Urban Spaces as Catalysts for Collective Memories: A Study of Events' Influence

Abstract

An event always refers to something that is often important, and in cities, it refers to special spatial actions that play an important role in the future of the city and the formation of its physical entity. Cities without events live between contradictions based on the physical dimension and the search for identity within the repetitive activities of daily life. Given the importance of the relationship between individuals and the nature of the urban spaces, the event has the most important impact in understanding the nature of the differences coming from human intervention in urban spaces. The research problem comes from the focus of those interested in the material aspects more than the activities of individuals and institutions within city centers. To understand the relationship between the event and the effectiveness of architectural design, an important urban space in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad (Tahrir Square), in an important period characterized by increased social interaction was selected as part of the case study. If the event effectively affects the value of buildings and urban spaces.
Three main indicators and eight secondary indicators were extracted from the literature related to the research topic. These indicators were tested on a case study (a Turkish restaurant in Baghdad, the World Trade Towers) by a group of urban and architectural design experts to determine the feasibility of achieving the indicators. The research has arrived. It is the effectiveness of individuals within city centers that adds qualitative value to physical structures, and the culture of values takes on a collective character that represents the constants that society maintains within its moral, religious, and customary systems within cities. Therefore, That Actions Qualify Spaces as Much as Spaces Qualify Actions.