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Designing Disorder: Experiments and Disruptions in the City
Rethinking the open city
Planners, privatisation, and police surveillance are laying siege to urban public spaces. The streets are becoming ever more regimented as life and character are sapped from our cities. What is to be done? Is it possible to maintain the public realm as a flexible space that adapts over time? Can disorder be designed?
Fifty years ago, Richard Sennett wrote his groundbreaking work The Uses of Disorder , arguing that the ideal of a planned and ordered city was flawed, likely to produce a fragile, restrictive urban environment. The need for the Open City, the alternative, is now more urgent that ever. In this provocative essay, Pablo Sendra and Richard Sennett propose a reorganisation of how we think and plan the life of our cities. What the authors call 'infrastructures for disorder' combine architecture, politics, urban planning and activism in order to develop places that nurture rather than stifle, bring together rather than divide, remain open to change rather than rapidly stagnate.
Designing Disorder is a radical and transformative manifesto for the future of twenty-first-century cities.
Planners, privatisation, and police surveillance are laying siege to urban public spaces. The streets are becoming ever more regimented as life and character are sapped from our cities. What is to be done? Is it possible to maintain the public realm as a flexible space that adapts over time? Can disorder be designed?
Fifty years ago, Richard Sennett wrote his groundbreaking work The Uses of Disorder , arguing that the ideal of a planned and ordered city was flawed, likely to produce a fragile, restrictive urban environment. The need for the Open City, the alternative, is now more urgent that ever. In this provocative essay, Pablo Sendra and Richard Sennett propose a reorganisation of how we think and plan the life of our cities. What the authors call 'infrastructures for disorder' combine architecture, politics, urban planning and activism in order to develop places that nurture rather than stifle, bring together rather than divide, remain open to change rather than rapidly stagnate.
Designing Disorder is a radical and transformative manifesto for the future of twenty-first-century cities.
169 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2020
36 people are currently reading
744 people want to read
About the author
Richard Sennett
72 books551 followersRichard Sennett has explored how individuals and groups make social and cultural sense of material facts -- about the cities in which they live and about the labour they do. He focuses on how people can become competent interpreters of their own experience, despite the obstacles society may put in their way. His research entails ethnography, history, and social theory. As a social analyst, Mr. Sennett continues the pragmatist tradition begun by William James and John Dewey.
His first book, The Uses of Disorder, [1970] looked at how personal identity takes form in the modern city. He then studied how working-class identities are shaped in modern society, in The Hidden Injuries of Class, written with Jonathan Cobb. [1972] A study of the public realm of cities, The Fall of Public Man, appeared in 1977; at the end of this decade of writing, Mr. Sennett sought to account the philosophic implications of this work in Authority [1980].
At this point he took a break from sociology, composing three novels: The Frog who Dared to Croak [1982], An Evening of Brahms [1984] and Palais Royal [1987]. He then returned to urban studies with two books, The Conscience of the Eye, [1990], a work focusing on urban design, and Flesh and Stone [1992], a general historical study of how bodily experience has been shaped by the evolution of cities.
In the mid 1990s, as the work-world of modern capitalism began to alter quickly and radically, Mr. Sennett began a project charting its personal consequences for workers, a project which has carried him up to the present day. The first of these studies, The Corrosion of Character, [1998] is an ethnographic account of how middle-level employees make sense of the “new economy.” The second in the series, Respect in a World of Inequality, [2002} charts the effects of new ways of working on the welfare state; a third, The Culture of the New Capitalism, [2006] provides an over-view of change. Most recently, Mr. Sennett has explored more positive aspects of labor in The Craftsman [2008], and in Together: The Rituals, Pleasures and Politics of Cooperation [2012].
His first book, The Uses of Disorder, [1970] looked at how personal identity takes form in the modern city. He then studied how working-class identities are shaped in modern society, in The Hidden Injuries of Class, written with Jonathan Cobb. [1972] A study of the public realm of cities, The Fall of Public Man, appeared in 1977; at the end of this decade of writing, Mr. Sennett sought to account the philosophic implications of this work in Authority [1980].
