Description here

2. Showcasing exhibitions, public projects, workshops, lectures, a film program and a common
library, the 2017 Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism Seoul explored how the world’s cities
have become a “driving force in creativity and sustainability.” This large-scale, public event ran
from 2 September to 5 November 2017 in South Korea. Credit: Seoul Biennale.

4. The inaugural Seoul Biennale opened to city-wide fanfare. Here, the Biennale’s two directors,
Hyungmin Pai (third from right) and Alejandro Zaera-Polo (second from right), famed architect
Seung H-Sang (third from left) and other dignitaries look on during the opening events. Credit:
Seoul Biennale.

6. Visitors line up outside of Seoul’s Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), which was designed by
architect Zaha Hadid, on the first day of the Biennale. They are here to see an exhibition called
“CommoningCities,” which presents a diverse spectrum of cross-disciplinary projects from 50
major cities from around the world. These projects address the current state and the future of
cities in the 21st century and delve into how humanity can solve urban problems in a collective
way.

8. The Future Earth Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Centre based in Nicosia,
Cyprus, presented a project at this exhibition with the title “Connecting Cites: Commonalities &
Challenges.” Drawing on material from 10 institutional partners, the centre and project curator,
developed a presentation that communicated in a visual way the main environmental
challenges facing cities in this region. Through the use of data, images and video, this project
illustrated how these cities are grappling with climate change, increasing urbanisationand
dwindling water supplies and other resources.

10. Dr. Salah Soliman of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt, speaks at the “Cities
Roundtable Talk” at the DDP. He discussed the environmental challenges facing the coastal city
of Alexandria, such as rising sea levels, saltwater intrusion and disintegrating urban
infrastructure. Visitors could further explore these issues in a gallery space showcasing
Alexandria City. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is closely linked to the Future Earth MENA
Regional Centre.

12. A guide leads visitors on one of the daily tours of the exhibition. The Future Earth project was
initiated by Melina Nicolaides, an artist, activist and curator based in Cyprus, as part of a
regional initiative of her non-profit organisationACTIVATE. Her goal for the Seoul project was
to bring awareness about the issues facing these cities to this international platform. The
project also emphasised how sharing information and expertise between MENA cities and their
major institutions can help to solve the “common problems” and living conditions of people in
this region.

14. The MENA region is home to major world capitals from Tunis, Tunisia, on the Mediterranean
Sea to Muscat, Oman, on the Arabian Sea. These cities have experienced skyrocketing rates of
population growth in recent years. The number of people living in urban areas in Egypt, for
example, grew from about 25 million in 1990 to more than 41 million today, according to data
from the World Bank.

16. Home to a combined population of some 500 million people, this region has experienced rapid
urbanisation. Between 1970 to 2010, the region saw a 400% growth in urban structures, and
over the next 40 years, larger cities will likely grow by an additional 200%. These new urban
dwellers will face unprecedented challenges as the planet’s climate and environment continue
to change. Nearly 60 percent of people in the region live in areas where water is scarce,
according to a 2017 report from the World Bank.

18. The exhibit was designed to allow visitors to easily compare information from roughly 20 cities
across the Eastern Mediterranean and MENA region. In that way, the public could appreciate
that many of these cities are dealing with common problems – including scarce water
resources because of falling rates of rainfall, extreme heat waves and declining air quality. From
the data presented, viewers could also see how these factors are expected to increase into the
foreseeable future.

20. A close up of the wall maps, showing projections for how temperatures and rainfall patterns
may change in seven cities on or near the Mediterranean Sea. These data show summer
temperatures and rainfall for the years 1950-1970, 2000-2020 and 2050-2070. The project
team drew on past observations and current numerical climate simulations, or models, to
develop this data.

22. This wall panel depicts concentrations of fine particles, or aerosols (brown dots), in the
atmosphere from wind-blown dust in these Mediterranean cities. These particles can cause
serious respiratory conditions, potentially adding to the stress on city residents during hot
summer days. Often called a climate change “hot spot,” the Eastern Mediterranean and MENA
regions will see longer and more severe heat waves in the coming decades.

24. Detail of the floor of the gallery space, which compares the total population and population
densities of each of the cities in the exhibit. Cairo is home to over 7 million people, with nearly
15 inhabitants per square kilometre. Beirut, in contrast, has a population of roughly 2 million
but is much denser, supporting almost 23 inhabitants per square kilometre. The connective
lines throughout the project were designed to signify need for human connectivity, knowledge
exchange and reciprocal support across borders to enable humans find solutions for the future
of cities.

26. A recreation from 1540 CE of a map in Ptolemy’s Geographia, a resource that dates back to the
2nd Century CE. The gallery space included a range of historical maps, sourced from the rare
map collection of the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation. Presented alongside scientific data,
these maps gave visitors a chance to compare how the MENA region was depicted in the past
through atlases and geography and history books. The maps also showcased the variations in
the names of the region’s settlements, land and features.

28. A still from a video displayed in the gallery space that told the story of the Al Za-atarirefugee
camp, which was founded in 2012 in Jordan. Various locations across the Eastern
Mediterranean and MENA regions are undergoing drastic political and societal transitions,
armed conflict and forced migration. These crises have pushed parts of the region into a
precarious state that could be exacerbated by future droughts or other shocks. The video
shows how the Al Za-ataricamp, which houses people displaced by the ongoing war in Syria,
quickly developed an advanced level of urbanisation– growing into a “city.” Credit: Zeid Madi

30. The United Nations Refugee Agency reports that there are more than 22 million refugees
worldwide, half of them from South Sudan, Afghanistan and Syria. Roughly 80,000 Syrian
refugees live in the Al Za’atari camp, which is now five years old. The video shown in Seoul was
produced using written and photographic material provided to the project team by the School
of Architecture and Built Environment of the German-Jordanian University in Amman, a
regional partner. Credit: Zeid Madi

32. Boys walk through the Al Za’atari Camp. Despite the hardships and uncertainties of living in a
refugee camp, people have strived to make a life here. Its marketplace houses 3,000 shops and
informal stores that sell everything from food to clothing, and homes and businesses are
connected by power lines and a water system. Credit: Zeid Madi

33. Dr. Manfred Lange, Director of the Future Earth MENA Regional Centre, speaks at the “Cities
Roundtable Talk,” where he addressed the topic “Climate Change and Cities: Risks and
Adaptation Strategies.”
Overall, the cities exhibition provided the international public the opportunity to explore how
cities around the world are tackling their common problems through governance, policy and
other strategies. At the same time, the Biennale encouraged viewers to explore the common
values that cities promote, and how urban communities are endeavouringto sustain their
unique histories, cultures and social and geographical contexts.