Therapeutic urbanism: Public art as a tool and a method
EDN: GMHBVX
Abstract
The present essay is devoted to the formulation and analytical interpretation of the phenomenon of “therapeutic urbanism” as a specific method of engaging with the post- Soviet urban environment. The focus of the study is not on individual artistic practices, but on a constellation of scholarly, spatial, architectural, and symbolic approaches aimed at addressing collective trauma, the loss of identity, and the absence of emotional bonds between individuals and place. In the first part of the essay, I clarify a number of concepts related to trends in street art and emphasize the importance of an integrated approach to the development of public art programs, which directly influence the formation of emotionally rich urban environments. Therapeutic urbanism is approached here as a philosophical and methodological category that enables the analysis of processes transforming the urban fabric. Its relationship to existing urban theories is examined, including concepts of reasonable urbanism, the right to the city, and semiotic analyses of urban space.
In the second part, therapeutic urbanism is explored through the case of the long-
term program Tales of Golden Apples (Almetyevsk, 2017–2023), which is understood as a laboratory for the development and testing of this method. Drawing on spatial design practices, folklore-anthropological and ethnobotanical research, participatory frameworks, and the institutional consolidation of outcomes, the essay demonstrates how the urban environment can function as a space of symbolic “healing.” This occurs through the replacement of traumatizing sign systems, the restoration of connections to local history and natural contexts, and the formation of sustainable communities. Particular attention is paid to working with “non-ideal” environments, rejecting tabula rasa approaches, and recognizing conflictual and painful reactions from residents as an integral part of the collective process of working through trauma. As a result, the article for the first time formulates the key principles of therapeutic urbanism as an interdisciplinary method for long-term urban development and for the formation of sustainable emotional and social ties.
About the Author
Polina Ej
Street Art Research Institute “NUVO” Bureau of Public Art Projects and Sociocultural Design
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Independent researcher; Street Art Research Institute “NUVO” Bureau of Public Art Projects and Sociocultural Desig
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Review
For citations:
Ej P. Therapeutic urbanism: Public art as a tool and a method. Urban Folklore and Anthropology. 2026;8(1):220-247. (In Russ.) EDN: GMHBVX
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