Flying Kites in the Ghetto

flying kites in the ghetto an approach to urban liminality roberto OVALLE http://linesinthebackground.wordpress.com/ The problem The method The forecast Today Lines of flight Tomorrow Rosengård is home for 22.000 people, many of whom Introduced by Deleuze and Guattari, I read this concept When a person moves to another country, what do they want? endured wars, the death of loved ones, ethnic as the trail left by a person throughout their life. As Do they want things for free and the never-ending sympathy violence and days, weeks or years of walking, individual beings, no two lines of flight can be the of their new countrymen? hiding in train wagons, human smuggling rings same: they are the marks of our experience in life. and the like, before arriving here. As an immigrant myself, I believe that what one needs in 1. How does a community reflect the lines of flight of their adoptive countries, is the tools to make a life for To paraphrase Mustafa Can, exile is both a bless- its inhabitants? oneself... ing and a curse: being in Sweden implies that one has escaped the circumstances which forced the 2. Is a graffiti-bombed wall an act of vandalism, or a ...an education, a job. migration, but more often than not, one is faced manifestation of territoriality? with a set of barriers: Next to social strategy and public housing façade paint- 3. Can the lines of flight extend and fill the spaces in jobs, a person ultimately wants to achieve self-determina- - discrimination in different levels between and buildings of Rosengård? tion, the chance to decide and the opportunity to fullfill - isolation your own goals in your own way in a dignifying way. - lack of skills in the Swedish language Background - slow adaptation to the new culture Following a proverb: - unemployment Following Sartre, people are defined for what they do. Using space as a tool than as a solution, lines of flight “Give a man a fish and you feed him once; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” How can this gap be bridged? become evident in everyday life. Experience is what architecture does. Allow people to help themselves. 01

02 Background The Million Programme “when you move in to Rosengård it’s not only a move in to the city, you move in to the modern time” advertising slogan The “Chinese Wall” of Kryddgården: each of these two buildings is 250m long Impersonal architecture: buildings that look all the same are found across hundreds of The plan of Rosengård is characteristic of modernism, with sectorized functions, vast and 9 stories high. They are currently used as student homes. meters. In which one do you live? open areas and a well-defined centre. Modernism in the 1960’s Futurism and disenchantment White flight and substitution In the 1960’s, Sweden faced a large Rosengård was initially seen as futuristic. Residents soon moved out. The balance of housing deficit. white Swedes arriving and leaving continues Its first residents were mostly white being negative. The social democratic govern- Swedes. One third of them came from Malmö ment started a programme to build and the surroundings. Compared to 1971, by 1991 Rosengård was 20- 1.000.000 new homes in 10 years. 25% under-occupied. Rosengård was one such effort. However, reality soon stroke. The architecture was abrupt and oppresive, green areas However, wars (from both Europe and else- Known as The Million Programme, were largely empty and the buildings were where), famine, the search for a better life it ultimately built 1.000.006 new regarded as gray boxes. and other events brought new residents to homes. Many of these were det- the buildings of Rosengård. tached, single-family dwellings. Due to cases like Rosengård’s, the Mil- Others were apartment blocks, lion Programme stopped building high-rise Rosengård is especially vulnerable to global which were cheap to build though apartment blocks. events. often at the expense of aesthetics and human scale. Rosengård became the future that wasn’t. Rosengård is often on the news due to its riots. The last was this year. The new tenants: attraction/rejection 1 2 3 Migration in Scandinavia yearly average 2003 - 2007 per 1.000 inhabitants Avoid this place!* *Or so I was warned. the black veil In the heart of it all, yet separated by a black veil After the white Swedish population began to leave Rosengård, the neighborhood became underpopulated. By 1991, it was 20% under its cur- rent capacity. However, wars, famine and other international crises saw the arrival in Sweden of thousands of refugees, asylum seekers and other kinds of migrants. Many of them ended up in Rosengård. Progressively, the once-futuristic neighborhood became a ghetto with its set of foreign, non-Western habits. Despite being only 10min away from downtown Malmö, Rosengård became increasingly isolated from <0 Swedish life, and today it is a place that some avoid, others ignore and relatively few know in detail. 0,0-2,5 When you come to Sweden and end up in places like this, can you call it home? 2,5-5,0 5,0-10,0

