How can ‘care’ be used as a tool to rethink what is considered valuable in urban planning? This project explores the societal and spatial implications of reprogramming vacant hospitals into new Neighborhoods of Care. This is done with care for the climate, for the limited resources, and for the marginalized groups of society that are often left out of modern city planning.
Developing with Care
The project takes its inspiration from feminist economics – a critique of how our modern society assigns value exclusively based on a monetary context – and suggests an alternative value system based on care. The project introduces six concepts of care as a toolkit for urban development: public health, preservation, and adaptive reuse in relation to physical care, and citizen involvement, inclusion of marginalized groups, and gender equality in relation to social care. This project develops a strategy for vacant and not yet demolished or transformed hospitals. Aalborg North Hospital is used as a case study to demonstrate how to establish a Neighborhood of Care with housing functions for vulnerable groups.