The Crângași Herbarium, a curated collection of drawings, maps, photographs, analyses, texts, and dioramas contained in a small piece of furniture located inside a public library in the Crângași neighbourhood. The herbarium presents a condensed story of the minor history of how residents live in the neighbourhood and the ways in which practices of neighbourliness and conviviality manifest in the spaces of the city. Thus, the herbarium highlights these modes of adaptation and survival in a city dominated by the paradigm of individual actions, privatization and commodification, and top-down strategies often implemented in a heavy-handed manner. The research aimed to identify neighbourhood spaces and active actors that could host and support an intervention with a strong ecological and community-oriented character. The Nichita Stănescu branch of the Bucharest Metropolitan Library, located on Calea Crângași, the neighbourhood’s main thoroughfare, was identified as one of the key community actors capable of supporting the intervention and engaging various library users in caring for a small nearby green space. Due to overlap with a city hall project to redesign the entire boulevard, it was decided to relocate the “intervention” inside the library. Although initially this seemed like a step back for the project, the relocation into the small neighbourhood library turned into an opportunity to highlight and support an important public institution for the local community. Identified during the research as one of the spatial and institutional resources that can help support the emergence of (environmental) commons in the neighbourhood, “our library,” as it is called by some of its users, was considered a suitable place to make visible the informal manifestations found in local public spaces.

During the second half of 2024 and the early months of 2025, the Institute of Architecture Foundation team researched the archival materials, history press materials, and historic iconography, as well as met with still-active authors of the architectural and artistic projects completed in Mistrzejowice District and Złotego Wieku (Golden Age) Estate in particular. The team developed the data to expand the intervention plan, involving the local community and raising awareness of postwar housing and Mistrzejowice District among site residents and Kraków citizens. The final intervention consisted of a conference with Maria Chronowska, who was involved in the design of the neighbourhood together with his husband, Jerzy Chronowska. She was accompanied by Janeuz "Jutrzenka" Trzebiatowski, a painter from Krakow who created part of the furniture for the dwellings with his design studio. In 1974 he designed the monumental enameled decoration “The Phantasmagory of the Wind,” which for several decades decorated a shopping and service pavilion located at the Złotego Wieku (Golden Age) 19-20 Estate. The non-existent decoration was among the largest of this kind in Poland. The journey ended with the showcase of the artistic intervention and installation celebrating the ecodiversity of Mistrzejowice District, organised by Miastopracownia.

On April 5th, the courtyard of Escola Concepción Arenal in the Besòs i Maresme neighbourhood of Barcelona became the heart of a powerful act of collective imagination. Organised by MITO Collective within the framework of the WECARE project (Warding Ecosystem Commons through Action-Research Education, funded by the European Union), PLANTADA brought together neighbours, artists, activists and local entities to construct a living counter-monument—a participatory and symbolic intervention rooted in ecological care, cultural memory and neighbourhood solidarity.

Aquest document audiovisual recull una síntesi de les entrevistes realitzades al veïnat, representants d'entitats i treballadores dels serveis públics i tècnics del barri de La Pau, per part de l'estudiantat i en motiu de la recerca-acció desenvolupada en el marc de l'assignatura City and Society del MISMeC de les edicions 2023 i 2024.

Fins a quin punt els models matemàtics van ser determinants per controlar la pandèmia? Què n’hem après de la gestió d’una crisi d’aquell abast?. És el punt de partida de ‘Lliçons d’una pandèmia’, el primer videopòdcast de la sèrie ‘Algorrritmes UPC’ : una retrospectiva sobre la Covid-19 cinc anys després del seu esclat global. El videopòdcast compta amb la participació dels investigadors Clara Prats, Enric Álvarez i Daniel López-Codina, del grup de recerca en Biologia Computacional i Sistemes Complexos (BIOCOM) de la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), que van tenir un paper clau en l’estudi de l’evolució de la pandèmia a partir de models matemàtics.

