Towards an ecological city: Water & Public Space

online course

The 2021 Summer School will focus on water and public spaces in urban areas.

WHICH PROBLEM? Climate change is confronting global cities to extreme conditions that are not able to control natural events anymore. The process of urbanization has marginalized nature and water, provoking side effects: heat island, increasing of pollution, soil-sealing. Thus urban citizens are demanding healthy cities.

HOW TO ACT? We believe in Public Spaces. A new approach in designing public spaces through water can respond to these extreme conditions that threaten cities. The aim is to reflect and investigate through international case studies and theoretical lectures the importance of water inside the contemporary city.

Lectures will be run online in order to make the programme accessible to a wider number of participants. Tutors, lecturers and special guests as well as academics from a broad range of disciplines such as engineering, hydraulics, sociology, philosophy, architecture and economy will participate. The most interdisciplinary we are more reflections we have!

During the International Summer School you will attend a series of lectures and do some practices from 9.00-13.00.

Course leader

The International Summer School is organize by The University of Pavia with support of International Universities: Opole University of Technology, University of Alicante, Universitat Jaume I, Tongji University.

Target group

All PhD, Master and Bachelor students from different disciplines from all over the world are welcomed to participate to the International Summer School.

Course aim

Public space is today more than ever subject of debate and deep cultural and architectural reflection. In a historical moment in which it is necessary to redefine the role of the contemporary city, European and International policies are increasingly pushing towards the development of ecological and human-oriented cities. It is an urgent issue: cities today must know how to combine artifice and nature. Public space as a place for the community can represent the starting point for orienting sustainable development within the cities.

Water from the sky, water under the ground: water has always been a fundamental resource for life.
Even though cities are facing today serious problems related to water. Flooding represents only one part of it: water bombs hit everybody!
Soil sealing, bad management of water collection systems, bad design of water systems, etc. turn water into a threat ( that’s a common problem in global cities!).
But it’s true also, that if on the one hand water can represent a threat, on the other it can constitute an interesting area of research and opportunity for the regeneration of the city through new public spaces activated by this resource, thus combining built environment and nature.

Highlights
• Climate change in the city: understanding the process and impacts on human health and on urban environment;
• Exploring future scenarios for public spaces in response to climate change;
• Understanding the benefits of mitigation and adaptation strategies;
• Architectural strategies to design public spaces through water;
• Understanding social impact;
• Environmental strategies.

Fee info

EUR 100: Participants must submit the registration
request before Wednesday 1 September
2021 to the address aml@unipv.it.
After sending the registration request, a
registration form and payment details will
be sent.