URBANITAS
Over a two-year period, the URBANITAS network united eight cities from as many different countries – with a substantial proportion coming from new Member States – around the subject of “urban breakdown”. From defining the very concept of “urban breakdown” to recommending possible solutions, the exchanges between the cities highlighted the multi-faceted nature of the notion of “urban breakdown”. In Krakow, for example, the river is responsible for the physical dislocation of the urban area, whilst in Albacete it is the ring road that isolates one part of the city. In Berlin-Mitte, meanwhile, a huge piece of wasteland surrounding a rail line in the heart of the city destroys the urban continuity. In order to achieve the objective of finding a common strategy to address urban breakdown, a series of seminars were organised on the following sub themes:
> Physical dislocations: roads, waterways and rail networks,
mono-functional areas like offices and business parks
> Social dislocations; behavioural, economic, identity-based
dislocations, social exclusion
> Access to housing; housing rights, property speculation,
balancing economic development against access to property