Eurbanisms 

Approaches to Teaching Urbanism at Schools and Departments of Architecture, Urban Studies, and the Built Environment in Europe 

Network of urbanism scholars and educators at Chalmers University of Technology, Delft University of Technology, Technical University of Munich, University College London

Founding and organizing members:

Nadia Alaily-Matar, Meta Berghauser, Matthew Carmona, Remon Rooij

 

Description

Eurbanisms is a growing network of scholars and educators committed to advancing the teaching and learning of Urbanism at departments of the Built Environment across Europe. The initiative aims to enrich academic practices and pedagogical development by facilitating the exchange of experiences, insights, and challenges related to Urbanism education—particularly in studio-based teaching.

Urbanism is closely related to, yet distinct from, fields such as urban design, planning, urban studies, and geography. While it draws on the tools, methods, and conceptual frameworks of these disciplines, it cannot be fully subsumed under any one of them. Within the universities participating in this network—which are all based in Europe—a particular approach to teaching Urbanism has emerged, often grounded in studio-based learning and interdisciplinary inquiry. Still a relatively young academic field, Urbanism is perhaps, over the past decades, beginning to assert itself as a discipline, field, and/or approach in its own right—much like urban design did in the 1950s. However, urbanism’s position within departments of the built environment remains contested in several places around Europe: at times embraced as a discipline, at other times marginalized or misunderstood. There is now a need to reflect on and articulate what Urbanism is, how it is taught, and what sets it apart.

A core motivation behind Eurbanisms is to open up the ‘black box’ of the Urbanism pedagogies and studio teaching in particular. These spaces—where urbanism is being taught and explored and perhaps even shaped as a discipline —often remain isolated and under-discussed beyond their immediate context. We aim to make these practices more visible and comparable through sustained dialogue and collaboration.

Starting with four academic institutions engaged in teaching urbanism our objectives are to:

  • Share teaching and learning experiences with a particular focus on studio-based education.
  • Initiate a dialogue around the pedagogical and institutional challenges of teaching and learning urbanism in different European contexts.
  • Lay the foundation for future collaboration in:
    • Research — especially educational research that systematically and scholarly evaluates, compares, and positions Urbanism pedagogies, courses, studios, and programs.
    • Teaching — including student and staff exchanges, joint teaching formats, and shared curriculum development.

Through this network, we hope to cultivate mutual curiosity, foster collaboration, and build a more connected and reflective community of Urbanism educators across Europe.

 

Activities so far

A tour of the studios

Beginning in November 2024 and continuing through March 2026, members of Eurbanisms have been involved in reciprocal studio visits, during which participants engage directly in teaching activities, critically examine student work, interact with the students, and collegially reflect on pedagogical methodologies employed within studio-based Urbanism education.

Virtual Workshops

Between 2022 and 2024, we held five virtual exchanges, with each university contributing prepared inputs. 

  • November 11, 2022 Call for participation: Eurbanisms- The studios! 
  • May 12, 2023 Bridging Research and Design in Urbanism Studio Teaching 
  • October 20, 2023 Vision and Strategy Making for Sustainable Spatial Development 
  • November 24, 2023 University-Practice Relations for Teaching Urbanism 
  • June 10, 2024 Didactic and Pedagogical Challenges in Urbanism Studio Teaching