Jordi Borja, one of the key masterminds of the new Barcelona and better known urban gurus of Europe, speaking at the Santo Domingo 2015 Congress urged that the city of Santo Domingo develop its own identity. He spoke out against the building of enclaves and developments that could have been built anywhere else. He said, “Where there is cultural homogenization, people will just choose to go to the cheaper places.” “We need to offer local answers to global proposals,” he said. He urged that there be a plan for the development of projects with social and cultural value, before economic value. He said that if this does not take place, then the wealthy will have to live in gated communities, needed to be defended by private armies. “If urban policies do not change, and the trend to social fragmentation continues, we will have fascism, requiring authoritarianism answers,” he sentenced. He said that the challenge is to foster sustainable projects that bring out the identity of the city; that are democratic and integrated. “The challenge today is to build integrated cities,” he said.
He urged Dominican architects to become more involved in decision taking. He cautioned against strategic plans. “To have too many priorities is to have no priority,” he said. He urged that planners become aware that there has been a change in urban planning mindset and models. He mentioned that new urbanism focuses on making cities more compact and where there is a mixed urban composition, where collective well being may prevail over the will of individuals.
He alerted: “Watch out for strategic plans that might just serve for the political elite to legitimize projects that are of interest to the economic elite.”
He said that “cities left to the market are headed for destruction,” emphasizing that a city is a public space. He stated that people have the right to transport, employment and culture. But he stressed that cities need to bet on the cultural identity of the territory, on a unique image that brings about self-esteem. Borja cautioned that there are projects that can make or break a city.