The Free Academy: Osamu Okamura – A City for Everyone
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: February 13, 2025, 19:00 – 21:00
If we consider our beautiful cities which have developed through history, is it even possible to talk about any problems? The fundamental problems of the contemporary city from the perspective of urban planning and urbanism are many: mono-functional urban zones, brownfield sites, suburbanisation, industrial parks, sparsely populated and shrinking cities, traffic collapse, deteriorating environmental quality, neglect of public space, gentrification and lack of affordable housing, privatisation of the city, unoccupied buildings, aging housing stock and real estate speculation, insufficient new construction, lack of political mandate and lack of participation. This opening provocation aims to inspire the audience to search for alternative – and even better – solutions.
Osamu Okamura is an architect focused on urban livability and its interpretation. He has held a number of positions, including visiting professor at Tokyo University of Science and dean of the Faculty of Art and Architecture at the Technical University of Liberec. His book Město pro každého: Manuál urbanisty začátečníka,(A City for Everyone: A Beginner's Guide to Urban Planning), illustrated by David Böhm and Jiří Franta, has won numerous awards. As an exceptional contributor to the spread of innovations of global importance from Eastern Europe Okamura was named one of the "New Europe 100 Outstanding Challengers from Central and Eastern Europe" in 2014.