COST Action CA18126 – Writing Urban Places

New Narratives of the
European City

Latest Updates
March 30, 2023
Our position towards the built environment cannot be limited to being a mere observer. We are part of it and that old dominant or complacent perspective has radically changed: proximity has replaced distance, uncertainty has weakened any framework, and complexity has destroyed harmony. This congress aims to address Uncertain Landscapes as a conceptual tool to rethink our...
March 29, 2023
Human Rights Institute at SUNY Binghamton and Narrating Sustainability at NTNU are proud to invite you to a conversation with Marco Armiero and Divya Gupta, “Infrastructures of Harm, Communities of Knowledge, and Environmental Justice.”  Program Welcome and introduction by Alexandra Moore (HRI Binghamton) and Hanna Musiol (NTNU) Marco Armiero, “Placetelling: Wasteocene Stories of Oppression and Liberation”...
March 29, 2023
Speculative Fictions for Decolonial Futures with Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay & Jane AlberdeYou are invited to the last talk in the Landscapes of Injustice, Landscapes of Repair Series on speculative fictions for decolonial futures with Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay (UiO) & Jane Alberdeston (SUNY Binghamton). The event will be introduced by Alexandra Moore (HRI, Binghamton), and moderated by Hanna...
March 19, 2023
Edited by Slobodan Velevski, Luís Santiago Baptista, Aleksandar Staničić, and Klaske Havik This issue of Writingplace Journal moves into the field, exploring the moment when reflection turns into action, and questions how knowledge produced via research is appraised and applied on the ground. In the articles, authors reflect upon their concrete experiences where insights regarding the city...
March 7, 2023
REPOSITORY 49 Methods and Assignments for Writing Urban Places This Repository is the result of over three years of intense collaboration of Working Group 3  of our COST Action Writing Urban Places. The repository gathers a series of methods and assignments born from a shared interest in urban narratives. What can narratives tell us about how...
March 1, 2023
The John Ruskin Prize is aimed at those who have written about the city, in particular, that of Venice, in its complexity and historical-artistic density, but also in the light of contemporary themes, including the coexistence of the new and the ancient, the possibility of making the need to “conserve” coexist with the needs of a...

New Narratives of the European City

Writing Urban Places proposes an innovative investigation and implementation of a process for developing human understanding of communities, their society, and their situatedness, by narrative methods. It focuses particularly on the potential of narrative methods for urban development in European medium-sized cities.

By recognising the value of local urban narratives – stories rich in information regarding citizens socio-spatial practices, perceptions and expectations – the Action aims to articulate a set of concrete literary devices within a host of spatial disciplines; bringing together scientific research in the fields of literary studies, urban planning and architecture; and positioning this knowledge vis-à-vis progressive redevelopment policies carried out in medium-sized cities in Europe.

Working Groups

WG 1 – Science Communication

Working Group 1 is responsible for the overall communication and output of the initiative, via the dissemination of the status…

WG 2 – Theoretical Framework

Working Group 2 is concerned with how theoretical reflections can stimulate the thinking and praxis of narrating urban places of medium-sized…

WG 3 – Methodological Framework

The objectives of WG3 include the investigation and development of appropriate analytical and projective methods to understand narratives…

WG 4 – Fieldwork

The core of WG4 fieldwork’s activities is site-specific research. Each study consists of two phases, an analytical and a projective phase…

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