City Space Architecture

04/06/2026

City Space Architecture was honoured to participate in the 13th World Urban Forum in Baku, a major international platform convened by UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) for dialogue on the future of cities and human settlements, this year under the theme "Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities".
The Forum offered a valuable occasion to engage with institutions, experts, and organisations committed to advancing more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient urban development. In this perspective, partnerships and collaborations remain fundamental to fostering meaningful and long-term impact.

We we part of a joint initiative by the Global Planners Network (GPN) at the WUF13 Urban Expo led by the Royal Town Planning Institute, ISOCARP - International Society of City and Regional Planners, together with City Space Architecture, American Planning Association, Istituto Nazionale di Urbanistica, Commonwelath Association of Planners and GPEAN - Global Planning Education Association Network, masterfully coordinated by RTPI International. All together we were representing around 50.000 planners in 150 countries around the world. Thanks to our members who supported our presence at the WUF13 Urban Expo: Luisa Bravo (our Founder and President, Italy), Hendrik Tieben (member of our Scientific Committee, Hong Kong SAR), Sebnem Hoskara (chair of our Senior Advisory Board on Public Space, Cyprus), and Nadine Bitar Chahine (representing our institutional member Baladiya Catalyst, UAE).
We coordinated a networking event on "Housing-Public Space Nexus Fostering Inclusive Urban Communities", in partnership with Catalytic Communities | Comunidades Catalisadoras and CatalyticAction, chaired by our Founder and President Dr Luisa Bravo and moderated by Lance Jay Brown, co-chair of the UN-Habitat Professionals Forum, with Theresa Williamson, Sara Maassarani, Gregor H Mews, Theodore Liebman and Vincent Kitio from UN-HABITAT (United Nations Human Settlements Programme).
We also partnered with Catalytic Communities | Comunidades Catalisadoras to support the exhibition "Favela Hub: 100% Homegrown”, read more: https://comcat.org/favelahub/

We remain fully committed to advancing our advocacy on public space through diverse collaborations and institutional engagements, in order to strengthen and promote the understanding of public space as a fundamental human right. Read more about our ongoing partnerships and collaborations: https://www.cityspacearchitecture.community/our-partners/

During WUF13 we were also able to discuss our engagement with UIA - International Union of Architects Union Internationale des Architectes (UIA) at the upcoming UIA World Congress of Architects in Barcelona for two special sessions on public space, with Thomas Chung (co-director of the UIA Public Spaces Work Programme) and Jose Chong (leader of UN-Habitat Global Public Space Network). Stay tuned for more updates!

22/05/2026

We are attending the 13th session of the World Urban Forum, the global conference convened by UN-HABITAT (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) on the theme: "Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities", taking place in Baku on 17-22 May 2025.
Adequate housing is a human right; yet around the world almost three billion people live in inadequate housing. More than 1.1 billion people live in informal settlements, and 300 million are homeless. The housing crisis goes far beyond the need for more buildings and shelter, as housing affects health, safety, equality economic productivity, political stability, and many other aspects of human wellbeing.

We're part of a joint initiative by the Global Planners Network led by the Royal Town Planning Institute, the ISOCARP - International Society of City and Regional Planners, together with the American Planning Association, the Commonwealth Association of Planners, the ISTITUTO NAZIONALE DI URBANISTICA and the GPEAN - Global Planning Education Association Network.

On May 20 our Founder and President Dr Luisa Bravo has moderated a networking event on "Housing-Public Space Nexus Fostering Inclusive Urban Communities", promoted by City Space Architecture in partnership with Catalytic Communities | Comunidades Catalisadoras (Brazil) and CatalyticAction (Lebnon).
This networking event explores the critical intersection between housing policies and public space design in creating sustainable and equitable urban environments. It will bring together urban planners, housing developers, public space designers, and community advocates to examine how residential developments can better connect with and enhance the quality of the public realm for spatial justice and community integration. The key aim is two-fold: first, to foster and champion cross-sector partnerships to demonstrate how quality public space can be fully integrated to enable inclusive communities; and second, to articulate tangible, transferable policy recommendations that treat housing and public space as interconnected systems, essential to achieving urban liveability and enhancing social cohesion.
Read more: https://wuf.unhabitat.org/event/wuf13/housing-public-space-nexus-fostering-inclusive-urban-communities

Co-moderator: Lance Jay Brown
Speakers: Theresa Williamson, Sara Maassarani, Gregor H Mews, Vincent Kitio, Theodore Liebman.

