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Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s education culture is built in a way that after graduation from high school those who are capable of having to move to Baku for university education and eventually to start a “better” life there. It is mostly because, unfortunately, there are not many opportunities for young people in the other districts of the country and the decentralization process is very slow in the regions. The situation makes many young people leave their life behind and start a new beginning in a huge and gray city. Many things do not translate the same when you move from a district where life is slower, nature is beautiful and green, people are kinder and know each other and most importantly there is a sense of community around the neighborhood you used to live in. In return, Baku is very hectic, the weather is toxic, people always rush somewhere and the high buildings and city infrastructure leave you with minimum contact with people and nature. Most women who have mental health problems such as general anxiety and depression find it hard to adapt to a new toxic environment. Most women also feel more insecure about their safety and security in Baku due to the higher chances of harassment compared to the regions. The sense of being a “stranger” to a big city you newly moved in also adds up to the general anxiety and mental health problems. Some spaces help to relax and find peace such as the shore of the Caspian Sea. However, it is getting increasingly crowded and dirtier every other day. Conditions in the country leave many young people with little to no choice but to move to the capital city at some point in their lives. The city design with its many problems from transport to overpopulation makes it hard for most to adapt.

Taiwan

Presenting the perspective and state of mind of the homeless living in the downtown area.

Georgia

A personal short story about one fractured foot.

Denmark

A wall is a significant architectural gesture. There is an indication of an inside and an outside. An indication of power and a historical significance. It is the material consequence of an abstract line that was drawn. In urban contexts historical walls stand in space and time, serving as reminders of what once was and yet still partially is. “In Rome […] people live more in streets than at home” (Pasolini). The Aurelian wall, perforated and surrounded by the streets of Rome, inhabited by humans and time, appears as dynamic and vital, meandering and static all at the same time. But what might be perceived as a seclusive body of mass and a symbol of the remains is in fact, when distinguishing between living on the street and in the street, a body who offers itself as home for those without one. The scenes of the walls exhibit the rejection and invitation, dwelling and deserting. The theater of the street would not be the same without its walls.

Japan

In Obara village, Fukui Prefecture, Japan, just one elderly individual persists. Once thriving local industries are now mere history, their absence highlighted by the harsh natural environment that hinders a modern lifestyle. The intricate relationship between humans and nature, often seeming like a conflict between the natural and artificial, becomes even more complex when we consider the role of 'weeds'. This is a glimpse into the intricate entanglements of symbiosis within the Satoyama - the gradually disappearing ancient Japanese rural landscapes.

Canada