With our work, we want to conduct activist research and actively shape social transformation processes. We document the knowledge we generate in our practical work and try to make it accessible to the public. We are also involved in urban policy committees, organize exhibitions, hold panel discussions and work on publications. Our aim is to establish urban development for the common good from below and an urban practice based on solidarity!
The Urban League is an alliance of young city makers who want to play an active role in shaping their cities. It is based at the highest level of urban development policy at the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB). As a project incubator, ideas laboratory and networking platform, the Urban League aims to strengthen the work of young adults in Germany by promoting their voice in public discourse, developing shared urban visions and expanding opportunities for action. The focus is on the Do-It-Yourself approach as a contribution to independent co-design.
Over the next two years, the Urban League will be focusing on climate-friendly urban development. The focus is on the question of what a sustainable approach can look like that prioritizes the well-being of citizens and the environment and creates a liveable city for everyone in the long term. The activities are primarily concerned with new mobility, dealing with existing buildings and the multi-coding of (open) spaces. Various concepts and methods are used to examine how the work of urban design initiatives can promote biodiversity, reduce the impact of climate change and protect the climate.
Photo: Fabian Gruber © stadtstattstrand
The Stadtmachen Akademie is a project of the vhw Bundesverband für Wohnen und Stadtentwicklung e. V. (Federal Association for Housing and Urban Development). It offers civil society urban development projects a platform for professional and strategic development. The aim is to strengthen the creators of these projects as relevant and effective actors in urban development.
15 initiatives from all over Germany are part of the new cohort, which focuses on the topics of access to land, urban development for the common good and post-corona cities. In the 9-month training program, we provide tools, know-how and community to support civil society future places of city-making to take a decisive step forward in their work. In doing so, we become concrete: we further develop project plans, support municipal networking and draw up a plan for the development of land and real estate used by Stadtmachen projects!
Photo: © Stadtmachen Akademie vhw
After several years of decentralized work and small collaborations, we came together as a collective as part of "Zukunftsstadt Dresden" 2022 to design and implement a mobile re-use micro-architecture.
In several workshops and in different constellations of people, we first discussed the characteristics, goals and requirements of our micro-infrastructure before finally developing the final form on 1:10 models and playing through various scenarios of use.
The second phase was characterized by the active search for regional material flows and the question of what the "urban mine" has to offer in terms of materials. To this end, we visited local recycling centers and material initiatives, recovered materials from construction sites ourselves and established collaborations with craft businesses. The aim was to use and upgrade existing local building materials with the aim of avoiding waste and closing urban material cycles in an exemplary manner. We were faced with the challenge that the design from the first phase was in a constant state of change, taking into account the availability of materials and functionality.
We faced various challenges during the construction phase. As the FOR:UM was to be movable by bicycle, minimal weight was important. At the same time, the FOR:UM should be multifunctional and meet our aesthetic requirements. We could only make use of the existing materials. These had to be individually prepared and customized. Due to the variety of materials used, metal as well as wood and plastic processing was required. The entire process was documented in detail with photographs. In addition, all the materials used were weighed individually to enable transparent traceability and a CO2 equivalence calculation.
All salvaged materials were photographed and information about their origin and previous use was listed in a material passport. Future users of the FOR:UM can use a database to identify the potential of old "useless" materials.
CO2 equivalents were calculated for some materials.
CO2 equivalents come from life cycle assessment, which looks at the environmental impact and emissions of materials. In our case, they show how much CO2 could be saved through reuse compared to new production.
Photos: Florian Scheible (1), Hannes Refle (all others)
The year 2023 was characterized by many activities and projects around the FOR:UM. We were able to try out a variety of scenarios and possible uses.
A permanent group of people has formed from the temporary group. We have new people on board from the fields of teaching, geography, architecture and materials science.
Thanks to their input, we move somewhere between socioculture, activism, building campaigns and research. We like to summarize the whole thing as Urban Practice.