Everyday Landscapes and Urban DIYism in Sanzihou, Taipei
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25071/1913-5874/37328Abstract
Sanzihou is the site of a former American military housing compound in Taipei. As a peri-urban neighborhood mixed with an iconic Cold War landscape developed during the Korean War, Sanzihou is a contested site at multiple levels. On one hand, preservationists and developers have battled over plans to redevelop or preserve the area. On the other hand, residents and students engage in a different kind of contestation as they battle over the lack of adequate housing and other public amenities. In 2007, an advocacy organization in Taipei put together a design charrette to envision the future of the area with a focus on reconciling preservation and the everyday life of the local residents. This article examines how the outcomes of the charrette overcome the limitation of the discourses of preservation and development by improvising and uncovering the possibilities of the everyday. The focus on the everyday, the article argues, provides an alternative spatial discourse and practice that addresses the needs and assets of the community and unleashes the social and spatial possibilities in the landscapes of the contemporary city.
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