The Urban Acupuncture Project - An Inter-university Collaboration

The Urban Acupuncture project is an international academic collaboration that explores how small, targeted urban interventions can catalyze wider social and spatial improvements in cities. Initiated within the Ta’ziz Partnership for Scientific Cooperation (a funding programme of the German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD), the project is led by the Department of Urban Renewal and Planning Theory at the University of Kassel (Germany) and implemented in partnership with Babylon University (Iraq), Beirut Arab University (Lebanon), and Alexandria University (Egypt). 

The project aims to deepen cooperation among these institutions through research exchanges, workshops, fellowships, and joint learning activities. Its main objective is to apply the concept of urban acupuncture, i.e., strategic, small-scale interventions in specific locations, to help revitalize urban areas and address local challenges in cities in Germany, Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt. The initiative seeks to develop a strategic framework for this approach, create teaching resources such as MOOCs, and strengthen the links between teaching, research, and practical urban design.

Through collaborative research and experimental projects, the initiative evaluates how targeted interventions can produce significant improvements in urban environments while fostering sustainable and inclusive city development

Read more about the project here.