This thesis focuses on areas prone to inland floods and more specifically on the municipality of Acharnes, Attica, Greece. Usually, flood risk management strategies are treated as an engineering problem. Here, the floodplains/wetlands are going to be addressed as an asset and reveal the role of the landscape as a dynamic way for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Furthermore, such an approach can also offer potentials not only for water quality and management but also for benefiting the public spaces and open a discussion concerning awareness and engagement. Within the context of Attica, flood prone areas are not only ecologically deprived but also places of inequalities and loose social capacities. Acharnes is not an exception. Thus, the vision of this thesis is to investigate an alternative way for flood resistance by incorporating tools and methods capable of strengthening local communities. The thesis will investigate the following questions: •How can cities adapt to water issues and how can public space be used towards this end? •Can design for flood management be incorporated into a greater strategy connected to building relations?

Under hösten 2013 offentliggjorde den svenska regeringen att man vill investera i att bygga ut Stockholms tunnelbana. Denna utbyggnad innefattar nio nya stationer, Sofia på Södermalm är en av dessa stationer. På grund av platsens förutsättningar kommer stationen bli en av de djupaste i världen. Detta förslag utnyttjar dessa förutsättningar för att sammankoppla gatunivån med den underjordiska perrongen och ger den vardagliga upplevelsen av rymd, atmosfär, ljus och tomrum en central position. Förslaget innefattar ett hundra meter djupt schakt, två hisschakt, ett publikt torg park och tunnelbaneperrong. / During the autumn of 2013 the Swedish government announced that they intend to invest in expanding the Stockholm Metro. The expansion includes nine new stations; Sofia on Södermalm is one of them. The conditions of the site make the station to one of the deepest in the world. This proposal makes use of these conditions to connect the street level and the underground platform level and give the everyday experience of space, atmosphere, light and void a central position. The proposal comprises a hundred meters deep shaft, two elevator shafts, a public square park and train platform.

My project creates spaces for common use, reclaiming a little left-over piece of the city landscape. The mobile culture house unfolds and fragments in interaction with the places it encounters. It is flexible, multi-use and respectful of the surrounding environment. I have attempted to answer to questions concerning the development of the city of Stockholm in times of escalating urbanization and galloping housing shortage when unreflected densification risks to erase diversity, cause gentrification and reinforce segregation. I have investigated the existing flora of small, urban grass-root, resistance movements and I have added my own contribution to the set. / Mitt projekt skapar utrymmen för gemensamt bruk genom att återta en liten bit av stadslandskapet. Det mobila kulturhuset vecklar ut och fragmenterar sig i samspel med de platser som det möter. Det är flexibelt, multi-use och respektfullt mot den omgivande miljön. Jag har försökt att svara på frågor som behandlar utvecklingen av Stockholms stad en tid av ökande urbanisering och galopperande bostadsbrist när oreflekterad förtätning riskerar att radera mångfalden, orsaka gentrifiering och förstärka segregationen. Jag har undersökt den nuvarande floran av små, ​​urbana gräsrots-motståndsrörelser, och jag har lagt mitt eget bidrag till uppsättningen.

This study suggests that bus stops be viewed from a perspective that sees them both as elements of mobility and public space. Though bus stops represent a seemingly immobile aspect of mass transit, activities can still occur within such spaces, making possible the notion of waiting time as a rich duration that holds the potential for diverse activities. Through such diverse activities present in bus stops, these spaces can be better perceived as a public space. This research approaches the idea of bus stops as a transit assemblage consisting of diverse human and non-human actors that work together yet remain independent. The gathering of empirical data takes place through observing and recording various human actors at seven bus stops that are a part of three study locations. The research takes a mostly qualitative approach in regard to the collection and analysis of data but also includes minor instances of quantitative analyses to better frame and distinguish the findings. The concept of territorial production is utilized both as a theory to explain how diversity of activities can contribute to public space, and as a method to analyze and explain the data gathered through observations. This research identifies multiple design aspects that may aid the diversification of activities occurring at bus stops. It does this by providing insight into various categories of users and their activities throughout the different bus stop environments selected for investigation. In essence, this study claims that a bus stop environment which is able to accommodate a wider variety of users can allow us to move closer to the perception that bus stops are public spaces. By producing such insightful findings, this study hopes to aid in the planning and design of transit stops and to contribute to the creation of more social bus stop environments.

Privatization of the public realm is rampant in modern cities. Public space accessibility and usage is often determined by inhabitants’ socio-economic background in the mega cities of the developing world as well. The case of Chennai, a city of 9 million people drawn from different regions in India, is used in this project to understand this phenomenon and evolve an alternate approach to urban public space design and use, in which citizen-led initiatives are encouraged, instead of being ignored, by mainstream urban planning and design processes. Chennai is one of the fastest growing cities in the world today. Conventional planning has failed to direct this growth towards creating sustainable urban environments for all, and has instead encouraged lopsided development that caters only to the affluent sections. This trend has affected public spaces as well, which are now centered on consumption and dependant on heavy investment in real estate and technology. This has a considerable impact on the spectrum of socio-economic groups that are able to access and use them. The project questions the prevalent situation, and focuses on three aspects that have been ignored in recent times. The first (Everyday Urbanism) is explored as a method to revitalize the second (Public Spaces), in order to achieve the third (Sustainable Lifestyles) as a long term goal. This is done using analysis and design in parallel, and results in a proposal for a new design process and through it, scale specific design solutions for Chennai’s public spaces that will create a high quality of life for inhabitants of the heavily populated, demographically diverse and socio-economically fragmented city.

