Urban Practice Symposium: ‘Opportunities for Collective Urban Design’
An opportunity is a favourable moment, a chance that must be seized before it passes. The symposium sees itself as such a moment: we bring together stakeholders from practice, administration, academia and civil society to jointly seek ways in which cities can be designed not only for people, but with people.
The focus is on the demands developed by initiatives and projects in urban practice. On this basis, we want to think ahead and take concrete steps to make the potential of collaborative design visible and tangible.
Together, we want to exchange ideas on topics such as cultural neighbourhood management and potential areas, participation in urban space, (mixed) financing, sustainable economy, social innovation and science.
In addition to inspiring ideas, the symposium offers plenty of opportunity for discussion, in-depth exploration of topics at themed tables, and joint work on perspectives. By the end of the day, it should be clear: What next steps can I take myself? What opportunities are there in my work and how can I make use of them? What can collaborative urban development achieve and where is there still room for improvement?
Programme overview:
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (arrive at 9:45 a.m.)
10:00 – 10:20 Welcome and introduction to the day (warm-up)
10:20 – 11:15 Uhr Project ideas from the field of urban practice
with Torhaus e.V., S27 , Union für Cultural Commons, Grenzgänge e.V., Fixpunkt e.V. and nettles and poppies
Panel discussion with the projects on political demands
11:15 – 11:30 a.m. Coffee break with opportunity for discussion in the LIVErary. The dynamic
and lively archive of initiatives for collective urban design and practice.
11:30 – 11:40 Presentation of the themed tables
11:40 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. Theme tables Round 1 Urban practice in cultural urban development
with Kollektiv Spieltrieb Rocco Zühlke
Kulturraum Berlin gGmbH Laura Raber
BENN Marzahn-Süd Johanna Eichstäd
Urban practice and participation
with Diversity Arts Culture
Berliner Projektfonds Urbane Praxis (BPUP)
Clubcomission Rosa Räthel
12:20 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Round table discussion 2 Urban practice and sustainable economy
with Triodos Bank Manuel Ehlers
Office for Economic Development, Pankow District Office Nadia Holbe
Urban practice and social innovation/science
with ngbK Annette Maechtel
Union for Cultural Commons (UCC)
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Lunch
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Presentation of the results of the themed tables and classification
Closing remarks
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Closing event with LIVErary and ice cream
Registration:
Please register at the following link: https://form.jotform.com/252302800799357
(until 12 September 2025)
If you have any questions, please contact: office@urbanepraxis.berlin
We look forward to your participation and to seizing opportunities for forward-looking, collaborative urban design together.
The symposium is part of a two-day event that begins on Friday, 26 September and continues on Saturday, 27 September with an open day entitled ‘Making urban diversity visible!’, which will have a public impact on the urban space. Why? We want to have a say in ensuring that spaces remain and urban diversity has a future. A city-wide intervention designed to raise awareness of our approaches and make our voices heard.
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