By signing the petition, I endorse Imaginary Famagusta’s initiative and I join forces with all Cypriots who demand NOW the creation of a joint committee asking for a common urban future of Famagusta and of our island, Cyprus.

This petition is endorsed by ETEK (Cyprus Scientific Technical Chamber), KTMMOB Union of the Chambers of Cyprus Turkish Engineers and Architects, Bi-communal Famagusta Initiative, Unite Cyprus Now and Historic Cyprus.

 

WHAT WE ASK FOR

We, Imaginary Famagusta members together with our endorsers undersigning this petition, are asking from the two leaders of the Cypriot communities to establish NOW a joint committee for planning a NON divided Famagusta under the umbrella of United Nations.

It is our shared vision that the planning process including a careful study of the fenced off area should be used as a process of reconciliation between the two communities and for all Cypriots. As active citizens of Cyprus who share a common concern about the future of Famagusta, we are ready to adopt this vision and contribute to joint planning processes providing that they will be organized with the joint committee.

WHY WE THINK IT’S NECESSARY

Any attempt to plan the city by excluding the other community will inevitably contribute to the formation of the next divided city in Europe, and even more so will lead towards further tension in and around the island.

We believe there is an alternative to the us or them politics, a third way to look at the city’s future, based on a common urban framework for all Cypriots. We believe that urbanism, planning and related policies and regulations should support public dialogue in order to envision the commons of Cyprus, where we see Famagusta as a starting point. Moreover, facing any urgent technical matter regarding the reconstruction of Varosha should go hand-in-hand with democratic reconciliation processes. We cannot rely on limited studies focusing on properties and buildings stock without considering social, political and ecological consequences.  

HOW TO DO IT

We believe it is essential to establish a platform to envision common urban environments considering the horizon of a Federal Cyprus. Such a platform will enable debates on common concerns to facilitate public dialogue and act as an innovative confidence building measure. We propose three common concerns to start with: 1.Resilient landscapes for living, 2. Sharing infrastructures and 3. Mobility and housing for equity.

Imaginary Famagusta, with the help of tools and strategies developed by the Hands-on Famagusta project, (www.handsonfamagusta.org is prepared to facilitate debates on nature based solutions for urban resilience, sharing infrastructures (municipal, water, waste treatment and health) and social justice and equality through sustainable modes of mobility and housing-for-all. Such debates will enable pointing out actual challenges, opportunities but also threats for sustaining the common urban everydayness of a future federal life in Cyprus.

WHO WE ARE

Imaginary Famagusta members are the initiators of the Hands-on Famagusta Project and since 2012 have been working with AA&U and the Laboratory of Urbanism, University of Cyprus, (LUCY) on democratization of urban processes in Cyprus as a way to constructively transform conflict into matters of common concern.

Members in alphabetical order:

Emre Akbil, PhD Candidate, Architect, Urbanist

Esra Can, PhD Candidate, Architect, Urbanist

Chrysanthe Constantinou, Architect, Urbanist

Münevver Özgür Özersay, PhD, Architect

Socrates Stratis, PhD, Architect, Urban Planner, Associate Professor