New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Concept category

Identify the award category for which this concept is being submitted
Regaining a sense of belonging

Email user
julia.barashk@gmail.com

Basic information
Concept title
Customizing Urban Joy

Full Concept Title
Urban planning mechanisms for the mass-customization of cities, through quantifiable nature of joy.

Please provide a short, catchy description of your concept to be used in communication towards the public
The project proposes to develop a data base and the technical tools to allow the mass-customisation of the urban tissue. The proposed tool aims to be tailored to individual functional needs and to serve as the framework to investigate, examine and diagnose the population of the city (the study case) by first collecting individual data into an urban big data format. Then, by factoring the empiric data against socio-cultural factors, check the user satisfaction index& create an optimal adaptation.

What was the geographical scope of your concept?
Cross-border/international

Where was your concept implemented?
Location 1
Germany

Location 2
Other

Which other country?
Israel

Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries
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If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
I first began developing this concept for Bitzeron Cognitive Masterplan, a GIS-data operated dynamic mechanism for optimization of the urban planning process, which I have led and completed with Gutman Assif architects for the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel - a UNESCO Bauhaus city. The proposal was a First Place Winner in a nation-wide competition. I have continued developing the concept for Wittenberge, Germany during a conceptual research project at Wismar University, Wismar, Germany with input from municipality representatives at Wittenberge.

Does your concept address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly urban

Does your concept refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)

Has your concept benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your concept won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As an individual
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://www.instagram.com/un.built.arch/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): un.built.arch
In case my concept is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my concept in the channels of the European Commission
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
Social Media

Description of the concept
Please provide a summary of your concept.
The project proposes to develop a data base and the technical tools to allow the mass-customisation of the urban tissue. The proposed tool aims to be tailored to individual functional needs and to serve as the framework to investigate, examine and diagnose the population of the city (the study case) by first collecting individual data into an urban big data format. Then, by factoring the empiric data against socio-cultural factors, check the user satisfaction index, create an optimal adaptation to their ever- changing needs and desires, test in advance the success index of various additions and changes, and locate the lack of various unmet functional needs and offer the means and mechanisms to generate real time solutions.

The final goal of the project is to create an urban planning tool, that would formulate site specific guidelines and regulation for the adaptability of the urban space. Cultural identifiers can be viewed and used as curves of descriptive characteristics with which to analyse societies through algorithms. (Wylie , 2018) Mapping the city and analysing its empiric data with digital tools, in combination with information on functional demands continuously drawn from the users of the system, can lead to the identification of new potential points in the existing fabric, and offer suitable programs, according to the preferences of the users. At the same time, it is possible to identify the weak points in the usage grid, and examine the success potential of various means to strengthen them.

The overarching aim of the research is to create the mechanisms that will enable real-time shifts in the urban tissue, allowing new functions to form, as a result of virtually attained input from, on and by the residents.

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with 5 key words.
Digital urban design

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
Behaviour design

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
New Citizen participation

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
Data-based design

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
Human cities as smart cities

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept in terms of sustainability and how these have been met. Please highlight how the concept can be exemplary in this context.
The research will focus on a study area of roughly 1 square kilometre in the urban centre of the study case city. In order to develop the study case area analysis, I would collect information and data from the following sources: GIS data and open spatial data, Urban registry and Census data, Urban concepts and visions, Social media content, geo-location and keywords. I would collect spatial information using GIS < SHP + metadata > files and other open spatial data sources to create a 3D model of my study case. In order to create agents for various simulations, I will collect and analyse urban registry and census data from the statistics department of the study case city. The data will be processed into study groups that the agents will aim to represent. In order to construct the social tone and perception of the study case area, I will collect and analyse social media data, using geo-tagged social posts. As demonstrated by previous research I have conducted in Wittenberge, Germany, the success potential (according to public perception and reception) of various functions and uses was examined through urban flow analysis of preconditioned agents. The concept is an innovation in the field of citizen participation led urban design - giving the individual more agency over the planning process, and allowing the planners to make decisions based on real time data, analytical predictions of speculated concepts, and take into account more factors that will contribute to the success and development of our cities. The project - in its loftiest goal - wishes to end the days of useless urban masterplans that cause gentrification and architectural failures and instead introduce a collaborative method and a scientific method for our cities to form.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the concept can be exemplary in this context.
One of the materials produces by the research would be a “public perception map” depicting the sentiment and discourse around the study case area, which can be used as a tool for further urban development.

The project will identify strong and weak points in the city and would help guide future development efforts.

The project will create a tool for implementation of citizen data and could be used to transform current means of citizen participation.

