Toward a Methodology of Spatial Neighborhood Evaluation to Uncover the “Invisible Spaces” in Neighborhoods Built Through State Initiatives Between 1945 and 1980

This article examines the ideological and spatial characteristics of neighborhoods built through the initiative of various states, particularly in Europe, in the post-World War II years, from 1945 to 1980. We argue that despite these neighborhoods being older and subject to economic, professional, a...

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Main Authors: Hadas Shadar, Dalit Shach-Pinsly
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Land
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/1/137
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author Hadas Shadar
Dalit Shach-Pinsly
author_facet Hadas Shadar
Dalit Shach-Pinsly
author_sort Hadas Shadar
collection DOAJ
description This article examines the ideological and spatial characteristics of neighborhoods built through the initiative of various states, particularly in Europe, in the post-World War II years, from 1945 to 1980. We argue that despite these neighborhoods being older and subject to economic, professional, and ideological criticism, they feature beneficial physical spaces that came to light, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. These spaces provided opportunities for well-being, relaxation, and community building during times of lockdown and restricted human movement in the built environment. However, residents discovered these spaces, which we term here as “invisible spaces”, through a bottom-up process, and these spaces remain largely unknown to planners or other external stakeholders. In this article, we detail the ideological, economic, and professional approaches that informed the initial planning of these neighborhoods, the contemporary criticisms they face, and the methodology for objectively and comprehensively assessing the quality of their spaces to uncover the “invisible spaces”. We argue that examining urban location, human spatial diversity, intra-neighborhood visibility, and walkability can provide insights into the neighborhood’s qualities and human activity within it, particularly revealing the potential for the emergence of these beneficial “invisible spaces”.
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spelling doaj-art-7dd364d9fd224b0da3e9218111a40a862025-01-24T13:38:03ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2025-01-0114113710.3390/land14010137Toward a Methodology of Spatial Neighborhood Evaluation to Uncover the “Invisible Spaces” in Neighborhoods Built Through State Initiatives Between 1945 and 1980Hadas Shadar0Dalit Shach-Pinsly1NB School of Design, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, IsraelNB School of Design, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, IsraelThis article examines the ideological and spatial characteristics of neighborhoods built through the initiative of various states, particularly in Europe, in the post-World War II years, from 1945 to 1980. We argue that despite these neighborhoods being older and subject to economic, professional, and ideological criticism, they feature beneficial physical spaces that came to light, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. These spaces provided opportunities for well-being, relaxation, and community building during times of lockdown and restricted human movement in the built environment. However, residents discovered these spaces, which we term here as “invisible spaces”, through a bottom-up process, and these spaces remain largely unknown to planners or other external stakeholders. In this article, we detail the ideological, economic, and professional approaches that informed the initial planning of these neighborhoods, the contemporary criticisms they face, and the methodology for objectively and comprehensively assessing the quality of their spaces to uncover the “invisible spaces”. We argue that examining urban location, human spatial diversity, intra-neighborhood visibility, and walkability can provide insights into the neighborhood’s qualities and human activity within it, particularly revealing the potential for the emergence of these beneficial “invisible spaces”.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/1/137evaluating the built environmentintra-neighborhood spacesurban renewalwalkabilityvisual openness to the viewurban analysis
spellingShingle Hadas Shadar
Dalit Shach-Pinsly
Toward a Methodology of Spatial Neighborhood Evaluation to Uncover the “Invisible Spaces” in Neighborhoods Built Through State Initiatives Between 1945 and 1980
Land
evaluating the built environment
intra-neighborhood spaces
urban renewal
walkability
visual openness to the view
urban analysis
title Toward a Methodology of Spatial Neighborhood Evaluation to Uncover the “Invisible Spaces” in Neighborhoods Built Through State Initiatives Between 1945 and 1980
title_full Toward a Methodology of Spatial Neighborhood Evaluation to Uncover the “Invisible Spaces” in Neighborhoods Built Through State Initiatives Between 1945 and 1980
title_fullStr Toward a Methodology of Spatial Neighborhood Evaluation to Uncover the “Invisible Spaces” in Neighborhoods Built Through State Initiatives Between 1945 and 1980
title_full_unstemmed Toward a Methodology of Spatial Neighborhood Evaluation to Uncover the “Invisible Spaces” in Neighborhoods Built Through State Initiatives Between 1945 and 1980
title_short Toward a Methodology of Spatial Neighborhood Evaluation to Uncover the “Invisible Spaces” in Neighborhoods Built Through State Initiatives Between 1945 and 1980
title_sort toward a methodology of spatial neighborhood evaluation to uncover the invisible spaces in neighborhoods built through state initiatives between 1945 and 1980
topic evaluating the built environment
intra-neighborhood spaces
urban renewal
walkability
visual openness to the view
urban analysis
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/1/137
work_keys_str_mv AT hadasshadar towardamethodologyofspatialneighborhoodevaluationtouncovertheinvisiblespacesinneighborhoodsbuiltthroughstateinitiativesbetween1945and1980
AT dalitshachpinsly towardamethodologyofspatialneighborhoodevaluationtouncovertheinvisiblespacesinneighborhoodsbuiltthroughstateinitiativesbetween1945and1980