Spatial Opportunities as Design: Testing Alternative Urban Scenarios

2020

Researcher:

Ignacio Cardona

Institutions:

Harvard Graduate School of Design

Fechas Patrias Community, Petare

Location:

Petare, Caracas, Venezuela

*

This research tests Spatial Opportunities as a prospective urban design tool, using the Spatial Opportunity Index (SOi) to simulate and compare interventions in Petare Norte. Through remote participatory workshops with community members, students, and planners, the experiment developed alternative strategies for improving access to networked infrastructure and amenities.

Scenario 1 (Fluffing) transforms unstable residential areas into a distributed network of public spaces; Scenario 2 (Micro Institutional Grid) introduces small-scale collective facilities within existing homes; and Scenario 3 (Hinge Projects) locates larger amenities along the neighborhood’s edges to connect Petare with the surrounding city.

Tested individually and cumulatively through the SOi model, the scenarios demonstrate how urban design can emerge from the intersection of spatial analysis and community knowledge, combining complementary strategies rather than prescribing a single fixed solution.