Master the 7 Embodiments of the Relational City

This decade is confronting our cities with unprecedented shocks that profoundly call into question the makings of the city.

How can we draw new lines of desire for our future shared urbanities ? How can we reconcile the individual quest for well-being and the collective quest for health, social cohesion and intergenerational connection ?

We all aspire to live in a city that would no longer rely solely on its technical functions : a city that would understand that it lives as much from social relationships as from flows to regulate. In short, a Relational City.

Strengthening the quality of the relationship with oneself, the quality of the relationship with others, the quality of the relationship with the Living World within the city, are all dimensions of citizen well-being that will govern urban planning in the future. We all want a healthier and more livable city, more alive and more vibrant — in a word, more sustainable.

The new urban living framework proposed here favors the seven Embodiments of the Relational City to be built together, in close connection with the emergent desires of citizens. These different facets of living together are described across the different chapters with telling supporting illustrations, and a rather unshakeable hope : hope that the urban world continues to reinvent itself for the better.

The authors

Sonia Lavadinho helps urban decision-makers design a relational city that is able to dialogue with citizens’ desires.

Pascal Le Brun-Cordier develops public art and cultural urban planning projects that contribute to broadening the reach of the right to the city.

Yves Winkin has devoted his life as a teacher and researcher to developing an anthropology of urban communication.