Inspired by regional Austronesian vernacular architecture, volcanic forms in the northern island of Luzon in the Philippines, and the natural geometry of the Fibonacci spiral, “Six volcanoes” is a multifunctional public space in the municipality of Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines, located a stone’s throw southeast of the University of the Philippines, Los Baños campus, in the peri-urban community of Barangay (village) Tuntungin Putho.   The 3500 sqm. site rises one meter from the original street level to a 14 m. high 1100 sqm. main space. A slightly lower 6 m. high 150 sqm. auxiliary space is southwest of the main space.  Bamboo poles, which could be grown and harvested on an adjacent mini-mountain, “Pulong Malake”, serve as building material, with steel connector joinery where appropriate.  Laid-stone foundations and the thatched-roof cogon grass material are sourced from a local quarry and local fields.  Possible uses of the spaces include a wifi-lounge, learning and workshop activities, sporting events, festivities and concerts, church services, meetings and conferences.  Open to all in the area, from impoverished squatters to residents of adjacent gated communities and walled homes, “Six volcanoes” would facilitate social networking and cohesion, combating informal social segregation and bridging socio-economic class divides.

El bajo rendimiento de las selecciones de la FDPN y la falta de infraestructura deportiva adecuada, vinculado con el mal diseño urbano ha suscitado que existe una necesidad en potenciar estos puntos y un nuevo lugar que funcione como hito tanto urbano como deportivo. Dentro de este fenómeno, el IPD, la FDPN y Municipalidad del Callao se han visto afectadas directamente debido al déficit de espacios tanto públicos como deportivos y vinculados entre sí. Sumando este problema a la necesidad general de espacio público de la ciudad, se decidió plantear crear un centro deportivo que funcionará como un equipamiento para el distrito y además abastecerá con crear deportistas adecuados para competencias y resultados. El proyecto enfatiza la idea del vínculo e integración. La idea es generar una atmosfera de confraternización, inspirando y concientizando a los deportistas de todos los niveles a través de una comunicación mutua, vinculándose unos con otros. Esto se logra a través de una red de espacios vinculadores, donde se fomenta la congregación y encuentro de deportistas experimentados y los amateurs experimentas sensaciones producidas por la tectónica y contacto con los elementos naturales. Además, el proyecto trabaja una innovación con la materialidad. Se usa en gran parte madera laminada como coberturas. La utilización de la madera laminada es algo nuevo en este tipo de proyectos para el país. La idea nace de tener una cobertura con la cual sea menos impactante en el medio ambiente, así como una más resistente en caso de sismo y al fuego. / The poor performance of the FDPN teams and the lack of adequate sports infrastructure, linked to poor urban design has raised the need to strengthen these points and a new place that functions as both urban and sports landmarks. Within this phenomenon, the IPD, the FDPN and the Municipality of Callao have been directly affected due to the deficit of both public and sports and interlinked spaces. Adding this problem to the general need for public space in the city, it was decided to create a sports center that will function as an equipment for the district and provide adequate sports for competitions and results. The project emphasizes the idea of the link and integration. The idea is to generate an atmosphere of fraternization, inspiring and raising awareness among athletes of all levels through mutual communication, linking with each other. This is achieved through a network of binding spaces, where the congregation and meeting of experienced athletes is encouraged, and amateurs experience sensations produced by tectonics and contact with natural elements. In addition, the project works an innovation with materiality. Laminated wood is largely used as toppings. The use of laminated wood is something new in this type of projects for the country. The idea stems from having a coverage with which it is less impactful on the environment as well as a more resistant in case of earthquake and fire. / Tesis

The diploma thesis deals with new forms of sculpture in contemporary art. The theoretical part describes the development of sculpture and its changes in the course of time with a special emphasis on current Czech authors and their work. It also comments on materials and themes which most frequently occur and are used in sculpture. Last but not least, his part also deals with a public space and placing sculptures in here. The practical part presents a series of author's sculptural works which focus on various materials possibly usable in Art classes at the first school. Properties, availability and durability of the materials are examined and evaluated. In the didactic part, the author presents work of 5th year pupils who were inspired by creations of Anna Hulačová, a Czech sculptor. In the end, sculpture exhibitions visited by the author are presented. KEYWORDS Anna Hulačová, material, sculpture, theme, public space

The diploma thesis is focused on the phenomenon of processes of appropriation in public space. The analysis draws upon urban anthropology with the aim to point out that some appropriative tactics may help to improve a quality of life in a city. The thesis is based on the theoretical concepts of French scholars, namely Marc Augé, Michel de Certeau and Henri Lefebvre, who share the common interest in a man as the everyday user, but also the creator of public space. Another methodological tool is the qualitative criteria of public space established by Jan Gehl. After the introduction to the urban anthropology the thesis concerns with the public space itself, defining it, putting it into the practical framework and outlining the main problems of its crisis. The next part is about the processes of appropriation and their forms. In the applied part of the thesis are then described the examples of four Prague public spaces which are appropriated by their inhabitants and it is evaluated their importance for the whole city. In the last part is the theory turned into the practice in the form of micro- project in the Prague public space. Key words Appropriation, city, urban anthropology, public space, open space.

This thesis focuses on the concept of public space as a construct which is formed at time and is a subject to the contemporary social conditions. The first part maps the historical evolution of this construct. The changes of content of terms that have been used at different times in the sense which today is understood as a public space are described. This part presents contemporary theoretical basis, their reflections in the society and also their reflection in the lived reality. It describes the key influences that shaped today's "modus vivendi" of public space. Apart from the ancient agora the work focuses on the Czech environment from the 19th century to the present. The second part, the research work describes how the current discourse of public space, represented by the Via Foundation (Nadace Via) and its program The place, where we live (Místo, kde žijeme), transcribed into the social structure of the three Czech villages. In the context of three case studies we focus on how the public space of these villages have changed and which elements from the past survived in this structure.