Contemporary cities are comprised of parallel forms of social alliance, some legal and established, others outside the sway of official purview. While often held apart, these competing orders share at times the same urban stage.

The intermingling of formal and informal modes of organization promotes a split condition, leaving its traces in the very fabric of the city. This confounds practiced renditions of urban governance which adhere to top-down approaches without due attention given to bottom-up processes of self-regulation.

Whereas traditional urban design is inclined to follow both formal and top-down routes, the current situation demands a bifurcated sensibility attuned to a balance between official control and participatory agency.