Governments, developers, architects, universities -not to mention sociologists and anthropologists -are increasingly aware that the possibilities for digital exchange are no substitute for our fundamental need for face-to-face social interaction. This issue constitutes a conscious attempt to reassert the importance of the physical neighbourhood: the realm of chance encounters and enforced coexistence, as opposed to the online 'community' which is an abstract, transient, highly-edited world based on a single point of interest and exited at will. It celebrates the work of those who are seeking to create environments that satisfy the human desire for company, but also for friction, conflict and debate; environments that offer opportunities to share resources and information, but also to battle out differences. Perhaps most importantly, it acknowledges the fact that the built form and spatial organisation of a neighbourhood - or university campus - is an important expression of collective values and shared rituals; an outward projection of a sense of self that transcends the sum of its individual parts.
展开▼
