Concept of urban village: the application of the concept as a foundation for new typology of urban villages

Abstract

Whole 20th century was marked with many new movements (“-isms”) in urbanism and architecture. Some of them, such as modernism and post-modernism, were especially important and influential. But, current situation is a bit different; there is no prevalent movement or concept. Many actual theories and concepts are the “mixes” of previous movements, so they can be described as “hybrid” ones. One of these hybrid concepts is the concept of urban village. The “hybridity” of the concept is visible in its name, which looks confusing at glance. But, the meaning of the concept is clear; it should be understood as a construct of sustainable community based on mixture of advantages from urban and rural/suburban life. The definition and main principles of the concept of urban village have been quite general, which has led to its wide application. Consequently, there are a bulk of new or renewed neighbourhoods and communities named as “urban villages” all over the World today. They often have various or even opponent characteristics. Thus, this gap between theoretical fundaments and application “in situ” has made the whole idea doubtful and unstable. This research tries to clarify this gap by the way of possible typology of urban villages. This proposition will be checked through theoretical explanation and the analysis of two different cases of urban villages. The research should present the stability of proposed typology hereof. Finally, whole research will accent the complexity of the concept of urban village in global context.