#urbanconflict

[creativecontrolroom]

[feedforthecity]

Protracted urban conflict response: what needs to change

Discussion organised by ALNAP, the Urban Humanitarian Response Community of Practice and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) going over the main findings of the latest ICRC report. It takes place in London on 6 October, but can also be seen online.

“Protracted armed conflicts are affecting millions of people living in urban areas, and decades of violence pose a challenge to urban services and infrastructure. City dwellers living through these crises are increasingly vulnerable to the shortcomings of conventional humanitarian and development approaches.

With decades of operational experience addressing the challenges of water, sanitation, electricity, solid waste and other public services throughout protracted urban wars, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has found that the underlying causes of those challenges do not currently receive the attention they deserve – and even their symptoms are difficult to deal with through short-term emergency responses. In a new report, ICRC call for humanitarian and development actors to change the course of their response in order to better respond to these crises.”

[mardinartuklumimarlik]

ENCOUNTERS AND CONFLICTS IN THE CITY

Department of Architecture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece)

The workshop “Encounters and Conflicts in the city”, took place in the Department of Architecture in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), from April to June 2013. It was structured by a group of doctoral candidates (Vaso Makrygianni, Orestis Pagalos, Haris Tsavdaroglou, Eirini Oreopoulou) and with the contribution of Evi Athanasiou, Lia Gioka, Dimitris Kotsakis, Sasa Lada and Kosta Athanasiou. The objective of the workshop was the creation of a series of open discussions, presentations and lectures for the city and space in the era of global crisis.

The idea for the workshop emerged due to the lack of a place for discussion and encounter concerning our research interests. Thus we aspired to approach our doctoral dissertations as collective works through encounter, dialogue and circulation of knowledge, with the expectation for contexts and works – which are often solitary works, locked in libraries and computers- to emerge and be discussed. We considered the communication of the doctoral candidates as vital, not only with each other but also with the undergraduate students. At the same time, we found necessary the connectivity with researchers beyond the borders of Greece, against the isolation and introversion that the new rules of economy impose. We also viewed interdisciplinarity as a crucial element of the workshop against the fragmentation of knowledge and the divisions of scientific specialties. 

http://urbanconflicts.files.wordpress.com/