Duration: 3 days
Client: Urban Knowledge Collective
Date: 2022
Project Lead: Urban Knowledge Collective
Partners: Bral, Collectif Dallas, Pool is cool,
Citytools, One Field Fallow, Die Stadtführer*in
In 2022, the Urban Knowledge Collective organised its second excursion in Brussels under the title Absolutely (Un)professional – practices of working in and with the city. Over three days, around 50 students and urban practitioners explored how professionalism in the urban field is negotiated across informal initiatives, civic practices and institutional contexts. Together with partners including Bral, Collectif Dallas, Pool is Cool, Citytools, One Field Fallow and Die Stadtführer*in, the programme questioned what it means to work in and with the city.
Travel
The excursion unfolded through shared experiences across Brussels. Participants moved through the city by engaging with local practitioners, initiatives and spaces, opening conversations on power, dependency and collaboration.
A collective cooking performance invited them to translate observations, smells and encounters into a shared meal. Walks and exchanges connected the group with people and initiatives working across formal planning, civic action and urban experimentation.
Translate
Professionalism was treated as a situated and negotiated practice. Across the different encounters, participants reflected on how urban work takes shape between informal initiatives, civil-society practices and institutional actors.
The programme translated these experiences into a broader understanding of urban practice, centred on co-creation, situated knowledge and collective reflection.
Transform
The workshop concluded with a collective zine-making session, where experiences, questions and reflections were turned into a shared take-home publication.
Through this process, the excursion offered participants a way to carry forward their insights and rethink their own role as urban practitioners.