Field Trips in Public Space 2017 - Identität und Konfliktkultur im öffentlichen Raum
Specifically, the field trips involve the scientific preparation, implementation, documentation, and evaluation of expeditions (in the sense of discovery or research trips) to public spaces in European cities that are still largely “unknown” to us. The change of perspective and the exploration of the ‘undiscovered’ and the “surprising” should lead to new insights for Vienna. The aim is to gather insights into the significance of public spaces in European cities, their use, function, and design in the context of “identity and conflict culture.” For example, what influence does migration have on public spaces in European cities? How are lifestyles and different social groups expressed in the city's public space? What tensions exist between tourism and event culture, for example, and everyday life in cities? How do cities, politics, and society deal with these challenges? What does this mean for planning itself, for processes of co-determination, appropriability, adaptability, and self-organization of public space in the field of tension between actionism and analysis, process-oriented planning and design? These are just some of the questions we seek answers to during the field trips, going beyond literature research to the concrete lived and experienced space of the city!
In the summer semester of 2017, a total of ten expedition teams were formed on the topic of “Identity and Conflict Culture.” These teams were sent to different European cities, each with a specific focus.
In the resulting publication, students report on their expeditions, which took place as part of Field Trips #2 – Identity and Conflict Culture in Public Space.