Challenges of Fast Growing Cities
1. Dr.Sc . Bujar Bajçinovci Faculty of Architecture University of Prishtina
[email protected]
2. M.Sc. Kaltrina Thaçi CHWB-Prishtina
VI. MAN MADE HAZARDS - Air pollution – Abstract Cities are complex ecosystems with specific phenomena directly reflected in our health, natural resources, economic, social and aesthetic fields. It can be conceptually considered that cities are locally and regionally specific. Therefore the negative environmental emanations are specific attributes of each city. New challenges should stimulate new research, directed towards the exploitation of all resources, in order to provide a better and higher quality of life. Despite all the calls and requests for the climate change and worries about the life quality, nothing really is being undertaken in the practice. Apart from all natural attributes of the environment, people work and produce quite opposite activities. The new millennium began a crucial activity for the city of Prishtina in terms of demographic and socio-spatial effects. The city is experiencing multidimensional changes in all possible fields. In a very short period of time, the population has grown fast, almost doubled. In addition to that, approximately 30% of the population of Kosovo has migrated in Prishtina, the capital city, because of working opportunities and better living conditions. The neighbourhood of Ulpiana, one of the most newly developed areas in Prishtina is threatening the quality of lives of its inhabitants. High-rise building boom, starting from residential, administrative and commercial one has occupied the existing public spaces even parking places and sidewalks. This building boom does not only degrade the urban fabric, including the built heritage of the city but it also threatens local’s health and quality of life. These problems in urbanism and architecture were reflected as a consequence of the rapid industrialization of Kosovo in the 20th century, and the associated move of people from rural areas to cities and towns. Prishtina was one of the cities to experience this dramatic change the most. With regards to the built heritage, it is being threatened and degraded because of the new unplanned development, improper treatment, maintenance and protection associated with other different factors, which all contribute to the state of decay. Prishtina is generally polluted due to its geomorphic position relative to the major polluters and power plants Kosovo A and B. In addition to that, the contamination was even bigger when the dominant winds prevail. However, according to this study, the pollution in the first place belongs to the station in the campus of the Clinical Hospital Centre of Prishtina. The analysis from the results of this research proposes the need of implementation a new design strategy. The process of evolutionary design emanates from the needs of the new era, the rapid development of technology and the new phenomenon of globalization. Thus to make the institutions aware about their power of decision-making, it is of a vital importance to elaborate and implement a new design strategy. By incorporating the new design strategy in the legal guidelines, it is expected to have a significant positive impact in the quality of life in Prishtina. It is quite possible that the problems we have had in the past, facing them already today might help us to solve the ones coming in the 21st century. Keywords: Kosovo, Prishtina, architecture, heritage, environment, design strategy, PM10, health.
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CHALLENGES OF FAST GROWING CITIES
Cities are complex ecosystems with specific phenomena directly reflected in our health, natural resources, economic, social and aesthetic fields. They are open integrated systems and huge organisms with specific and complex metabolism that transform vast amount of energy, generate huge amount of waste and emanate a number of specific environmental phenomena and activities. However, it can be conceptually considered that cities are locally and regionally specific, and therefore the negative environmental emanations are certain specific attributes of each city. Despite all the calls and requests for protection of the heritage and worries about the life quality, little really has being undertaken in the practice. New challenges should stimulate new research, directed towards the exploitation of all resources, in order to provide a better and higher quality of life and essentially better protection of global heritage. 1.1
The fast growing city
Pristina last decades have brought a variety of phenomena, primarily demographic, social, environmental and political. The Socio-Demographic spatial fission in 2000, the process of the uncontrolled growth of the city, is a result of the characteristics of major cities after major events, like war for example.
Projection GUP 1988.
Real grow city of Prishtina 2010
Figure 1. City of Priština past decades. Projection grow for year 2000. According to GUP 1988.
PRISHTINA 1
1999.
cca 250,000 inha. 2
2000
cca 545,500 inhab.
Figure 2. City of Priština, Projection Election survey 2000.
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Directorate of Planning, Urban Planning and Construction. Municipality of Pristina, 1999-2000. OSCE, Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, Prishtina - Election survey 2000.
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The new millennium began with crucial activities for Pristina, in terms of demographic and socio-spatial expansion. The city is experiencing multidimensional changes in all possible fields. Being the capital city of Kosovo, in a very short time the population of Prishtina has doubled, adding every day approximately another 20% of the population coming here for work, or possible settlement and migration.
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Key questions
The research data of this paper is based on the analysis of the Municipality of Prishtina archives, the 1987 GUP predictions, the Kosovo Institute of Public Health, the Hydro Meteorological Institute of Kosovo. The key questions of this paper are as follows: -
Is the urban built heritage being protected? How do new buildings fit into a diverse cityscape? Is the air quality being explored?
