Today, one-third of the world’s population has left rural areas for cities – across provinces, countries, and even continents. In his acclaimed 2011 book »Arrival Cities«, Canadian journalist Doug Saunders explores the impact of these migratory movements on cities in Asia, North America, and Europe.
The term »city« is usually closely associated with the concept of sedentarization or »successful arrival« in a place that becomes home. According to Saunders, however, the »arrival city« has become a place used and shaped by hyper-mobile, globalized people who have little time to linger. They maintain transnational networks of relationships and may have a home other than the city in which they arrive. Against this background, the following questions arise: How do global movements change urban space, urban life and the concept of the city in general? What are the socio-spatial conditions that newcomers face in the city? How well or poorly is the city of arrival prepared for them? How can individual or collective urban space be designed in the future to sustainably improve urban standards and living conditions for newcomers and to benefit from transcultural effects?
The long-term project »Arrival City: Designing the Urban Commons« addressed these and other questions during the winter semester 2016/17. Students looked at different types of arrival cities and studied them in relation to migration, refugee, tourism, and commuter movements. They explored the physical arrangements and materialities of informal urban agglomerations and their actors, practices, and infrastructures, both theoretically and experimentally. Using critical cartography, 2D and 3D data visualization, and parametric modeling, they developed tools and visual concepts to better understand the causes, phenomena, and effects of arrival cities.
The project culminated in a public exhibition at the Köln International School of Design in February 2017.
Photo: www.jck-photography.com
