHYSICAL
M AT E R I A L C O N T E X T
i THE (REAL AND IMAGINED) CITY
M AT E R I A L C O N T E X T
Core aims of
From Stability
to Sustainability,
Real
the proposed Tbilisis urban condition has reached a point of crisis, with vehicular
masterplan: (de)connectivity, anarchic urban sprawl, severe air pollution and
Polycentrism a significant lack of public space or greenery. Vast numbers of
Urban ecology
Connectivity buildings are deemed structurally unstable, and the few state-
Sustainable initiated reconstruction projects have been denounced as superficial
development pastiche with a disregard for internal use. Many districts are marked
Public space
City identity
by the effects of dirty urbanism - speculative housing built without
regard to urban quality or social cohesion - juxtaposed against
emblematic, politically-charged (and often unused) monuments.
Left
The project will critique some of the masterplans key aims
A mapping of by testing their validity through a condensed, highly specific
the proposed architectural intervention, thus connecting the city with the
masterplan, based
particular, or urbanism with architecture. Through manifesting
on an interview with
the author. some of the ambitions of an urban vision, the project allows
Refer to appendix C. for a critical debate surrounding their limitations and potential.
28
ii T Y P O L O G I C A L PA R T S
M AT E R I A L C O N T E X T
The Monument
The Informal
Intervention
The Courtyard
The Ruin
The Square The centre of Tbilisi, in which the chosen site lies, is rich in
The Dwelling
architectural complexity and opposition - the marks of its turbulent
The Street
The Market history inscribed into its urban fabric. The following taxonomy
The River introduces several primary spatial components, as each reveals
The Mountain socio-political, material and programmatic thematics with which
the project engages.
30
THE MONUMENT
M AT E R I A L C O N T E X T
Left
The repetition of the
Soviet microrayon
Gldani. The centre of the city is scattered with monuments representing
Right the ideals of various conflicting ideologies. This proliferation
Vision of Batumi
Exhibited at
reveals Tbilisis long held belief in the power of individual
Saakashvilis projects as tools of urbanisation. Whether developer-led
Presidential Library projects or politically motivated emblematic icons, these
buildings strive to be liberated from their context, disregarding
the city as the incidental product of their amalgamation. This
negation of responsibility limits urban politics.
32
THE INFORMAL INTERVENTION
M AT E R I A L C O N T E X T
Left
Balconies, extensions
and interventions
are typical of Tbilisis
architecture
34
c
T H E C O U R T YA R D
M AT E R I A L C O N T E X T
Left
Old Tbilisi
courtyards
36
THE RUIN
M AT E R I A L C O N T E X T
38
iii URBAN CENTRALITY
M AT E R I A L C O N T E X T
7
The project site has been strategically selected for its centrality
within both the urban field and the networks of power affecting
it. The site boundary is intentionally ambiguous, absorbing both
an architectural and urban area, whilst bridging a gentle turn
in the Kura (Mtkvari) river around which the city has grown.
The primary architectural enquiry focuses on the existence of a
disused power station, striking in its centrality and abandoned
monumentality. The surrounding urbanity hosts the fragmented
1
diversity of dwellings, the linear divisions of rivers and roads, the
imposed standardisation of reconstruction, contentious monuments
8 and failed public space.
8 Despite its qualities, the river has been disconnected from the
7
city by major roads on both its banks, rendering it inaccessible
2 and unusable, and this dominance of the car confines pedestrian
4 movement to particular routes. The power station exemplifies
this; an island surrounded by major circulation routes but itself
an introverted and static space. Two of these major axis routes,
Agmashenebeli and Rustaveli Avenues, run parallel to the river
Left / above along the periphery of the site. These streets have been the focus of
Site and context extensive reconstruction projects in recent years, and subsequently
the object of much social, political and material conflict.
