Photo by Timon Studler on Unsplash

In 2020 City Space Architecture entered in a partnership with the Robert Bosch Foundation based in Stuttgart (Germany) aimed at supporting the development of our The Journal of Public Space. The Robert Bosch Stiftung is one of the major foundations in Europe that is associated with a private company: following the legacy of Robert Bosch, one of the greatest German entrepreneurs of the 20th century, for almost 60 years the Foundation has continued his commitment to social and societal causes in a contemporary form.
This partnership lies on a common interest on public space: in May 2020 the Robert Bosch Foundation published the results of the project Participatory design of people-centered cities, developed in collaboration with Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT), aimed at defining how to transform our habitats in a just, sustainable and livable way. Read more here.

The support of the Robert Bosch Foundation is an outstanding recognition of the mission City Space Architecture is pursuing through The Journal of Public Space, namely producing public knowledge on public space. This is particularly important while we live the unprecedented and difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic: public space has been deeply challenged and the majority of the world has lived in isolation, experiencing feelings of distress and loneliness.

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We are glad to announce that our IV conference from the successful series 'Past Present and Future of Public Space' will take place at the Italian pavilion, 17th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale, on September 17, in a blended format.
The conference is on the theme ’Shaping Resilient Communities. Global perspectives towards implementation of the New Urban Agenda' and is part of the project ‘Mapping Resilient Communities’ that City Space Architcture is developing for the Italian pavilion at the 17. International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale (news in English here), curated by our President Luisa Bravo.
The conference will engage eminent scholars in lectures and round table discussions on the research an practice of resilience, in its environmental, urban, social and economic meanings, and will include the participation of UN-Habitat, in order to frame the concept of resilience in the ongoing efforts regarding the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, adopted at the Habitat III conference in Quito (2016). The conference is also the opportunity to continue the discussion on the importance of public space culture in cities as a key asset for sustainable, inclusive and resilient development, in order to leave no one behind.

Download the full programme of the conference here.

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The conference will engage speakers online on Zoom, attendees can follow the live event on the Facebook page of the Italian pavilion: https://www.facebook.com/ItalianPavilion2021.

Updates on the event will be available on the Facebook event of the conference.

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We would like to thank all the speakers who accepted our invitation:

- Martin Brennan, University of Melbourne, Australia

- Manfredo Manfredini, University of Auckland

- Husam AlWaer, Dundee University, United Kingdom

- Maggie McCormick & Fiona Hillary, RMIT University, Australia

- Davisi Boontharm (Meiji University) & Darko Radovic (Keio University) , co+re. platform, Japan

- Hendrik Tieben, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

- Setha Low, CUNY The Graduate Center, Public Space Research Group, USA

- Massimo Santanicchia, Iceland University of the Arts, Iceland

- Martjin de Wall & Boudewijn Boon, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands

- Simone d’Antonio, National URBACT Point for Italy - ANCI (Italian Association of Cities and Municipalities)

- Jose Chong, UN-Habitat, Kenya

Still frame from PANORAMA, by Gianluca Abbate.

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During the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, when Italy was experiencing a severe lockdown, we started to work on our brand new Film Festival Urban Visions. Beyond the Ideal City, developed as part of A-Place. Linking places through networked artistic practices and co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union. The Festival was supposed to take place in November 2020 but was posponed due to the pandemic.

The aim of the UV film festival is to develop a field of research activities to facilitate a dialogue between urban theory, social complexity and film studies, and to raise awareness of some contemporary urban issues, emphasizing the relationship between individuals and the urban spaces they inhabit. In this context, a film becomes a tool to open new perspectives, to explore new theoretical paradigms and research methods, to establish an effective understanding around urban humanities, especially in the urban settings in which the festival will take place.

“URBAN VISIONS. Beyond the Ideal City” is the first, indipendent, Italian-based film festival for short films entirely dedicated to the contemporary city and to urban public life, aimed at exploring urban humanities through an interdisciplinary approach.

