Closed City Systems and Overdetermination

Over-determination
Introduction
The concept of over-determination accurately depicts an eye-catching issue regarding the planning and development of urban centers. The main aim of urban planners is to develop urban centers that provide essential services in a safe, clean, and efficient manner while offering a platform where the economy is supported. This aim is not realized because cities are susceptible to social ills, economics, and government policies. However, according to Sennett (2020), the aspect of over-determination has made urbanists continuously ignore a crucial element of creating wholistic urban centers by focusing on buildings that are fit for their purpose while neglecting change. Such city architectural design results in closed city systems that separate the people it brings together. It is, therefore, crucial to address this issue by applying, reflecting, and evaluating the over-determination theoretical concept using a real-life site. This paper discusses Queens Street, the Cardiffs city center's central hub of interactions and business activities.
Research direction
The researcher collected observable information on Queen street design based on the style of architecture, public and private realms, expansion plans, and modernization process. The data was then placed in the context of the Open city by Sennett (2017) to determine whether Queen street can be regarded as a closed or open city.
Closed city systems and overdetermination
According to Bennett (2020), there is a significant flaw in modern city designs despite city designers and planners having modern technologies, tools, and materials to support structures. Additionally, they have modern machinery, heating, and lighting systems. The peculiar thing to note is that modern cities are no better than ancient ones despite significant improvements in planning technologies. Creativity in city planning has been impeded by over-determination by parties and regimes aiming to create closed cities. Their overdetermination can be deduced as an attribute of closed city systems.
As earlier indicated, overdetermination is a critical factor when addressing closed city systems. Closed city systems are composed of delineations, restricted zones, and gated community structures within such a city. These urban designs result in brittle cities through the over-determination of regimes that want power, order, and control. These cities limit exchange between groups bearing economic, social, ethnic, and religious "substances ."The renewal and growth of cities also result in closed city systems. In most modernizing cities, this process has led to the displacement of people due to demolitions of old buildings to create land for new buildings (Sennett, 2017). The old buildings were built and designed through overdetermination and over-specification of function and forms pressure, therefore unable to stand the test of time and change of functions. It is regarded as a decay of modern city fabrics compared to past architectural design, leading to erasure rather than adaptation.
The advantage of closed systems is that they provide equilibrium similar to a market concerning the pre-Keynesian proposition. In closed systems, resources are well managed and monitored, eliminatin...