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The mission of Eastern Mediterranean University's Urban Research and Development Center (URDC) is to improve understanding of and deliver innovative responses to urban challenges by providing a forum of contributions to the quality of urban environment to promote sustainable urban settlements. ​Read More​ 

​News & Events

WUF11 NETWORKING EVENT BY EMU URDC: POWER OF PUBLIC SPACE FOR POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION IN CONTESTED CITIES

Eastern Mediterranean University is co-hosting a networking event at #WUF11 with #City Space Architecture on the “Power of Public Space for Post-conflict Reconstruction in Contested Cities" and supported by #ISOCARP.

This networking event focuses on knowledge sharing on public space and its meaning in conflict cities for shaping resilient communities. In conflict cities, for example, in divided cities like Nicosia, in the course of daily life, urban public space is often shared more than residents realize. Thus, urban public spaces create room for unexpected or surprising encounters and illustrate both the potential and challenges of having a less segregated city. The event intends to bring together public space experts, scholars, designers, professionals, planners, etc. to share experiences and knowledge that they have gained in conflict cities of Nicosia, Famagusta, East Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Beirut, Sarajevo-Bosnia, Berlin, and Prishtina. As has been indicated in a Briefing Paper (4) prepared by the Center for Urban Conflict Research at the University of Cambridge, "in divided / conflicting cities, urban planners and relevant organizations must ensure that fragile social arrangements that encourage mixing of residents are not disrupted by the imposition of barriers and basic sharing of space may depend on people having mundane reasons to be together, such as shopping, work and the use of health care facilities." 

The event aims to help participants understand how in conflicting cities, people from different communities have motivations for sharing urban public spaces. Second, the participants will be networking on the value and power of public space and try to answer the following questions: i) How can public spaces be used to sustainably reconstruct conflict cities? and ii) How to re-shape public space in conflict cities to reach urban resiliency?

The program and speakers of the event are already announced. Accordingly, following two keynote presentations on the topic, representatives of Research Institutes / Centers about Conflict and Planning will contribute to the event through the "PechaKucha" type of presentations to express their views on the power of the public space in conflict cities based on their experience. 

See you at the event on 29 June in Katowice, Poland, or virtually.  Please do not forget to register to attend!

​EMU URDC TO ATTEND THE 11TH WORLD URBAN FORUM

Eastern Mediterranean University Urba​n Research and Development Center (EMU URDC) will be attending the 11^th World Urban Forum (WUF11). “Power of Public Space for Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Contested Cities" entitled Networking Event suggested by the EMU Urban Research and Development Center received acceptance to be included in the 11^th World Urban Forum program. EMU URDC Director Prof. Dr. Şebnem Hoşkara will be attending the event to be held in the Polish city of Katowice between 26th and 30th June, 2022. On behalf of the United Nations, the WUF11 is being organized by Poland's Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy. Representatives of national, regional, and local governments, academics, businesspeople, community leaders, urban planners, and civil society representatives will be among the thousands of people who are expected to attend the event.

The World Urban Forum (WUF) is the premier global conference on sustainable urbanization. The WUF was established in 2001 by the United Nations to examine one of the most pressing issues facing the world today: rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies, climate change, and policies. The first WUF was held in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002 and has been held around the world ever since.​

In the 11^th World Urban Forum, 330 different events will take place under various topics such as “Sustainable Development Goals in Action", “One UN", “Voices from Cities", “Networking" and “Urban Library". Within the scope of these events, EMU Urban Research and Development Center will organize the “Power of Public Space for Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Contested Cities" networking event. The EMU URDC's event is also supported by the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) and City Space Architecture (CSA) which has a cooperation agreement with EMU. To be held hybrid on the 30^th of June, 2022 within the scope of the WUF11, the event is to be moderated by EMU URDC Director Prof. Dr. Şebnem Hoşkara and CSA Director Luisa Bravo. Moreover, EMU URDC Vice Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nevter Zafer Cömert will be one of the speakers at the event.​

EMU AND FAMAGUSTA RAVELIN LIONS CLUB ORGANIZE ART AND CULTURE TOUR​​

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INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM DAY

On International Museum Day, May 18th, 2022, we celebrate "public space" concentrating on the power of museums for sustainable development goals and public spaces. We would like to explore the potential of museums to enrich public space through art and education and to achieve sustainability by adding a positive change in their communities."Museums have the power to transform the world around us. As incomparable places of discovery, they teach us about our past and open our minds to new ideas — two essential steps in building a better future." (ICOM, 2022)

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18 APRIL INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR MONUMENTS AND SITES

EMU RAISES AWARENESS REGARDING THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS THROUGH VARIOUS ACTIVITIES

Eastern Mediterranean University Urban Research and Development Center (EMU URDC) in collaboration with EMU Faculty of Architecture, organised an awareness event under the title “CALL FOR ACTION: We are SDGs!". Within the scope of the Free Term Project assigned to the students of Faculty of Architecture, Department of Architecture, Urban Design Master's Program “UDES 512 Urban Design and Sustainability" course, the activity proposed by the student Research Assistant Yakubu Abdullahi covers one of the steps of the scientific research project “Capacity Building and Awareness for Sustainable Development Goals on EMU Campus" carried out by Faculty of Architecture, Department of Architecture academic staff member and EMU URDC Chair Prof. Dr. Şebnem Hoşkara and Research Assistant Lamine Moustapha Adam.

The said event was held on Friday, 28 January 2022, at 10:30, at the EMU Social and Cultural Activities Directorate Meeting Hall. EMU Vice Rector for Administrative and Technical Affairs Prof. Dr. Serhan Şensoy, EMU Architecture Faculty, Architecture Department academic staff member and EMU URDC Chair Prof. Dr. Şebnem Hoşkara, academicians, researchers, representatives of EMU international student communities and clubs, as well as students attended the event which commenced with the opening speech of Research Assistant Abdullahi and then Prof. Dr. Hoşkara's lecture presentation. After the lecture presentation, the video screenings were followed by a question-answer session and discussions. At the last stage of the event, in order to raise awareness about the UN Sustainable Development Goals, term student assignments produced in the UDES 512 course were exhibited at EMU together with the student assignments of the same course produced during the 2020-2021 Academic Year Fall Semester,.

Commenting on the subject, Prof. Dr. Hoşkara stated that work on supporting and promoting the research project carried out by them and the URDC regarding the UN Sustainable Development Goals within the university will continue with various awareness activities.

WORLD WATER DAY 2022​

GROUNDWATER – MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE​

World Water Day is on 22 March every year. It is an annual United Nations Observance, started in 1993, that celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2 billion people currently living without access to safe water. A core focus of World Water Day is to inspire action towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.

URDC will be organizing an awareness event on 22 March 2022 in Nicosia, in collaboration with KTMMOB - Union of the Chamber of Cyprus Turkish Engineers and Architects.​​

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Based on the protocol signed by the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) of Cyprus and City Space Architecture (CSA) based in Bologna, Italy, in 2021, the EMU Urban Research and Development Center (URDC) is coordinating this cooperation under the name of EMU. This cooperation aims to establish joint academic initiatives on architecture and urbanism, with a specific focus on public space, engaging students, young and established researchers, and literary scholars, at the global level, with a cross-disciplinary perspective. 

As part of the collaboration, the EMU Urban Research and Development Center (URDC) and City Space and Architecture (CSA) are starting a series of webinars to celebrate public spaces under the scope of significant international occasions. With these events, all of which will have a specific focus in parallel with United Nations' themes introduced for 2022, EMU-URDC and CSA aim to raise awareness of the values of public spaces and promote Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for better public spaces. ​

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