Urban Acupuncture: A Strategy of Catalytic Interventions

Within the framework of the DAAD Ta’ziz Partnership – Scientific Cooperations, the Department of Urban Renewal and Planning Theory – University of Kassel – Germany in cooperation with the Department of Fine Arts – Department of Architecture – Egypt, Department of Architecture – Babylon University – Iraq and Department of Architecture - Design and Built Environment – Beirut Arab University – Lebanon have initiated the project “UA – Urban Acupuncture: A Strategy of Catalytic Interventions”. The project runs from March 2023 till the end of 2025 and is concerned with deepening cooperation with partner universities through the organization and implementation of various forms of academic and student exchanges.

Urban Acupuncture (UA) was first introduced in 1983 as a data collection, analytical, and design method. With the help of its eight strategies, it offers prompt spatial solutions by pinpointing interventions for quotidian pressure points in small urban spaces that in turn create a positive ripple effect. This project involves several activities that will incorporate all the partner universities which aim to bridge the gap between academic education and practice. This will take place through evaluating to what extent UA theory enhances locals’ contributions to solving the problems of urban life in their cities through a comprehensive urban regeneration discussion. Thus, UA aims to have an impact on every potential space in the city. It can be applied through art sometimes; it is called the ‘true art of our urban context’. That is why it is different from the large urban renewal strategies that have been previously used. It is a localized, small-scale intervention method. Since this approach should be influenced by the local inhabitants which have a limited budget as well as limited resources, it must be raised from the smallest scale urban city development.

The expected outputs of this project revolve around implementing UA as a strategy of selected catalytic interventions in Lebanon, Iraq, Germany, and Egypt, suggesting a comprehensive proposal for a strategic framework for the UA different approaches in the partner countries, and establishing an online platform to set up Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in the UA field. This will in turn strengthen the boundaries between the three fields of action, namely teaching, research, and practice, which will consolidate and complement each other towards progressive development. Eventually, the physical implementation of the outputs will evaluate the challenges, efficiency, and opportunities of Urban Acupuncture (UA) theory in each partner country as a claimed quick and effective tool that can help in the renewal and recovery of the partners’ cities besides achieving maximum results with minimal effort in the most critical places.