A Modern Solution?

Planning’s been on my mind recently-it bloody well should be as I’m upto my eyeballs in assignments for my master, but fret not-and it’s so inevitable that whatever I learn in my classes I’ll inevitably relate it to Mongolia’s (most likely) more abysmal state of planning at present, and daydream about what I’ll do when I get back. A dangerous hobby for someone with a power complex!

It occurred to me recently that the humble Mongolian ger, or a yurt as everyone else is determined to call it, is one of the most flexible, diverse, fluid and sustainable form of housing anyone has ever seen or utilised safely. Despite its’ centuries old heritage and the lack of practical amenities such as running water and a toilet, it has continued to be used today all over Mongolia and some European countryside and camp sites calling themselves ‘boutique camp resorts.’

I say fluid because the interior is always the same in almost every ger and all Mongolians know exactly where everything goes-where you place your chest, bed and kitchen. In fact you can fit a it in there and yet there’s always space to move around and locate yourself in different parts of your home.

It’s diverse because there are many different versions of it depending on what tribe you belong to or what part of the country you live in, as well as versions by Native Americans in the USA and other types in South America. And yet, you can always instantly tell that it’s a ger, wherever you find it.

I say sustainable because you can literally pack it up in an hour and take to hundreds of kilometers away and unpack it in the same time, without doing any damage to your environment. It’s also sustainable because it’s made from natural materials that a herder can get hold of easily and use and rescue over and over again. And for a particularly creative herder, he/she can paint it lovely colours and patterns inside.

And most importantly, in my opinion, it’s flexible for so many reasons it goes beyond the word flexible. It’s a home, a school, a nursery, a guest room, an office, a travelling clinic, a hotel room, a storage room-one man’s wealth, another man’s getaway. Besides being able to plonk it pretty much anywhere, the fundamental idea of a mixed use space in planning as a discipline, the issue of community and getting people closer at a local level, the utility as basic housing and shelter, adaptability in any weather and visual amenity conditions, and the cultural significance to its end users all tick the boxes for a great solution in a planning conundrum. Surely there’s an award that this humble example of great urban design should win?! If not urban design, at least a nod from the neo-anti-capitalist-self sustaining-freegan crowd, because by using it in a modern commune type of living arrangements with water, toilet and electricity (candle lit living will suffice the hard cores) it’s bound to re-start a revolution, no?

Either way, it’s potential and currently small scale experimentation as part of an almost non-existent public housing scheme in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia has brought lots of positives. But of course with negatives too. And this is something that today’s planners can and should address.

Original and still current use 

New settings-urban sprawl and ger districts 

Modern resort

Let's get a bit political.

What really gets me is injustice and unfairness, and what gets my blood boiling is injustice being served to those who are in more unfortunate positions and are weaker. There is injustice all around us but until something happens to you or to someone you love that is just not fair, and further, feels like a kick when they're down, I don't think anyone will ever truly get it.
No one is born the same-we all have different circumstances when we enter this world, and yet there are certain types of people who systematically end up in positions where they are making decisions for everyone else.

Take the Conservative party for example. During their campaign in in the last elections i must admit I did not pay nearly enough attention to their policies as I should before deciding that they are a more shinier bunch of the lot and maybe they'd do well to lead this country. It was mostly based on presumptions, image and the 'we're not posh, just middle class, like all of you' aspirational pile that was fed by the Camerons in their Smythson leather goods packaging. Shame on me for not realising the fears of those who experienced their office the last time round, or at least understood fully what it will mean for the people. For those who have not been fortunate to be born into privilege or those who aren't old enough to know the first time round, the time of the Tories is dreadful.

Public housing and the creation of the benefit/welfare state-as much as I personally do not support these schemes for the long term, recent plans to relocate those who need the support and receive public housing benefits (albeit there are those who take advantage) sounds so cruel and quite frightening to be honest. For dramatic tension, the words 'social cleansing' comes to mind. How fiddling with a few numbers in the benefits figures affect the lives of so many!

Single mothers struggling to juggle enough working hours and childcare so they continue to receive the support of their state will not be considered also. My friend has enlightened me that there will be many who will be affected by the decision to reduce benefits to families in need-simply increasing the hours one works to supplement the loss is not an option with expensive childcare, lack of employment prospects and just too hours in the day to make a life.

A young family with no obvious property or inheritance will struggle to stay together in one household let alone across borders because the immigration law to keep out those without visible wealth does not see the potential in their future generation-never mind giving opportunities for development and growth for a person, a family.

