Urban Territories: On the Reinvention of Collective Space in the Public and Private Realms

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As the philosopher Byung-Chul Han states: every age has its signature afflictions. These illnesses have represented some of the most significant challenges in human history, bringing drastic changes not only to the healthcare sector but also to economic and political spheres, revealing humanity as a complex network negotiating its daily existence through actions that have reshaped our ways of living and relating to one another.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought diverse changes to the world, and it is clear that in the field of architecture and urbanism, these changes have had a highly significant impact. Some of the spaces we have long taken for granted have been radically transformed, clashing with different realities that have exposed some of the gravest flaws in society and, consequently, in the cities we know today. While it is true that these changes were mostly reflected in the vast emptiness left by people in public spaces, streets, and transit, it is also crucial to examine the private spaces we inhabit day after day under lockdown.