All Things Urban

This intensive 12-week course in contemporary urbanism takes the modern city as its subject and Rotterdam as its testing ground. It will explore the urban dynamics by bringing together different disciplines from historical research to artistic expression and urban strategies, using Rotterdam as a pars-pro-toto for cities all over the world. We will dive into the inescapable contradictions and complexities of the contemporary city. Looking beyond the present-day popularity of Rotterdam, we aim to see the city as she really is and as we can imagine her becoming. We will explore the city from all sides. Not just the shiny ones, but also the darker parts that make her more than a small town. That make her a city that is old and dirty, young and beautiful at the same time. We will use research, stories and strategies. We will use all possible means contemporary urbanism provides and act! Participants in the programme will be offered weekly lectures and excursions, a series of workshops focusing on specific disciplines and methods, tutoring by a diverse team of specialists, designers and researchers. Participating in the programme gives you the chance to work together in a community of learning and the opportunity to deepen your knowledge and further develop your own critical approach toward your surroundings. Apply before 11 October.

This course is open to all professionals that deal with the City - not only those with a background in Architecture and Planning - but also History, Sociology, Art, Psychology, Film, and other urban studies. - the more diverse the backgrounds of the participants, the more interesting things will get!

You can apply for this 12-week programme by sending your CV (max 2mb) and examples of previous work (max 8mb/5 pages) to [email protected] before 11 October 2020 The densely packed 12-week programme fits within the 90 days period of validity of a tourist visa to the Netherlands. It is based on a five-day work week filled with workshops, lectures and field trips. The discounted regular participation fee for 2021 is 1200 Euro (no VAT payable). Applicants holding the nationality of one of the ‘Least Developed Countries’, ‘Other Low Income Countries’ and ‘Lower Middle Income Countries and Territories’ on the DAC list can participate for a reduced participation fee of 800 Euro (no VAT payable).

The Independent School for the City is a playground for all urban thinkers, do-ers and designers – based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It brings together critical and experimental ideas in the field of urban research, design, strategy and activism. Through a range of diverse activities, it offers a platform where urban professionals can meet to informally discuss the challenges facing the modern city. The school is an initiative of Crimson Historians and Urbanists and ZUS and is rooted in their practices of combining a critical and activist approach to the city with effecting real change through architectural and planning projects. The independent school for the City is founded on a strong belief in an incremental instead of a tabula rasa approach to city planning which blurs the lines between critique and practice on the one hand, and research and policy on the other.