1. Disused power
1 7 station (main site)
2. Rose Revolution Opposite the power station lies Rose Revolution square, one
Sq. (ancillary site) of the most important and contentious spaces in Tbilisi. Its
3. Rustaveli Metro St
morphology has been in perpetual flux, and is now occupied by
4. Rustaveli Av.
5. Mtatsminda Mt. a major roundabout above a sprawling underground network of
6. The Dry Bridge brothels and nightclubs. The square and the power station have
3 2 7. Agmashenebeli Av. a duality which is central to the project; the concentration of
8. Kura River
antagonism manifested in the square sits in direct opposition to
the forgotten void of the power station.
8
Right
The view towards Rose
Revolution Square
from the site. The
Radisson Blue Hotel
can be seen on the
5 left, with Mtatsminda
Mt in the background.
40
42
iii THE MONUMENT AS VOID
M AT E R I A L C O N T E X T
44
iii SITE FRAGMENTS
M AT E R I A L C O N T E X T
Central Hall - the power station, and the site, gravitate around an
impressive central hall, once hosting the main generators. This void
is contained within a solid perimeter wall with only two ground
5 level openings and several apertures at roof level. Its containment
affords it a concave spatiality that is reminiscent of the courtyard
typology discussed. The halls monumental character has the
potential to become an urban room, protected by its introversion
but negotiable as a defined public space.
4
Connected frame (ruin) - behind the solid mass of the central halls
southern wall is a supporting form which is marked by various states
2 of decay. By its perimeter edge it has become a ruinous frame with
6
only columns and floors remaining.
Left & Below
1. Central Hall Ancillary buildings
5 2. Secondary Hall
3. Inhabited wall
5
4. Connected frame
Urban landscape - these buildings are connected by an intermediate
5. Ancillary buildings territory, and an area that once had direct connection to the river.
6. Urban landscape
7. Kura River
8. Rose Revolution Sq
2 1 3 6 7 8 46
48
CHAPTER THREE
T h e P R O G R A M M AT I C
ORGANISATIONAL COMPOSITION
NGOs
Providing updated facilities for i P R O G R A M M AT I C C O M P O S I T I O N
Archive Central Historical Archive of - Tbilisi Forum for Architecture
O R G A N I S AT I O N A L C O M P O S I T I O N
Knowledge
Office space
physical space for small scale urban actors. This facilitates
Lecture hall for presentations on
Lecture Hall proposed developments, arising
collaboration, negotiation and conflict.
conflicts, Tbilisi history etc.
Study spaces Discussion - a series of conference spaces and lecture halls facilitate
a broadened discussion on urban issues.
Amenity (economy)
Cafe / Bar
Flexible space for large scale Meeting spaces Debate - the central principle of the organisation, providing
Forum discussions, debates, events,
presentations. a range of discursive spaces across various scales. An elected
Debate / Negotiation
Flexible exhibition space for Economy - a cafe and a hotel provide amenities for visitors and
Pedestrian
Main Exhibition architectural pavilions, art users, as well as offering a financial viability which the organisation
Bridge
installations, city models, 1:1
models could not function without (the organisation would likely be funded
Sharing / Presentation
Urban
52
Organisational arrangement
Processional flow ii A N A G O N I S T I C O R G A N I S AT I O N
Hotel Economy
O R G A N I S AT I O N A L C O M P O S I T I O N
Research Knowledge
Introspective
Office space
Archive
Studio
Workshops Study spaces
Spaces
The main exhibition hall Introverted spatiality of the library and archive
Conference
Cafe / Bar Event space Gallery Lecture Hall
Space
Urban
Extrospection
City
Bridge
54
Tbilisi iii P R O G R A M M AT I C A C T U A L I S AT I O N
City O R G A N I S AT I O N A L C O M P O S I T I O N
TCF Forum
HOME NEWS NETWORK ARCHIVE FORUM MAPPING
Proposed Reconstruction
Agmashenebeli Avenue Workshop
Old Tbilisi - Lost Heritage There is an ambition to return to Tbilisi to supervise a workshop
Pedestrianising Tbilisi
exploring some of the projects thematics. These discussions could
More...
vary in scales as the project does, ranging from larger urban issues
Most discussed
such as the impending masterplan, to negotiations regarding the
Old Tbilisi - Lost Heritage
site specific architectural interventions of the project. This would
Air Pollution at record high
actualise the political potential of the project - creating a temporal
Panorama Protests
More...
