EUNIC London within the framework of the Europe Readr project and in partnership with the Festival of the Future City is organising a roundtable discussion on Smart Shrinkage: the Imagination of Mid-size Cities.
Our panellists discuss how artists, writers and architects can help us understand the shift from big to mid-size cities.
The rate of urban shrinkage, which has seen some people moving away from superstar cities to smaller towns and rural areas in search of a better and safer quality of life, has been increased by the pandemic. In Europe, after years of expansion, urban development is taking an unexpected turn, accelerated by the health crisis and also by fears of areas being left behind. Once secondary in the collective imagination, mid-size cities could well become the focus of future concerns.
Speakers include writer Aurélien Bellanger, architect Matevž Čelik and Ilinca Păun Constantinescu, President of the IDEILAGRAM Association.
About the speakers:
Aurélien Bellanger is a French writer, a philosophy critic and an actor. He debuted in 2010 with a monograph about Michel Houellebecq and has since published four novels, mostly dealing with technology, modern life and contemporary European mythologies. His second novel, L’Aménagement du territoire, received the 2014 Prix de Flore. His latest book is Téléréalité (Gallimard, 2021).
Matevž Čelik is the founder and programme director of Future Architecture platform, a pan-European platform for exchange and networking between emerging talents and architectural institutions. He is an architect, writer, editor, researcher and developer of new cultural models in the fields of architecture and design. Until 2020 he was director of MAO, Museum of Architecture and Design in Ljubljana, Slovenia, which under his leadership grew into a flagship national institution with international reach. In 2016, 2018 and 2020 he was the Commissioner of the Slovenian Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia. He is a member of the advisory board of the Archipelago festival in Geneva.
Ilinca Păun Constantinescu earned her PhD degree in architecture in 2013. She currently practices architecture at Ideogram Studio, teaches theory of architecture at “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism Bucharest, and leads cultural projects within the IDEILAGRAM Association. In 2021 she exhibited at the Venice Biennale of Architecture, within the Romanian pavilion, Fading Borders.
Booking Information Here.
This is an online event on Crowdcast. Please note that Crowdcast works best in Chrome.
Booking a ticket for our Crowdcast event
Click the Book Ticket link to go to Crowdcast to register. Click the ‘Save my spot’ button to register. You will be prompted to enter your email address or social media login (Facebook, Twitter or Google). An email will be sent to confirm your registration, along with the option to add the event to your calendar.
Joining our Crowdcast event
Once you register you will have instant access to the event’s Crowdcast page, including the polls, chat, and Q&A. To return to the event page at any time, simply click the link in your confirmation or reminder email. The event will start automatically on its event page at the time advertised, and all you have to do is sit back and relax.
Live captions
You can use Chrome’s accessibility settings to view live captions for Crowdcast events. This page explains how to enable them.
The Festival of the Future City takes place every two years in Bristol. This year – due to the pandemic – the festival brings together live on-stage, live online and pre-recorded events. Check the project page for details and follow #FutureCity21 on Twitter.
