Visionary cities

de Winy Maas

"Visionary cities" sets the agenda for the city of the future. This first publication in the "Future Cities Series" is intended as an overview of the issues that The Why Factory is addressing and to outline this research institute's ambitions and modus operandi for the coming years. In each of the book's chapters, whether about sustainability, the boom in the leisure industry or poverty, one encounters the tension between the disciplines of architecture and urbanism and the dynamics of the city itself. Each chapter is therefore a specific brief, an urgent call for visionary scenarios for the city of the future. In the concluding chapter Winy Maas advocates regarding the city first and foremost as a project for the future. Maas takes a critical standpoint vis-à-vis current urban planning practice. He argues that architecture possesses a visionary dimension that can generate new value of the city and advocates a large-scale communal agenda.