Left arena for a tangible and critical discussion between a diverse range
A mockup of the
of actors.
proposed website,
showing the news This aspect of the ongoing project is undeveloped but there is a
Links
page and forum. clear benefit and therefore aspiration in pursuing it.
56
The POLITICAL CHAPTER FOUR
THE PHYSICAL
T h e P R O G R A M M AT I C ARCHITECTURAL INTENT
i TOWARDS AN AGONISTIC ARCHITECTURE?
ARCHITECTURAL INTENT
The primary The project intends to resolve the thematics introduced in this
procedure of
aesthetics as a form of
program - political, formal and programmatic - through architecture.
politics consists in the A critical response to Tbilisis current urban paradigm will be
creation of possible developed not through generalising rules for urbanism, but rather
encounters, which be expressing an ambiguous but intentional field of possibilities
lead in their turn to
a conflict between through a specific architectural composition. The programmatic
heterogeneous arrangement will be tested against the political thematics, and
elements. resolved against the specific formal context in an iterative design
Roemer van Toorn
Aesthetics as Form of
process.
Politics 13
The project aims to create an arena in which the conflicts of the city
can confront one another within the particularities of the site; an
agonistic urbanism developed through political form. This arena is
dependent on a range of discursive spaces - from the expanse of
the forum to the intimacy of a studio niche - to allow for a relational
polity that might intensify a dissensual practice.
60
i i A N A E S T H E T I C S O F A ( N TA ) G O N I S M
ARCHITECTURAL INTENT
The city, and its The projects compositional logic will be an abstraction of the
architecture would
be...a coincidentia
disparate typological fragments aforementioned, creating an
oppositorum - that ensemble of architectural identities rather than a singular form.
is, the coincidence, This intends to express the diversity embedded in both the
or composition, of programmatic organisation and the urban fabric, through an
not just different
parts but opposing indeterminacy of form, or an openness as discussed by Umberto
ones, which leads to Eco. This indeterminacy is both architectural and programmatic,
a critical unity. offering a negotiability through its informality. Perhaps the existing
Pier Vittorio Aureli
The Possibility
ruin has an openness in its sensual materiality, and architectures
of an Absolute role is thus to frame it, to direct it toward alternate possibilities.
Architecture 16 Chipperfields Neues Museum restoration in Berlin provides a clear
example of this; its geometric framing gives direction to the layers
of history inscribed in the existing building, without imposing a
singular meaning.
62
i i i A S U S TA I N A B L E D E V E L O P M E N T
ARCHITECTURAL INTENT
64
CV
Academic qualifications
Professional experience
APPENDICES
Copenhagen, Denmark
68
B - 1 TIFLIS HAMKARI B - 2 TBILISI DEVELOPMENT FUND
U R B A N A C T O R C ATA L O G U E U R B A N A C T O R C ATA L O G U E
They consider the Tiflis Hamkari, the union of Tbilisi caretakers, is one of the most active Various NGOs have Tbilisi Development Fund was set up by Tbilisi City Hall, through
mains problems highlighted the lack
facing Tbilisi as:
NGOs in Tbilisi, working through a Culture Education Program and of transparency of
which they channel state funds for reconstruction and rehabilitation
a Public Monitoring and Advocacy Program to engage citizens and the development projects across Tbilisi. The development fund acts as a project
1. The non- hold officials accountable. There vision for the city: fund and its use of manager, employing a series of contractors to undertake construction
transparent and -- Tbilisi as a city where urban historic and cultural heritage is City Hall funding, as works.
