Perspectives on the Women Literary Travelers

This chapter aims to analyze the novels Mrs, Dalloway (1925) and Quarenta Dias (2014) in the perspective of elucidating the view of the woman writer-character-traveller on the city, showing continuities and ruptures between the modern city and the contemporary city. Therefore, three paths of analysis are proposed: (1) the understanding of urban territories as a way of elaborating subjectivities and experiences; (2) the link between city and memory, place and identity; (3) the link between city and memory, place, identity, and gender. It was possible to verify that both in Mrs. Dalloway and in Forty Days, women have a central role in the construction of narratives about the city and that this is placed in a centrality-character.

Ongoing Community Resilience from the Ground Up: A Relational Place Based Approach to Grassroots Community Resilience

<p>When the devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, at 12.51pm on 22nd February 2011, the psychological and physical landscape was irrevocably changed. In the days and weeks following the disaster communities were isolated due to failed infrastructure, continuing aftershocks and the extensive search and rescue effort which focussed resources on the central business district. In such moments the resilience of a community is truly tested. This research discusses the role of grassroots community groups in facilitating community resilience during the Christchurch 2010/11 earthquakes and the role of place in doing so. I argue that place specific strategies for urban resilience need to be enacted from a grassroots level while being supported by broader policies and agencies. Using a case study of Project Lyttelton – a group aspiring towards a resilient sustainable future who were caught at the epicentre of the February earthquake – I demonstrate the role of a community group in creating resilience through self-organised place specific action during a disaster. The group provided emotional care, basic facilities and rebuilding assistance to the residents of Lyttelton, proving to be an invaluable asset. These actions are closely linked to the characteristics of social support and social learning that have been identified as important to socio-ecological resilience. In addition this research will seek to understand and explore the nuances of place and identity and its role in shaping resilience to such dis-placing events. Drawing on community narratives of the displacement of place identity, the potential for a progressive sense of place as instigated by local groups will be investigated as an avenue for adaptation by communities at risk of disaster and place destabilisation.</p>

Ongoing Community Resilience from the Ground Up: A Relational Place Based Approach to Grassroots Community Resilience

<p>When the devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, at 12.51pm on 22nd February 2011, the psychological and physical landscape was irrevocably changed. In the days and weeks following the disaster communities were isolated due to failed infrastructure, continuing aftershocks and the extensive search and rescue effort which focussed resources on the central business district. In such moments the resilience of a community is truly tested. This research discusses the role of grassroots community groups in facilitating community resilience during the Christchurch 2010/11 earthquakes and the role of place in doing so. I argue that place specific strategies for urban resilience need to be enacted from a grassroots level while being supported by broader policies and agencies. Using a case study of Project Lyttelton – a group aspiring towards a resilient sustainable future who were caught at the epicentre of the February earthquake – I demonstrate the role of a community group in creating resilience through self-organised place specific action during a disaster. The group provided emotional care, basic facilities and rebuilding assistance to the residents of Lyttelton, proving to be an invaluable asset. These actions are closely linked to the characteristics of social support and social learning that have been identified as important to socio-ecological resilience. In addition this research will seek to understand and explore the nuances of place and identity and its role in shaping resilience to such dis-placing events. Drawing on community narratives of the displacement of place identity, the potential for a progressive sense of place as instigated by local groups will be investigated as an avenue for adaptation by communities at risk of disaster and place destabilisation.</p>

At the Edge: Rethinking Place and Identity in the Context of Wellington's South Coast

With rapid growth and urbanisation, there is increasing pressure to develop and occupy New Zealand’s coastal edge. In turn, we are seeing naturally dynamic environments collide with static developments, as contemporary architecture converges on universality – becoming uniform, monotone, placeless. Not only does this highlight a clear ‘disconnect’ between architecture and place, but it also threatens to weaken the very connection formed between architecture and its inhabitants.<br><br>This research, therefore, seeks to strengthen the connection between people and place, through an architectural response that helps to negotiate a dynamic coastal environment and developing urban context, basing the research around the specificity of Wellington’s South Coast.<br><br>The method taken demonstrates both a poetic and pragmatic approach to design, whereby abstracted ideas of ‘embodiment’ and ‘time’ are tested against more tangible factors relating to coastal change and coastal development. The research sets out to develop a strong understanding of the different factors that contribute to the South Coast’s unique identity, using this to inform design decisions that further enrich identity of ‘place.’ At the same time, it investigates how architecture might engage with the dynamics present at site to both enhance and intensify the human experience.<br><br>This research ultimately leads to a proposed redevelopment of the Island Bay Marine Education Centre – a design response that negotiates its surroundings, allows for change, and enhances connection to ‘place.’<br>

At the Edge: Rethinking Place and Identity in the Context of Wellington's South Coast

With rapid growth and urbanisation, there is increasing pressure to develop and occupy New Zealand’s coastal edge. In turn, we are seeing naturally dynamic environments collide with static developments, as contemporary architecture converges on universality – becoming uniform, monotone, placeless. Not only does this highlight a clear ‘disconnect’ between architecture and place, but it also threatens to weaken the very connection formed between architecture and its inhabitants.<br><br>This research, therefore, seeks to strengthen the connection between people and place, through an architectural response that helps to negotiate a dynamic coastal environment and developing urban context, basing the research around the specificity of Wellington’s South Coast.<br><br>The method taken demonstrates both a poetic and pragmatic approach to design, whereby abstracted ideas of ‘embodiment’ and ‘time’ are tested against more tangible factors relating to coastal change and coastal development. The research sets out to develop a strong understanding of the different factors that contribute to the South Coast’s unique identity, using this to inform design decisions that further enrich identity of ‘place.’ At the same time, it investigates how architecture might engage with the dynamics present at site to both enhance and intensify the human experience.<br><br>This research ultimately leads to a proposed redevelopment of the Island Bay Marine Education Centre – a design response that negotiates its surroundings, allows for change, and enhances connection to ‘place.’<br>

At the Edge: Rethinking Place and Identity in the Context of Wellington's South Coast

With rapid growth and urbanisation, there is increasing pressure to develop and occupy New Zealand’s coastal edge. In turn, we are seeing naturally dynamic environments collide with static developments, as contemporary architecture converges on universality – becoming uniform, monotone, placeless. Not only does this highlight a clear ‘disconnect’ between architecture and place, but it also threatens to weaken the very connection formed between architecture and its inhabitants.<br><br>This research, therefore, seeks to strengthen the connection between people and place, through an architectural response that helps to negotiate a dynamic coastal environment and developing urban context, basing the research around the specificity of Wellington’s South Coast.<br><br>The method taken demonstrates both a poetic and pragmatic approach to design, whereby abstracted ideas of ‘embodiment’ and ‘time’ are tested against more tangible factors relating to coastal change and coastal development. The research sets out to develop a strong understanding of the different factors that contribute to the South Coast’s unique identity, using this to inform design decisions that further enrich identity of ‘place.’ At the same time, it investigates how architecture might engage with the dynamics present at site to both enhance and intensify the human experience.<br><br>This research ultimately leads to a proposed redevelopment of the Island Bay Marine Education Centre – a design response that negotiates its surroundings, allows for change, and enhances connection to ‘place.’<br>