ASTRAH:
ATLAS OF FEAR
Narratives and Urban Spaces of Dread
A four-year interdisciplinary research project funded by the European Union through the NextGenerationEU programme. The project examines how fear, trauma, and collective memory become embedded in urban space through cultural narratives, architectural forms, and representations in media and popular culture.
The Geography of Dread: Mapping Urban Trauma
The project connects culture, geography, and digital humanities in analyzing how spaces become archives of collective trauma and emotion. Through case studies of cities such as Zadar, Madrid, Tokyo, Edinburgh, and New York, it examines how fear imprints itself onto streets, architecture, and everyday life.
Research Contribution
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URBAN METHODOLOGIES
Interdisciplinary Methodological Innovation
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gis FOR cOLLECTIVE TRAUMA STUDIES
The project develops a novel methodological framework that integrates human geography, cultural studies, urban analysis, and digital humanities in the study of spaces of fear.
Advancement of GIS in Humanities Research
By applying GIS technology to the study of collective trauma, the project expands the scope of digital humanities and introduces new research practices in the humanities.
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atlas of fear
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Creation of a Digital Atlas of Urban Fear
RESEARCH APPROACHES
The development of an interactive digital atlas represents an innovative scientific tool for the visualization and interpretation of urban spaces of fear.
Integration of Narrative and Spatial Analysis
The project systematically connects cultural and media narratives with specific urban locations, deepening the understanding of the relationship between imaginary and real spaces.
Media coverage of ASTRAH events reflects the project’s public dimension and its engagement with audiences beyond academia. Through lectures, guided walks, discussions, and other activities, the project shares its research themes with the wider community while opening space for dialogue on fear, memory, trauma, and urban space.
The ASTRAH project translates empirical fieldwork into theoretical frameworks through interdisciplinary research published in leading architectural and sociological journals.
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Dark Urbanity
Urban Legends and the Cultural Geography of Horror
M. Lukić
Springer Nature, 2022
T. Parezanović & M. Lukić
Springer International Publishing, 2020
M. Lukić & T. Parezanović
Springer International Publishing, 2020
I. Jurković,M. Lukić,T. Parezanović
Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2026