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78216-01 - Studio: Urbanisms of the Health Industry (10 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers |
Francesca Romana Dell'Aglio (francescaromana.dellaglio@unibas.ch, Assessor)
Vitor Pessoa Colombo (vitor.pessoacolombo@unibas.ch) |
| Content | This year the Urbanisms Across Geographies track lands in Basel. Widely known across Europe as a trinational eurodistrict, Basel was one of the pilot projects of the EU INTERREG programme launched in the 1990s. On a map, Basel appears as a city defined by edges, lines that mark borders on paper, but upon a closer look, they take the form of buildings or even entire neighbourhoods. Together we will explore the history of these border areas and the role that they play in the present-day development of the city. This urban development is closely linked to the city’s industrial evolution. Many spaces at the edges were once industrial sites that thrived during the 19th and 20th centuries. However, with the gradual transition of the Basel-based industry from the chemical to the pharmaceutical sector, most of these spaces became obsolete. Their emptiness soon became fertile ground for the expansion of the city. Around 1930, Basel, historically a city of silk weavers, dyers, and merchants, had socially transformed into a city dominated by the chemical industry. Major chemical companies began to exert influence on municipal politics. At the same time, the extension of the industry was met by protests from residents and workers. This resulted in an ongoing negotiation over the scale, location, and infrastructure of the chemical industry—a negotiation that continues to shape the city’s development and contributes to its wealth to this day. In the Urbanisms Across Geographies track we will work with some of these sites. We will research their history through cartographic and archival research in order to contextualise their present conditions. We will develop our research in conversations with members of the public and academia, municipal representatives, architects, industrial workers and business owners. Together we will seek to reveal and understand the complexity of Basel’s urban life and form, as well as the conditions driving its fast-growing urban development. The goal is to develop a nuanced portrait of Basel - one that begins with its industrial development and extends to its present days - by combining spatial analysis with lived experience. In doing so, we aim to weave together a compelling yet rigorous image of a city across geographies. |
| Learning objectives | - Learn different methods of observing and recording the city, including archival research, structured interviews, and basic skills in the collection and processing of geographic information. - Learn methods to conduct spatio-temporal analyses of urban form and to engage in conversations with partner institutions and organisations operating in the city. - Develop key transferable skills, particularly communication skills. Students will learn the nuances of different forms of presentation and how to adapt their work to different audiences (from internal pin-ups to exhibition layouts; from research papers to collaborative discussions). - Use Basel as a testing ground for urban research methods that can later be applied to individual thesis research. |
| Admission requirements | This course is part of the "Urbanisms Across Geographies" track and should be taken alongside the "Site Immersion" course. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Tuesday | 10.00-17.00 | Petersplatz 14/ Hebelstrasse 3, Kleiner Hörsaal E014 |
| wöchentlich | Thursday | 10.00-12.00 | Petersplatz 14/ Hebelstrasse 3, Kleiner Hörsaal E014 |
Dates
| Modules |
Module: Changing Societies Lab (Master's degree program: Changing Societies: Migration – Conflicts – Resources) Module: Urbanism across Geographies (Master's degree program: Critical Urbanisms) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Pass/Fail NB: A seminar paper is a mandatory component of this course. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Urban Studies |