Life in Europe’s Urban Sprawl

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Image courtesy of CCCB

This international seminar brings together experts from all over Europe to discuss the phenomenon of urban sprawl, which is increasingly present in Europe.

Despite its history of compact towns and cities, Europe has increasingly become a continent of sprawling urbanized landscapes. Approximately one third of the European population calls these places home. Since, in general, they are complex patchworks of a variety of uses, the neat division of city, suburb and countryside is no longer meaningful.

Urban sprawl is usually not so dense and may be lacking the tight-knit fabric and communities that we are trained to recognize in European cities. Although suburbs have always traditionally been understood as peri-urban spaces directly linked to an urban center, the current expansion spreads further in the territory and is therefore rarely understood as truly urban. Nevertheless, even if urban sprawl does not look like a city, it is still urban in character and has forms, patterns and its own logic. What is the urban reality of today's Europe? What remains of compact cities and what new scenarios are being opened up by the growing prevalence of urban sprawl?

In the framework of the Suburbia exhibition, this international seminar puts the spotlight on current transformations of European territory that call into question the traditional category of “city.” This one-day seminar consists of three panels and will conclude in an open debate in which the architect and urbanist Nathalie de Vries will speak with the architecture historian and critic Hans Ibelings to discuss questions about public space and the future in European cities in a context in which are facing significant challenges such as climate change and urban sprawl.

Event will be held in English.

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