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Places of Togetherness: Investigating the relationship between urban space and social cohesion through the Asia Minor refugee’s courtyards in Nikea

Project description

Promoting togetherness in culturally diverse urban spaces

Every minute in 2018, 25 people were forced to flee, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. About 2.4 million people migrated to Europe from outside the continent that year with an additional 1.4 million European migrants. The EU-funded PLAofTOGETHER project will explore the diversification of European cities and investigate the opportunities for increased tolerance and bilateral exchange through well-integrated urban spaces. Bringing together knowledge from design, geography, and social sciences, the project will inform local government priorities and local action. The findings will shed light on the types of urban spaces and spatial practices that support positive contact between diverse groups through a multi-level approach looking at different levels of the system.

Objective

Europe has never been homogeneous and is increasingly becoming more culturally, ethnically, and religiously diverse over the last century. In 2018, 2.4 million people migrated to Europe from outside of the continent, while 1.4 million migrated internally. The diversification of European cities can be an opportunity for increased tolerance and bilateral exchange or might lead to conflict and fear. Understanding how our urban neighborhoods and their public spaces facilitate tolerance, rather than fear should be a critical research field within the built environment disciplines, bringing together knowledge from design, geography, and social sciences, all the while informing policy and local government priorities. Current literature supports that inter-group contact can lead to greater levels of tolerance, and spatial conditions can play a significant role in facilitating or inhibiting these interactions. Well-integrated urban spaces such as streets, squares, courtyards etc. within neighborhoods have the potential to enrich public life and in the long run reduce discrimination and fear.
At present, there is limited research investigating the types of urban spaces and spatial practices that support positive contact between diverse groups, through a multi-level approach looking at different levels of the system. Moreover, there is limited exploration of the impact and agency of intentional urban commoning practices on facilitating encounters, exchanges, and supporting social cohesion and what role communities and local government can play in nurturing social cohesion through local action. My project, ‘Places of togetherness’ (PLAofTOGETHER) will use transition design and participatory research methods to a. investigate the role urban space play in community cohesion and the social integration of immigrants and b. to develop an innovative participatory tool that can be used to advance marginal urban spaces into places of togetherness by communities and local government.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020

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Coordinator

ETHNICON METSOVION POLYTECHNION
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 165 085,44
Address
HEROON POLYTECHNIOU 9 ZOGRAPHOU CAMPUS
157 72 ATHINA
Greece

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Region
Αττική Aττική Κεντρικός Τομέας Αθηνών
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 165 085,44
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