ABOUT [FREE] TIME

Linking time-uses and uses of spaces

2050: How can we imagine the city in 30 years time?

Our role in this project, as city administration, was to tackle key future challenges in the city of Barcelona and engage the citizens in policy making. For a number of studies that we analyzed, we have arrived with certain assumptions about labor and living in 2050. For example, the introduction of UBI will guarantee financial stability and improved standard of living. Also, automation will advance in industry causing new forms of work will appear in society. These assumptions will result in a society where people have more time to live and travel.

Fig. 1 - 2050 assumptions

Currently according to the BCN statistics center, the average time distribution of a citizen. We divided this time in 3 different categories : Work, Live and Play. Currently, people spend 7.5 hours of their day working. So what happens when this proportion will change and people will have more free time?

Fig. 2 - Time-use distribution and free time

Analysis

Owning time

So what are the factors influencing this daily time distribution? Do we have the right to own time? To understand how availability of time is distributed in the city, we focused our study area to people who are not privileged to have free time. Based on our studies and analysis we selected few parameters and certain categories of people to derive the free time poverty map.

People with Low Academic Level
Working Age people that is between 16-65 as they are devoid of free time
Gender distribution, as gender plays an important role in availability of free time like females are more involved in domestic work and child care
Disposable family income, considering that a lower disposable income available reduces the availability of income that can be spent on leisure activities

Fig. 3 - Time availability distribution

The distribution of land uses in a city determines where we spend our time and in what activities. Understanding the city for its work areas, residential areas, public engagement areas, leisure areas and mapping peoples engagement in time and space.

Fig. 4 - Land uses distribution

Proposal

Given the challenge of the Studio-Superilla project in order to understand how we can better relate the use of time with the use of spaces. The current Barcelona Superblock project focuses on pedestrian areas, mobility and air quality and so on, but does not cater to the land uses needed in future society with more free time.

Policy: "Pla Estrategic d’us del Temps"

Policy aims putting together the opportunities in the city with the future needs of citizens through a collective platform.

Fig. 5 - Policy proposal

The first step of the policy will be to understand dynamics of land use in Eixample. We aggregated the current land use of residential/ offices into our three categories of time: Live, Work, Play.

Fig. 6 - Distribution uses of spaces

Live: Residences, the most dominant on site includes typologies from apartments to hotels
Work: Work Spaces -from administrative offices to industries and shops and services
Play: Play areas such as parks and recreational areas. These are the main spaces here that we expect to see emerging in a society of free time

Fig. 7 - Land uses and categories

In 2050

With growing automation and the emergence of AI, studies show replacement of jobs by robots in the near future. When jobs disappear many work spaces in the city will become obsolete. For example, research shows that 50% of people in the administration sector will lose their job, working hours will be reduced so how the city responds to these changes.

Fig. 8 - Land uses barcode

Department of free time

To answer that it is important to go back to understanding people’s time composition. Here we did a small exercise of listing a number of characters according to their job, and disposable time. For example, a low wage worker, who will still probably need to work for 4/5 hours a day, might want to spend his free time learning new skills to improve his conditions. On the other hand, a high earning manager might not need to work at all and instead use his free time to travel and socialize. When we aggregate the free time of all the people in the city we a barcode of free time.

Fig. 9 - Timeuse pattern

The project then proposes a “ Free Time Department” in that works to bridge the gap between the future needs for utilization of free time and available spaces in the city. The department will work like an dynamic machine that will update itself with real time changes in future needs and available spaces in constant feedback loop of time and spaces.

Fig. 10 - Matching needs and demands/p>

In order to implement the new uses in the available spaces, we categorize each use according to the aforementioned categories: work, live and play. These typologies are some of the options that, considering the current trends, could be developed towards the future: co-working spaces, co-living, etc.

Fig. 11 - Catalogue of spaces/p>

And then we identify the mentioned areas before for our interventions. Then we introduce to this typology new policies of land use to adapt the needs of 2050. For example we see how an office by regulation changed into a job training center.

Fig. 12 - Obsolete spaces and new proposals/p>

Conclusion

As per the research question of our project, the use of cooperation between Public Administration and the citizens in the identification and temporary allocation of spaces according to the time use pattern of different communities could represent a solution for a more efficient and sustainable use of time.

In fact, the project allows us to establish a framework for the generation and assignment of flexible spaces according to the constantly changing needs. Considering all the changes in terms of population structure, use of leisure time, and new ways of working and living, the current allocation of spaces, both public and private, can be allocated in a more efficient and flexible way. Basically, it reduces the quantity of unused space and provides space where is required, improving the quality of life of citizens.

This platform could become a powerful tool for the promotion of the 15 minutes city, since it helps to use spaces more efficiently, increasing the use of the spaces. It could also be easily replicable, following the same steps per different areas (time use data, unused spaces, Public Administration/citizens cooperation…), unleashing new opportunities for urban design and co-management models.

Fig. 13 - Obsolete spaces and new proposals

About [Free] time is a project of IAAC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia developed at Master in City & Technology in 2020/21 by students: Riccardo Palazzolo Henkes, Hebah Qatanany, Marta Galdys, and Kshama Patil and faculty: Luis Falcón Martínez and Iacopo Neri