The first edition of the international consultation Celebration of Cities, launched by UIA Past President Jaime Lerner, called on architects and students of architecture around the world to imagine operations of “urban acupuncture” intended to rectify the imbalances and fractures from which today’s cities suffer.

Knowing that other themes can be identified and developed, the UIA wants to relaunch the dialogue and pursue a process of urban democracy that will favour an improvement in living conditions for the human race, within the context of a new humanism for the third millennium: that of knowledge and awareness.

ATTRACTIVE, WELCOMING, IN MOVEMENT

Four scenarios were addressed during the first edition of this consultation: historic cities, suburban metropolises, precarious habitat, and the outskirts of the city.
The second edition will highlight three new challenges to generate positive transformations in the city.
Make the city attractive and welcoming:
Attractive for the whole of society in terms of offers, initiatives, and opportunities, both temprorary and permanent.
Welcoming for citizens and visitors in terms of leisure, amenities, security, services, accessibility, etc.
Allowing movement:
A major preoccupation for mayors of cities, the question of transportation and movement is structural and its resolution involves a huge amount of interventions and inventions: pedestrian paths, circulation and parking in harmony with the urban fabric, the introduction of new technologies, and integration of new modes of transportation that respect the environment.

A PURELY INTERNET COMPETITION

The competition has two levels, national and international. All the operations will take place through the Internet, in the complete respect of anonymity.

The projects, in .pdf format, will be sent and stocked on a central computer linked with UIA Member Sections that will organise the first round of adjudication, on national level. A selection, in proportion to the number of projects submitted nationally, will be sent on to the international jury. Registration will be made on-line at the same time as transmission of entries.

The competition is organised by the CNAPPC (Consiglio Nazionale Architetti, Planificatori, Paesaggisti e Conservatori), the UIA Italian Section, in collaboration with the Italian magazine L’ARCA.

MAIN DEADLINES

• Site activated: 6 March 2006
• Deadline for competitors’ questions: 13 March 2006
• Deadline for answers to questions: 20 March 2006
• Registration and transmission of entries on the consultation website: from 19 to 27 April 2006