Urban Co-Production
Rathausblock and the Urban Fabric Behind
Teaching
The Rathausblock is an urban renewal area in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Emerging from more than a decade of struggle by urban activists, a cooperative model project has developed between the city administration and civil society. The project is currently in its development phase and highlights both the socio-political challenges and potentials of co-production. How can communication succeed between such different actors? How can we overcome diverse organizational and power structures to enable inclusive, balanced, and productive exchange?
In this three-day workshop, we will explore this case through hands-on exercises and socio-spatial site investigations. We will reflect on how affordable spaces for living and working, as well as social and cultural places, can be created with the common good in mind – while thinking beyond the often resigned approach of “Realpolitik” in urban development. As an introduction to the case study, we will also have online sessions with invited guests, as well as in-person visits to other exemplary projects in the Berlin context. In doing so, we will gain in-depth insights into the current state of urban co-production in a European capital city that is currently engaging with these socio-political questions in particularly intensive ways. In conclusion, students will be required to produce a small documentation that offers both a reflection and a direct contribution to the ongoing development of the Rathausblock.