The project aims to generate more satisfaction and general happiness within urban areas by viewing happiness as a measurable quantifiable factor within the practice of urban planning.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the concept can be exemplary in this context.
Contribution to the field of urban planning and citizen participation by providing the citizens with agency over the decisions made in their city. Improved communication of the urban planning process to the citizens and increased engagement of the otherwise excluded general public in a decision making
process vital for their life satisfaction.

A map of urban sentiment - to be used for future urban planning, urban regeneration and citizen participation projects.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the concept and civil society have been / will be involved in the concept and what has been / will be the impact of this involvement on the concept.
The project will generate tools to reverse gentrification and enhance population retention in developing areas, by enhancing the feeling of belonging and sense of community.

Mapping the urban tissue on the spectrum of highest functioning to lowest functioning points - a tool to be used in further development.

Mapping the study groups of the urban residents on the spectrum of best to worst served - a tool to be used in further citizen participation, citizen retention and social innovation projects.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and development of the concept. Please highlight what the added value of their engagement was
Cities and municipalities gain insight into the existing state of their cities, and are able to analyze and test speculated projects and future developments.

Residents will feel more involved in the urban planning process, will be able to voice their needs, wishes and current lacks - and their input will be analyzed by objective scientific factors, allowing equality, inclusion and democracy in the urban planning process.

Investors can test their future developments in advance, run simulations with agents representing the existing population of the city - determining wether their proposed functional variety will be successful and well received, and make any necessary changes before construction. Thus enabling better economical and ecological decisions.

Please explain which disciplines and / or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and development of your concept. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
Urban planning, smart cities, citizen participation, data analysis, data science, urban flow, digitalization: all of those fields lie in the basis of the research.

The project is situated on the extensive research that has already been done on the reframing of the use and meaning of the urban tissue in the era of digitalisation. The project is propelled by the alteration of the interaction with the urban space, which transitions from a space-based understanding of the city to a time-based framework. The premise at the dawn of the internet age was to overcome the limitations of time and space, and offer human beings a sense of immediacy. As our technologies develop, the speed in which distance is overcome remains a main selling point. (Bratton 2020) Leaving optimisation decisions to AI puts us at risk of biased decisions of code developers and the mega-companies that host said codes on their infrastructure.

Please explain the innovative character of your concept when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the concept.
Human flow and activity have been cited as one of the primary sourced for urban appeal (Gehl) and a safety measure (Jacobs); while the absence of urban activity endangers the relevancy of cities (the discourse around New York City during the covid lockdowns). Existing urban planning mechanisms view the city in a top-down perspective and result in masterplans that struggle to remain relevant upon completion.

With the move of many daily functions and of the commercial market into the digital space (Staab, 2021), there is a need to re-establish the relevancy of the urban space and its functionality to the changing mindset of its residents and users. (Relational sense of space, Ole B. Jensen)

Cities, as the physical representatives of the prevailing philosophy of the time, fail to match to the adaptable and flexible nature of the current urban residents, who’s future behaviours can be studied and predicted. The static nature of cities appears in greater contrast to unprecedented and unpredictable crises - ecological or socio- economical. As digital culture is creating means for us to own our digital presence, further research is required in order to understand how our cities can become true flexible works of collaboration.

Exiting models of citizen participation fail to reach a critical mass. Moreover, they usually examine preconceived notions of a “quality of life” (Charles Montgomery, the happy city).

The existence of data collection mechanisms is not enough to bring about change - complementary reaction mechanisms must be developed, which will allow the conclusions formed from the ever-growing database to be realised and validated.

Please which elements of your concept could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. This may involve, for example, aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings, etc.
Cities will be better functioning, promoting walking and cycling instead of cat traffic - since necessary functions will be closer and easier to reach, thus promoting larger sustainability, life satisfaction and quality of life. The concept can be implemented in various location by adaptations to the local context and carry an European-wide potential.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the concept addresses by providing local solutions
The project proposes a transformation to "the way things are done", and holds the potential to be developed to a prototype to be used by urban planners and municipalities globally to optimize their cities and improve the life satisfaction of their residents.

The project is expected to be developed as a PhD and a prototype with Hafen City University, Hamburg. It is now is final stages of proposal development (by me) before an official application process can begin.

Please attach the development plan of your concept. This plan should detail the plans you have for the further development and implementation of your concept, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application. The plan should also include envisaged results and benefits from the concept for direct and indirect beneficiaries. The results and benefits should be specified in relation to the objectives of the concept, and to what is expected in the context of the respective category

PhD Proposal_Julia Barashkov_221119.pdf
Please attach at least one high resolution image or visual representation of your concept to your application.
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Yes

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Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed concept has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the concept, initiative, and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary.
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their concepts, concepts, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted concept, concept is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes