dolly&co: 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!