RP5: Life under Pressure. Political Intervention in the Face of Urbicide
Understanding how people's quest for security and protection is driven by certain ideas of a liveable life is key to grasping the significance of the state's promise of security in contemporary societies. The project explores this crucial question through the study of urbicide. The notion itself encompasses multiple aspects of what matters in life. The systematic destruction of urban spaces affects citizens' lives, their habitats, living conditions and modes of existence, both historically and in the present. The case study of urbicide in Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion lies at the heart of the project. We examine how the notion of urbicide has become relevant in claims for protection and in international law, and explore how the future life in the city is envisioned in rebuilding and recovery projects. The project thus addresses the material, affective and legal dimensions of security. And it raises the fundamental political question of how life and forms of living together can be shaped today, and how architecture plays a vital role in community building and societal renewal.