The first edition of Urban Visions took place on 22-25 April 2021, on a streaming platform - www.visioniurbane.stream, created in cooperation with OpenDDB, the first distribution network of independent productions in Europe.

We hosted over 100 films on a FREE streaming!

We are glad to announce that the free streaming will re-open and all films included in the competitions will be available to watch FOR FREE for two weeks, from August 23 at 8.00am (Italian time) till September 6 at midnight (Italian time) -> extended to September 13 at midnight (Italian time).
VOTE YOUR FAVOURITE FILM! We are eager to assign the Audience Award!

For more info write to urbanvisions@cityspacearchitecture.org.

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And now we are running the competition for short films for the second year of the Festival. Read the OPEN CALL on A-Place and apply by 15 September 2021.

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Official website (in Italian): www.cityspacearchitecture.org/urbanvisions.

Follow our Facebook page Visioni Urbane / Urban Visions.

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We are super excited to announce our participation to the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale titled 'How will we live together?', curated by Hashim Sarkis and organized by La Biennale di Venezia. Our contribution is included in the Italian Pavilion curated by Alessandro Melis on the theme 'Resilient Communities'.

Since 2019, we have developed the research project 'Mapping Resilient Communities' (webpage in Italian), curated by our Founder and President Luisa Bravo, with Roberta Franceschinelli and Simone d'Antonio, in cooperation with Fondazione Unipolis / Culturability and ANCI - National point URBACT Italy, and with UN-HABITAT, the United Nations Human Settlements Program.
Starting from July 2021, the project is implemented in cooperation with several additional partners, such as Glocal Impact Network and the Biennial of Public Space.

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Statement from the curator Hashim Sarkis (full statement here).
“The current global pandemic has no doubt made the question that this Biennale Architettura is asking all the more relevant and timely, even if somehow ironic, given the imposed isolation. It may indeed be a coincidence that the theme was proposed a few months before the pandemic. However, many of the reasons that initially led us to ask this question – the intensifying climate crisis, massive population displacements, political instabilities around the world, and growing racial, social, and economic inequalities, among others – have led us to this pandemic and have become all the more relevant.

Picture by Elettra Bastoni.

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In 2020 City Space Architecture implemented a parklet in front of its operational headquarters in the Porto-Saragozza neighbourhood, via Curiel 13/d, in order to develop some placemaking activities by promoting community engagement, creating cross-disciplinary learning spaces and engaging an intergenerational audience and different social groups, with special attention to the elderly and young people.

The design, implementation and management of the parklet is part of A-Place. Linking places through networked artistic practices, co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union. City Space Architecture is partner of A-Place, read more here.

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A parklet is a public space, for non-profit purposes and open to all, it can be used for free for events and initiatives for the neighbourhood.

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BACKGROUND STORY

As a response to the pandemic, City Space Architecture (CSA) got involved in a local project named “Strade Aperte” (Open Streets), initiated by a number of Bologna-based grassroots organizations together with architects and designers, in order to suggest small-scale projects to reclaim the public land for greener, pedestrian-friendly and socially inclusive purposes. CSA’s parklet was included in the list of actions of “Strade Aperte” to be presented to the Municipality.

Regrettably, the process of obtaining a permit of the local government, even with the support of the “Strade Aperte” project, took a long time (from May to September 2020). City Space Architecture also asked to sign an agreement to co-create the parklet and get institutional suppport on this initiative. Bologna is the first Italian city that approved in 2014 a 'Regulation on collaboration between citizens and the city for the care and regeneration of urban commons'. Read more about the Regulation here.
According to the administrative procedure, our request was published on the website of the Municipality, for public evidence, here. Unfortunately, the Municipality of Bologna rejected our proposal to co-create the parklet. However, the Municipality granted permission but asked to pay a fee for the occupation of the public land, from September 30th to November 30th, specifically for the area hosting three parking spots where the design proposal of parklet was implemented.