These are just tiny number of examples of what people face today and I have been able to see close up or read about. I haven't even begun to touch upon what the rest of the millions of people with each individual situations are struggling and attempting to fight against. If you fit the mould of what an ideal citizen in this country should be, according to this government, you're a part of this society. If you do not, or don't show signs of potential in the form of affluence/connections/post codes even, then you will be relocated.

I do not want to live in a society where it's not possible to think about one's future with hope and optimism, because you're categorised into the hopeless. I want to live in a society where people want to see other people do well, do better, be happy. I want to live in a world where I feel safe thinking about the future, rather than each of us sitting underneath our very own dark clouds. I want this world to care deeply about the people in it, as well as the trees, animals, credit crunch and the CO2 emissions. I want to call this world of ours home, and be proud.

I'm coming home, I'm coming home,

Tell the world I'm coming home.

Let the rain wash away, all the pain of yesterday.

I know my kingdom awaits and they've forgiven my mistakes

I'm coming home, I'm coming home,

Tell the world I'm coming home.

A Girl's Girl

I have to be a girl I'm afraid and do at least one blog post on clothes, not because it's expected of me, but because I'm so happy!
As all females (and people with an inkling of style :p) should know, the one most important piece of clothing to buy, or at least to appear as if you've always had it, is the knitted jumper. Like I just said, it shouldn't look brand spanking new and should ideally have the perfect fit and most importantly versatility-you could wear it with anyyyything.

Now, I've been avoiding this garment a little bit whilst also being on a hopeful lookout because it's dangerous territory for me. You see, a jumper is a complex garment. As with so many chunky knits out there, and rightly so for they do look so adorable and nonchalant, if you're on the (dare I say) 'wholesome' side, that's exactly what it'll make you look. Once you've realised this and accepted it, 'we' must move onto to the next alternative-the finer knit. But there's always the very high chance of looking 50 with fine knits if you're not careful. And the next issue is the cut-very important! It should sit just right on your shoulders, back and hips. Ah, the hip. For the ample hipped among us (me) it should never sit on the widest part of your hips for obvious reasons, but also never too high up because it will make you look like a block of chip.

Phelan means business.

Practicalities aside, we must then consider colour, texture, pattern, cleaning instructions and then the price. If you had a couple of hundred quids to spare Vanessa Bruno, Nicole Farhi, Preen et al have lovely everything. If not, then all of the above factors must be put together, carefully checked and considered. Which was why I had avoided this, until now.
Topshop can be a place that can tip either way-you'll walk in and walk out in under 10 seconds or you'll walk in and develop yet another girl crush (the other being Bond girl Berenice Marlohe) because Kate Phelan has become its new Creative Director, and she is doing a lot of things right!

It now feels like a place I want to spend longer and longer amounts of time in, without feeling older and older than all the other girls. Of course I avoid the sparkling hot pants and the mesh panelled jumpsuits and the bright jacquard skinny pants that are supposed to channel this season's 'brocade', and make my way to the corner where the lovely jersey tops, wool trousers, bright skirts, well cut blazers hang, and the knits, oh the knits!
They have the perfect tone of colour-pale indigo with tiny pink threads running across, black, grey and tan threaded fine fine knits that sits juuust right but will still keep me warm, not so chunky 'chunky' knits that can be layered in colours of butter, the sky and damson. The length is exactly what I wanted-just above the thighs and not a cm shorter. And the prices are not bad at all-not the usual Topshop overpriced 'desinger' stuff.

Ok, I now realise this post has gone on long enough and must wrap up before people mistake me for a girl whose interest is fashion rather than interested in fashion. One last thing, never buy knits online-you have to feel the knit, weigh the whole thing in your hands and the all important length can only be tried on.

Our Space

I've always thought that what you learn is always in relation to what you've learnt before. A context is needed to get an idea of where things are and how to make things better. Apologies for sounding a bit vague but I've been filling my head with a lot of planning related texts in the last few days and it gets one thinking, you know? Because when considering planning it seems that one must have a pretty good idea of a lot of other things so as not to leave anything/one behind when deciding where things go.
Back to the first point I made: everything I've been learning in the last few weeks has been really eye opening for me, and the best way for all this to sink in is of course to relate it all to what you've seen before. Case in point is Mongolia of course.

The creation of urban areas that people will use and care about without vandalism or neglect is a complex subject it seems. The texts and academic articles on matters of social issues in an urban context, equality, poverty and accessibility for all suggests that empowerment and engagement are one of the answers to a better place to live for us all. The key to a collective social atmosphere and the loving use of public space it seems is to involve the people who will end up using it. And naturally I relate this newfound realisation to downtown UB, the capital city of Mongolia, and try to envisage how/whether this is practiced in real life. In not so many words-it's not.