At this point he took a break from sociology, composing three novels: The Frog who Dared to Croak [1982], An Evening of Brahms [1984] and Palais Royal [1987]. He then returned to urban studies with two books, The Conscience of the Eye, [1990], a work focusing on urban design, and Flesh and Stone [1992], a general historical study of how bodily experience has been shaped by the evolution of cities.
In the mid 1990s, as the work-world of modern capitalism began to alter quickly and radically, Mr. Sennett began a project charting its personal consequences for workers, a project which has carried him up to the present day. The first of these studies, The Corrosion of Character, [1998] is an ethnographic account of how middle-level employees make sense of the “new economy.” The second in the series, Respect in a World of Inequality, [2002} charts the effects of new ways of working on the welfare state; a third, The Culture of the New Capitalism, [2006] provides an over-view of change. Most recently, Mr. Sennett has explored more positive aspects of labor in The Craftsman [2008], and in Together: The Rituals, Pleasures and Politics of Cooperation [2012].
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 10, 2021
cat threw up on it. 3/5
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August 27, 2023fuck le corbusier
*stays living in a casa de tres plantas
al ensayo de sennet de ciudad abierta le daría 5 estrellas, luego la parte de sendra se me hizo bola ya que sentía que estaba leyendo siempre las mismas ideas y ejemplos.
*stays living in a casa de tres plantas
al ensayo de sennet de ciudad abierta le daría 5 estrellas, luego la parte de sendra se me hizo bola ya que sentía que estaba leyendo siempre las mismas ideas y ejemplos.
May 15, 2025
Libro/ ensayo sobre lo que aquejó y aqueja a las grandes urbes desde su planificación hasta vivir las repercusiones en carne propia por ese mal diseño. Algunas de ellas muy obvias como el planteamiento de la modernidad y su fantasma que abraza aún el s. 21, y otras que se debe de replantear para una vida de ciudad más amigable. No me gusta cuando sale a relucir el "yo" en las redacciones, creo que el problema es más profundo del que se plantea...
September 18, 2021
Some interesting ideas here, including:
- The virtuous cycle of accessible, inviting and high-use streets generating more public use of community spaces
- Potential ideas in urban design to promote multi-use or flexible use areas eg by providing access to electricity and water rather than designating a zone as “community space”
I enjoyed the more detailed description near the middle of the book of Gillet Square, Dalston, East London - of how the square is used and was developed, including great diagrams.
I wish the book contained more of this: descriptions, breakdowns and analyses of actual projects to demonstrate successful and unsuccessful “experiments and disruptions in the city”.
Unfortunately, the book is largely a conceptual manifesto with all the associated trappings one would expect. It is poorly edited, lacks clarity and precision and is highly repetitive. Most of the interesting and clearly formed arguments were sourced from other people. The original ideas/arguments were not fully formed and lacked guidance for implementation. There’s limited engagement with the political, policy, legislative/regulatory and economic frameworks that surround urban design and land use planning which is a shame.
The particularly grating section of the book focuses on “open system infrastructure” which proposes a socialist, anarchist and/or open access approaches to infrastructure without addressing issues of maintenance, funding, governance, or really anything to do with deliverability or implementation.
My favourite segment is near the conclusion and reads:
“How to design for uncertainty?…It is not possible to predict how people will engage with a public space or behave im public, which activities will take place and whether a public space will be heavily used or not. Traditionally, urban planning has attempted to control this uncertainty by assigning functions to land, buildings and public spaces, or by implementing other design measures that would prevent certain behaviour: railings to prevent homeless people sleeping on the ground, or single benches separated from each other to prevent congregation.
Consider a different approach to uncertainty, in which the public realm does not have assigned functions by various functional capabilities. These functions are not predetermined but depend on how people engage with physical elements of the public realm, with particular forms of management, with formal planning policies, or which other informal forms of governance” (p 114)
This tracks with my experience that land use planning has been the tail wagging the dog over the past few decades. Instead, we should design for outcomes. I just wish the book had answered that question (how to design for uncertainty) instead of talking around the issue for 200 pages.
- The virtuous cycle of accessible, inviting and high-use streets generating more public use of community spaces
- Potential ideas in urban design to promote multi-use or flexible use areas eg by providing access to electricity and water rather than designating a zone as “community space”
I enjoyed the more detailed description near the middle of the book of Gillet Square, Dalston, East London - of how the square is used and was developed, including great diagrams.