Ikusa Cybersecurity, una spin-off de la UPC que ajuda les empreses i institucions a prevenir la filtració de dades personals i a eliminar el rastre d'informació sensible que els seus empleats deixen a Internet, per evitar atacs que afectin la ciberseguretat.

Pere Barlet, professor de la Facultat d'Informàtica de Barcelona (FIB) i de l'Escola Tècnica Superior d'Enginyeria de Telecomunicació de Barcelona (ETSETB) i investigadors del Departament d'Arquitectura de Computadors, i Ismael Castell, investigador del mateix Departament, han estat al 4YFN presentant la seva proposta. També han participat en la UPC Pitching Session, on han tingut l'oportunitat de presentar el seu projecte davant d’inversors, representants institucionals i actors clau del sector.

"Looking at the age pyramid of the Zlotego Wieku housing state, it becomes clear that a significant part of the residents are old people. The peaceful and quiet neighbourhood of Mistrzejowice is surrounded by greenery. Becoming a welcoming place to retire. This greenery was a key point during the design of the place. All the people living here are aware of the wealth of these surroundings that are now threatened by the increase in car use and the need for parking places. They are coming together to defend it and ensure it remains as it is now. "

"“In our neighbourhood, there is everything that Barcelona rejects”, explains Ramon Tur, who is part of the Coordinator of Neighborhood Entities and representative of Barri Net and Airenet. Barcelona has displaced to El Besòs i el Maresme the services, infrastructure and equipment that do not fit in the city centre. The most notable cases are the combined cycle power plant; the contamination due to the presence of asbestos left by the demolition of the old industrial fabric; and the Forum complex, where mass tourism leisure events and macro-festivals generate annoyance for the residents living around the area; plus the air pollution due to the presence of the Ronda Litoral."

WECARE is a European Project that brings together people from Barcelona, Bucharest, and Cracow to understand the importance of environmental commons. It uses an action-research methodology that brings together neighbours, students, and researchers to discuss the issue.

L’estudiant de màster Helena Arias, de l’ @eseiaat_upc , participarà en la segona missió Hypatia, que compta amb el suport de la Universitat, entre altres entitats. La segona missió de científiques impulsada per l’associació Hypatia Mars tornarà, del 2 al 15 de febrer, a l’estació Mars Research Desert Station (MDRS) al desert de Utah, als Estats Units, per estudiar els efectes d’una missió espacial a Mart en el cos de la dona. La nova tripulació d’astronautes anàlogues, exclusivament femenina, conviurà durant 15 dies en condicions d’aïllament, coincidint amb el Dia Internacional de la Dona i la Nena a la Ciència (11 febrer). Helena Arias ia va formar part de la primera missió d’Hypatia, l’abril del 2023, però com a enginyera suplent, així que no va arribar a estar a l'MDRS. Ara sí, en la nova missió anirà a l'Estació acompanyada d'altres vuit tripulants, entre elles, dues alumni UPC: Estel Blay, project manager de l’Institut d’Estudis Especials de Catalunya (IEEC) al programa de l'ESA Phi-Lab NET Spai, i s'encarregarà de salut i seguretat d'Hypatia; Mònica Roca, Fundadora i directora general del grup isardSAT i serà l'especialista de la missió.

En aquest vídeo, protagonitzat per una alumna que simula a una persona amb ceguesa en un ull i baixa visió a l'altre, utilitza l'app ENVISION AI per fer la compra de manera autònoma. A casa, prepara pancakes i una amanida de fruites fent servir mètodes tàctils. La narradora mostra com les persones amb discapacitat visual poden gaudir dels àpats amb el suport adequat. La història destaca la importància de les eines i el suport per superar reptes diaris.

En aquest vídeo, s’aborden estratègies per ajudar les persones amb baixa visió a gestionar la seva salut i higiene personal. Inclou adaptacions senzilles com l'ús de colors contrastants per identificar objectes i millorar l'organització a la llar. També destaca la importància de mantenir una bona il·luminació i seguretat en espais reduïts. Aquestes mesures fomenten l'autonomia i la confiança diària.