A N N O U N C E M E N T
Nader Vossoughian: Otto Neurath - Information and the Global Polis
De Balie Amsterdam, Friday February 8, 20.30 hrs
Live webcast at: www.debalie.nl/live
The American philosopher and architectural theorist Nader Vossoughian
investigates in this presentation the possibilities for a democratic
and participatory approach top urban and social planning. He will
devote specific attention to the work of the Austrian philosopher,
sociologist and economist Otto Neurath (1882-1945).
Writer, editor and cultural theorist Steve Rushton will offer a short
response to Vossoughian's presentation.
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Nader Vossoughian: Otto Neurath - Information and the Global Polis
Abstract of the lecture (De Balie, Amsterdam, February 8, 2008)
Urban and military planning have been virtually indistinguishable for
most of history. Ancient Roman towns such as Timgad and London were
first conceived as military encampments. In the nineteenth century,
Georges-Eugène Haussmann constructed his boulevards in Paris with the
aim of stemming civil unrest. Given this past, are participatory or
democratic approaches to urban and social planning possible? They are,
at least in principle, and this lecture explores one such example.
This presentation looks specifically at the ideas and achievements of
the Austrian sociologist and planner Otto Neurath (1882-1945), a long-
neglected giant in the history of the Information Age. A founder of
the Vienna Circle and the Unity of Science movement, a collaborator of
figures as varied as Paul Otlet, Cornelis van Eesteren, Gerd Arntz,
and Le Corbusier, he had an indelible impact on discussions about the
modern metropolis. He advocated informal or participatory approaches
to urban and social planning and attempted to find ways of
democratizing public space in the contemporary city. In this lecture,
he is presented as a theorist of the global polis – as someone who
attempted to reconcile the tangibility and intimacy of the ancient
Greek city-state, a place that according to Aristotle fostered
community and democratic exchange, with the anonymity and
heterogeneity of the global metropolis.
More information and links:
www.debalie.nl/artikel.jsp?podiumid=media&articleid=208232
Website of the exhibition After Neurath – The Global Polis at Stroom,
The Hague:
www.stroom.nl/activiteiten/manifestatie.php?m_id=8710842
Date | Firday February 8
Time | 20.30 uur
Language | English
Tickets | 5 euro
Live webcast | www.debalie.nl/live
Organised in collaboration with Stroom – Centre for Visual Art and
Architecture, The Hague.
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