The city is in its linear growth reached the zenith of approximately 220,000 inhabitants. The traffic has worked quite well with the existing infrastructure. The traffic was not such a big problem for the community until the number of motor vehicles was increased at the beginning of the new millennium.
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Urban Built Heritage
Kosovo has an ancient history and a wealthy cultural, tangible and spiritual heritage. These heritage assets are important from a historical, aesthetic, architectural and social perspective. Until the second half of the last century, cultural heritage properties of Kosovo were maintained and protected intuitively from locals. In the recent past, these properties were not valued properly. They have been treated with improper methods and as such the lost is enormous. In the post-war period, cultural heritage was left in a degraded state to be further threatened by uncontrolled developments. The damaged cultural heritage monuments and sites are still neglected and in danger. In addition to that, the on-going conservation activities proceed without supervision, elaborated and coordinated conservation and planning policy. (Hoxha&Thaci, 2012).
As a fast growing city, the urban fabric of Prishtina has changed dramatically, because of the building boom. Prishtina is one the main cities in Kosovo that has its cultural heritage threatened as a result of ongoing new construction. However, it is not the only city facing this problem. London, Prague, Liverpool, Cologne, Vienna, Macau, Dresden, St. Petersburg are all examples of cities struggling to balance ongoing development with their architectural and cultural heritage and as a result all have had their built heritage threatened. With new „contemporary‟ buildings, both notions are challenged; how can historic buildings be preserved if new buildings encroach on short or long views, and dominate their settings? Likewise in managing change in the built environment, how do new buildings fit into a diverse cityscape? Should new buildings be discouraged in instances where they affect historic buildings and encouraged in diverse cityscapes? (Hobson, 2004)
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“Until the end of World War II, Prishtina was a typical Oriental town. After the Liberation following the Second World War, Prishtina experienced rapid development in every respect, and it is now day-by-day developing into a modern town. Old shop fronts and other shaky old structures are quickly disappearing to make room for fine, tall, modern-style buildings.”3 In the early communist era, this destruction of the past was the result of deliberate policy. The slogan of “urban development” in the 1950s was “destroy the old, build the new”. The “shaky old structures” which were demolished included the covered bazar, one of the largest in the region; the spiritual centre of the town, comprising a mosque, the main Catholic Church and the Synagoge; an old Ottoman Hamam and a large number of Ottoman town houses. 3
Figure 3. Catholic Church in Prishtina, Adapted from ESI-IKS, 2006.
Figure 4. Llukaq Mosque in Prishtina (today Hotel Iliria), Adapted from ESI-IKS,2006.
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ESI-IKS. 2006. A future for Prishtina’s past. Prishtina.
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After one decade of hectic activities, carried out by various actors in the post-conflict reconstruction in Kosovo, heritage and landscape preservation and management framework should be structured in a more systematic and effective way. Basically, the laws consider issues of integrated conservation and urban planning, but the processes are not quite rational because the National Integrated Conservation Strategy or Policies and inter-related programs or actions Plans are not adapted. (MCYS & Silvia Cravero, 2009)
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How do new buildings fit into a diverse cityscape
In 2005 the Department of Urban Planning and Construction of the Municipality of Prishtina, decided to build an open public parking garage, located near the campuses of the Clinical Hospital Center of Prishtina. At that time the actual problem was the air quality in relation to traffic. The city of Prishtina always lacked of parking places, as such parking garages were more than needed. However, there were too many conceptual challenges. . Regarding the construction of buildings near the Clinical Hospital Center (CHC), a paradox situation has been created. When there was a need for expanding the capacities of the campus, such as the cardiovaskular clinic and other deppending objects. Therefore, when CHC lacks a real space for the evolutionary expansion of services, municipality of Prishtina gives the license to build the city garage (capacity 1000 vehicles), and take away the space for quality performance of secondary and tertiary medical services. Health specialists and professionals of CHC being aware of the air quality degradation of Pristina are very concerned. However, in the conducted survey, almost none of the medical staff did not know that the location of CHC is the most vulnerable point in Pristina, for the PM10 and PM2,5 pollutants.
Figure 5.City of Priština, chosen location for city garage, 2004. 1.5
New Buildings – City Garage in CHC Campus (Air Quality)
Regarding to the authors Salthammer T. & E. Uhde "Our daily breathing rate is 15-20 m3 of air, or about 0.3 m3 per 1 kg of body weight. So, we breathe in and out about 20 kg of the substance every day. Inspired air mass is much higher than the daily dose of water and food". 4 Based on the above statement we breathe in and out about 20 kg of the substance every day. As such the purpose of this study aims to locate the suspended particles (PM-Particulate Matters).
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Salthammer, T., Uhde E., (Eds).(2009). Organic Indoor Air Pollutants. Braunschweig, Germany : Wiley – VCH, Verlag GmbH & Co. KgaA., p. V.
