Evolving Urban Spatialities (and species)

Spatial disciplines are more and more challenged to look at transient space-making dynamics to inform the ways in which to interpret and design for our contemporary evolving urban spatialities. This paper focuses in particular on the spontaneous dimensions of evolving spaces and how to investigate and explore their role and impact on urban contexts that increasingly appear to be systems in perpetual change,
not always determined and determinable through formal planning. In this paper I discuss values and challenges of evolving urban spatialities, researched through qualitative analysis methods of sociological enquiry (such as narrative research). Spatial, temporal, and relational aspects of evolving urban spatialities are presented to potentially inform spatial design approaches addressed to question, understand and enhance the values of the evolving spatialities.