inaccessible well as questioning
decision-making protected. the quality of
process. -- A city where development and modernisation are undertaken with reconstruction both The funds completed projects include part of Agmashenebeli
respect to historical and cultural values, in accordance with European tectonically and Avenue and much of the historic Old Tbilisi. Ongoing projects include
2. The passive and historical accuracy.
uninformed citizens;
standards and active legislation. a second part of Agmashenebeli, central areas connecting this with
indifference towards -- A city that is governed by accountable, local authorities. the Old Town, and Gudiashvili Square. The connections of these
a common living -- A city in which inhabitants are actively interested in and involved in areas aims to create a tourist route through the city, which is largely
space and cultural urban development, particularly in the protection and preservation of pedestrianised and reconstructed.
historical heritage.
Tbilisis unique, authentic urban environment and cultural heritage.
Agmashenebeli Agmashenebeli
Avenue Avenue
Dry Bridge
Market
Endangered
Monuments
Aleksandr
Pushkin Street
Tbilisi Old
Town
70
B-3 GEORGIAN RECONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT B - 4 TBILISI CITY HALL
U R B A N A C T O R C ATA L O G U E U R B A N A C T O R C ATA L O G U E
ArtArea, the small GRDC is one of the major developers in Tbilisi, with an extensive land City Hall have Tbilisi City Hall is one of the major actors influencing Tbilisis urban
arts organisation a lot of hope
currently occupying
and building portfolio. They focus on commercial (office) and retail invested in the new
development. Their work includes: land use zoning, planning
one of the ancillary real estate development. Two of their major completed projects are masterplan, which applications, construction permits, sustainability, research.
buildings on the the regeneration of the Science Academy on Rustaveli Avenue (into they commissioned.
site, has previously ground floor retail and office space) and the central station. Whilst much of their A Council determines all of City Halls political decisions, which until
proposed a work has attempted
development of the to contain recently has been made up entirely of City Hall representatives.
power station into They have a number of key sites across Tbilisi, including the cinema uncontrolled This has now changed to include invited experts, NGOs and citizen
an arts centre. city area on Agmashenebeli, as well as the disused power station urbanisation, they representatives, marking a shift in City Halls agenda - an increased
GRDC were hope that the
very interested,
opposite Rose Revolution Square (for which the project proposes a masterplan will set a
interest in engaging citizens in urban development issues.
but unable to use). clear agenda for the
justify financially. city, allowing them However, it is still very rare that City Halls processes are made
The project will to become more transparent to the wider public, apart from in rare cases when there is
therefore propose prescriptive for the
an alternative. citys benefit. a strong public protest / reaction.
Cinema City
(in process)
Power Station
National Sciences
Academy
72
C F R O M S TA B I L I T Y T O S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
MASTERPLAN
City Assembly Implement policy
City Hall Commission research Prof. Dr. Merab Bolkvadze (Interviewed October 2016)
Urban Planner
Partners
Albert Speer & Partner City Institute Georgia Alfred Peter From Stability to Sustainability - key aims:
Architects and Planners Urban Planners Urbanists
Polycentrism
Dr Brenner Tbilisi State University Caucasus Environmental Urban Ecology
Engineers NGO Network Connectivity
Sustainable Development
Public Space
Consultants
City Identity
Steinbeis Tbilisi Group Fraunhofer
Academic Institute Surveyors Research Institute
Left The proposed masterplan, due to be released in April 2017, creates
Diagram revealing a pivotal moment in Tbilisis development. It is the first time since the
the organisations
involved in drafting
Soviet Union that Tbilisi will have a clear urban development plan, a
Citizens
Community workshops the masterplan. definitive direction for its evolution. As a result, there is much hope
invested in the success of this masterplan.
