WS25/26

Cities do not develop as planners want: Since the origins of modern planning the discipline struggles to position itself between the paradigm of control and the more messy reality of application. With the critique of modernist planning, new approaches and role definitions have been formulated which expose planning not as an isolated, hermetic discipline, but as a complex, dynamic, multi-disciplinary, situated and mostly open-ended process involving a multitude of voices and actors. Decision-making in planning is deeply influenced by broader political and societal contexts, while urban managers, politicians and a multitude of private and public actors exert control over many urban processes and sites.

 

This lecture series will focus on different theoretical and analytical approaches to urban settlements, global urbanisation and transformation as well as on the practice of urban planning. It is structured in three blocks, addressing key questions such as: How can one define the urban as a field of inquiry and planning practice in a planetary perspective? How is the knowledge base of planning generated by different disciplines and across geographies of expertise and power? How can one build an understanding of the co-production of urban space as a toolbox for more inclusionary, sustainable and just planning and design strategies?

The principle of making the co-production and the open borders of urban planning knowledge explicit also informs the set-up of the lecture series: In order to represent the spectrum of approaches to urban design and research at Habitat Unit, the lecture brings together multiple voices by researchers and practitioners in the fields of planning, architecture, urban studies and sociology. Students are encouraged to develop a (self)critical awareness of the broader context and multidisciplinary field in which planners operate. This should facilitate (not limit) his/ her creative involvement in forging more beautiful, just, and sustainable urban environments.

Photo © Anke Hagemann

Projektwerkstatt: Borders in Transition III

Borders in Transition is a student-led, peer-to-peer teaching project that explores the concept of borders through a spatial lens, researching the complex layers that configure border territories.

This semester, Borders in Transition will focus on how borders are internalized through spatial practices — in other words, how borders move from the periphery of state territories into their interiors in various forms. This internalization often takes shape through the creation of “islands” that govern the movement of specific groups across time and space. These can take the form of urban border infrastructures such as migrant detention centers, refugee camps, airports, and ports. They can also appear as fortified enclaves, internal displacement zones, or literal islands used as natural enclaves for the geographical containment of cross-border movement.

In this context, we will work in groups on three cases: an urban case in Germany, the border islands of the Aegean Sea in Greece, and the fragmented, shifting borderlands of Palestine. Together, these cases allow us to trace how borders are reproduced in different regional geographies — from urban infrastructures at the core of EU border governance, to island-enclaves at its external frontier, and to internal displacement zones shaped by long-standing conflict. We therefore aim to unpack the complexities of bordering practices while situating them within a broader global perspective.

The seminar is conducted in a block format and is based on horizontal, peer-to-peer feedback. The first part focuses on co-learning through readings, inputs, and discussions, while the second part is dedicated to group work and the presentation of small student research projects. Students will be able to choose one of the three cases as well as the specific focus of their projects. At the end of the semester, we will co-produce a collective outcome that brings together all student projects and reflects on the learnings across the cases studied.