Looking Back: Urban Laboratory: Changing Cities
How can we change urban areas so that they become more liveable and inclusive? How can we adapt to the challenges brought about by anthropogenic climate change in cities, such as increasingly frequent heat waves? Those were some of the questions we explored during our two day-workshop at the Institute of Geography, where student teachers, in-service teachers and teacher educators from seven European countries came together to discuss strategies for the transformation of several neighbourhoods in Cologne. The participants took on the role of learners before we reflected at the end of the workshop on how similar formats could be used by educators for transformative learning.
Find the recap below!
Excursions to Ehrenfeld and Südstadt
On our first day, we explored two distinct neighbourhoods in smaller groups to compare different approaches to urban transformation. One excursion to the Ehrenfeld area focused on how we can increase the liveability of urban areas by regulating traffic and prioritising pedestrians and cyclists, as the group observed some of the challenges and previously implemented measures on Venloer Straße. The second excursion was all about climate change adaptation and particularly heat mitigation in the Südstadt area near Volksgarten, and the participants measured the temperature on different surfaces and learnt about the network of weather sensors established by the working group for hydrogeography and climatology at the Institute of Geography. Both groups had the opportunity to speak to involved or affected locals and were able to share some interesting insights about how life in Cologne’s neighbourhoods compares to their own cities abroad.
Project Phase: Transformation of the Winzerveedel
Time to get creative: On our second day, we visited the Winzerveedel, a small neighbourhood close to the Institute of Geography. Then, in small groups, the participants collected ideas on how to transform this area for more liveability and sustainability. They mapped and described a variety of potential measures for the entire Veedel, before elucidating a selection of their respective ideas in more detail, considering possible benefits and challenges in terms of feasibility and inclusivity. Finally, the participants compared their ideas to the existing plans for the Winzerveedel as drawn up by the local Superveedel initiative. Once again, the day was characterised by a rich exchange between the participants from different countries.
Looking Ahead: Transformative Learning in Practice
At the end of our workshop in Cologne, the participants stepped out of the “learner” role and reflected on their experience as educators, discussing in how far the Urban Lab had served as an impetus to try new approaches to transformative learning in their teaching practice. During the final phase of our workshop, we will explore this aspect in more detail, as the participants will plan and present potential projects for transformative learning in their learning groups back home. We are looking forward to exploring this didactical perspective in more detail and thank all of the participants for their participation and the creative, collaborative atmosphere they brought to the Urban Lab in Cologne.
