Field Trips in Public Space 2019 - Städte am Rand: Grenzen, Mischräume, neue Energien
Field Trips in Public Space 2019. Cities on the Edge: Borders, Mixed Spaces, New Energies
Everything happens in the center, then (or perhaps) the periphery follows. But not always: sometimes it is the cities on the border that become epicenters of change. Peripheral locations and zones are spaces of marginality, but also of indeterminacy, mixing, and mutual fertilization. Conversely, a peripheral character does not necessarily correspond to a border situation, but often to a state of isolation, inaccessibility, underdevelopment. And last but not least, the center and the periphery also shift much more often and more freely in urban space than is perceived or planned.
The Balkans and/or Southeast Europe are also excellent research cases in this regard: on the edge of Europe, on the edge of all empires, on the edge of perception, undergoing three decades of change from a hard border between two world orders to European integration. Former peripheral cities are undergoing enthusiastic and intelligent reinvention, but also harsh nationalistic or social segregation. This applies to general urban development and culture as well as to public space.
Under the direction of future.lab visiting professor Stefan Ghenciulescu, sixteen students of architecture and spatial planning traveled in six groups on a research trip to Southeast Europe last year—the results of their work are now presented in this publication.