Academic year 2021/22

How systemically important is a culture of participation? Participation and resilience in the post-corona city (Master’s in Urbanism)

Semester: winter semester 21/22

M.Sc. in Urbanism, 1st semester. Research project

Professorship for Urban Studies and Social Research

Course type: Project / 8 SWS / 12 European Credit Transfer System points

Number of participants: max. 20

Dates: Thursdays, 9.15 am to 4.45 pm

Language: German

Venue: R004, Bauhausstraße 7b / R103, Belvederer Allee 4 (digital/hybrid where applicable)

Lecturers: Anton Brokow-Loga M.Sc.

Enrolment takes place online via BISON.

Crises have always shaped the character of cities and brought about turning points in their histories. The COVID-19 pandemic is a contemporary example of how social interaction, everyday mobility and housing, as well as administrative procedures and democratic processes, (have to) function very differently from one day to the next. On the one hand, it is striking how regularly health-related crises occur and profoundly shape our understanding of cities and Urban Design: a hundred years ago, it was the so-called Spanish flu that helped the Urban Design ideal of ‘air, light and sun’ to gain acceptance. On the other hand, the way we are dealing with the current pandemic also shows that existing crises, such as the climate crisis or the housing crisis, are being exacerbated as if under a magnifying glass. As cities, as living spaces, become the central arenas of these changes, their resilience must be scrutinised: Who has a say in crises and can help shape solutions? Who is actively involved, and on whose behalf are decisions being made? How do experiences with the restrictions imposed in the course of pandemic management affect local authorities’ tools for democratic participation? 

In the student project for the 2021/22 winter semester, we will examine these questions in depth. In doing so, we will investigate various aspects of local participation, social inclusion and exclusion, and the activities of urban social initiatives. This Master’s project approaches these questions at the level of the Free State of Thuringia and selected Thuringian cities. Through various case studies, we will analyse how the interplay between administration, politics and civil society has changed, and which governance structures and cultures of participation have proved (less) successful in local crisis management. Building on this intensive analytical work, the aim is to outline conceptual approaches for participatory instruments designed to foster a resilient and self-sufficient urban society. The exchange with students on the Bachelor’s project, who are simultaneously exploring these topics at the city of Weimar level, is particularly valuable in this regard.

The aim of the courses is to provide an insight into the topics and methods of Urban Studies and Social Research and to enable students to gain their own experience within this research framework. To this end, all phases and stages of empirical research will be covered and practised in both theory and practice. Jointly, we will discuss relevant literature and develop research questions that will guide us through our projects. Furthermore, we will test social science methods of data collection and analysis in the field (such as interviews and coding), analyse our material and compile a report based on the data collected. The two student projects will be carried out separately and shared with one another at specific points in time. At the end of the semester, we will present the research findings to local stakeholders. The combined student projects are embedded in the BBSR pilot project ‘Post-Corona City’, which, within the framework of national urban development policy, tests and examines innovative and exemplary solutions for crisis-resilient urban and neighbourhood structures.

Post-socialist Weimar

Semester: Summer semester 2022

M.Sc. European Urban Studies, 2nd semester. Study Project

Junior Professor of European Cities and Urban Heritage

Type of course: Project / 8 SWS / 12 European Credit Transfer System credits

Number of participants: max. 15

Date: Tuesdays, 9.15 am to 4.45 pm

Language: English

Lecturer: Jun. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Daniela Zupan

Enrolment takes place online via BISON.

This research-oriented study project examines the socialist legacies and post-socialist urban transformations in Weimar. Through a collaborative mapping of the Waldstadt in Weimar Schöndorf, it aims to gain a deeper understanding of the logics, effects and lived experiences of post-socialist transformation in eastern Germany. Built shortly before German reunification on the northern outskirts of the city, the Waldstadt reflects the shifting dynamics from being a showcase of late socialist housing production to becoming a laboratory of post-socialist capitalist transformation. As cartographic representations play a key role in how we make sense of the world, we will approach the Waldstadt through deep mapping, understanding maps not merely as instruments for capturing reality, but for co-producing reality, as they shape society’s perceptions, imaginations and knowledge. From this perspective, we seek to understand the Waldstadt’s role within Weimar: how is the city of Weimar portrayed in official and public narratives, and what role does the Waldstadt, as socialist heritage, play within these depictions? Has this relationship changed during the postsocialist period? The project then aims to challenge dominant perceptions and representations of the Waldstadt through in-depth fieldwork and by actively involving local residents. By focusing on the profound ruptures that have shaped everyday life in the Waldstadt since the 1990s, it aims to produce a multifaceted and multi-layered map of this place, thereby opening up new perspectives on Weimar and its postsocialist transformation. During the study project, students will gain in-depth knowledge of the dynamics and effects of profound urban transformations and learn about approaches and tools for studying them; they will become familiar with mapping as a research method and carry out an individual or group mapping project. Most of the time will be devoted to conducting field research.

Further information on the results of the study project can be found on the project’s website.