Ideal spaces news update
Workshop Identity and Place, Place and Belonging: A Workshop on Citizenship, Space, and Community
Moderated by Prof. Jason Montgomery, Catholic University of America, Washington D.C., and Ulrich Gehmann from Ideal Spaces, the workshop performed on October 19 + 20 at the Ideal Spaces foundation’s venue led to important insights and the development of new perspectives in regards to the above topics. Very interesting aspects were addressed by Prof. Ettore Mazzola, University of Notre Dame, Rome, Grant Raynham from Ideal Spaces, John Roberts from Brunel University, London, and Dr. Dennis Nitsche, former mayor. We want to express our special thanks to Prof. emeritus Massimo Venturi/Milan, who delivered important basic ideas about ethos, citizenship, and democracy rooted in our occidental cultural heritage. These roots are important to better understand the recent discussions about citizenship, place/identity and democracy.
Ideal Spaces would like to thank its in-person audience, as well as our international online audience for their participation. Initial discussions were made to continue the topics of this workshop in a widened version in the first half of 2026, most probably in Rome.
Special Issue in our Journal Urban Eidos
As indicated in our last post, the topics and perspectives addressed in the workshop will be presented and interpreted in a special issue of our journal, due to their importance for the basic understanding of how an active citizenship and democracy belong together. Both these issues are under threat today.
Podcasts
Besides our normal interview podcasts, we will be adding a new format, consisting of open panel discussion to bring a rich and opinionated series of topics to our audience worldwide. The first of this new format-podcasts will be featuring Jason Montgomery, Ettore Mazzola, and John Roberts in discussion with Ideal Spaces members Ulrich Gehmann and Grant Raynham.
Starting in the next weeks, we will be releasing new interview podcasts on our two major strains, younger generation and viable communities. In our ongoing younger generation podcasts, we will be presenting 4-6 new episodes, starting the end of November.
Individual podcasts focusing on the workshop will be appearing in the coming weeks with Jason Montgomery, Ettore Mazzola, and John Roberts; and with Dennis Nitsche on our German website.