Interrogating the past to imagine the possible city

Abstract

This paper seeks to analyze the formation of working groups that have sought to address perverse planning problems, in order to learn from past failures and shed light on future actions that contribute to creating just and desirable urban landscapes. To this end, we study the actions of the Environmental Improvement Team (1963-1966), also known as EMA, which was the first effort of the Puerto Rico Planning Board to incorporate urban design experts into its work. These experiences reiterate the need for deep reflection on how broad participatory processes could foster knowledge sharing to identify and solve the problems that plague our cities. Consequently, multi-disciplinary interventions could be channeled that are capable of addressing unfinished urban agendas and repairing their brokenness in a comprehensive manner.