The project

The Mediterranean is an encounter and history territory. Peoples, cultures and civilizations faced, followed and were mixed. Nowhere else, such a long history has had physical consequences on the “urban shapes” of the cities. Nowhere else did the history influenced this form of human life that the cities represent through their monuments, ordinary architecture, their shape. Despite of the diversity of urban shapes, the Mediterranean cities have a particular atmosphere, which gives them a common identity. The sea has been for thousands of years a place for contact and exchanges: goods, ideas and techniques travelled through the harbours of the Mediterranean Sea.

With the arrival of the industrial society, and the changes that occurred, all these cities had to face a fast growth often badly handled du to the hasty rural exodus. Then the primitive urban nucleus had to face vast issues: should they knock down everything and build new cities? If not, how could they avoid their economic and social decline? their isolation? How could they maintain diversified populations and activities? Modernise without denaturing? These questions were the reality of all the cities and urban and architectural refurbishing policies were missing.

Moreover, this world region is particularly in danger du to frequent natural or industrial threats, which represents a major stake for the urban heritage.



Objectives:

The seminar will gather high-level representatives from North and South of the Mediterranean area. 15 cities were chosen to present the issues they have to deal with every day:

To prepare the content of the seminar, a group of students of the Institute of Urbanism of Paris IV – La Sorbonne, made a study on different representative cities of the Mediterranean. You can read the sum up of the study in the page “Case study”.

The partnership

This seminar, placed under the UNESCO patronage, is co-organized by:

 - The UATI (International Union of Technical Associations and Organizations): NGO created around 50 years ago at the initiative of the UNESCO to set up a technical activity complementary to the basic activities of Culture and Education. 
The members of the UATI are international associations or organizations specialized in various areas.  

- The city of Arles: which accepted to welcome the seminar in coordination with the European Heritage Days.

- The Alliance of European Cultural Cities (AVEC) (www.avecnet.eu): cooperation network created 11 years ago. AVEC gathers 35 local authorities (cities, provinces, counties, regions…) from 10 European countries around a shared objective: optimize their political and administrative action in order to reach a high level of quality in the area of sustainable management of their heritages.

- The Institute of urbanism of the University of Paris IV-Sorbonne, establishes strong bounds between the university and the professionals of urbanism. (www.paris-sorbonne.fr)