With an increasing number of people living in the city, more attention has been focused on new residential development, infrastructure and public participation in urban planning. These changes are marking a new era of urbanity for Prague.
Since the launch of Shared Cities in 2016, the principles and the efficiency of the sharing economy – especially in the form of sharing of flats, offices, bikes and cars – have found their way into the lives of Prague citizens. Shared Cities has enhanced these trends by creating new spaces like the Foyer2 and the Library of Things at the Goethe-Institute Prague. In urban planning, Shared Cities induced positive change in the thinking of people and in the way policy makers get citizens involved in participatory processes. By showcasing innovative examples from cities in Europe and globally, the annual reSITE forum has contributed to making Prague a better city to live in.
As Germany’s cultural institution the Goethe-Institut focuses on the promotion of German language and fostering international cultural exchange. With its worldwide network of 157 centres, the exchange of ideas, the transfer of knowledge and the sharing of good practice between cities is what inspired the institute to become the Lead of Shared Cities. During the project, the Goethe-Institute opened the Foyer2 – a shared space for creative work, a lounge for cultural events and a place for co-working in the centre of Prague. In May 2017, the Library of Things was launched as the first of its kind in the Czech Republic, inviting Prague citizens to reflect what it would be like not to own but to borrow items – be it a drill, ice cream maker or a glitter ball.
reSITE was the Curatorial Lead of Shared Cities. As a global non-profit based in Prague, reSITE is dedicated to creating liveable and lovable cities, by understanding the intersection of design, policy, culture and the new economy in a continually urbanizing world. Since its founding in 2011, reSITE has hosted over 150 architecture and urbanism events in Lisbon and Berlin, alongside its annual flagship forum in Prague. As part of Shared Cities, reSITE organized three conferences on trends in architecture and urban planning: reSITE 2017 In/visible City, reSITE 2018 ACCOMMODATE and reSITE 2019 REGENERATE.
An active tool of Czech Republic’s public diplomacy, the network of Czech Centres abroad promotes the country’s history, culture, language, tourism and trade. The Czech Centres consist of headquarters in Prague, 24 branches abroad and the Czech House Moscow. As part of Shared Cities’ programme, the Czech Centres hosted the ICONIC RUINS? exhibition, presenting new ways of using abandoned post-war socialist buildings as designed by the Bratislava Department of Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design.
Within Shared Cities: Creative Momentum the Czech Centres realized the "Iconic Ruins?" exhibition and an economic impact evaluation of the project. How does the future of the exhibition look like? What are the benefits of having an economic analysis of the project? Find the answers in the interview with Ivana Černá and Sandra Karácsony from the Czech Centres / Česká Centra in Prague, Czech Republic.
SHARED CITIES: CREATIVE MOMENTUM CHANGED THE WAY PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THEIR CITIES
Stefanie Heublein and Kamil Pavelka have managed the Shared Cities consortium. How did they make such a large international network of people collaborate? What were their personal highlights during the project? Find the answers in the interview with Stefanie Heublein, Project Manager of Shared Cities: Creative Momentum and Kamil Pavelka, Co-Developer of the project at the Goethe-Institut Prague, Czech Republic.
Are you looking for a quiet and well-equipped room in the middle of Prague that can be used free of charge and is open to everyone? Then the Foyer² in the Goethe-Institut is just right for you.
IMAGINE A CITY, WHERE MONEY RULES AND WHERE EVERYONE IS A CELEBRITY…
The Virtual Ritual performance premiered on 2nd October 2019 in the Archa Theatre as part of the Shared Cities Finale. The performance takes place in a fictional city. In what ways does it resemble a real city? What problems do virtual cities have? And is it easier for people to share and be part of a community in the virtual world? Find the answers in the interview with Jan Mocek and Táňa Švehlová from SixHouses in Prague, Czech Republic.
The ICONIC RUINS? exhibition seeks to reveal the parallels to be found in the architecture of the four Visegrad countries’ shared state-socialist past and to initiate a broader discussion of the immediate future of the critically at risk cultural heritage of late modernism. Download the exhibition catalogue to find out more about Post-war Socialist Architecture in the Visegrad Countries.
“IN THE SHARED CITIES PERFORMANCE, THERE IS A LOT OF BLOOD, AS THERE IS IN URBAN PLANNING”
What is the driving force behind urban sharing? And how can citizens shape their own cities? Find the answers in the interview with Osamu Okamura, a Prague-based urbanist and curator of the Shared Cities Finale in Prague, Czech Republic.
