Mondays, 10:15-11:45 at the CMS
This seminar looks at the instrumentalization of culture in urban planning and policy from the 1970s to the 2020s. The following topics will be addressed: the ...
Mondays, 10:15-11:45 at the CMS
This seminar looks at the instrumentalization of culture in urban planning and policy from the 1970s to the 2020s. The following topics will be addressed: the concept of networks in Urban Studies; the role of culture in urban planning through urban renewal projects deemed paradigmatic; the spectacularization of urban landscapes through star-architecture (1980s-1990s), the cooptation of the notion of "authenticity" in the making of "creative cities" (2000s-2010s), the ongoing rise of a digital urban brand, resistance movements (especially those led by artists). The seminar focuses primarily on Western Europe and Berlin. The seminar is held in English.
Keywords: city marketing, capitals of culture, creative cities, gentrification, artwashing, resistance movements
EXTERNAL MASTER'S STUDENTS: This seminar is open to students from different courses and universities (a degree in the social sciences or humanities is required, i.e., architecture, urban studies or planning, sociology, history, geography, cultural studies, among others). External students will receive credits upon the delivery of an oral group presentation and the submission of a short essay at the end of the semester. If you are an external student interested in this course, please email the instructor at claudia.seldin[at]metropolitanstudies.de by April 12th, 2026 with your name, current master's program, and department/faculty/university to inquire about enrollment.