Today, it is difficult to find a place with a cultural or natural heritage in the Mediterranean that is not under great pressure from the unstoppable tourism that is changing the way of life in this part of the world. Most of the fetishised tourist destinations in the Mediterranean irreversibly depend on only one service sector – tourism. In the 21st century, the outcomes of tourism are widely visible and critically discussed, from the relocation of the local population from the historic city centres, along with the gentrification and Disneyfication of the same, the increase in the cost of living for the local population, to extreme pressure on the local infrastructure, turning the local population into 2nd class citizens. In the post-Covid world, we witness daily examples of the outcomes of excessive tourism, from mass protests in Palma de Mallorca, Venice entry fee, to this summer’s closure of the Acropolis in Athens due to queues combined with extreme heat. In addition to “tourist disasters”, climate changes are inevitable, which will be especially strong in the European part of the Mediterranean, with rising air and sea temperatures. This will bring extreme changes to the sea and coast, irreversibly changing one of the most desirable climates and natural parts of Europe.
Possible specific topics that we will deal with in the context of the local near future…
bottom-up activist and artistic reactions
reactions of local authorities (regulations, fees, fines…)
seasonable life (summer versus winter)
infrastructure (transport, water, waste, healthcare…)
domestic crafts and local production
resistance (guerrilla actions)
building resilience
Participation in the workshop is free of charge. Travel, accommodation and food are on the behalf of participants. The maximum number of participants is limited to 24, and the application deadline is 29 September.
The event is hosted by Ivica Mitrović and Oleg Šuran (Arts Academy, University of Split). The workshop will be divided into two groups one led by the Split team and the other by the TU Delft Faculty of Architecture group (Andrej Radman, Heidi Sohn and Stavros Kousoulas). Discursive programme guests (lectures and discussions) are Lidija Petrić (Faculty of Economics, Business, and Tourism, University of Split) and Mario Vrbančić (Department of English Language and Literature, University of Zadar).