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The US developers of a 300ft glowing orb,听听in the middle of Stratford, east London, and accommodate upwards of 21,500 concert goers, have withdrawn their planning application.

Las Vegas, in the US, already boasts one such venue, known as Sphere. Citing its 鈥渆xtreme鈥� disappointment at London residents not similarly benefiting from what a spokesperson said was its 鈥済roundbreaking technology and the thousands of well-paying jobs it would have created鈥�, Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG) has decided the British capital is not one of the forward-thinking cities it aims to work with.

Campaigners have responded with glee, not least because, in response to concerns over the proposed structure鈥檚 potential noise and light pollution, developers had initially suggested they invest in blackout curtains. 鈥淩esidents would be served far better by building social housing on the site,鈥� a representative for Stop MSG Sphere London听.

Quite how a city both caters to its residents鈥� needs and sustains its economy is an enduring debate. The tension is between innovation aimed at boosting investment (in this instance, in the entertainment industry) and what urban geographer听听terms the 鈥渞ight to citylife鈥�.

Projects like the Sphere sit on one extreme end of what gets built in a city. The British designer Thomas Heatherwick recently highlighted what he sees as another extreme, though no less harmful:听.

In his new book, Humanise 鈥� a Maker鈥檚 Guide to Building Our world, Heatherwick听听鈥渂land architecture鈥� causes stress, illness, loneliness, fear, division and conflict. Research shows, however, that more than individual buildings, how the city is planned as a whole variously harms or improves people鈥檚 lives.

The city as a complex system

The physical and social environment of any given city are just two contributing factors in the complex system that shapes residents鈥� wellbeing.听听has found a positive, non-linear relationship with a higher prevalence of mental health problems in more urbanised countries, particularly for anxiety disorders.

Mental health problems now account for over a third of the total burden of disease in adolescents in urban settings.听听shows that, for young people (a significant proportion of urban populations), health and wellbeing constitute major determinants in their future life prospects.

In Humanise, Heatherwick ignores this complexity. The book is a collection of thoughts, ideas, visuals and reflections on the role of contemporary architecture and architects. In it, the designer suggests that the world is facing a 鈥済lobal epidemic of inhuman buildings鈥� and suggests a list of what to do and what not to do to achieve the reverse: 鈥渋nteresting buildings鈥�.

Heatherwick sees cities as collections of buildings, of architectural objects. The problem here, of course, is that the various aesthetic merits of any given structure can be endlessly debated.

Some of Heatherwick鈥檚 arguments (鈥渂oring places contribute to division and war鈥�; 鈥渂oring buildings help to cause climate change鈥�) are plainly simplistic. They also beg the question of who decides what is and what isn鈥檛 interesting.

As examples of interesting buildings that bolster people鈥檚 wellbeing, he cites, among others, the听听and the听听in Finchley, north London for their generosity.

The first, he says, is 鈥渆nthusiastic to share its wonder with everyone鈥� and the second offers 鈥渕ore than minimum to the world鈥�.

To me, though, these are extravagant architectural statements of capitalist power (the Singaporean hotel) and an over-designed fortress building (London鈥檚 Edgewood housing project).

Recognising the importance of public space in cities

In the early 1900s, the German sociologist and philosopher, Georg Simmel,听听the advent of a new urban condition. Compared to rural life, he said, the metropolis made people more individualistic, prioritised capitalist modes of production and intensified sensory exposure. As a result, he said: 鈥淚nstead of reacting emotionally, the metropolitan type reacts primarily in a rational manner鈥�. City dwellers were, Simmel said, less sensitive and further removed from 鈥渢he depths of personality鈥�.

Mid-20th century architects and planners further explored the socio-psychological damage wrought by urban expansion in the post-war era. In his 1971 book,听, Danish architect and urban planner Jan Gehl underlined how, more than architecture, urban space itself had the potential to either harm or affirm social interactions.

The capitalist logic underpinning modernist urban planning was harming residents. More and more people were living in high-rise buildings. Open, green spaces were commodified. Private transport was prioritised. Gehl thought it was precisely in these daily situations, where people move between home and work and play, that cities should both 鈥渇unction and provide enjoyment鈥�.

In over-emphasising the design of exciting buildings, Heatherwick overlooks this: that it is between and around buildings that you find the essence of urban life.

听that urban policies have evolved since the 1970s, largely to try to shape cities for the better and to ensure better accessibility, better quality and diversity of housing, open spaces, more reliable infrastructure and more robust services.

After joining the World Health Organisation鈥檚听听in 1987, Copenhagen developed a holistic urban policy. This included walkable streets, public transportation, diverse housing opportunities, more pointed social policies around ideas of community and using taxation to encourage smoking control. Nearly four decades on, the Danish capital听听as one of the world鈥檚 healthiest cities.

However 鈥済ood鈥� or 鈥渋nteresting鈥� architecture might be, it cannot tackle poverty, social exclusion and public health on its own. But even听听can make a difference to people鈥檚 lives if they鈥檙e well designed and well regulated. How the built environment is shaped as a whole is crucial.

In denying MSG planning permission for a London Sphere, city authorities have prioritised residents鈥� concerns over private investment. Everyone benefits from public space and infrastructure being seen as public goods, not commodities.

Links

• Professor听Haim Yacobi's academic profile听
• 果冻影院听Bartlett Development Planning Unit听

• 果冻影院听Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment