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Conference

Public Space in

European Social Housing

22.4.22 9.00-15.00

 What can we learn about 

 social housing estates as places 

 of social and cultural encounters? 

How can we better understand how social and cultural encounters happen and, ultimately, how such encounters can better be sustained? At this international conference artists, landscape architects, urban planners, sociologists, researchers, social housing administrator etc. across academia and practice will focus on large-scale 1970s housing estates as places where such encounters actually take place. They will explore and discuss knowledge, strategies, and tools for examining and understanding the intersection of people and the physical spaces they share.

 Publicness 

We apply the concept of publicness to grasp the complexity of that crucial intersection of public space and cultural encounters. Publicness is not limited to places designed as public space, it can occur in any place or time where humans communicate with each other on shared concerns.

Our cross-disciplinary examinations of publicness are guided for four analytical categories: heritage, informality, democracy, and policies/practices. We focus the explorations on five housing estates in Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, and Italy.

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 The Conference 

How can we study social housing estates as public spaces? And what can we learn from these places in terms of producing public meaning and functions? How can we better understand how cultural encounters happen and thus be sustained?

The conference seeks to broaden the field of discussion around these difficult questions. Through interdisciplinary lenses we will explore: 1) How can we understand publicness of spaces on European social housing estates?; 2) How can we put the concept of publicness to work to gain a new understanding of public space, and what did it bring about?; and consequently 3) How can the knowledge, the methods, and the practices of publicness be catalyst for sustaining social housing estates as places of social and cultural encounters? Each session of the conference will include discussions from a group of researchers and practitioners as well as engaging table sessions where the audience can contribute with their perspectives.

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The conference is the final event of the three-year PuSH research project, Public Space in European Social Housing, funded by and part of the HERA ‘Public Spaces: Culture and Integration in Europe’ programme. The project has brought together researchers of various disciplines from Norwegian (NMBU, Norwegian University of Life Sciences), Danish (UC, University of Copenhagen), Swiss (ETHZ Wohnforum), and Italian (UniNa, Univerisità de Federico II) universities collaborating with associated partners from local, national, and transnational NGOs, municipalities, and museums as well as with

artists.

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 Registration 

Send an email entitled PuSH to maaj@ign.ku.dk with your name and institution. No fees – limited seats.

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 Program 

Conference: Public Space in European Social Housing.

22nd of April 2022 at CAFx, Halmtorvet 27, 1700 København V

8.30-9.00       Coffee (and registration for guests)

 

9.00-9.15        Welcome remarks

By Josephine Michau, CAFx 

By Alice Pittini, Housing Europe*

By Laila Kildesgaard, KL, the national association of municipalities

By Ellen Braae, PL, UC 

 

9.15-9.20        Situating the conference: Public Space in European Social Housing

By Ellen Braae, UC

 

9.20-9.30       Situating the exhibition: a tool for dialogue, knowledge exchange and production

By Anne Tietjen, UC

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9.30-10.25      Session #1:

“How can we understand the publicness of places in European social housing estates?

  • Anne Tietjen, UC (on sites of publicness)

  • Marilena Prisco, UniNa (on the intersection of publicness and informalities) 

  • Svava Riesto, UC (on the intersection of publicness and heritage)

  • Leonie Poeck, ETHZ (on the intersection of publicness and policies/practices) 

  • Melissa Murphy, NMBU (on the intersection of publicness and democracy)

Moderated by Henriette Steiner, UC 

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10.25-10.50    Coffee

 

11.50-11.00    Situating publicness on-ground #1: Film from Lotto O

Introduced by Marilena Prisco, UniNa

 

11.10-12.30    Session #2:

“How can we put the concept of publicness to work, and what did it bring about?”

  • Eveline Althaus, ETHZ

  • Marilena Prisco, UniNa

  • Maria Cerrate, UniNa *

  • Paola Scala, UniNa*

  • Melissa Murphy, NMBU 

  • Svava Riesto/Bettina Lamm, UC (video)

  • Anne Tietjen, UC

Moderated by Henriette Steiner, UC

 

12.30-13.20    Lunch

 

13.20-13.40    Situating publicness on-ground #2: Film from Tscharnergut

Introduced by Leonie Pock, ETHZ

 

13.40-14.50    Common workshop #1:

“How can the knowledge, the methods, and the practices of publicness be catalyst for sustaining social housing estates as places of cultural encounters?”

The workshop includes all conference participants and the pre-casted participants:

  • Cesare Moreno, Maestri di Strada ONLUS*

  • Christina Krog, BL

  • Henriette Steiner, UC

  • Melissa Murphy, NMBU

  • Kine Korsmo, Drammen Municipality 

  • Eveline Althaus, ETH

  • Marilena Prisco, UniNA

  • Laura Lieto, UniNa* 

Moderated by Anne Tietjen

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14.50-14.50    Closing remarks

By Ellen Braae, UC

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Introduction to the Art Photo Exhibition

By Cristina Ferraiuolo, art photographer*

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15.00-15.30    Reception

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