Urban trauma describes a condition where conflict or catastrophe has disrupted and damaged not
only the physical environment and infrastructure of a city but also the social and cultural
networks. Cities experiencing trauma dominate the daily news. Images of blasted buildings or
events such as Hurricane Katrina exemplify the sense of 'immediate impact'. But how is this
trauma to be understood in its aftermath and in urban terms? What is the response of the
discipline to the post-traumatic condition? On the one hand one can try to restore and recover
everything that has passed or otherwise see the post-traumatic city as a resilient space
poised on the cusp of new potentialities. While repair and reconstruction are automatic
reflexes the knowledge and practices of the disciplines need to be imbued with a deeper
understanding of the effect of trauma on cities and their contingent realities. This issue will
pursue this latter approach using examples of post-traumatic urban conditions to rethink the
agency of architecture and urbanism in the contemporary world. Post-traumatic urbanism demands
of architects the mobilisation of skills criticality and creativity in contexts in which they
are not familiar. The post-traumatic is no longer the exception it is the global condition.
Contributors include: Andrew Benjamin Ole Bouman Tony Chakar Mark Fisher Christopher Hight
Brian Massumi Todd Reisz Eyal Weizman Slavojiek Counterpoint critics: Jayne Merkel Craig
Whitaker Encompasses: Urban conflict Reconstruction Infrastructure Development Climate change
Public relations Population growth Film
