Quarantine and Opportunities for Architecture and Urbanism in Times of Uncertainty and Transition
The Lazzarettos of Dubrovnik, Croatia are artifacts of city-design to combat infectious diseases from centuries ago. Dubrovnik, historically called Ragusa, was an important trade port on the Adriatic Sea. As an intersection for people and goods from all over the world, it was prone to the spread of disease and introduced measures to protect its citizens. In 1377, Dubrovnik was the first city to set up a system and legislation for quarantine; travelers and goods arriving to the port were required to spend a month on the remote islands of Bobara, Mrkan, and Supetar before entering the stone walls of the citadel. Later, stone quarantine stations – Lazarettos - were built just outside the city’s ramparts and fortified gates. The Lazarettos of Dubrovnik remain, adjacent to the Ploče gate, on the east side of the city; a strategic location next to the port and the road on which caravans from the Ottoman territories would often travel. The structure is constructed of limestone and composed of ten naves separated by five courtyards – each with a door facing the harbor.
A little over a year ago, I was looking out over the city of Dubrovnik to the islands of Bobara and Mrkan, thinking about quarantine and city planning as a historical curiosity; today, in the face of COVID-19, the architecture of quarantine has jarring relevance.
Focusing on a different time and place in Croatian history, Eve Blau, professor of History and Theory of Urban Form and Design at Harvard Graduate School of Design, has developed a relevant thesis about how transition creates opportunities for architecture and urbanism. Blau, collaborating with Ivan Rupnik, conducted research and wrote a book focusing on Zagreb, from the mid-19th century to the beginning of the 21st century. Her exegesis into the generative dynamic of transition applies to the development of cities more generally and seems particularly relevant to many urban situations currently in flux under the COVID-19 pandemic.
Project Zagreb - Transition as Condition, Strategy, Practice
Today, quarantine and social distancing are not new concepts; however, responding to COVID-19 is transforming many cities in unanticipated ways. Buildings are being repurposed and spaces adapted for entirely different uses than they served just weeks ago. I previously wrote about a pop-up medical facility set up in Central Park in New York. Additionally, in the US, cities have been converting stadiums and parking garages for facilities to handle the impact of COVID-19. The US Army Corps of Engineers repurposed college dormitories and hotel rooms for quarantine units and medical facilities. In Manhattan, the lanes of Park Avenue, usually full of bumper-to-bumper traffic, closed in order to provide additional space for pedestrians’ social distancing. In Oakland California, 74 miles of streets were closed to thru traffic, allowing space for residents to walk, bike, and run.
Especially, when seeing streets absent of cars and filled with pedestrian and bicycle traffic, I have been reminded of Blau’s thesis on “transition as condition and strategy.” Transitional urban conditions and strategies during times of uncertainty created by COVID-19 reveal the possibilities and potential of innovative change in our cities. Additionally, understanding cities as constantly in transition, reminds us that the desire to return to a normal, stable state may be somewhat illusory, as well as unlikely. Perhaps, in some ways, it is also not desirable. Instead, we could evolve to something better.
The architecture of Dubrovnik is beholding to a history of disease. How might the future of our cities reflect the history of quarantine and city planning we are writing today? Could the time of coronavirus reveal desirable change for cities and citizens? Could, for example, cities claim more space currently for cars, for pedestrians and, could the citizens’ commuter behaviors durably change, favoring more people-first mobility options? Might we recognize how precious the social fabric of communities is now that we have been kept at a distance? Could this be the moment to prioritize a walkable city without automobile pollution, improving population health with more healthy environments and more active forms of mobility? Might we use this time to reconsider how public assets could be used and managed differently for public benefit? The COVID-19 pandemic has presented us not only with the urgent need to act to stop the spread and save lives, but has also presented us the opportunity to reflect on our cities and urban practices. It is not an opportunity we asked for, yet, it is one we have: to see transition as condition and a strategy for (re)shaping urban practices and the city – for a healthier and happier citizen.
Sources:
Eve Blau and Ivan Rupnik, Project Zagreb – Transition as Condition, Strategy, Practice, Actar, Barcelona, 2007.
Eugenia Tognotti, “Lessons from the History of Quarantine, from Plague to Influenza A,” Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2013; 19(2):254-259.
