Detailed description (English): CurioCity is a participatory urban exploration initiative that invites citizens to rediscover neighborhoods across Cyprus — from hidden gems and industrial zones to everyday residential areas. It is not a guided architectural or historic tour. Instead, it’s a conversation-based experience that sharpens awareness of how urban space shapes our daily lives.
Each walk is led by a facilitator who encourages participants to reflect on the built environment through all five senses. From textures of walls, signage, and street furniture to local biodiversity, active building facades, and road widths — no detail is too small. Participants receive a simple worksheet to guide their observations and take part in group discussions. The facilitator collects insights shared during the walk.
After the walk, the findings are mapped onto a QGIS database to inform urban decision-making. This growing body of citizen-generated knowledge is shared with local authorities and planners.
CurioCity aims to spark curiosity, promote walking, and empower citizens to think like urban planners. By giving people a structured way to engage with their city, the project helps build a community of active residents who care about shaping more inclusive, walkable, and responsive urban spaces.
Target group(s): We have participants of all age groups. The initiative has been particularly successful in attracting people within the age groups of 22-40.
Objectives: 1. Spark Curiosity About Our Cities
Inspire people to pay closer attention to the neighborhoods and streets they move through every day.
2. Start Meaningful Conversations
Encourage discussions about how cities work, who they serve, and how they could be improved.
3. Spot Barriers and Opportunities
Identify what makes different areas welcoming or challenging for walking, cycling, or gathering.
4. Explore How Spaces Affect Us
Help participants reflect on how their feelings and experiences change depending on the design, atmosphere, and layout of urban spaces.
5. Use All Five Senses to Understand the City
Invite participants to walk slowly and notice what they see, hear, smell, touch, and feel, to better understand their surroundings.
6. Encourage the Habit of Walking
Motivate people to choose walking as a regular, enjoyable way to get around — especially important in places like Cyprus, which currently ranks among the lowest in the EU for walking levels.
7. Think Like an Urban Planner
Offer simple tools and methods that help citizens observe and analyze the built environment in a structured way.
8. Give People a Voice
Empower residents to share their observations and ideas through guided walks and creative mapping activities.
9. Build a Community-Led Database
Collect all the findings from these walks and share them with local decision-makers to shape better public spaces.
10. Make It Easy to Copy and Share
Create an open-access guide so that anyone can host their own CurioCity walk in their neighborhood — in Cyprus or across Europe.
11. Build a Community of People Who Care
Bring together people who are passionate about their city and want to play an active role in making it more inclusive, walkable, and people-friendly.
Partner: We collaborate with different organisations depending on the area where each CurioCity walk takes place. Our aim is to engage local stakeholders who can offer unique perspectives and help deepen the impact of each walk. So far, we have partnered with NOUS (urban hub), Strovolos Municipality, The Cyprus Institute, Alternative Brains Rule (non-profit), and Friends of the Earth Cyprus (non-profit).
Cyprus