03 The Human Element Who lives where? I’ll Yugoslavia An excercise in sticking together exce Bosnia The biggest minorities give Denmark in Rosengård’s districts Turkey my ch Yugoslavia Poland e sid Lebanon ild out Iraq ren a y pla Bosnia Somalia an bette s c kid r Yugoslavia Iraq y e m life .. We Bosnia Yugoslavia b. her fi Iraq Denmark jo e w na Lebanon Bosnia lac ll a Aghanistan Poland y is A p le nt I j ft ust Yugoslavia wa th cou Bosnia e I ldn wa l ’t Iraq Iraq Al aff r ord Poland be Lebanon n! Lebanon to hi Ma liv Afghanistan nd e i Yugoslavia n C Yugoslavia Somalia ope nha Denmark gen Poland any mor Macedonia e Lebanon # Rosengård Malmö % of the population under 24 44 29 Young and unemployed % of unemployed 6 3 Mi ll io n Pr og ra mm e Mi ll io n Pr og 30 ra mm 4 e Pr e- 47 Mi 39 ll io 7 50 n Pr 6 og ra 7 An x-ray of the new Swedes mm e 34 57 44% of the population is under 24; a majority are women but they are less visible in the streets. 6 7 Th 86% of the nearly 22.000 people here are first or second 32 po e y generation Swedes; white Swedes continue to leave. un pul oun 3 em at ge pl ed st The average person lives in Rosengård some 5 years; most oy , ed and mo units can be rented but not owned. mo st Why be in a place you can’t own? st Scholarity and employment lag behind Malmö’s average. 20% less people finish high school in Rosengård. Many arrived as refugees from armed conflicts from countries like Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan etc. Football is very popular: FC Barcelona and Sweden National Here’s the p Team striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic hails from Rosengård. otential! Parents and children: the other gap When families migrate, a dichotomy is often present: while parents may feel lonely and have trouble learning the language or habits of their new land and find their culture to be relegated, migrant children (if they are young enough) will often adapt quickly to their new land, and might consider it their true home, over their country of origin. How does this gap feel? ns form a t o tr How into a ce silen this on? of p roducti lan dscape To close, I will say that silence would be a brutal denial. A silence that is now my curse and my punishment. Til slutt vil jeg si at stillhet vil være en brutal fornektelse. En stillhet som nå blir min forbannelse og straff. Mustafa Can

04 The neighborhood Divide and use: functions in space The soft walls Where have all the teachers gone? Meet me at the crossroads Spiritual growth Sports facilities Open areas Places for education Residential areas Commerce Major road Intersection Worship Agriculture Religious land Open areas: cushion between the Kids go to school, but Trade is almost non-existant Activities of growth require Million Programme and Malmö. schools stay away from them. away from the main roads. a pilgrimage. The feeling of being there 1 2 3 1 Key Plan Scheme Hot and Limit and connection 2 cold 2 3 Shade The fortress: building as boundary 1 3 Wind & turbulence 1 Strangers confined. 2 Inner garden. 3 No-Man’s land. The three Rosengårds South North 01 02 Monoliths in the desert Rosengård 3. in Disconnection nection 2. Inhuman scale 5 concepts 1. Lack 4. Linear-city of identity 5. Abruptness Initially intended to be interconnected with the rest of Malmö’s commercial life (such Though technically not in Rosen- as Triangeln), Rosengård Centrum has become an architectural metaphore of its home com- gård (it lies in Hyllie, across munity: in spite of its centric location, it is blind to its outside. the Inre Ringvägen, a few hundred meters South of the Herrgården As of 2010, there are plans within the commune of Malmö to open this blinded box to its district), the Mosque of Malmö is surroundings, though it is worth mentioning that among its commercial offer, it has a the biggest in the entire city, Middle Eastern gift shop and an Arabic book shop. and is the spiritual landmark for the muslims of Rosengård, the “RoCent” is built on a bridge that crosses Amiralgatan, and it contains one of Rosen- city and neighboring communities. gård’s most important bus stops (located in a tunnel) which, ironically, is what most Malmöers ever see of Rosengård. The mosque has been targeted by arsonists a number of times.

