The Famagusta Ecocity Project is a bi-communal effort for an integrated, sustainable, and environmentally responsible Famagusta for all its inhabitants. The Famagusta Ecocity Project is our vision to turn a captive ghost city and the surrounding region into a model ecocity. We seek a bi-communal ecocity that is integrated, sustainable, and environmentally responsible, one that promotes peaceful coexistence amongst all of the inhabitants of Famagusta and embraces the latest environmental and urban technologies. In our vision, the Famagusta Ecocity will be a center for peace and sustainability within a troubled region and a magnet for younger generations.

We will put this into practice through The Famagusta Ecocity Project, which has the following elements:

1) 16th-20th January 2014: Design Studio: An architectural design studio run by the renowned MIT Professor Jan Wampler, with input from 15 of his own students, Cypriot students and Cypriot stakeholders from both communities, as well as specialists from other disciplines. The design studio will be hosted by the Famagusta Municipality Cultural Center in Derynia, adjacent to the UN-monitored buffer zone overlooking the ghost city of Varosha. We also expect to be able to make use of additional workspace within the Walled City of Famagusta. The design studio will contribute to ongoing local dialogue on the vision for an integrated, post-settlement, Famagusta. It will offer outlines of five different proposals, which can be drawn on by the local stakeholders as guides in the future development of the city.

2) January 15th - February 25th,  2014 & Ongoing: Documentary: A film that will document the design studio at work, workshops with stakeholders and specialists, interviews with current and former inhabitants of Famagusta, and inhabitants of eco-villages around the world, while also preparing the ground in both communities to find the strength and resolve to crack a decades-long conflict using a fresh idea. Our aim is that the documentary can also provide a blueprint for other towns to use in preparing their own communities for a more stable and lasting future.

3) Spring presentation 2014: A conference in the spring of 2014 that will present the ideas of the design studio and what the next step of those ideas could be.

4) Ongoing: Online databank: A free and open online resource to serve as a repository of all prior publicly available research and studies on Famagusta, in order to enable present and future teams of specialists to draw on the best research and ideas to date.

5) Ongoing: Outreach: We are spearheading a local and international informational and educational campaign via individual meetings and a wide variety of media, including the documentary film and social and traditional media.

6) May 2014: Publication: The plans drawn up by The Famagusta Ecocity Project, including the presentations of our Cypriot guest specialists during the week long session in January, will be included in a book published by MIT’s Jan Wampler at the end of the spring semester.