Musings

Our century is the urban century - a century in which the balance between the urban and rural has been tipped, with more than half of the world's population now living in cities. It is also a century characterized by an unprecedented urbanization that has affected both urban form and urban life, and a century where the role of urban design has never been so intensified - and so urgent. This book explores emergent theories and practices relating to urban design in order to understand current processes of urbanization better and to intervene in built environments with a focus on the quality of life within them. Through a series of articles and projects, Musings - An Urban Design Anthology brings together researchers, practitioners, and students with the aim of providing a multilayered and nuanced perspective on the discipline of urban design. The book explores a number of optics through which urban design can be reflected upon and ways in which the contemporary built environment can be intervened with. In this way, the book navigates new frontiers in search of a better understanding of emerging urban culture. This journey presents a varied account of the urban design field through chapters that reveal core themes framing both the theoretical and practical challenges of contemporary urbanity: a) Performativity, b) Mobility, c) Transformation, and d) Design and Method. Illustrating the direct relationship between research and teaching, the book investigates these themes through research and the project work of students at both the Bachelor and Masters level of urban design at Aalborg University. The book also encourages continued discussion in the field of urban design through this - a contribution of our musings.