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Georgia

USA

The assumption that all people are able to actualize the rights, benefits, and responsibilities of citizenship within the built environment is misleading. African Americans’ ownership of property and use of public space for personal enjoyment has been historically perceived as transgressive behavior, and often met with punitive legal action, violence, and, at times, death. Given this context, the ability of African Americans to successfully navigate and shape the physical spaces within their lives has amounted to de facto survival strategies. Addressing this fraught social-spatial condition and its impact at the scale of the citizen, Thrival Geographies (In My Mind I See a Line), an intervention in the courtyard of the US Pavilion, is rooted in the historical spatial practices of African Americans, yet speculates upon new spatial strategies that support the most precarious of populations. We foreground these practices as manifestations of civic agency and freedom that move all citizens beyond mere survival toward thrival and full participation in the democratic ideal.

United Kingdom

The event was conceived by Jan Kattein Architects, Enfield Council, and St John & St James C of E Primary School in Edmonton, North London . On 23 July 2021 we closed the street in front of the school to cars for a day to seed the idea that space in the city needs to be first and foremost reserved for people. Chalk drawing, experimental den building, an outside gallery of student artwork, an ice-cream tricycle and a pop-up zoo proposed alternative uses for the street with a view to permanently transform the street into a space for play, social interaction and biodiversity in the future.

Albania

Contemporary urban life plays in fast-forward. People use public space mainly as a medium to get from place to place, not as a destination. They practically share the space with each other, but they rarely use it to connect. That lack of connection creates alienation that ends up in exclusion. What would happen if we could simply pause for a moment and connect with what surround us and actually experience the space and the people in it? Wouldn't it be nice to meet you?

Denmark

Conversation with the city' explores the process of welcoming in Copenhagen, through the stories of two strangers at different times. The Norrebro neighborhood has become the place where both of them belong: its diversities shaped the area in a welcoming architecture. Actually, it is a process, that starts from Norreport Station and continues until Superkilen Park. It has to be a process of care for humans, for their perceptions, and for places as well: in that sense, it is similar to the first conversations we make in order to feel welcomed in a new city.

Azerbaijan

“Baku is a charming, progressive and clean city with all the high glass buildings, and the unique architectural hybrid from Zaha Hadid Design to social-modernist architecture” - is the thought of most privileged people who have not seen beyond the city center. City design and built environment in Baku is chaotic and unorganized, and mass instruction is always going on. There is a big contrast in design where one could see astonishing beauty on the outside, but when you look on the inside, you see all the suffering, ugliness, and disorder that has been going on since the 1990s. Baku is the biggest center of economy, trade, arts&culture, and education and is the home of the largest job market in the country. Beginning from the late 20th century, the city’s population began skyrocketing with an influx of refugees and forced migrants (due to the war), then later with the oil boom that expanded many job sectors in the region and drove many to the capital in search of work. The rapidly growing population and the economy of Baku pressured the government to advance the “image” and the city's international recognition, which led to a fast growth of infrastructure, architecture, and design. The city hosted major international events throughout the 2010s up until now. Steady growth created a pretty image on the outside but left many behind living in the surrounding neighborhoods of Baku. Most of the streets in suburban areas are in bad condition which challenges many people with disabilities. The design of the streets is relatively inclusive around the center, however, most of the ramps are almost a "décor" more than a useful tool. Other design elements in the city that are supposedly inclusive are also very ill-measured and play the role of "décor" rather than a useful tool for people with disabilities.