I wish the book contained more of this: descriptions, breakdowns and analyses of actual projects to demonstrate successful and unsuccessful “experiments and disruptions in the city”.
Unfortunately, the book is largely a conceptual manifesto with all the associated trappings one would expect. It is poorly edited, lacks clarity and precision and is highly repetitive. Most of the interesting and clearly formed arguments were sourced from other people. The original ideas/arguments were not fully formed and lacked guidance for implementation. There’s limited engagement with the political, policy, legislative/regulatory and economic frameworks that surround urban design and land use planning which is a shame.
The particularly grating section of the book focuses on “open system infrastructure” which proposes a socialist, anarchist and/or open access approaches to infrastructure without addressing issues of maintenance, funding, governance, or really anything to do with deliverability or implementation.
My favourite segment is near the conclusion and reads:
“How to design for uncertainty?…It is not possible to predict how people will engage with a public space or behave im public, which activities will take place and whether a public space will be heavily used or not. Traditionally, urban planning has attempted to control this uncertainty by assigning functions to land, buildings and public spaces, or by implementing other design measures that would prevent certain behaviour: railings to prevent homeless people sleeping on the ground, or single benches separated from each other to prevent congregation.
Consider a different approach to uncertainty, in which the public realm does not have assigned functions by various functional capabilities. These functions are not predetermined but depend on how people engage with physical elements of the public realm, with particular forms of management, with formal planning policies, or which other informal forms of governance” (p 114)
This tracks with my experience that land use planning has been the tail wagging the dog over the past few decades. Instead, we should design for outcomes. I just wish the book had answered that question (how to design for uncertainty) instead of talking around the issue for 200 pages.
December 21, 2025
could have been an email vibes
November 27, 2020
Good book although can be incredibly dry in areas. Main issue with the book was that it felt like there was significantly greater weighting exploring the difficulties in issues with few solutions for lack of a better term.
October 5, 2025
shout out gillett square
January 11, 2021
The first section of this book—by Sennett—was a convincing and concise argument that frames the sterilization and “brittleness” of public space in cities through the evolution of civil society, law, and markets. I’d stop reading after that. Part two is Sendra’s pitch for more flexible and socially organic public space. It read like an undergraduate thesis that relied too heavily on one or two case studies. The bullet points: collective forms of energy and infrastructure, modular systems, flexible/multi-use street furniture, co-design processes, and designing for indeterminacy can together create more organic social and spatial environments. The problem is that he gives little guidance for how cities can implement these tactics, despite acknowledging that developers, designers, and governments are resistant to flexibility because of the risk of uncertain outcomes. The third section is an interview with both authors that really showcases Sennett’s fluency in the philosophy of cities, which stands in contrast to Sendra’s flimsy followups.
February 7, 2025
Richard Senett's points were a lot clearer than Sendra's, however the dynamic between the two worked. I thought Pablo at times was trying to focus on too much: sociology, activism, architecture, urban planning, and ended up using vacuous language like 'creating new narratives', 'bottom-up processes of negotiation' and my least favourite, 'assemblage'. Can't stand those phrases.
Nevertheless, he hammered home some really interesting and creative ideas, and you could tell he was the driving force in lassooing Sendra's thoughts into the practical applications of this manifesto. The mediated conversation between the wise old planner and the young architect was a satisfying ending. I hope to see their approach taken in by those who are managing and changing urban neighborhoods. Pablo's drawings were also great additions, I would have liked to see his vision of what currently closed specific neighborhoods in London or New York might look like once opened up and communities really get the chance to experiment with their design.
Nevertheless, he hammered home some really interesting and creative ideas, and you could tell he was the driving force in lassooing Sendra's thoughts into the practical applications of this manifesto. The mediated conversation between the wise old planner and the young architect was a satisfying ending. I hope to see their approach taken in by those who are managing and changing urban neighborhoods. Pablo's drawings were also great additions, I would have liked to see his vision of what currently closed specific neighborhoods in London or New York might look like once opened up and communities really get the chance to experiment with their design.
