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uring his talk Human Future of Cities and Liquid Society, Jorge Alonso, head of business development at the architecture firm Chapman Taylor in Spain and Latin America, explained that the future of cities is directly linked to people's behavior. Furthermore, the architect assured that the Covid-19 crisis is functioning as "an update" of our internal software. For this reason, he advocates for the concept "we are one" that unites people with the city, the community, and the planet.
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In this way, the technological revolution has a social component, since "it is a tool to achieve our improvement objectives." Always bearing in mind that "we must not lose the human essence," the architect from the international firm Chapman Taylor assures that we are in a "liquid society" where the physical and virtual mix and for which adaptability, service, team management, and critical thinking will be key components.
The current crisis represents an unbeatable opportunity to achieve the ultimate goal: "to live in the city I want, in the house I want, and with the people I want."In this relationship between people and the city, Alonso advocates for developing "EcoVillages", smaller cities built efficiently and sustainablythat help recover the concept of "village." It also makes clear that "a city will not be smart if it is not human first. To do this, it emphasizes thecollaborative urbanism, in which architects listen to the needs of citizens before building the city. In this way, "everyone will have something to say" and the city will become "a living element that reflects the people who live in it."
To achieve this, it is vital to promote the idea of "community" as a basis for building the relationship between people and the city. Alonso points out concepts such as "build to rent" which is spreading in some cities around the world. According to him, it is about finding the "house where I want to live, not where I can live." Thus, rental residential complexes are created for specific communities: sports lovers, video game enthusiasts, elderly people, etc.
All of this with the aim of regenerating cities so that they have their own "identity" and help preserve the planet. And, according to the expert, the current crisis represents an unbeatable opportunity to achieve the ultimate goal: "to live in the city I want, in the house I want and with the people I want."
The architect was one of the three Inspirational Speakers who participated during the first day of BNEW, the major event for economic reactivation organized by the Zona Franca Consortium.