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Can we even imagine an urban development policy that not only reflects the interests of the most influential players, but the right to the city from the perspectives of different social groups and non-human actors?

The Urban Imagination Seminar explores this topic using the example of Lido in Bratislava. The output is a bilingual blog urbanimaginationsk.cargo.site that maps the site through expert field research and theoretical reflection, and now, in the form of a publication, the texts from the blog are expanded and thus more sustainable.

Its main objective is to develop an imagination of possible forms of fair urban development (collective forms of land ownership, models of affordable housing, instruments of public policies and regulatory mechanisms). Contributions come from experts in the fields of geobotany, ornithology, entomology, hydrogeology, meteorology and field social work. Important contributions include the artistic interventions of Šimon Chovan, Andrea Kalinová, Katarina Škamlová and Dominika Koššová, which expand the critical reflection and speculative visions of the texts into a visual form. The publication also features a literary essay by Dominika Moravčíková, written during her residency in Bratislava, as well as theoretical contributions reflecting on the dynamics of urban planning, public interest and the rights of non-human entities. The findings and research data were also transformed into an interactive map.

At a time of intensifying environmental crisis, this publication aims to contribute to thinking about forms of urban development that are not synonymous with gentrification and social and species Darwinism, but proposes just models of redistribution of gains and initiates alliances across species and social groups. For us, Lido is a case study in broader, global dynamics that either absorbs or inspires us to experiment with new forms of infrastructures and organization.