SHARING HAS ALWAYS BEEN PART OF CITY LIFE. YET IT’S STILL UNCOMFORTABLE.
As part of Shared Cities, reSITE organized three conferences on trends in architecture and urban planning. What impact did joining the Shared Cities network have on the development of reSITE as a global forum? And what motivates people to share in a big city? Find the answers in the interview with Martin J. Barry, Founder and Chairman of reSITE in Prague, Czech Republic.
THE SHARED CITIES ATLAS CAPTURES NEW FORMS OF SHARING IN CENTRAL EUROPE.
The Shared Cities Atlas maps current sharing trends in Central and Eastern European cities. How does the Shared Cities Atlas use data to visualize its stories? And which initiatives or new forms of sharing in the region are the most remarkable ones? Find the answers in the interview with the editor of the Shared Cities Atlas, Helena Doudová from Prague, Czech Republic.
An original gaming performance takes its viewers to the parallel world of online video games. The virtual spaces offer their users endless possibilities to enjoy themselves without the constraints of physical reality.
Post-Socialist Cities and Active Citizenship in Central Europe - New forms of active citizenship - With seven post-communistic cities including Berlin - Sharing as a strategy for a better city
What if you didn’t own all those items, but would just borrow them? The Goethe-Institut asked this question and established the first “Library of Things” in the Czech Republic.
Why Paris Deputy Mayor Believes Shared Spaces Are the Future of the City
Jean‑Louis Missika, deputy mayor of Paris, talks about his passion project – a design competition for underutilized spaces – and why he believes shared spaces are the future of the city.
Research Publication on Exhibiting on Sharing in Architecture
The workshop Exhibiting on Sharing in Architecture was the third in a series of three curatorial-practice-oriented workshops (publications, data, exhibitions), organized by the Curatorial Lab of the Shared Cities: Creative Momentum project, in order to explore innovative approaches to the sharing of knowledge in architecture, design and urban planning. The workshop on exhibiting explored the staging of architecture sharing and urbanism in contemporary practice with the objective to find the most suitable presentation formats for the project Shared Cities: Creative Momentum (SCCM). The two-day workshop took place in Berlin and was organized by reSITE in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Prague. The design-thinking session of the workshop helped us formulate the SCCM final exhibition concept, that should be further discussed with invited international curators with extensive experience in curating transnational projects and exhibitions.
Research Publication on New Media and Infographics
The workshop New Media and Infographics was the second in a series of three curatorial-practice-oriented workshops (publications, data, exhibitions). Organized by the Curatorial Lab of Shared Cities: Creative Momentum, they aim to explore innovative approaches to the sharing of knowledge in architecture, design and urban planning.
The Curatorial Lab Workshop on New Media and Infographics featured data visualization and data-driven analysis that represent architecture, urban spaces and culture in an innovative way. This two-day workshop took place in Katowice and was organized by reSITE in collaboration with Medialab Katowice.
Scales of Sharing: Berlin – Katowice, Shared Cities Diaries #5
What happens when a fan of inclusive cities, consumer of exhibitions and publications on architecture and one of the authors of the Shared Cities: Creative Momentum project feels the politics of the region kick in?
Research Publication on Publishing 2.0: New Formats in Architecture Publishing
The Curatorial Lab Workshop #1 on Publications was the first in a series of three curatorial-practice-oriented workshops (publications, data, exhibitions). Organized by the Curatorial Lab of Shared Cities: Creative Momentum, they aim to explore innovative approaches to the sharing of knowledge in architecture, design and urban planning.
Curatorial Lab Workshop #1 on Publications invited renowned writers, editors and publishers to elaborate on the present condition of print and digital publications relative to architecture and urbanism. During the two-day workshop we discussed the three types of SCCM project publications: the annual magazines, research publications and the final exhibition catalogue.
I consider it to be reasonably safe to say, human societies are not mere products of biological determinism. As the most basic supporting argument, let’s borrow the sociological metaphor of agency, or “free will”. Were human beings just biological automata, there wouldn’t be such a thing as the capacity of individuals to make free choice and to act independently.
What is Shared Cities: Creative Momentum? / Shared Cities Diaries #1
The history of cities is synonymous with the history of sharing. Sharing is defined as the joint use of a resource or space. The city – on its own – has always been a centre for sharing. Not just of resources and spaces, but also of food, architecture, ideas, money and cultural traditions. Shared Cities: Creative Momentum builds upon those intersections which are created when sharing occurs. We do so by bringing together eleven organisations from seven European cities to organise over 150 activities that will culminate in an international exhibition, publication and film
