Speaker
Description
At the international level public spaces play a key role in the development of urban areas as they act as places for social encounters, political contestations and cultural events (Siláči and Vitková, 2017). In social sustainability reports and in documents of international organizations such as the Agenda 2030 it is stated that public spaces play a central role in shaping social interactions among cities’ inhabitants, foster equity while at the same time environmental sustainability and economic development is linked to their organization and functions (UN, 2015). Even though public spaces reshape urban areas and act as sites of hope, we note significant differences in their role in small and big urban areas as well as areas of the Global North and Global South (Landman and Mady, 2022). Considering the important challenges encountered worldwide, the paper tries to answer the question of how public spaces in small and medium-sized cities could work as agents of inclusive and sustainable urban transformations and thus lead to positive changes in the development of urban areas. The purpose is to question the appearance of new planning methods and tools for the development of these areas which focus on the design of public spaces while maintaining the characteristics of the local tissue.
The research proposes an experimental approach in order to study the ways which potentially could lead to a better future, social cohesion and environmental sustainability in small and medium-sized urban areas. A critical point is to recommend a planning methodology which could be used as agent of urban transformations for areas that face economic and social difficulties. The choice of the case study was based on the necessity to propose a planning methodology for public spaces which focuses on existing local power dynamics as a means towards an inclusive and equitable living environment for the inhabitants of these areas. “Xersonisos tis Panagias” is located in the city of Kavala in the region of East Macedonia and Thrace in Northern Greece, an area that maintains its physical and social characteristics since the era of Ottoman Empire and which is nowadays used as a space for recreation and leisure. It is important to underline the particular characteristics of the region as it is among the less developed at national (Greek) level, it is characterized by deindustrialization and the closure of local enterprises, while at the same time the presence of the Greek Muslim Community in neighboring cities of Kavala (Xanthi and Komotini) poses challenges regarding the support of ethnic minorities and the enhancement of social cohesion through the design of public spaces.
The research method used was the descriptive-analytic. The descriptive method was used in order to define planning methodologies for the design of public spaces and the consequent redevelopment of urban areas as well as to relate it to previous studies in areas facing economic and social difficulties. The analytic method was used in order to develop our strategy and model for the development of these areas. We proposed a development scenario for the city of Kavala based on the design of neglected urban voids inside the city’s limits and on existing power dynamics of the city and the region of East Macedonia and Thrace such as the presence of Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), monuments and designed public spaces. The study of a real-world setting with particular characteristics (socio-economic difficulties, small number of public spaces) revealed the necessity to consider the planning of public spaces in poor small and medium-sized urban areas as a transformative agent which seeks to contribute to a more livable urban future by combining measures of social and environmental sustainability.
References
Landman, Karina, Mady, Christine (2022) Uncovering Different Faces of Public Space in the Global North and South, Built Environment, 48 (2), pp.149-154.
Siláči, Ivan, Vitková, Ľubica (2017) Public Spaces as the Reflection of Society and its Culture, IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 245(4), DOI 10.1088/1757-899X/245/4/042009
United Nations (2015) Agenda 2030. [Online] available at: https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/publications/21252030%20Agenda%20for%20Sustainable%20Development%20web.pdf
| Keywords | public spaces, urban areas, sustainable development, inclusion, Kavala (Greece) |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
