Patrick Anderson,
Contributor
CITIES HAVE never been altogether safe from intensified catastrophes and with the advancement and harnessing of technologies of mass destruction, intended or not, are even less so today.
In 1948, less than three years after the end of World War II, which was responsible for the destruction of many cities, not the least of which was Hiroshima, E.B. White wrote in an article titled 'Here is New York':
"The subtlest change in New York is something people don't speak much about but is in everyone's mind. The city, for the first time in its long history, is destructible, he said.
"A single flight of planes no bigger than a wedge of geese can quickly end this island fantasy, burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal chambers, cremate the millions."
On September 11, 2001 White's prescient fear came to pass. Since then city planners, architects and engineers have written, debated and agonised over the likely impact of the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York, and on city planning and development.
The destruction of such cities as Dresden and London by saturation bombing during WWII became a major catalyst for development in the immediate post-war period and spawned initiatives such as the Marshall Plan; that dreaded phrase, urban renewal; British and American New Towns; the welfare state; and a raft of urban planning legislation and policies.
The impact of September 11 is unlikely to be as beneficial to the city and its economy as WWII was fifty years ago, but will alter and reconfigure its form, structure, use, security, and how it is viewed as public space.
Local architect Colin Davis, and planner Arlene Dixon, asked about their thoughts on the likely impact on new development and design in Jamaican cities and towns - they were unanimous in saying "not much", primarily because local symbols of power and authority are not as conspicuous as in developed economies.
It should be noted, however, that shortly after September 11, a firebomb was lobbed onto the roof of the Denham Town Police Station and caused extensive damage. The author, however, is not suggesting any copycat connection.
The analyses of the likely impact of the plane bombings by planners in both Europe and the United States have been many and varied, as have been the action of corporations.
Alexander Garvin, a professor of urban planning at Yale University, and head of the newly formed Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, hired to spearhead the redevelopment says that, "We have a chance to start all over again. Things are possible at the moment that have not been possible in my lifetime."
Based on Garvin's statement, 9-11 has given the city administration a reason to rethink the future of New York although he is reluctant to speculate.
Writing from Britain, Stephen Graham, professor of urban technology at the University of Newcastle School of Urban Planning, addressed the "vulnerability of strategic cities" in the global north being fuelled with fear "by a media culture with endless analysis."
As if in response to Graham's statement of vulnerability, one large American corporation has already dispersed its senior managers to multiple locations - linking them by telecommunications technology - and others are following suit.
There are also reports in recent planning literature of increased militarisation of urban places and a proliferation of security media, eavesdropping on the most private moments of citizens. We await information on the reparation of Afghan cities.
