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“U
RBAN-A-WHERE?” (U-A-W) was an
international activity developed within
the framework of the Cyprus Presidency of the
Council of the European Union. It involved inter-
national workshops, exhibitions and lectures on
the meaning of “chrono-urbanism.” It took place
during October and November.
The aim of “U-A-W?” was to bring to the surface,
in a creative and critical manner, the processes of
creating the urban area and the need for public
involvement on multiple levels, something that is
missing from everyday urban life in Cyprus. “U-
A-W?” fostered the creation of an active urban so-
ciety by drawing attention to the increased “amaz-
ingness” of urban environments across the world.
Get Playfully Public Engaged
The
get playfully public engaged
method allowed
groups of architects, artists and urban planners
from Cyprus, and from Europe and the USA, to
use various methods to participate creatively in
everyday urban life, in towns in Cyprus and else-
where in Europe.
“U-A-W?” highlighted chrono-urbanism through
the examination of the diverse rhythms that en-
rich urban environments, rhythms that make co-
existence of any sort possible. Quite often, such
rhythms are isolated or juxtaposed indifferently,
reducing the possibility of interaction or coexist-
ence that might improve the quality of the urban
environment.
Multi-rhythmic Urban Environments
The main assumption of “U-A-W?” was that any-
one can enhance a sense of collectiveness among
a town’s residents by encouraging and manag-
ing “multi-rhythmic” urban environments. Such
“multi-rhythmic” urban environments are exam-
ined through three themes, which were supported
by “U-A-W?” activity themes:
“URBAN-A-WHERE?” –
Striving for an active urban community
Urban Table Game