LECTURE SERIES, WS 2013/2014
Prof. Dr. Philipp Misselwitz

Global City, Local Space

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 emergence of a critique of modernist (positivist) planning new approaches and role definitions have been formulated which expose planning not as an isolated, hermetic discipline, but as a complex, dynamic, multidisciplinary, situated and mostly open-ended process.

There is no objectivity in planning: Planners always face difficult choices: Decision-making in planning is deeply influenced by the broader political and societal contexts through which the planner is conditioned. Yet throughout history, planners have also assumed agency forcing new contexts, shaped new frameworks and value systems and imposed them on society.

Planning is a multi-disciplinary and complex affair: Despite an assumed heroic ambition, urban designers often only exert a negligible influence on actual processes and results. Instead, urban managers, politicians and a multitude of private and public actors control planning. “Urban planners” therefore need to skilfully navigate a complex field between (urban) policy-making, urban governance and urban management. 

This lecture series will focus on different theoretical approaches to cities, global urbanisation and transformation as well as on the practice of urban planning. Students are encourages 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 through constant critical experimentation with strategies, tools and role models applied.