The City of Commons Exhibition, 2019

The City of Commons Exhibition | University of Pavia
9 - 13 October, 2019

Commons and urban commons have been widely debated over the last few years, and are key to the discussions on sustainable use of resources and empowerment of local communities. The topic is very challenging due to the complexity of towns and cities, including kind of resources, actors and potential conflicts in the use or in the governance of them. Nevertheless, there is lack of appropriate debate within disciplines dealing with urban space and its (co-)design. Cities, squares, landscapes and buildings (even if under-utilised) have always been field of practice and experimentation for disciplines such as architecture, urban design, landscape (design) and planning. What are the urban commons in (our) towns and cities? Is it possible to map them, or to produce an updated (critical) cartography of them? In what ways scholars and professionals can contribute not only to govern them but towards co-production and co-design? What is, within this framework, the role of local groups and communities, also in relation to occasional users and tourists?

“The City of Commons" exhibition took place in Pavia, Italy – Aula del '400, University of Pavia, 9-13 October 2019 – and was part of the IT.A.CA. Festival. IT.A.CA is an agency of international cooperation, organising an itinerant festival across Italy and Europe to showcase and debate best practices of sustainable development (you can read more about their agenda and mission here) and “The City of Commons“ exhibition showcased documents from various sources. Multiple voices were present, showing how cities (in light) of urban commons (and commoning practices) call for critical reflections on the ways in which we read and interpret places, an attitude that also implies a radical thinking on participatory and design processes. The exhibition showcased research-focused activities as well as pedagogical initiatives: a number of case studies and best practices aims at providing an overall vision on the state of art at international level. The outcomes of teaching-focused activities were also showcased, delivered in Pavia within a university module and the first edition of the Summer School 'The City as a Commons'.

Pedro Leão Neto – the coordinator of scopio Network and a teacher in the fields Photography, Architecture, City and Territory at FAUP – and Eduardo Silva – research fellow at CCRE | CEAU | FAUP and editorial assistant at scopio – exhibited the poster “Visual Spaces of Change: a methodological and pedagogical approach towards the study of the urban landscape“ (you can download the poster here) at the Aula del Quattrocento, University of Pavia, an exhibition which opened on the 9th of October, at 6 pm in.

The City of Commons, 9-13th of October, University of Pavia, 2019

RIBA Research Matters 2019, Nottingham

RIBA Research Matters | University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University
17 October to 18 October, 2019

The Royal Institute of British Architects is a global professional membership body driving excellence in architecture, and Research Matters offers early career stage researchers from academia and practice an opportunity to present their research in a setting similar to that of a peer-refereed conference but in a more constructive, supportive, and non-confrontational atmosphere. The conference is also a chance for more established researchers from academia and practice to present their current research. This year's event was co-hosted by the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University, taking place in the town of Nottingham between the 17th and the 18th of October.
The programme, which ran over two half-days, included paper discussions and PechaKucha style presentations cutting across the discipline, including topics such as contemporary and historical urban research, global histories, technology and digital spaces, children and architecture, and the development of the profession. Each day began with a keynote and day one culminated in an evening event at the New Art Exchange.

On the first day of Research Matters 2019 (17th of October), Pedro Leão Neto – the coordinator of scopio Network and a teacher in the fields Photography, Architecture, City and Territory at FAUP – presented the paper "Contemporary Views on City Spaces and Architecture in Oporto: Documentary and Artistic Photography Mapping", a presentation that was fitted within the “Urban Design“ category of the Conference. Also presenting a paper at RIBA Research Matters 2019 was Ana Miriam Rebelo – a teacher of Photography that’s also a student in the PhD in Design ministered by FBAUP and a frequent collaborator of scopio – presenting the paper “Clareira” in PechaKucha style format.

RIBA Research Matters 2019

20th International Conference of the Utopian Studies Society, Europe, 2019

20th International Conference of the Utopian Studies Society, Europe, 2019

Utopia, Dystopia and Climate Change
Monash University Prato Centre, Tuscany, Italy
1-5 July 2019

The Utopian Studies Society was established in 1988 by a group of British scholars, following an international conference on utopianism at New Lanark, which in the early nineteenth century was managed by the founder of British socialism, Robert Owen. It was re-launched, following the “Millennium of Utopias” conference at the University of East Anglia in June 1999. The Utopian Studies Society aims to co-ordinate and encourage the diverse work currently taking place on the subject of utopianism in the disciplines ofliterature, philosophy, sociology, history, architecture, politics, ecology, anthropology, film, media and computer games, gathering annually at the beginning of July in various European locations – Britain, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Cyprus, The Czech Republic, Italy. These conferences consist of keynote presentations which provide an opportunity to meet some of the great names among utopian scholars, network and get to know academics worldwide with shared interest in the study of utopianism, all in a welcoming atmosphere of openness, respect, inclusivity and dialogue which we deem particularly desirable given the universal context of academic competitiveness.We aim to promote a special community of scholars bonded by friendship and mutual interest in promoting our subject.

The 20th conference of the European Utopian Studies Society was held in Monash University’s Prato Centre in Tuscany from 1-5 July 2019, subjacent to the theme Utopia, Dystopia and Climate Change, addressing the way utopianists have explored the utopian and dystopian possible outcomes of anthropogenic global warming. As with all the Society’s conferences, papers on other aspects of utopias and utopianism will also be welcome.

On the 3rd of July, Pedro Leão Neto (the coordinator of scopio Editions) presented the paper "Visual Spaces Of Change: Embedding Photography And Image Manipulation Into Critical Debates On The Urban Environment", that explores the relationships between virtual dimensions of photography and concrete physical realities in contemporary discourses on Architecture, City and Territory.

20TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE UTOPIAN STUDIES SOCIETY, EUROPE