June 7, 2020
Designing Disorder is a crucial addendum to Richard Sennett's earlier The Uses of Disorder, jettisoning much of the overwrought psychoanalytic couching and focusing purely on the ideas of urban planning that Sennett's acolytes, chiefly here Pablo Sendra, have proposed. Sendra's section gets hands-on with the theory that Sennett discusses, while actually providing a more than sufficient gloss on the original book, making it nearly unnecessary to read.
October 4, 2021
The 4 stars is only dedicated to the principles explained in the book, not as much the proposed solution, as there are so many critical details in the urban design process not discussed - for example how disorder/uncertainty can lead to more inequity, and how participation and feedback doesn't necessarily mitigate that. Interesting things to get you thinking though!
December 10, 2020
This seemed quite repetitive and vague... I didn't have a clear idea what the author actually wanted to do. But then, urban planning isn't really my jam so maybe someone with a better background would find it more enlightening.
October 29, 2020
The chapter and Q&A with Sennet is worth reading, studying and rereading. The core text by Pablo Sendra wasn’t really worth reading.
October 20, 2025
Certainly an interesting concept and worthy of further exploration, however it feels somewhat utopian. With the largest criticism of the text being the text admits that designers don't control how spaces actually are used, which presents the idea that there is the chance that the design we produce are simply neglected even while following their nonlinear method, however the text brushes this criticism away as if it's simply a non issue.
The closing chapter, being a back and forth discussion with the two authors is quite a revealing discussion. Certainly helps solidify just what the intentions were of the authors when they wrote the text.
The closing chapter, being a back and forth discussion with the two authors is quite a revealing discussion. Certainly helps solidify just what the intentions were of the authors when they wrote the text.
July 14, 2020
Feels like a good start point in considering how urban design influences society - at times I did however struggle with the verbose and imprecise language.
August 15, 2020
really changed how I view cities / urban housing
January 20, 2021
A lot of cool ideas and a pretty quick read. Not anything too special but it gives you some stuff to chew on
February 25, 2023
Kind of repetitive… could have been an article
June 18, 2021
3.5 stars. This is in turns fascinating and repetitive. The writing is clear and accessible, but it often revisits the same themes and examples.
I really enjoyed the concept of the open city and designing in disorder to our urban spaces, and also found the community-oriented examples and urban history interesting. I’m keen to learn more about community co-design and co-production and felt there were some useful primers contained in the text.
There is a definite anarchistic feeling to the urban ideas in this read, which I also liked. The idea of a chaotic and unfinished city which nurtures innovation and dealing with difference was appealing, with much emphasis on community solidarity and cohesion as opposed to capitalistic, neoliberal city planning norms.
The book is probably too long though, spending a fair bit of time regurgitating the same examples of open infrastructure via community electricity generation and accessible access points to power via modular and changeable floors/pavements.
All in all I would recommend the read if you’re interested in the city, community and social interaction with urban spaces and urban activism.
I really enjoyed the concept of the open city and designing in disorder to our urban spaces, and also found the community-oriented examples and urban history interesting. I’m keen to learn more about community co-design and co-production and felt there were some useful primers contained in the text.
There is a definite anarchistic feeling to the urban ideas in this read, which I also liked. The idea of a chaotic and unfinished city which nurtures innovation and dealing with difference was appealing, with much emphasis on community solidarity and cohesion as opposed to capitalistic, neoliberal city planning norms.
The book is probably too long though, spending a fair bit of time regurgitating the same examples of open infrastructure via community electricity generation and accessible access points to power via modular and changeable floors/pavements.
All in all I would recommend the read if you’re interested in the city, community and social interaction with urban spaces and urban activism.
May 1, 2022
How do we take this from theory to everyday application in the planning and development department and city halls around the country? The ideas laid out here are fantastic, but the hit the real world of local governance. I would love to see a large exposition of these ideas laid out ina. book with several hundreds pages devoted to the governance aspect. As I am in the USA I would prefer the focus be on local issues as most built environment policy is set and implemented at the hyper local level.
December 23, 2022
Designing Disorder is a rally cry that correctly identifies the public space being robbed by the private sector but also emphasizes the need of tactical urbanism due to the cumbersome processes of changing the built environment. The concepts discussed are not groundbreaking for anyone with an urban planning background but offer a nice understanding to anyone just starting to get involved in the public participation process for city planning.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews