About Ser Urbano 2024
We are pleased to present the 13th edition of Ser Urbano – Architecture and Urbanism Week (@serurbanopucrio), an annual, independent event organized by students. The event will take place from October 28 to November 1, 2024, on the PUC-Rio campus and will feature lectures, roundtables, workshops, field visits, and exhibitions.
Under the theme “Ser Urbano – For Other Futures,” this edition invites critical reflection on the role of architecture in addressing emerging challenges, both in Brazil and around the world. The aim is to explore contemporary concerns and stimulate critical and creative thinking within the academic environment, with a special focus on the Climate Crisis and the future possibilities we can imagine, reflect on, and build. Learning from the past, we face the present with an eye toward tomorrow, seeking sustainable and inclusive solutions.
In 2024, we have witnessed a series of extreme events that highlight the urgency of these discussions: floods in Rio Grande do Sul, record air pollution in São Paulo, droughts and water crises affecting more than half of the country, water rationing in Minas Gerais, a concerning increase in illegal fires in the Amazon, and winter temperatures reaching 40°C in Rio de Janeiro. In light of this scenario, we propose a different future — one in which we must rethink, redesign, and restructure current urban logics.
This event promotes dialogue between knowledge and practices, combining innovative and ancestral technologies, aiming to bring us closer to more just, equitable, and resilient cities. We seek to build these “possible worlds” and challenge the notion of the “impossible” through integrated and collaborative approaches, collectively facing the global challenges ahead.