An example of such an uninformed creation and use of space can be found in places of education. As far as I can remember from my short years at a Mongolian primary school, nowhere is there such ample space available and yet is absolutely unusable. The school's fences were so far beyond the building that the space between the two would probably fit a football field comfortably (perhaps time and the strange way everything seems bigger when you're young are distorting my memory) and yet it was nothing but a field of dirt, sand and a few sorry pieces of tires stuck in the ground for PE classes. Where did we go during our breaks? What did we sit on after school to talk about all the important things that children at that age talk about? Why did we have just a tired looking little cafeteria that sits about 10 and sells over steamed dumplings and dried up cookies for the whole of the school? And why oh why were children told to stand in a line, outside their classrooms, against the walls, around the halls during break because there was literally nothing else to do? I honestly cannot remember.
No body was interested in asking the children what they'd like to do for break. No body was interested in involving the children in the refurbishment or decorating of their school. All that was required of them was to clean their classrooms and the school halls in a rota during their holidays or as punishment for being naughty (and there was a lot of them because children being children, a level of anarchy was definitely in the air).
If the school had cared enough to put up some roofs over benches, grow some grass and flowers (even in pots), a designated and safe socialising area for all students indoors and out, all the while involving their students: discussing what gets put up, offering choice to all ages, using the voting system to reach a decision and having an element of budget to better understand finances, and then physical involvement in the making, building and painting, how much we'd have loved that space and cared for it? How much we'd had pride and respect for our school environment?

I'm afraid it's not just the primary/high schools that are faced with this. Universities are even worse I think, because now the Mongolian student  is no longer a child but an adult, why provide them with recreational space, play areas, stimulating environments and comfortable social gatherings, when they can all go and make it themselves in their private lives and ways? Universities have no students space-literally. Quite study rooms, relaxed coffee houses, group work zones with computers and tables, lively common rooms for discussions to take places as well as to make a cup of tea-these are all luxuries that the modern day Mongolian student will never have the pleasure of using. Because most of the university building being used are large, old and very tired constructions that will cost more to refurbish and update with high speed internet, good lighting, much needed heating systems and adequate number of toilets, than starting anew. The floorboards creak, the doors hang off the hinges, the windows rattle and the notion of a projector in a lecture hall is shall we say quite fictional.

Of course not all university buildings are like this-since the transition era in the 1990s many privatisations have taken place, things have changed and doubling glazing does exist. But the problem is that some are good and most are bad-social inequality, the rich and poor variations, society's acceptance of such poor standards to some degree all have a say. It can be easy to point the finger and target the blame towards the guilty party (all I'm saying is too much of a centrally controlled socialism, read communism...) however it's time to look forward and make sure the right remedy is being suggested for the future. And I think the right remedy includes but most definitely not limited having the students' voices heard, thinking about the use of space more practically, keeping up with modern technology and the general wish for the welfare of students.

Isn't it time that an educational institution in Mongolia has a functioning site that will actually encourage participation in class as well as their built environment? Surely all people who are there, ready and open to learning be given the best possible environment and space to flourish? Spend hours reading, engrossed in a book, lost in research, and alive with animation when debating with other knowledge seekers.

So, learning about public space on my course, looking at with a hint of awe at my current university and the students' space that's available, I'm making comparisons and relating to thousands of other fellow students in Mongolia roaming the corridors of their chilly buildings and can't help but be indignant. I realise that the physical space can do only so much when it comes to development, and people, shared experiences, personal drive will determine how well someone comes out the other end of a formal education machine. However it does play a significant role in the overall results. Why build more office spaces and retails units when they're only going to be filled with disillusioned people who cannot remember why they ever wanted to be there (labouring and consuming) in the first place. There will be no inspiration left and the inspired will wither away.

For some, formal education is a gateway to greater things and for others not so much because they find their own way. In Mongolia, it's a means to an end, the end being a good diploma (I won't even start on the corrupt activities of fake diplomas here, that's another long blog theme), a well paid job, money to buy an iPhone, a car and a house. Nevermind the journey. The journey of knowledge, understanding and good experiences have been erased from the higher education system in Mongolia, and I think it needs to be restored because what's a great destination without memories of how we got there?

*I most aware that there are so many other factors that will affect, contribute towards, limit, hinder and cause the above conditions, however, until I learn how to fix as a planning masters graduate, all i can do is wishful thinking!

National University of Mongolia, Main building-that's the only parking lot by the way.

Guild of Students, University of Birmingham-unbelievable space for students!

Russell Square campus, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London-my first university had a humble space.

But made up for it ample with student activists!

Student Union bar, SOAS.

Student Union, SOAS.

Bullring, Birmingham-a beautifully working public space.