Public space not for sale! A public space regeneration strategy, aiming to balance the socio-cultural development and strengthen the identity of the city of Sofia.

Public space not for sale! A public space regeneration strategy, aiming to balance the socio-cultural development and strengthen the identity of the city of Sofia.

Skachokova, A.K.

Qu, L. (mentor)
Bekkering, H. (mentor)

Architecture

Urbanism

Complex cities graduation studio

2012-06-27

The thesis is exploring the relation between 3 main elements, identified within the urban environment of the city of Sofia: the processes resulting from the political change in 1989, the unexploited cultural heritage and the ability of public space to regenerate urbanity. The project exploits the relation between those elements while finding a solution to the main challenges in front of the city today: To achieve a balanced urban development, which will lead to international recognition. The structure of the thesis follows the one-year process of its elaboration. It starts with a research part, defining the main problem and the tracking the political reasons behind it. Further the main socio- spatial problems of the city are analyzed through the scope of the public space – a vulnerable urban element, constituted form the relations between diverse actors (public, private, civic). Therefore public space is not only used as a tool for solving urban issues, but also an analytical tool, speaking of the complex processes taking place in the city. The theoretical part explores the capacities and properties of public space on a context-free level. Public space is then used as a structural tool, able to frame the urban management model in a desired direction. In order to reinforce that structure, and give it a social dimension, public space is engaged with the cultural and historical heritage of the area. The final products, a strategy and a design, offers an example of how the of the main discussed elements could co-exist and present an opportunity for the development of the city. Although the thesis was initiated by a strong interest about the specific location, it concludes by an approach that could be applied to other locations, sharing similar symptoms and problems.

public space
Sofia
historical heritage
post-socialist processes
urban strategy

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:f89d336e-179d-407f-a4c7-2824b1a9f479

2013-05-31

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2012 Skachokova, A.K.