The project aims to test some of the key aims of the impending
masterplan, such as sustainable development and urban ecology,
to become a case study for future development. It also offers a
critique of the logic of masterplanning, reflecting on its past failures
and rather offering a site specific architectural intervention that
becomes representational of the city at large. Can an architectural
Left project manifest certain values, project certain ideals, that
A map presenting influence continued urbanism in a more direct and effective way
the key strategies that the totality of masterplanning?
of the masterplan,
based on empirical
research and The following four pages detail some of the key aims of the masterplan,
interviews and explore their relation to the project.
74
C-1 P O LY C E N T R I S M C - 2 URBAN ECOLOGY
MASTERPLAN MASTERPLAN
One of the key recommendations of the masterplan is to create Another of the masterplans key aims is to define a limiting urban
a series of new urban centres across the city - nine new nodes boundary, to restrict future urbanisation from encroaching on the
of civic activity (marked in red). Each new centre will contain all surrounding landscapes.
of the basic civic requirements for the local population, such as The area marked in grey on the map below shows this defined
green areas, schools, a cultural centre, administration functions boundary condition. All areas in white, such as along the river and in
and medical facilities. the surrounding hills, are to be preserved as natural landscape. No
future development will be permitted in these areas, and will rather
City Institute Georgia have carried out extensive research to identify focus on densifying existing urban areas, especially ex-industrial areas
what programs each area currently contains, and what it needs to (see overleaf).
The project is make it self-sufficient as an urban centre. The recommendations are
located within the therefore unique to each geographical area, but all with the intention The river should turn into the uniting element of the city instead
The project
existing city centre, of decentralising the city and subsequently reducing social and proposes a river
of the separating barrier - Dr. Merab Bolkvadze
consolidating
its resources for wealth inequality. park alongside
connection to the reopening of One of main problems facing the city is the lack of greenery, there
all of the new The population size and demographic of each area defines what a green area on is currently just 3sqm of greenery per person, whilst international
centres through the adjacent site,
its embodiment of
the proposed centre will contain, following widely used European creating an urban guidelines suggest 13sqm. To begin tackling this problem, the
the masterplans standards. Investors will be invited to develop these areas under state ecology within the masterplan proposes a green artery running along the river edge
ambitions. guidance, and it is therefore vital that private interest is mediated with centre of the city. through the entire city.
the citys new agenda but forward by the masterplan.
76
C - 3 S U S TA I N A B L E D E V E L O P M E N T C - 4 CONNECTIVITY
MASTERPLAN MASTERPLAN
Another focus of the masterplan is the definition of ex-industrial Transport and connectivity is a critical issue facing Tbilisi, with
brownfield areas across the city that are to be prioritised for exponential car ownership leading to almost constant gridlock
future development. These areas (in grey) are focused along the traffic.
railway line (red), as well as many ex-industrial sites in the South
East of the city. The masterplan proposes two main road arteries running through
the city, concentrating the current sprawl of major roads into
The railway running through the city is one of the most contentious key axis. There will be two highways running North - South, one
issues in discussions on Tbilisis development; it is used primarily to the West of the river (using existing roads but increasing the
for cargo trains and very few passengers trains. As this is clearly not concentration and flow of the traffic) and another along the East of
efficient, there has long been an aspiration to move the cargo railway the railway line. This will reduce traffic in the city centre, and allow
to the East of Tbilisi Sea, freeing up valuable land in the city and access to the river along its East bank (from which the project takes
The project takes
The project uniting currently disconnected districts. advantage of
advantage).
focuses on the
the relocation
redevelopment
of an ex-industrial
The foundation of the future General Plan and the largest scale of the East bank In addition, there are proposals for roads that are exclusively
building, and project of Tbilisis urban development will be the relocation of the highway, allowing for public transport, improving the use and efficiency of public
a reconnection to
therefore aims to existing railway. - Dr. Merab Bolkvadze the river with a park, transport, and a subsequent discouragement of private vehicle use.
become a case
pedestrian bridge
study for future
development The masterplan works on the assumption that the railway will be and promenade.
moved, and therefore proposes extensive development along its
former route.
