Abstract: For a long time as a result of accommodating car
traffic, planning ideologies in the past put a low priority on public
space, pedestrianism and the role of city space as a meeting place for
urban dwellers. In addition, according to authors such as Jan Gehl,
market forces and changing architectural perceptions began to shift
the focus of planning practice from the integration of public space in
various pockets around the contemporary city to individual buildings.
Eventually, these buildings have become increasingly more isolated
and introverted and have turned their backs to the realm of the public
space adjoining them. As a result of this practice, the traditional
function of public space as a social forum for city dwellers has in
many cases been reduced or even phased out. Author Jane Jacobs
published her seminal book “The Death and Life of Great American
Cities" more than fifty years ago, but her observations and
predictions at the time still ring true today, where she pointed out
how the dramatic increase in car traffic and its accommodation by the
urban planning ideology that was brought about by the Modern
movement has prompted a separation of the uses of the city. At the
same time it emphasizes free standing buildings that threaten urban
space and city life and result in underutilized and lifeless urban cores.
In this discussion context, the aim of this paper is to showcase a
reversal of just such a situation in the case of the Dasoupolis
neighborhood in Strovolos, Cyprus, where enlightened urban design
practice has see the reclamation of pedestrian space in a car
dominated area.
Abstract: The proposed paper examines strategies whose aim is
to counter the all too often sighted process of abandonment that
characterizes contemporary cities. The city of Nicosia in Cyprus is
used as an indicative case study, whereby several recent projects are
presented as capitalizing on traditional cultural assets to revive the
downtown. The reuse of existing building stock as museums,
performing arts centers and theaters but also as in the form of various
housing typologies is geared to strengthen the ranks of local residents
and to spur economic growth. Unlike the examples from the 1960s,
the architecture of more recent adaptive reuse for urban regeneration
seems to be geared in reinforcing a connection to the city where the
buildings often reflect the characteristics of their urban context.
Abstract: These This paper looks into frameworks which aim at
furthering the discussion of the role of regenerative design practices
in a city-s historic core and the tool of urban design to achieve urban
revitalization on the island of Cyprus. It also examines the region-s
demographic mix, the effectiveness of its governmental coordination
and the strategies of adaptive reuse and strategic investments in older
areas with existing infrastructure. The two main prongs of
investigation will consider the effect of the existing and proposed
changes in the physical infrastructure and fabric of the city, as well as
the catalytic effect of sustainable urban design practices. Through this
process, the work hopes to integrate the contained potential within
the existing historic core and the contributions and participation of
the migrant and immigrant populations to the local economy. It also
examines ways in which this coupling of factors can bring to the front
the positive effects of this combined effort on an otherwise sluggish
local redevelopment effort. The data for this study is being collected
and organized as part of ongoing urban design and development
student workshop efforts in urban planning and design education.
The work is presented in graphic form and includes data collected
from interviews with study area organizations and the community at
large. Planning work is also based on best practices initiated by the
staff of the Nicosia Master Plan task force, which coordinates holistic
planning efforts for the historic center of the city of Nicosia.