The New Slum Urbanism of Caracas, Invasions and Settlements, Colonialism, Democracy, Capitalism and Devil Worship

摘要

The common usage of brownfield referring to a site first abandoned through disuse and then left fallow because of contamination, pertains to so-called Western, but perhaps more precisely Northern, post-industrial economies with shrinking populations and urban centres made obsolete through car-driven sprawl. In this context, a persistent brownfield stands apart as 'other' to the spatial order of the city. A redeveloped brownfield becomes a player in the larger social setting and environment. In the regions of the world where cities of 10 million or more continue to grow at an enormous rate, or where industry booms, the strategies and even the definitions of brownfield change. Carlos Brillembourg describes how such extreme sites and those who inhabit them shape the spatial structure of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.