78
A Post-Political Paradigm D - 1 An Agonistic Democratic Politics
T H E O R E T I C A L E X P L O R AT I O N
Georgias expeditious adoption of both democracy and capitalism has constructed
a complex ideological contradiction; conflict and negotiation on the one hand, and
individualism, consensus and the apolitical on the other.
As explored by Rancire, iek and Mouffe, the contemporary city has entered a post-
political condition, where political space is retreating whilst social space is increasingly
colonised or sutured by consensual techno-managerial policies.17 This trend towards
consensus is built on the acceptance of the capitalist market and the liberal state as the
organisational foundations of society, thus negating the need for the political18. Mouffe
argues that the uncontested hegemony of liberalism prevents us from thinking politically,
as political questions are defined as technical questions to be solved by experts and
algorithms, not confrontation and negotiation. The dominant tendencies of liberalism
are rationalistic and individualistic, which are unable to comprehend the pluralistic
nature of society and its inherent contradictions. Liberalism may accept the existence of
conflicting views and values, but only when they coalesce into a harmonious ensemble An Agonistic Urbanism
through rational consensus, therefore diminishing all antagonism.
Considering the crisis of the contemporary city, Mouffe, Swyngedouw and Aureli discuss
Rancire, iek and Mouffe all agree that these conditions have led to an almost the potential of agonistic urban politics in resisting the post-political condition outlined
universal post-political era, and its reinstatement is dependent on an understanding above. This agonistic network of governance would allow conflicting hegemonies
of the unconditional primacy of the inherent antagonism as constitutive of the to confront one another, desiring an end to conflict but also with an acceptance of
political. 19 Mouffe expands on this understanding through her discussion of the its perpetual existence, therefore providing an arena where differences can be
hegemonic nature of every social order, which is therefore always challenged by confronted22 and channelled into productive outcomes. Mouffe argues that this arena
counter hegemonies. She argues that this struggle is central to a vibrant democracy, is vital in resisting the hegemony of liberalism and its rejection of the political.
and is the configuration of power relations around which society is structured.20 Swyngedouw advocates for symbolic spaces for dissensual public encounter and
exchange23; a multitude of social spaces, both material and metaphorical, that embody
However, this ideal contrasts the reality of the post-ideological consensus, where an agonistic model of democratic politics even if they do not yet sit within the context
politics is reduced to social administration and every contradiction is excluded through of a larger agonistic political structure. Artistic and architectural intervention only has
post-democratic governmental techniques. This follows the Foucauldian concept of power in resisting the total social mobilisation of capitalism24 if its field is expanded
governmentality as a technique of governance; a regulatory practice which replaces to engage with a broad spectrum of social spaces and a diversified network of actors,
conflict with technocratic approaches that promote unanimity and consensus21. If a including a more meaningful inclusion of citizens and their right to reshape the processes
vibrant democracy is defined by the balance of two lines of power - of representation of urbanisation. Particular intervention must be built on an understanding of the political
and of participation - then the processes of governmentality heavily emphasises the in its antagonistic dimension as well as the contingent nature of any type of social order,
power of representation; the institutionalised process of elected representatives that and therefore requires a close examination of the specific political and social contexts.
revokes the requirement for citizen participation, and thus antagonistic conflict.
The Context of Tbilisi
Tbilisis processes of urban governance have traversed several distinct phases in the past
three decades, revealing marked shifts of power between urban actors and therefore
providing interesting material for an analysis of (realised and potential) agonistic urban
politics. Tbilisis current condition is an accumulation of the material effects of these
conflicting governance epochs, dense with the ideological ruins of Socialism, parodied
democracy and a failing neoliberal order.
