After the success of two editions of Shaping the City: Forum for Sustainable Cities and Communities in Venice (Italy), the European Cultural Centre organised in collaboration with the Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) a third edition of the conference, this time held at the Chicago Cultural Center. The forum Shaping the City took place in the context of CAB’s 2021 edition which carried the title The Available City as the concept of this year, asking visitors to consider the impact collective space can have in the cities of today.
The forum Shaping the City Chicago tackled contemporary urbanization and key issues in the city, presented and debated through the perspectives of an international group of 14 academics, urban planners and designers, architects, policymakers, and scholars.
Through diverse presentations and panel discussions, the forum confronted the fundamental topics shaping the cities of today’s world. The conversations were structured in a way to portray an array of international perspectives about urbanism and architecture. At the Chicago edition, these were tailored around two main sub-themes: Architecture for the People and Re-imagining the City.
David Brown, the artistic director of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, was the keynote speaker and inaugurated the in-person forum, contextualizing the forum also in the context of the Architecture Biennial and its main theme, The Available City.
The public at the Chicago Cultural Center and online comprised attendees from all over the world including international academics and students as well as local architecture aficionados and press representatives. Shaping the City Chicago reached thousands of users on social media on the @ecc_italy and @shapingthecityforum channels, and over 300 viewers online on YouTube. Moreover, the conference was covered by well-known media outlets such as Domus, World Architects, ArchDaily, and Archinect.
Architecture for the People (Session 1)
Re-Imagining the City (Session 2)
The discussions of this year’s editions recognized the significant role urban planning and design plays in molding the interaction of people with their cities and their wellbeing. The forum aimed to set forward new thoughts around the rights to the city, through a spatial, pragmatic, yet inclusive and sustainable approach. Shaping the City 2021 looked to tackle these themes comparing completely different approaches in international cities, namely in Europe and the Americas.
“The ability to imagine possibilities in the future is a key element for optimism, and in this year’s Chicago Architecture Biennial we have seen a lot of hope. Very little resources are triggering change and bringing hope. We hope this optimism is passed on onto our students and future architects”
Javier Arpa Fernández | Delft University of Technology / MVRDV
From left to right: Robert Shibley, Javier Arpa Fernández and Edson Cabalfin | Photo credits: Grayson Wambach 
From left to right: Robert Shibley, Martin Anzellini, Don Weinreich, Terri and Ian Dreyer, and Alfredo Henry Hidalgo Rasmussen and Roberto Iñiguez Flores| Photo credits: Grayson Wambach 
Javier Arpa Fernández and David Brown | Photo credits: Grayson Wambach 
ECC Opening Statement | Photo credits: Grayson Wambach