The RES URBANAE project brings together three European universities (UBO in France, TUD in Germany and VUT in the Czech Republic) and a Franco-German citizens' association (MDA in Brest) to explore the issue of reconstruction in the broadest sense. The project takes as its starting point the comparison of two cities - Brest and Dresden - which suffered the same fate of destruction at the end of the Second World War, and which tackled the challenges of their reconstruction in very different ways. With an innovative transdisciplinary approach, the project will explore not only the architecture and urban planning of the two cities, but also the art and the role imagination plays in the (re)construction of the cities' identities. Students, researchers from different countries, and artists will be invited to participate in the various activities that structure the project. The aim is to understand how these cities' processes of transformation have enabled them to respond to the challenges of urban renewal and resilience, and to turn destruction and ruin into a foundation for reflection and creation in the broadest sense. Brest and Dresden, laboratory cities for their historical and current developments, serve as a basis for reflection on the development of good urban planning practices, which are indispensable in envisaging the future of European cities in a rapidly changing world. Finally, the goal will be to communicate the results of this exploration to the general public, in order to help people understand the importance of urban culture and to incite inhabitants to play an active role in the future development of their cities. Beyond Brest and Dresden, this project is aimed at European citizens who live in urban areas that have experienced traumas other than bombings (e.g. the slow decay of their city's heritage) or who are simply concerned about the world's current state (threat of ecological disasters, possible pandemics, etc.).

Keywords
Architecture, culture, urban planning, art in the city.