Berlin Fieldtrip: Urban Planning Student Experience

Hi! I’m Sanjay Soneji in my 2^nd year of the BSc Geography and Urban & Regional Planning course here at University of Birmingham. Recently, I was given the chance to explore Berlin for the first time alongside many of my course mates as part of the fieldwork module. Over the course we have focused heavily on development and urban planning within a UK based context, so it was interesting to have been able to learn about how urban design practices differ in other European countries.

I have been interested in exploring the concept of ‘the smart city’ since it was introduced to me in my Urban Geography module, which I began to research further through urban planning related literature and attending online seminars on ‘digital planning’. One of the perks of studying the course at Birmingham is that it offers you the chance to visit two European cities for a week each where you are able to gain fieldwork skill and conduct an independent research project of your own choosing.

We were in Berlin for a period of 6 days (including travelling). The first few days are highly packed as they involve a lot of walking about the city with your group leader, who offers some context on the development of the eastern and western sides of Berlin, as well as any radical technologies that have been implemented in different settings. By understanding most of these, you begin to have a good idea for the sort of topics you want to write about for your own assignment. We were lucky to have been scheduled meetings in Berlin’s planning department, who briefed us on their green roof initiative and showed us models that indicated which areas of the city had been developed since 1990 (after the Berlin Wall had fallen). There are numerous other sites that could be of interest, such as a community garden, and even an entire abandoned airport that is now a public park! It’s definitely beneficial to have been toured around these locations as you are able to learn more about the area and any niche facts before you conduct your own secondary research.

In the remainder of the week, you begin to explore Berlin again but at your own pace, focusing in on the things you are interested in for your projects. For your personal safety on these days, you are accompanied by other members of a small group (around 4 people). Often, these groups will consist of your friends who are making similar observations, but in some cases, this is a great opportunity to make new friends from people you haven’t spoken to yet on the course!

Over the course of my week in Berlin, I definitely made several new friends from across the course that I now keep in touch with. I had developed on communication skill when it comes to language barriers and attempting to communicate with locals in a non-English speaking country. It’s definitely a far more interactive and first hand format of learning compared to staying in lectures and seminars alone. You begin to use autoethnographic skills in the field that you wouldn’t sat at your desk.