05 Conceptual proposal Planning the future... together 2010 2012 Today First effects of solidary trade school + agriculture Schools can teach basic urban gardening. There’s plenty of space in Rosengård to make field practise. home-grown The great amount of open space available in Rosengård can be slowly converted to a productive ground. People can grow vegetables there, and if there’s a surplus, maybe even sell it. the shop Due to the solidary trade scheme operating in Rosen- gård, now the neighbors can co-finance small home businesses. Being the most populated district, Herrgården would be a good place to make business. active solidary collaboration + = Million Pre- Million Worship and Agri- Open Major insertion trade Programme Sports Education Commerce pedestrian Programme spirituality culture areas housing paths housing Key concepts Issues to address Active insertion Solidary trade It involves a joint ef- The patchwork of Rosengård offers skills and experience for fort and commitment. So activities such as having your clothes mended by a tailor or far, the relationship getting your shoes fixed by a seasoned shoemaker. authorities-Rosengårders has been mostly one sid- Solidary trade implies that this trade can happen in a ed: a paint job here, a fair way: small businesses can find it difficult to compete Inflexibility Distance Identity The gap Seclusion new park there. against traditional commerce, so Rosengård can become an area of the city where its registered residents can enjoy tax Monofunctionality. Lack of attachment Rosengård, the More unemployment. Not Sweden. Not Active insertion im- exemptions for a period of time. Little room for and identification place of riots. Less education. The home. So where is plies that the people change. Modernist between residents What more does it language and cul- Rosengård in the of Rosengård WORK for For example: urbanism in action. and community. have to offer? tural barrier. How local and national achieving their goals, to overcome it? psyche? be it economic - reduced sales tax and business taxation for a period of 10 progress, self- years, available only to registered residents. determination or something else. - micro-businesses can be jointly financed between the Swed- ish government, the EU and the residents in proportional amounts

06 The lush neighborhood Wind of change 2020 Harvest time The promenade of Kryddgården 2015 Currently a straight path connecting McDon- ald’s with Rosengård Centrum, this strip of Growth underway land (which, according to projections from Malmö Stad, will be the place in Rosengård to see the most growth in the years to come) can tear down its fences and activate its existing basketball court, which can act as an urban stage for buskers, preachers or break teach your kids dancers. Chess boards or small shops can ca- ter to everyone from a senior citizen to a Small newspaper and maga- dog-lover. zine libraries are opened in the neighborhood. Maga- zines appeal to youngsters and newspapers to an older audience, and they can function in apartments scattered around the neighborhood. The kommune can fund the project and the neighbors can oper- ate it. The bazaar of Herrgården The most populated district will continue growing. The creation of jobs in this area is vital and can be aided by Rosengård-Games the presence of many skilled, yet jobless people. Its cen- Sports like BMX or skate- tric location between the board have been around for Örtagården’s Skatepark mosque and Rosengård Centrum over 20 years. Just like it also means an advantage in happened in Västra Hamn (near With a population project- space. the Turning Torso), a skate- ed to grow in the coming park could be built here. years, Örtagården is a spe- Being outdoors and made of cial place. Its many small concrete, it requires rela- hills and large central open tively little maintenance, space allow for a project and the next Tony Hawk could of reconnection: reconnect- come from Rosengård. ing the 9th floor with the top of the world street level, reconnect- ing the old people with the Rooftop gardening is another young people, and the arts way to use an existing build- with sports. ing. Smaller buildings (3 floors or so) would have more benign temperatures and less wind than 9-floor buildings, and when they are not in the shadows of high-rise buildings, they can receive an entire day’s sunlight. This would also allow for more di- rect contact with the activ- ity as Rosengård farmers may not even have to leave their buildings (useful, for example, if you have small children or reduced mobility). Recovering the spirituality of the public space.

07 Map of lost experiences the walk as a method 3-D? believe in yourself The desert. An oasis. A bedouin tent. Get some walls dirty.

