“Altenburg Reallabor: The Future in the Context of Structural Change”
Semester: Winter semester 23/24
M.Sc. in Urbanism, 1st semester. Research project
Professorship for Urban Studies and Social Research
Course type: Project 7 8 SWS / 12 European Credit Transfer System credits
Number of participants: max. 20
Dates: Mondays, 1.30 pm – 4.45 pm
Language: German
Venue: …
Lecturer: Prof. Dr Frank Eckardt
Enrollment takes place online via BISON
Since reunification, the district and town of Altenburg have been undergoing massive structural change. This has led to vacant properties, an exodus of residents and a shift in the economic employment structure. However, in light of demographic change, migration and the necessary socio-ecological transformation, the town and region face further challenges. As a result of these far-reaching and ongoing changes, Altenburg is faced with the question of which aspects of its social and spatial-architectural identity can be preserved and how these can be further developed. Existing traditions and identity-forming elements – such as the landscape and the associated agricultural way of life, as well as the town’s history as a royal residence and pride in its beauty – are integral to Altenburg’s sense of self. The question arises as to how this historical and landscape heritage can be harnessed to generate new impetus for shaping the future of Altenburg and the Altenburg region.
In this Reallabor, we aim to explore, together with local stakeholders, how, in specific locations such as vacant buildings or farms, traditions worth preserving can not only be maintained but also utilised to shape new initiatives. Specifically, using individual locations as case studies, the aim is to investigate how the energy transition and decarbonisation, as well as the challenges of demographic change, can be integrated with the existing spatial and social identity through new economic, social, cultural and artistic uses.
The Reallabor will initially work with committed stakeholders in local government and the district administration, representatives of civil society such as city dwellers and the ‘Leergut-Agenten’, as well as representatives of the farmers’ association and the bio-economy, to explore which locations are suitable for establishing a Reallabor and what prospects the stakeholders associate with this. In order to carry out this field research, students will be taught the fundamentals of qualitative social research and gain a specialisation in key methods relevant to the work. These will be developed jointly during the Monday events. In a second phase, based on specific themes that have emerged from the survey, students will form thematic working groups to conduct systematic research into ideas or examples for the transformation of the selected locations. Finally, students are to develop their own ideas on how the Reallabor can continue to work towards realising various visions for the future.
The project provides a specialisation in understanding the complexity of structural change, using Altenburg and the Altenburger Land region as examples. This is achieved through a limited amount of independent fieldwork on site. On Monday afternoons, the work of the various thematic groups will be reviewed and supported, whilst topics relating to socio-ecological transformation will be discussed in a seminar setting.
What does it take to reclaim local politics? A study project on the municipalist movement in Zagreb
Semester: Summer semester 2024, MSc in European Urban Studies, 2nd semester.
Study Project Course type: Project / 8 SWS / 12 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) Number of participants: max. 15
Language: English
Lecturer: Dr Timmo Krüger (Bauhaus-Universität Weimar)
You can download the booklet PDF here
We are facing a socio-ecological crisis that affects the fundamental structures of modern societies. Issues of social justice and effective climate change mitigation have arisen, making it necessary to fundamentally question the prevailing growth-oriented development model. At the same time, many (not only) European societies are increasingly experiencing a crisis of democracy. In their criticism of pluralistic democratic institutions, right-wing authoritarian movements and parties capitalise on these crisis phenomena whilst simultaneously exacerbating them. At the other end of the political spectrum, social movement actors link the demand for (climate and social) justice with the demand for the expansion and deepening of democracy. In this context, municipalist movements stand out because they pursue both parliamentary and extra-parliamentary strategies to orient urban infrastructures and institutions towards an approach centred on the common good. With the electoral successes of Barcelona en Comú (2015), Zagreb je NAS! (2021) and other municipalist movement parties around the world, new understandings of politics have entered local politics and urban planning. Consequently, municipalist movement parties in government strengthen grassroots democratic elements and strive for ‘responsive governance’ to forge a new relationship between local authorities, administrative bodies, social movements and citizens. Municipalist movements thus hold the promise of broadening the political scope for political visions, whilst simultaneously testing very concrete transformative urban policy and planning tools.
We will explore the strategies, successes, challenges and setbacks of the municipalist movement in Zagreb. The project aims to enable students to carry out their own empirical research in a methodologically sound manner. The students will learn how to design, plan and implement a research project. They will develop research questions, which they will work on in groups. During our field trip to Zagreb, the students will apply various methods of data collection. Afterwards, we will practise different methods of interpretation and analyse the collected material. The results will be presented in a presentation and a report.