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USA

The world watched as Milwaukee residents struggled to express their right to vote when only 5 polling stations of 180 remained open to serve a population of over 600,000 in this COVID-19 pandemic. The locations that remained open were not accessible to all neighborhoods. This is what voter suppression looks like. Communities, especially those without reliable transportation, need polling stations to participate in our democracy. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Milwaukee identified a need and took action. Three club locations have already been approved to serve as polling stations and seek more prior to the November election. The clubs are trusted places for kids, parents, and the community. This civic gesture can be deployed in cities across the nation, and only takes the foresight to look at the current built environment and recognize the spaces already serving communities. Communities can use existing space to remove barriers and make it possible for everyone to vote.

Georgia

In the late 90s there were few places where one could go as a kid and have fun. Tbilisi zoo was one of them. While skipping the school, me and my friends would go there often. By that time this place had no much meaning, it was just a place to hide. I have not been to the zoo since childhood, until my kid got 3-4 years old. After almost 20years gap, revisiting this place got me into a big emotional mess. I started to go there for my photo projects, at first, I was obsessed with the architecture of the cages. Later in 2015 Tbilisi flood happened. It resulted in around 20 peoples and in half of the zoo’s animals’ deaths. Some of the wild animals escaped from the zoo and were roaming in the city, just like in Hollywood movies or animations. For me it got more meaning to observe the life of the zoo after the flood. From a happy childhood attraction, it has transformed into a saddest place, which is located in the city center, surrounded by highways and constructions. We go there and take our kids, as if we are getting them used to have fun in a most primitive way.

Azerbaijan

ARCHITECT IS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN PEOPLE AND ARCHITECTURE / FILM SHOWS IT EXPRESSLY STRAIGHT P.S makes places usable by everyone, regardless of age, ability and circumstance.

Denmark

A short film about the add-on shelf on Copenhagen's public trash bins, for people to collect cans. This film highlights the inclusivity of the design and its impact on the users.

Russia

Attention economy is the largest and most disruptive innovation in both the information and in marketing. Smart homes are ubiquitous, connected devices that enable people to monitor, and that which is exploited by a large number of people. Attention economy is, therefore, revealed in the transformation of the public sphere into a panorama of relationships of things, of affects, of intentions. The singular constellation of social relations is the ‘state of Things’. It is also, in a way, a mode of production, which throws light on and gives expression to the intensities of this social process and appears in it a kind of objectivity and a mode of definition so that the political process may more appropriately be regarded as a kind of activity. A space is thus less a specific place or a general archetype of entities, and more a particular constellation of relations and a particular object. A space is thus, one in which, what is stored in the ‘actual’ is also what can be transformed into a modulating effect of that, and the inclusivity of the non-human perspective, be it nature or machine.

Azerbaijan

There was no public space to gather and form a community for the alternative youth, marginalized communities, and those who enjoy arts and crafts. Salaam cinema opened its doors to different communities and started its activity with movie screenings. The space got so much attention from youth and in return, from its owner as well. To a point, the owner claimed to destroy the building which is a historical Molokan worship house and said that he plans to build a mall instead of it. The community around Salaam liked the space so much and slowly it was turning into their “home”. And when someone tried to demolish the community and the “home” they newly brought back to life, young people started to resist keeping the space for its further use. Weeks of resistance happened where at some point people physically fought against the owner and carried out a sitting protest not to leave the space. Eventually, with the support of urban activists and the community, the resistance won and Salaam could survive! Now the space hosts many arts and entertainment events and it is a safe space for different marginalized communities. For many, there is a strong feeling of community around Salaam and since its start, the building has been flourishing and getting bigger!