TWIN2EXPAND Summer School ‘Enhancing the connectivity of neighbourhoods. Evidence-based design in masterplanning and the case of the Pedieos linear park
The Summer School focused on evidence-based design in the master planning of linear parks and hosted PhD students, researchers and professionals to analyse the Pedieos master plan. The Society and Urban Form (SURF) research lab hosted the 2-week intensive Summer School on the topic ‘Enhancing the connectivity of neighbourhoods. The application of evidence-based design in master planning of linear parks’, in Nicosia, Cyprus.
Participants including doctoral researchers, young researchers as well as professionals, engaged in the school, which consisted of various seminars, practical training sessions on GIS and spatial analysis, field work, keynote lectures and research presentations from the 14th Space Syntax Symposium. Eleven team members from the TWIN2EXPAND partner institution contributed to teaching and tutoring during different phases of the school.
Th
e school focused on a local case study, the Pedieos Linear Park in Nicosia, which is currently undergoing master planning efforts aimed at enhancing access to and across the park, as well as improving its infrastructure and facilities. Linear parks have a long history and have grown in popularity in urban areas. They offer many benefits, such as providing more access to green spaces, lengthy protected routes for cyclists and pedestrians, opportunities for businesses and continuous greenery for biodiversity. However, they may also carry negative trade-offs, such as acting as barriers between communities if difficult to cross, or reinforcing separation between different road users, thus diminishing efforts to make the urban environment more widely human-centered.
Participants were asked to apply evidence-based design and planning (EBDP) methodologies to the case study and proposed masterplan to develop their own understanding of the park, evaluate the potential impact of the masterplan, consider and test alter
native solutions. Their work provided an understanding of the potential impacts of the proposed plan and interventions to initiate a dialogue about the vision for the park and the city, the methods through which intervention proposals are developed and assessed, consideration for alternative solutions and the understanding of the social, economic, and environmental impacts of design.
A variety of local stakeholders were involved in the activities: the Pedieos Linear Park master plan was presented by the Nicosia Intermunicipality Development Company (DAEL), and participants presented their results to representatives of organisations including Thiasos Architecture Studio, the Parents’ Association of the Agioi Omologites Elementary School, Strovolos Municipality, the Cyprus Institute, local enterprises and DAEL. This resulted in establishing a conversation with engaged stakeholders tackling the current understanding of how the park performs as green infrastructure in relation to its surrounding neighbourhoods a
nd the whole city.
An exhibition ensuing from the work of the participants was displayed at the Department of Architecture of the University of Cyprus on the final day of the school. The exhibition will be enhanced and displayed in a public venue in the fall of 2024.
Click here to view details and full programme of the summer school.
The project ‘Towards Research Excellence in Evidence-Based Planning and Urban Design – TWIN2EXPAND’, brings together a consortium of leading European research institutions, including University College London (UCL), Polytechnic University of Turin, Chalmers University of Technology and Space Syntax Limited and aims at enhancing the research excellence of UCY in the field of evidence-based design and planning (EBDP) and to promote interdisciplinary research and networking in the field.
TWIN2EXPAND is funded by the European Union [grant number 101078890] and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee [grant number 10052856, 1005
0784].
For more information about the TWIN2EXPAND project, please visit the project website at www.twin2expand.eu
Contact: Nadia Charalambous, Project Coordinator, charalambous.nadia@ucy.ac.cy, 22892965
Source: Cyprus News Agency