ABSTRACT
We have arrived in history to a point where we can no more refer to any of the classical models - (the American, European or emerging Americanized Asian city models), as examples to guide our future [...] [but rather search] for contextual methods and models for building comprehensive, livable and equitable cities. Zegeye Cherenet, Ethiopian Architect, 2009
What is the emerging urban struggle that megacities of the South are fac ing? In the previous part o f this chapter, Susan Parnell and Owen Crankshaw address the issues of racial segregation, inequality and spatial polarization in cities of the Global South. Most notably, they point out the challenges and difficulties occurring in post-Apartheid urban areas - South African cities, which are challenged racially and spatially due to their governance and colo nial past. They likewise strongly emphasize the importance of proper urban planning and o f raising the awareness of planners in order to get them more
involved in the shaping of the city. Parnell and Crankshaw question the role of modem urban planning on urban segregation and show, through the example o f South Africa, that segregation is not only due to ‘modernism per se [...] but [to] the co-existence of modernism and alternative rationalities of urban control’ {ibid.:9). In this discussion, we examine the meaning of modernism in the urban context and what it implies in terms of city models. The second part o f this chapter looks at the fabrication o f the city - and theoretical models used - from an urban planner’s point o f view. We conclude with the theme of ‘modernism’ and how it can be understood in an urban context. What is urban modernity? What are the similarities and differences between cities of the ‘North’ and the ‘South’? How does the North influence the South with regard to urban ‘modernity’? Finally, we show that Modernity mainly refers to the classic models o f the ‘modem’ and ‘postmodern’ city and, further, we argue that a new form of ‘modernity’ called ‘global modernism’ (a combination of the terms globalization and modernism) is emerging in the Global South.
