We are creating a photo album of large housing estates. The album is a thematic collection of photos of today's state of art of neighborhoods in Slovenia and elsewhere. The album is created in a participatory way with the participation of residents and visitors of the neighborhoods. Its aim is to reveal the neighbourhoods and their life through the eyes of all of us who live or occasionally spend time there.
The contest is organized by the Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (UIRS) within the framework of the international project Human Cities: Challenging the city scale (Creative Europe 2014–2020) with the cooperation of the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) and local initiative Skupaj na ploščad! / Together on the platform!.
Photo-story of our neighborhood contest is accompaying activity to the exhibition Neighborhoods and streets, which is on opened from 17 May to 20 November 2016 in the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO).
The international jury is composed of project partners Human City: Challenging the City Scale and external professionals:
We usually spend a major part of our time in our neighbourhood, therefore its arrangements importantly influence the quality of our life. Which are the spaces in the neighbourhood that I like, I find interesting and like to spend time in? What makes them pleasant? Activities and people that spend time there, street furniture, presence of natural elements, maybe the light and colours or details on surrounding buildings? Try to show the places of your neighbourhood that you find pleasant, and explain what makes them attractive, through the photo and its subtitle.
Fast rhythm of life and new ways of communication supported by new communication technologies are changing and often weaken the contacts between people living in the same space. With the help of a photography and its subtitle catch moments showing that social beings inhabit neighbourhoods that desipite changed ways of life still gather, support and help each other. Street play, chatting on a bench in a local park or ringing neighbour's door when running out of flour when baking biscuits are examples of activities that join people in a neighbourhood. Photos with subtitles in this category shall show that in vivid neighbourhoods reside people, who make neighbours and not complete strangers to each other.
Good neighbourhoods are not merely sleeping spaces, but places where different activities and programs take place which cater the inhabitants of the neighbourhood and the city. The baker at the end of the street, the shop-seller in a local shop, the driver of a bus stopping in the neighbourhood, the local greens care-taker ... are only few more visible professions which importantly contribute to the quality of life in a neighbourhood. At the same time there are many other professions which are more hidden to our eyes – people with different skills, abilities and knowledge. Present their activities through a photo and its subtitle.
Until where reaches my neighbourhood? What is its border and what defines it? Is it physically, functionally or symbolically defined? Borders may sometimes be clear and exact, sometimes blurred and fluid. Getting to know the borders is welcome for someone to be able to overreach them. Or strengthen the distinctive identity of space within. Present the borders of your neighbourhood with a help of photography and its subtitle.
Which are the shared values among inhabitants of my neighbourhood? Which ideals unite us as a community? How are they reflected in space? And can they be a basis for common action of inhabitants in the endeavours to improve the living conditions in a neighbourhood? The values are an immaterial category, nevertheless often reflected in the physical, real environment. In this category we are collecting the photos which will show the state of the art of the neighbourhoods reflecting the values of their inhabitants.