This essay explores various epochs of urban governance through an exploration of the
shifts of power between the state, citizens and market and their relevant actors. This
analysis of power negotiation and its inherent antagonism aims to explore whether the
field of actors could, or even should, expand to allow for citizens to have a greater
role in Tbilisis urban evolution, and whether this would constitute a more democratic
agnostic urbanism.
80
D - 2 To w a r d s a n A g o n i s t i c U r b a n i s m ?
T H E O R E T I C A L E X P L O R AT I O N
The history of urban conflict can be traced to its current position in the domain of
administrative representational governance, which negates the inherent antagonism of
citizen participation and disregards the contradictory nature of heterogenous socio-
spatial practices. This post-political condition, as outlined by the several contemporary
philosophers such as Chantal Mouffe and Jacques Rancire, has allowed the hegemony
of liberalist ideology to prevail, and its material ramifications now define Tbilisis urbanity.
The mapping of these failures has suggested that successful urban governance is
reliant on proactive state institutions that define and enforce relevant policy and
guidelines, coupled with an active civil society which responds to these impositions,
through a critical and formalised network that facilitates participation between the
state, the market and citizens.
The weighting of power between these entities should be in perpetual flux, but is
contingent on this connection to ensure the democratic challenging of hegemonies - The practice of agonistic urbanism in Tbilisi is contingent on two things. Firstly, the
the confrontation central to a vibrant democracy and politics proper. provision of spaces for conflictual public encounter and exchange and secondly, the
establishment of a bridging, responsive network between urban actors and their
The field of urban actors is indeed expanding, with both governmental bodies and civil particular concerns.
society increasingly responding to urban issues, thus suggesting that the dilemma lies
not in the lack of antagonism but in the lack of facilitation of this antagonism. Many local The latter is vital in releasing urban conflicts (and actors) from their isolated singularity
actors highlighted the absence of a platform between the state, private sector and civil and connecting them conceptually, and the former is required to allow these
society through which to facilitate discussion and negotiate conflict regarding urban antagonisms to confront one another in a symbolic and spatial political arena. A network
issues. This is exemplified by the fact that citizens will react strongly to tangible socio- of this kind would make apparent and visualise the diversity and complexity of conflict
spatial concerns but do not engage with the scale of urban design which creates them, in Tbilisis urban politics, which must then be facilitated by space (both material and
due to the lack of bridging of this scalar void. metaphorical) that grounds it in the physicality of the city and allows the negotiation of its
contradictions. These spaces are not centralised, but a multiplicity of discursive surfaces
It is it clear that this absence of connectivity, between both actors and issues, is central across a spectrum of scales and platforms which are in constant flux. This arena must
to the crisis of contemporary Tbilisi. The resulting lack of communication presents itself allow representation and participation to meet, conflicting agendas to negotiate and
as the main obstacle to a more democratic, agonistic urban governance. antagonism between a diverse network of actors to be manifested, creating a common
discourse. To transcend the potential paralysis of hostility, this antagonism must be
The conflict that makes itself heard is in unproductive forms, in isolated incidences, mediated through frameworks and spaces that aim to reach productive resolutions,
and must be understood as within a system which strives to subdue its contradictions moving beyond antagonism to an agonistic urbanism.
into an idealised and abstracted consensus, reducing its political potential. To move
from reactionary to meaningful and transformative participation between urban actors, If Georgia is committed to the democracy project, then it seems an apt moment
the voids between them must be bridged, built on an acceptance of the antagonism to consider widening and diversifying this field of actors to allow a polyvocal,
inherent to their plurality. Whilst this urban politics would be dense with contradiction conflictual urban politics to emerge. This plethora of formalised and scalar conflicts,
and conflict, it is essential in its ability to open up space in which a more egalitarian and connected by a responsive network and hosted by designed dissensual spaces,
inclusive city could be imagined and created. could constitute a truly democratic, agonistic urbanism.
84
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