Lezing: Shrinking Europe twenty years on

In the 21st century clusters of well-connected cities are becoming a reality in Europe. Major cities engage a competitive approach to attract more and more incoming inhabitants strategic projects, as urban
interventions along the proliferation of high-speed railways (HSR), auto routes, ports and aero hubs. Since the eighties, this phenomenon is supported by EU policies that aimed at accelerating the process
of states’ integration, pushing a physical compression of cities and territories, assuming infrastructures as main substrate for the construction of new metropolitan areas. In the scenario of ‘time-space’ compression and the primary importance of technological development, the HSR stations became a tool for ‘city branding’ which also lead to the creation of partnerships and combined efforts of public authorities and private developers to realize ambitious projects. They were presented along with new business opportunities, visions and options. Architecture and urban design became essential instruments in any urban transformation process. Starting from Euralille, a crucial pioneer of neoliberal projects, the lecture will attempt to shed a new light on the role of the design(ers) in large scale infrastructural projects.

Practical information

Watch the lecture online via Zoom here.
Meeting ID: 942 9276 1252
Passcode: 011615