Echoes of Resistance—Exploring Informal Urban Landscapes 
Technical University Lübeck, Winter Semester 2024/25, Seminar

 

Lecturer

This seminar is dedicated to the intensive study of the complex and dynamic world of informal urban settlements, often referred to as 'geographies of crisis'. These spaces, characterized by resilience and resourcefulness, exist on the margins of formal urban planning and are home to millions of people worldwide. Using a combination of theoretical analysis and experimental methods, the socio-economic, cultural, historical and political contexts that shape these unique environments are examined.

“Echoes of Resistance” comprises two distinct analyses: the first, entitled “Design Research Archive,” is a personal inquiry, while the second, “Collective Urban Narrative,” is a professional group analysis.
In the individual research dossier, personal impressions are documented on a deep dialectical level in relation to a selected structure of the settlement. Building on this, the in-depth and critical group analysis addresses a collectively chosen theme and a specific case study. At the end of the semester, findings from the case study are presented through a chosen medium, reflecting on the relationship between emergence and permanence while advancing one’s research practice in both analytical rigor and communicative articulation.A major focus of this seminar is on research ethics and the critical interrogation of urban contexts, with particular attention to the frameworks and presentation strategies employed.

With an input session by Dr. Ayham Dalal, German University Cairo (GUC) and a site visit to LU´UM in Hamburg. Guest jurors: Silvia Gioberti (Guerilla Architects) and Tarek Megahed.
Publication
TH Lübeck


Students

Amandus Schulz
Amelie Schütte
Antonia Rist
Bao Tran Ho
Benjamin Volk
Celia Noemi Ebers
Dominik Andreas Weitzel
Elena Römer
Eva Söller
Fabian Grupp
Fabienne Zersch
Fatmanur Avci
Halil Simsek
Hannes Löhmann
Jakob Trappe
Johanna Horchler
Joanna Litwin
Julia Denisova
Karla Kaitschick
Laetitia Bühler
Luca Wloch
Lucia Loriga
Marejke Wengler
Marvin Holzenleiter
Maximilian Fleischhauer
Merle Klintworth
Merve Yokus
Naghmeh Amidzadeh
Niklas Duppach
Pauline Maack
Sukhmani Sandhu
Tamara Lazar
Timothy Mann
Yannik Schümann


Collective Urban Narrative

The boundary between curiosity and dignity: The Ethical Question of Tourism in Informal Settlements

Discourse analysis of formalization measures in Latin America

Ethnic conflicts as colonial legacy

Globalized local economies

Intersectionality and internal mechanisms of discrimination

Profiteers of vulnerable settlement structures and their dependency systems

Cleansing measures: Reasons for forced evictions

City without a name

Vulnerability

Dissolution of the binary opposition between formal and informal



Design Research Archive

Morro de Providençia / Rio de Janeiro
Makoko / Lagos
Cockle Bay / Freetown
Villa 31 / Buenos Aires
Paraípolis / Sao Paulo
Shuto Orizari / Skopje
Gecekondus / Turkey
Port of Spain / Port of Spain
El Alto / La Paz
Wadullawatta / Colombo
Karail / Dhaka
Agbogbloshie / Accra 
Dharavi / Mumbai
Gulshan-e-Sikan-Darabad / Karachi
Joe Slovo Park / Kapstadt
Hindustani Basti / Amritsar
Kowloon Walled City / Hong Kong
Talava II / Bacoor, Manila
Cité de Soleil / Port-au-Prince
Kensington / Philadelphia
Khori Gaon / Delhi
Riverbank / Kibera
Paurakhi Basti / Kathmandu
Emandleni / Benoni
Al Baragheil / Kairo
Mnihla / Tunis
Jerusalem, Canaan / Port-au-Prince
Siqalo / Kapstadt
Mae La / Provinz Tak
Basico / Manila
Cañada Real Galiana / Madrid
Xuecun / Haikou
Pissy / Ougadougou
Esh-Al-Warwar / Damaskus