11/05/2026

We are excited to annouce that we are working on a preliminary programme of the 6th edition of our “Past Present and Future of Public Space” international academic conference, engaging authors from more than 30 countries across all continents, with a particularly strong representation from the Global South (including India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Brazil, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt and several African countries), together with contributions from Europe, North America, East Asia and Oceania.

In order to ensure a high-quality, coherent programme that reflects our global ambition, all submissions undergo a careful review process based on clarity of argument, originality, methodological robustness, and relevance to the conference themes. This process sometimes leads to the rejection of proposals that are interesting but still too preliminary, insufficiently aligned with the call, or not yet developed enough to support a fruitful debate.
A rejection rate of around 25% reflects our commitment to curate a programme that is both internationally diverse and intellectually rigorous. It allows us to welcome a wide range of perspectives while ensuring that each contribution meets shared standards and that sessions remain focused, balanced, and generative for all participants.
It also reflects a deliberate decision not to use high rejection as a marker of prestige. We aim to maintain clear academic standards while opening space for diverse voices. In the same spirit, we have significantly reduced participation fees and offer a 50% discount to scholars based in low‑income countries, and we have established several awards dedicated to young designers, early‑career researchers and artists. These choices are fully consistent with the mission that has guided City Space Architecture since its foundation in 2013: to advance knowledge on public space while fostering inclusion, accessibility and global dialogue.

Our interest is to connect with academics and practitioners who are developing innovative research on public space at a global scale and to offer them a meaningful forum for discussion, with particular attention to voices from the Global South and other under-represented contexts. Public space is still too often marginal in urban agendas and policy debates, and this conference seeks to highlight it as a central field of inquiry and practice.

The conference will take place in hybrid mode, those who are interested to attend online can register as participants - select: ONLINE / for participants (not authors) - and join three days of keynote lectures, presentations, round table discussions and special sessions dedicated to our Public Space Awards.
Early bird registration ends on 22 May.
Read more about the conference: https://www.cityspacearchitecture.community/past-present-and-future-of-public-space-2026/
Register: https://donorbox.org/events/929727/

27/04/2026

Join us in Amsterdam and Rotterdam on 28-31 May 2026 for the workshop "Shaping Cities through Civic Interaction Design", developed in partnership with Hogeschool van Amsterdam - HvA Civic Interaction Design Research Group led by Martijn De Waal and in collaboration with the Public Space Detective led by Floor van Ditzhuyzen, with the participation of Andrew Shaw, from Breda University of Applied Sciences.

This workshop examines how cities and public spaces can be shaped through Civic Interaction Design, with a focus on care, stewardship, and collective wellbeing. Through site visits in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, a symposium at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, and collaborative discussion sessions, participants will learn about civics as an orientation to society that prioritises relations over transactions and collective wellbeing over individual usability and seamless consumer experiences, and will explore how design and interactive technologies can support collective city-making and more meaningful forms of civic engagement.

Limited to 20 participants to ensure intimate group dynamics and meaningful exchange. Applications will close on 10 May 2026.

Read more and apply: https://www.publicspaceacademy.org/shaping-cities-through-civic-interaction-design/

15/04/2026

We are excited to announce our Public Space Academy workhsop on 28-31 May 2026 taking place in Amsterdam and Rotterdam on "Shaping Cities through Civic Interaction Design", developed in partnership with Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Hogeschool van Amsterdam - HvA - Civic Interaction Design Research Group led by Martijn De Waal and in collaboration with the Public Space Detective led by Floor van Ditzhuyzen, with the participation of Andrew Shaw, from Breda University of Applied Sciences.

This workshop examines how cities and public spaces can be shaped through Civic Interaction Design, with a focus on care, stewardship, and collective wellbeing. Through site visits in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, a symposium at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, and collaborative discussion sessions, participants will learn about civics as an orientation to society that prioritises relations over transactions and collective wellbeing over individual usability and seamless consumer experiences, and will explore how design and interactive technologies can support collective city-making and more meaningful forms of civic engagement.

Limited to 20 participants to ensure intimate group dynamics and meaningful exchange. Applications will close on 10 May 2026. A 20% discount is available for applications received by 26 April.
Read more and apply: https://www.publicspaceacademy.org/shaping-cities-through-civic-interaction-design/



Image: Project "Megaphone" in Montreal (Canada) by Moment Factory.

