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New European Bauhaus
Project

IF: Social Design for Sustainable Cities

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. 

IF - Social Design for Sustainable Cities © European Union
IF: Social Design for Sustainable Cities
© European Union, 2021

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. ?️?

That is the concept behind IF: Social Design for Sustainable Cities, one of the 30 finalists of the 2021 New European Bauhaus award prizes in "Mobilisation of culture, arts, and communities."

Originated in Warsaw, Poland, the project seeks to improve the role of culture and social design in the public discussion on sustainable cities.

The initiative aims to foster the creation, innovation, and dissemination of inclusive, bottom-up solutions to sustainable urban development by creating a forum for dialogue across disciplines and generations.

IF: Social Design for Sustainable Cities wants to become a point of reference to frame interdisciplinary debate on sustainable urban development, following these objectives:

  • Support the exchange of experience between cities, stakeholders, and citizens.
  • Showcase activities taking place at the local level.
  • Act as a liaison between experts and civil society.
  • Empower citizens by sharing knowledge and information.

During an interactive conference with over 3.000 participants, the programme linked creative examples of transformative design efforts toward sustainable cities, engaging stakeholders in cultural relations, art, design, architecture schools, and research institutions from Europe and beyond.

Besides facilitating broad interdisciplinary exchange, the project aspires to be a platform for creative minds using arts as a tool for sustainable urban innovation.

Workshops complemented the conference for students and a poster exhibition by over 300 young artists from 28 countries. In addition, two publications and a website act as a repository for disseminating replicable best practices.

A key feature was the project’s interdisciplinary co-creation by 12 members of EU National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) Warsaw and several other actors.

Aside from engaging, involving, and empowering the public, the initiative intends to continue increasing citizens' access to culture and knowledge while advocating for a transformational link between social design and sustainability.

? © European Union