Urban Interventions - Comparative analysis and evaluation of urban interventions in art, theater and political/cultural activism from an urban design perspective

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Friedrich von Borries
• Subject Area: Architecture, Building and Construction History, Construction Research, Sustainable Building Technology
• Term: from 2010 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 164906647

In the first phase of the project, a discourse-analytical evaluation of the term "intervention" was carried out, urban interventions were explored on the basis of case studies, and a field study was conducted. The case studies focused on four core themes: urban interventions as emergency aid, as empowerment, as instrument of regulatory policies and as form of protest; the field study took urban interventions in Hamburg as its subject. The goal of these studies was the development of a taxonomy of urban interventions and criteria for evaluating their effectiveness. To that end, the selected case studies were analyzed and systemized according to several parameters (e.g. intention, constellation of actors, method, effect). The results revealed an ambiguity in the outcome of many urban interventions: they are effective, yes, but often in a different way than intended. Take, for example, Hamburg's Park Fiction, a participatory art project critical of urban development that eventually became a boon for the city's marketing efforts. Such ambiguities make clear that urban interventions must be evaluated from a variety of perspectives in order that a range of questions regarding instrumentalization be taken into consideration. The taxonomy developed as part of the Hamburg field study is accordingly polyvalent.In the (hereby proposed) second phase of the project, comparative field studies will be used to determine whether such ambiguities are a phenomenon specific to Hamburg or a general characteristic of urban interventions. "Shrinking" regions Halle/Leipzig/Dessau and Essen/Ruhr will be evaluated along with "traumatized" cities Belgrade and Beirut as a point of comparison to the "growing" city of Hamburg. In addition, the spatial takeover methods and strategies used by global protest movements (Occupy, Arab Spring, etc.) will be analyzed as thematic case studies from an urban design perspective.The preliminary taxonomy established in the first phase of the project will be reviewed, expanded and refined within the framework of these field and case studies, as will the criteria for the assessment of effectiveness. The overall goal of the project - beyond the scientific documentation of the field and case studies - is the development of a theory that presents and methodically records the mechanisms and ambiguities of interventionist practices so that they may, if possible, be developed as methodological instruments of urban design.The project will specifically explore the question of whether or not "intervention" can be understood across disciplines as an era-specific model of action.The research will be accompanied by workshops. Its results will be discussed in symposia, documented in publications and shared with the general public by means of an exhibition.The initial evaluation and discourse analysis was published in May 2012 as "Glossar der Interventionen". The field study, including preliminary taxonomy, will come out in May 2013.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants