Tracing the Urban Everyday
This class was based on an intense examination of urban transformation and everyday life in South Asia. The approach comes from the understanding that everyday lifeworlds, practices and experiences are central for an understanding about what makes up the city, a neighbourhood, and the ways in which people inhabit urban realms. We approached urban transformation from a very particular interdisciplinary and research-based position – from urban design, art and curation as well as anthropology. The focus of the class was Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, one of the fastest growing metropolitan sprawls in the world – originally, an excursion to Kathmandu was planned in the framework of this seminar in February 2022. The four key concepts “walking,” “mapping,” “curating,” and “digital methods” were at center-stage. Because of the pandemic that caused us to cancel the excursion, the students focused on their own case studies, where they had “direct” access. The class had also profited from external experts from Nepal whom we invited via zoom: architect Padma Sunder Maharjan, Sheelasha Rajbhandari and Hitman Gurung.
https://gabyrpo.wixsite.com/tracing/projects