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Description
The project educates on spatial planning and its relationship to environmental sustainability on the example of Košice. It thus supports the active involvement of the population in the creation of a new zoning plan and other city policies. The main tool is the interactive installation of the Mestometer, created especially for this purpose. The main project activities are the operation of the installation as a contact/educational point, an exhibition with an accompanying program and the creation of a publication that includes practical thematic knowledge. Mestometer is an interdisciplinary work on the edges of computer and board games, product design and urban studies. In an interactive and playful way, educates about complex topics and relationships in spatial planning, which concern everyone in Košice. It aims to enable and encourage people not only to comment more critically on spatial planning, but also to formulate their own requirements for a possible new spatial plan. At the same time, it aims to create a meeting place for representatives of local governments and municipal authorities, for whom the Mestometer can also be a tool for sharing experiences, visualizing data and surveys and a platform for multidisciplinary discussion on policy orientations. Through a monthly exhibition with a rich accompanying program, active discussion and enlightenment on the topics of spatial planning and an environmentally sustainable future will be strengthened and materialized. The eye-catching interactive installation of the Mestometer will be the center of events and will attract the general public to the exhibition. With the game you will find out why family houses do not belong to the park and what environmental consequences the thickening of housing estates has. The exhibition will be supplemented with information on the topics of spatial planning and environmental sustainability of cities.
Summary of project results
The Mestometer project was dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of spatial planning and spatial planning as such for the creation of better cities for all of us, especially in the context of the climate crisis. The zoning plan is often understood only as a technical document that prevents development rather than enabling it. Many cities and municipalities in Slovakia, including the county of Košice, would prefer not to use the spatial plan and leave the city to the free decision of investors and politicians. Mestometer shows why this document is important for environmental protection and how we can use it for the active creation of a more social and ecological city. The installation and publication show how the spatial plan is important for all of us and why we should be interested in it, demand its up-to-dateness and comment on it in its creation.
Based on the demand for the installation of Mestometer at the City Hall of Košice and in other cities, it can be said that the project was successful and will continue. Thanks to this project, its implementers drew attention to the importance of the spatial plan and also made it available to the lay public. In the months of April to May, the creation of the contents of the exhibition, testing and fine-tuning of the material solution of the installation, and at the same time the conceptualization of the accompanying program of the exhibition took place. At this time, the project implementers were also preparing the professional contents of the publication, to which external experts were also invited. In June, they edited the publication, installed the exhibition, fine-tuned the accompanying program and created a communication and PR plan. The exhibition was held from 15.6 to 20.7. 2021 in the Tabačka Gallery in the Tabačka Kulturfabrik Cultural Center in Košice. During the exhibition, an accompanying program was held in two regular formats: Tea at five (always on Tuesdays) and a guided tour with female authors (always on Wednesdays). Last event tea at five o''clock 7.7. was also a presentation of the publication Playing Mestometer: Why do cities need a zoning plan?, which was published in Slovak and English.
The exhibition was open to visitors every working day for 8 hours, and in case of advance also at other times or for groups from primary, secondary schools and community centers for youth.