Where is the center here? – Biel’s districts [EN]

DESCRIPTION

In urban sociology, there is talk of the ‘internal logic’ of cities. We lower the altitude of our observation. We go in medias res and ask about the unique character of neighbourhoods. In small field studies using various analytical methods, we trace the spirit of neighbourhoods and seek to explore whether it manifests itself in certain places. What is life like in the different neighbourhoods? Are there local centres that are more than just neighbourhoods? Does every neighbourhood have a centre, or are there centres at the transitions between them? What happens there in everyday life? Where do people meet? Where do they spend their time, where do they meet? What kind of interactions take place between them and how does this relate to the built environment of the city? Where does the built infrastructure become a player, where does it promote or hinder encounters?
We analyse and document neighborhoods in Biel in order to gain a more precise understanding, through comparative observation, of how social practice and the spatial and atmospheric qualities of the built environment can interact in the case of a functioning neighborhoods centre.

learnings

Various methods for analysing and documenting spatial-atmospheric and socio-spatial qualities.

methods for analysing and documenting spatial-atmospheric and socio-spatial qualities.learning Form

Lectures, text discussions, on-site research