3C's: Catalyzing Community Coexistence

Kristensen, Karl Emil Feldbæk ; Valskyte, Ieva ; Moazzen, Nour

4. term

Urban Design, Master

2018

2018-05-23

198 pages

Cities are increasingly becoming an arena of conflict. Conflicts in cities manifest themselves in different ways. In this Thesis the focus is on contested cities - urban conflicts rooted in differences such as culture, language and religion. The project studies how conflicts impact on the urban environment and the social layers, and the point of departure of examining contested cities is a case study of the city Famagusta located in Cyprus. Hence the thesis addresses an inclusive urbanism focused on reshaping physical and mental borders in order promote coexistence in contested cities. The theoretical research focus on three themes: contested cities, memory of place and the public realm, and together with the analysis of the past and present situation in Cyprus and Famagusta it provides the foundation for suggesting a future scenario for the island and city. From theories it clear that public realm and public space are important features of the urban environment in order to facilitate coexistence between communities. However as the analysis of the present shows, there are not many quality public spaces. Moreover the future scenario frames the strategic approach, where the points of interest are used to define the public space network including public transport system and the social infrastructure. Social infrastructure provides places for everyday activities to take place and these places defines where the conceptual design intervention takes place. Hence the public space network is comprised of social infrastructure for everyday activities, that are accessible and of such a quality that it encourage social interaction and coexistences. The thesis suggest strategies and physical interventions to promote social interaction in the public space, which in time will foster coexistence and heal the fragmented public realm. The thesis provides an approach to catalyze community coexistence in contested cities.

contested city ; coexistence ; public realm ; catalyst ; divsion ; urban design ; divided communities ; contested cities ; coexistnec ; public relam

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