27/03/2026

Our Film Festival "Urban Visions. Beyond the Ideal City" is back!
27-28 November, Bologna & online hosted at our headquarters Museo Spazio Pubblico / Public Space Museum.

Submit your short film on FilmFreeway
https://filmfreeway.com/FilmFestivalUrbanVisions
Deadline 24 April

Watch past editions https://visioniurbane.stream/

23/03/2026

We are glad to announce the fourth edition of our Film Festival "Urban Visions. Beyond the Ideal City", which will take place in Bologna & online on 27-28 November 2026.
It will be hosted at our headquarters Museo Spazio Pubblico / Public Space Museum.

Submit your short film!
https://filmfreeway.com/FilmFestivalUrbanVisions
Deadline 24 April.

“URBAN VISIONS. Beyond the Ideal City” is an independent film festival promoted by City Space Architecture, a non-profit organisation based in Bologna, Italy...

17/02/2026

City Space Architecture is pleased to announce the sixth edition of the international, interdisciplinary academic conference “Past Present and Future of Public Space”, to be held on 7-9 July 2026, in a hybrid format.

The conference continues a long-term commitment to advancing knowledge, debate, and action on public space as a key resource for more inclusive, democratic, and sustainable cities.
The 2024 edition, organised ten years after the first conference, marked an important anniversary in this trajectory. It brought together scholars, practitioners, policy-makers, artists, and activists worldwide, reaffirming the relevance of public space as a laboratory for innovation, civic engagement, and social justice, and consolidating a global network of collaborations initiated in 2014.
In 2026, the conference will open a new phase in this conversation, addressing pressing contemporary challenges and exploring how public space can support new forms of participation, care, and collective imagination.

MULTIPLE OPEN CALLS: these calls invite diverse perspectives and methodologies, continuing our tradition of fostering interdisciplinary dialogue between academia, practice, policy-making and artistic expression in the field of public space.
- Research Abstracts / for research contributions exploring perspectives and approaches to public space
- Public Space Research Awards / for Master's and PhD theses, recognising outstanding interdisciplinary research in public space studies
- Public Space Design Awards / for university students (undergraduate and master's) worldwide, in architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, and related fields, addressing contemporary design challenges
- Public Space Art Awards / for installations and performances that reimagine human interactions in public space, open to artists, collectives, and interdisciplinary practitioners
- Public Space Short Film Awards / for short films, celebrating cinematic explorations of civic life in cities.

A small group of public space experts will gather at the City Space Architecture headquarters, Museo Spazio Pubblico / Public Space Museum, in Bologna, while a larger audience will be engaged online, through sessions, debates and keynote lectures. Only City Space Architecture members can participate in the in-person activities in Bologna, and a very small group of guests.
On 10 July 2026, an in-person workshop of the Public Space Academy will take place at Museo Spazio Pubblico in Bologna.

Read the full announcement on our community website: https://www.cityspacearchitecture.community/past-present-and-future-of-public-space-2026/

Read our newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cityspacearchitecture.org/past-present-and-future-of-public-space-2026

21/01/2026

Dear public space lovers,

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new website! After more than 12 years of activity, we finally have a comprehensive directory showcasing the profiles of all our members, including individuals, institutions, volunteers, fellows, and interns. City Space Architecture is a membership organisation that currently engages over 100 international members and 300+ affiliated volunteers across all continents. This creates a robust global scholarly network that bridges the gap between academic theory and practical implementation, providing advice on policymaking.

On our new website, we have also posted a report of the most relevant events we have organised since 2013, featuring pictures of the venues, attendees, and activities. We have also highlighted the numerous partners we have collaborated with over the years, as well as the initiatives we have developed at our headquarters in Bologna, Museo Spazio Pubblico / Public Space Museum.

Enjoy! https://www.cityspacearchitecture.community/

If you are interested in joining us, this is the perfect time of the year to become a member: https://www.cityspacearchitecture.org/?p=become-a-member

23/12/2025

As the year comes to an end, we would like to wish all our members, volunteers, friends and partners peaceful holidays filled with joy, rest and inspiration. We hope that the coming year will bring you all new opportunities, renewed energy, and meaningful connections!
Thank you for the moments shared and the collaborations that made this year so special. Here's to a bright, creative and fulfilling 2026!