Possibilities to Apply the Urban Acupuncture Concept in Kaunas: Social Aspect

Abstract

The concept of urban acupuncture, which has been gaining ground in recent decades, is based on the activation and revitalization of urban environments using small architectural or landscape architectural interventions in precise carefully selected locations of urban fabric. However, the rapid and unexpected design solutions of urban acupuncture, based on ecological design, nature dynamics, street art, material re-use, can cause different social and psychological reactions of urban population and these reactions may vary depending on cultural contexts. Consequently, in order to implement successful urban acupuncture projects in Lithuanian cities, it is very important to find out public opinion and priorities in the fields of public space management, aesthetics, and public art. The aim of the research was to analyze the opinion of Kaunas city residents regarding these issues. For this purpose, a sociological questionnaire survey was used. The questionnaire containing 20 questions was designed, with the aim to find out the trends of use of public spaces in the city, the attitudes of residents towards street art and other small-scale initiatives in public spaces implemented in the recent years, possibilities of creating landscape architecture based on ecological ideas in urban environment, the attitude of inhabitants towards community spaces and community space design in the city, etc. 100 residents of Kaunas participated in this online administered survey. The survey has demonstrated general positive attitude towards contemporary design trends of public spaces and public art; however, the surveyed population expressed preferences towards fully equipped public spaces offering possibilities for a wide range of activities.

Urban Acupuncture as a Strategy to Enhance Social Interaction: Insights from Enhancing the Infrastructure of the Transportation Network at the Historic Center of Baghdad, Iraq

“…(Naghibi et al, 2020) Focuses on vacant urban land as a community asset for environmental improvement, discussing urban acupuncture's role in regeneration. (Daugelaite et al, 2018) Analyzes urban acupuncture's impact on urban spaces from social and psychological perspectives. (Bugarič, 2018) Reviews theories and applications of urban acupuncture, especially in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen.…”

Research on the Application of Synthetic Polymer Materials in Contemporary Public Art

“…Through a systematic study, the discussion of public art materials in the English literature mainly focuses on the sociality of public art [ 21 , 22 ], and public [ 23 , 24 ], cultural [ 25 ] or narrative analysis of materials in specific cases [ 26 , 27 ]. Although some studies presented discussions from the perspective of engineering and materials science, some focused on ceramic materials [ 28 ], and some on the preservation and restoration of public art [ 29 , 30 ].…”