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Fine particles (Particulate Matter) consist of very small liquid and solid particles in the air, and include particles smaller than 10 microns in diameter (PM 10), as well as particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM 2.5). Particles with a diameter between 2,5 and 10 microns are sometimes referred to as "coarse particles".
Source of direct emanation PM
Figure 6. Emanations of PM. Adapted from Bay Area Air Quality. 5
Table 1and 2: City of Prishtina, measured levels of PM10 i PM2,5 μg/m3. Adapted from Tahirsylaj S. and Latifi L.,(2010). Quality of Air in Urban and suburban Area's of the Prishtina. 6
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Figure.,http://baaqmd.gov/Divisions/Planning-and-Research/Particulate-Matter.aspx. Oct./2012. Tahirsylaj S. i Latifi L.,(2010).Quality of Air in Urban and suburban Area's of the Prishtina. Ohrid, FRY.Macedonia. BALWOIS 25-29/May/2010., pp.1-7.
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Table 3: London, Nowcast evaluation 25th Aug. 2010 to 15th Sept. 2010. Adapted from Nowcast 7
In general Prishtina is heavily polluted due to its geomorphic position relative to the major polluters, power plants Kosovo A and B. At the same time, pollution was supported by the prevailing winds. However, according to this study, the pollution in the first place belongs to the station on the campus of Clinical Hospital Center, ISHP2 (measurements of 146.7 g/m3, January 2010). The quality of air in the campus of CHC in Prishtina is the most polluted in comparison to other stations in Prishtina and it also exceeds the ultimate limit as stated in the EU standards.
The current degraded state of environment and urban fabric requires specific responsibilities and science based activities, especially when the state is directly linked to the quality of life.
The crucial problems to be resolved in order to protect and preserve the modern heritage are:
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Uncontrolled (both legal and illegal) building boom in urban, per-urban and rural areas, affecting heritage sites and in general the landscapes;
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New architectural developments of low quality and without any relation with the context, impacting also (but not only) the setting of build heritage sites;
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Limited institutional cooperation, both horizontal and vertical;
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Delay in laws’ implementation, missing professional standards and licensing system, inspection and supervision;
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Insufficient education offered in managerial, professional and technical training in the various areas regarding cultural heritage and landscape preservation and management, sustainable tourism development, restoration techniques, heritage crafts safeguard and promotion. (Hoxha & Thaci, 2012)
Nowcast evaluation 16th September 2010., http://www.londonair.org.uk/london/asp/nowcast.asp ?species=PM10., Access January, 2013.
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CONCLUSION
Architecture is primarily for people and therefore it is always evolving. The cultural modern heritage reflects the identity of the people, their habits and tradition therefore it should be preserved and protected for future generations. Evolutionary design has to encompass the entire process towards an integrated knowledge of scientific facts and the one implemented in the actual statutory provisions and guidelines for the welfare of the entire ecosystem. The quality of air in the campus of CHC in Prishtina is the most polluted in comparison to other stations in Prishtina and it also exceeds the ultimate limit as stated in the EU standards.
Having in mind the alarmed situation of the heritage in Kosovo at the present time, there is an crucial need to prevent the current phenomenon that threatens built heritage especially quality of life, and there is need to: -
Technically assess sites at risk, including those who directly emanate danger, degrade quality of life - air quality; Redefine the role of build heritage in the process of development of the territory; Elaborate municipality integrated Policy and design strategies;
In order to achieve the above-mentioned aims, we need all the support we can get, in terms of political good will as well as in terms of professional skills and funding. Thus in the domain of cultural heritage protection.(Hoxha & Thaci, 2012)
References
General Urban Plan, GUP. Priština.(1987). Projekcija Prištine 2000. Priština. Kosovo: Narodna Skupština Kosova.pp. 29-114.ESI-IKS, (2006).A future for Prishtina’s past. Prishtina.
Hobson, E. (2004) Conservation and Planning: Changing Values in Policy and Practice. New York, NY: Spon Press. Hoxha, Gj. & Thaci, K.- 1st International Conference on Architecture & Urban Design Proceedings, April 2012. Tirana. The protection of Cultural Heritage Properties in Kosovo. Salthammer, T., Uhde E., (Eds).(2009).Organic Indoor Air Pollutants. Braunschweig,
Germany: Wiley – VCH, Verlag GmbH & Co. KgaA. Tahirsylaj S. & Latifi L. (2010). Quality of Air in Urban and suburban Area's of the Prishtina. Ohrid, Macedonia.BALWOIS: Water Observation and Information System for Balkan Countries. WHO, Europe. (2005).Effects of air pollution on children’s health and development. A Review Of the Evidence.Copenhagen, Denmark: WHO Regional Office for Europe.
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