Imagine the City is a non-profit initiative developing campaigns and projects which aim at the aesthetic upgrade of urban environments, in Greece. We are inspired by Plato “The city is the way it is, because its citizens are who they are”. We like to think of ourselves as active citizens. We see the city as an extension of our home.
We are 11 young creators from different backgrounds, with a common passion for place identity and urban regeneration. We are advised by a large network of 40 partners from academia, public, private and voluntary sectors, supported by groups of local volunteers in every city where an ‘Imagine the City’ project has been or is developed.
Our projects are designed with increased participation and high visibility in mind, for maximum impact.
OUR AIM:
To release the full potential of hundreds of existing students and professionals who create and innovate within Greece’s educational institutions.
To open a new and productive dialogue between society and experts from areas such as Architecture, Urban Planning, Design and the Applied Arts.
To empower creativity and showcase innovative solutions for Greek cities across the web and through exhibitions across the country.
To inspire and engage citizens to get actively involved in projects which affect the built environments and public space around them.
To generate public-private partnerships and interdisciplinary clusters in order to develop specific projects aimed at urban regeneration.
To create innovative interventions on urban environments with a participatory and holistic approach.
WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED SO FAR:
- Platform.imaginethecity.gr | Αn on-line platform which sparks a constructive dialogue between inhabitants and organizations from different cities and Greece’s creative professionals in order to develop projects for improving built environments. Citizens can upload material of abandoned or untapped urban spaces and signal specific places that require aesthetic upgrading. Students and professionals in architecture, urban planning, design and applied arts then have a pool of suggestions in order to develop and suggest site-specific studies while promote their work online.
- Imagine the City exhibitions | Studies, ideas and projects about a specific city, initially presented on the platform, are gathered in order to be showcased to the local community. Plastic models, 3D material, sketches, videos and photographs are presented in public spaces in order to allow citizens to imagine their city through a creative lens and incite public debate on place making and urban revival. Exhibitions are enriched with a series or parallel events such as workshops, presentations and open discussions, in order to engage citizens to the issues tackled and disseminate creativity and innovation to the local community.
- Co-production of 1st Panhellenic Place Marketing & Branding Conference | 300+ participants, 130 Presentations & International Speakers for 3 Days. Imagine the city produced 10 parallel events in the city of Volos, actively engaging over 5000 citizens with issues related to Place Identity & Urban Regeneration. Also developed an unprecedented cross-sector network of partners and sponsors.
We welcome anyone who is interested in sharing ideas and methodology regarding these issues. We would like to think of ways that have great impact and creative intervention, using grassroots methods actively involving citizens and local communities in order to achieve change in mentalities and long-term results.
many many thanks:)
Mary
