Stocks and flows – Marseille, France
FC-01x Future Cities (1st Run) - Exercise 2: "Stocks and Flows"
Uploaded on 2014-12-10 by RaduTeo
Being very well positioned on the map, having direct connection with the sea and also with the aerial transport, Marseille offers a relatively vast quantity of stocks and flows. We can speak about stocks at Marseille as being the sea (Mediterranean sea), the natural sights (hills and mountains that surround the city), universities (as Marseille has a well-developed educational system). Also, in a certain way, we can consider as stock the general idea of the city of Marseille as a city that simply is there, exists as an organized system and spatial configuration which offers the opportunity of creating flows, more precisely of welcoming tourists, maintaining exchanges of resources, offering places for jobs etc. Regarding the flows, they can be analized by taking into account the fact that the city is highly connected with other regions (aerial and naval transport). Therefore, flows at Marseille would be : people (tourists, students), informations (that come at the same time as the people, as Marseille is connected to other continents, thus it has a multicultural image), capital (from resource exchanges, tourists, people that come here to work or to study), density and also the city itself (as it develops, improves, in a certain manner which can attract people, therefore data, information, capital). As a result, the previously presented stand as an example for the concept of stocks and flows, by illustrating the ideas of static (stocks) and dynamic (flows), which contribute to the dynamics and the existence of the city, as Marseille is relatively born out of the concept of constant exchange of materials, objects, informations, knowledge etc. In my opinion, in the future, these stocks and flows can develop into a real interchangeable and constantly evolving system, which can serve as a basis for a more sustainable city, which cherishes and uses its stocks, its local resources, its wealth and its knowledge and uses wisely the flows that arrive and exit, in order to provide a constantly enriching environment. [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14182432798226639.jpg