ECHOES OF RESISTANCE—
EXPLORING INFORMAL URBAN LANDSCAPES
TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY LÜBECK
WINTER SEMESTER 24/25
PUBLICATION
What emerges when urban order dissolves?
This publication traces spatial realities beyond the frameworks of formal planning—realities shaped by necessity, improvisation, resistance, and the daily labour of survival. It is a collective inquiry into informal settlements as sites of urban knowledge, spatial intelligence, and systemic exclusion.
Developed in the context of a Master’s seminar in urban planning and architecture at TH Lübeck (winter semester 2024/25), Echoes of Resistance assembles 34 case studies from across the globe. Each contribution maps the spatial, historical, and political dynamics of a specific informal settlement—from its morphogenesis to its socio-political entanglements.
The individual analyses were followed by a collaborative meta-analysis in group constellations, identifying shared logics, recurring struggles, and transversal concepts that shape informality worldwide.
Launched at the Werkschau May 2025 of TH Lübeck at the Gollan Werft, the publication marks the final outcome of the seminar. But more than a conclusion, it is a beginning: a cartography of fragile infrastructures, contested sovereignties, and radical urban resilience. An invitation to read the city from its margins.
With sincere thanks to all participating students for their depth, precision, and critical generosity.
Foreword by Prof. Dr. Marcus Menzl (Head of Urban Planning, TH Lübeck).