URBAN SYNERGIES co-creating thriving connections for humans with nature

Lecture - Languages as an analysis and design tool for programming multiple-use public social spaces

“Sometimes a few birds, a horse, have saved the ruins of an amphitheater”

Jorge Luis Borges, Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius

This study explores the potential of fostering social togetherness by leveraging the concurrent temporal and spatial aspects of community interactions. Time geography provides a framework for understanding the spatial and temporal dimensions of activities. By considering specific users, time patterns, and locations, activity patterns can be described in “spatial-temporal” terms. The concept of multi-use analyzes how spaces can be repurposed for various activities when the temporal component is considered from a spatiotemporal perspective.

The "Mehrraum" study concept is grounded in the principle of staggered complementary uses over time. This approach aims to reduce time-relevant waste of space by optimizing the utilization of areas, rooms, and infrastructure.

Drawing on the critical realism and radical constructivism of philosophers such as Karl Popper and Ernst von Glasersfeld, this analysis uses Jorge Luis Borges' literature as a tool for analysis and design. In Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, Borges describes a society that lacks nouns in its language, leading to a fundamentally different philosophy and science. Glasersfeld asserts that “perception is not an image of a reality that is independent of consciousness, but rather, for each individual, reality is always a construction of sensory stimuli and memory performance.”

By exploring our world without nouns, we can unveil the potential of language as a tool, reflecting how humans have developed communication and thought processes.

Methods for exploring and developing spatio-social patterns include "Surwhat" (what and where) with "Snapshot" and "Chase" techniques, as well as "Surwhy" (why something occurs at a certain location and which factors facilitate it).

Based upon work from COST Action SHIFT, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology. “The summer school was a five-day event, taking place in Berlin in July 2024 involving young people from Europe and beyond. It centered around the challenging questions: How can we live and thrive together? How can we not only overcome polarities but nurture diversity and dignity for all? How can cities not only adapt to climate change but restore and regenerate relationships with nature, resources and with communities around us?”

“The summer school was and activity of the Cost Action Shift which studies the contribution of Social Sciences, Humanities and the arts to sustainability transformations and climate resilience. Organized by the Working Group 3, this summer school explored the potential of transdisciplinary, art-science approaches in addressing the complexities in urban spaces, drawing new linkages and designing connections that shape regenerative and thriving urban environments. Moving beyond disciplinary approaches to environmental challenges, this summer school integrated holistic, transdisciplinary approaches and created spaces for imagining and co-creating just, livable, healthy futures that foster a sense of belonging and kinship".”