Ninth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

The “old” notion of a city is directly related to the presupposition that civilization is born, preserved, and sustained in the city. As we look at the pace of the urbanization realized globally, we can see that the conception of city is reconfigured and we end up with a contemporary notion of a “new city.” This new city is designed as an area of camouflaged modern slavery of various dependencies. The originally autonomous farmers in the rural areas, affordably satisfying their most basic needs like food and accommodation, are encouraged to migrate to cities leaving their skills in agriculture behind. The strategies consisting of prevention of independence at different levels, individualization of people and less cooperation / collectivity, competition in urban societies for success; result in new cities that divide people, instead of equally uniting them. This study opens a discussion about getting recommendations for what, how, and why many components of contemporary metropolises / giant quasi-urban settlements are left out from where “really urban” life is taking place, as a result of exclusionary planning policies and how re-unification can be made possible: a) By exhibiting specifically created artworks / events to be displayed in the outdoor public spaces such as squares, streets, building façades, walls, billboards, etc. b) By using micro solutions for cooperation among diverse folks living in the city, belonging to different income / education level groups, faiths / cultures, sexual preference groups, walks of life.