08 The Orchard A place called Herrgården A Rosengård Centrum Am A The commercial and administra- ir tive centre of Rosengård. al sg at an B Rosengårdsskolan B It has been attacked by unknown persons and its library and com- puter room are understaffed. Foreign shops in Sweden: a surprise box. The only personalized (?) feature are the antennae. X Why here? C Rosengårds parken & sports place - Population: 4.900 people increase. C (probably higher), expected to Includes football fields, skat- ing rink, indoor gym, etc. riots in recent years. - It’s one of the places that has seen - It is the youngest and most unemployed neighborhood. - 96% with foreign background. D - Large muslim population. Colonial gardens D The gardening area with shacks to keep tools. Its eventual surplus could be traded. en väg E ing e R Inr Malmö Moské E The biggest mosque in Malmö. Victim of arson several times. A X D E Land use concept Conceptual proposal five actions to introduce on site Connection Cohesion Transition Attachment Appropriation Past, present and future. Top row: exploratory models. Each model shows a conceptual intention to be introduced in the project. Second row: the paintings derive from the models previously mentioned. They aim to explore architectural and compositional intentions. Bottom: collages of spatial intentions, made using all the previous material. Content hide and seek shopping centre = bazaar ? locally grown run locksmith vegetables jump blacksmith grain climb fabricwork slide Snacks “ethnic” products kiss electronics repair Café Food stands seamstress GROCERIES trust show shoemaker teach Hookah share Taken from “The Persian Bazaar, veiled space of desire” Halal HANDWORK games Calling cards talk by Mehdi Khansari & Minouch Yavari internet busk home-made Mementos preach bootlegged merchandise 1 2 FOOD newspapers and magazines crafts sing dance “...In the modern world, manufacturing has “The other difference between traditional ba- books graffiti disappeared from the shopping center. In the zaars and contemporary centers lies in the na- SOUVENIRS skateboard traditional world, things were made in ba- ture and quality of their respective architec- 2nd hand INFO BMX zaars. (...) ture. (...) see & be seen and new smoke Making things was not simply a technical ac- The architecture of the bazaar was an experience traditional stroll tivity now gone from shopping centers, it was of discovery, it created a mystery in which walk the dog a continuous sensory experience for the eyes, both men and things played a strange role, only mending etc... the nose, the ears, at times the taste buds and partly defined through their specific function even touch.” of selling and making or of buying and waiting CLOTHING THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE to be bought.”

09 Happy Bomb Chronology of growth 1 Today: transit space. 2 Use the existing first! - Private spaces activate. 3 Transited areas come alive. New ways to use space. 4 New activities bring new ways to engage the place. All over the place. can get H ere you n, m the rai cover fro hail. snow or leave a message ne. yo n’t tell an gather do There was once a S but please man I’m here, named Abdul Alha zred. ee and be seen He had read so ma ny books that he ha d gone mad. Mad like th e sands of the desert... meet A OW GR WORK climb A show Plan of suggested activities and spatial diagramation 1:100 ect cross sh conn el te r Hey mom, I’ll be home for dinner! OK son! Long section A-A 1:100 City of Malmö neighbor council public and private complexity and order management intimacy growth the veil A bazaar alternates private and Bazaars feature a highly complex The bazaar is managed by both the munic- A number of islamic buildings The organizational scheme al- 1. The place used in different public space. Private space al- structure, where activities are ipality and the community. This aims at (including souqs -markets-) lows for growth to happen as it ways by different people. ready exists, while public space located according to their needs: balancing the economic interests with are organized around a central is needed. This is very impor- is a blank sheet of paper. leather workers need ventilation what’s best for the community. court. In Rosengård, this has tant in a neighborhood, a place 2. A module showing its guts: while food shops need open space. Want to open a small business? the effect of creating intimacy which can only be understood workshops, sales areas, shopper Ask the neighbors! in a naked landscape. with time. areas, advertising, seeing... 3. Smell, touch, see, taste...

10 Forecast Consequences Skateboard repair shop. With over 10.000 youngsters, businesses like this have a potential market. loss of control Rosengård is a strict place. Its inhabitants are constantly told what NOT to do. But what CAN they do? Architecture and development are 1 only successful when they transfer control and operation completely to their user. Different from previous effort, involving the population as part of the solution means that the ultimate fate of the neighborhood will be in their hands. 2 reterritorialization Enjoying your neighborhood and making money in it have the advantage of improving your bond to it. Rosengård is an impersonal neighborhood: all the buildings look the same, most walls are clean, the architecture is completely anonymous. Re-conquering the space and making the walls dirty (be it with graffiti or dirt) is the biggest act of pride. Leaving my name on the wall means I wanna be identified with it. Making the land produce: small, economic interventions can offer a point of social meeting and an option to work and produce, as well as other unplanned uses. demythification self-determination 1234 Rosengård has a negative Migrating is like growing up. You must make a name reputation and it is for yourself, leave behind your home and flourish in avoided by most people. a difficult environment. By having the means to make a decent living can Therefore, active insertion and the chance to work offer the opportunity to offer that one thing which we find in successful erase some myths. adults: emancipation. The people of Rosengård, Emancipation means that you have succeeded in your like the people of Västra quest for a better life. Hamn, Stockholm or São Paulo want, essentially, one thing: the possibil- ity to live in peace. Not the end. Instead of being known for its riots, Rosengård can be known for the hard work of its people. 3 Lost and Found: in times of economic strife and unemployment, bartering offers the chance to exchange skills and goods.

Flying Kites in the Ghetto

by Roberto Ovalle on Aug 31, 2010

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