Using the city as our classroom, this course combines first-hand experiences through biking, walking, and sensing the city with theoretical knowledge of the built environment, urban life, and urban transformations. The understanding of cities draws from different fields through expressions of society: civility in the midst of diversity, culture and art, science and technology, trade, commerce, money, power, politics, policy, and political tension and strife. The course introduces current urban paradigms, urban practices, and urban policies, putting Copenhagen and cities in Europe on the map in terms of urban sustainability, livability, and resilience.
Some classes may be spent visiting sites via bicycle, so confidence in cycling is mandatory.
Faculty
Bettina Werner
M.A. (Applied Cultural Analysis, Copenhagen University, 2016). B.A. (Political Philosophy, Uppsala University, Sweden, with a minor in Indigenous Studies, UNSW, Australia). Co-founder of COurban design collective. Previously worked as a researcher and project manager at urban design firm, CITITEK. Projects include data collection, research, co-creation of playgrounds and public space, interior spatial analysis of office environments, and educational seminars with both state and private clients. With DIS since 2016.
Regitze Hess
Architect MAA. Cand. Arch., Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, Copenhagen (1993). B.Eng. – Civil, McGill University, Montreal (1985). A career of working with and advocating for better urban and built environments through the world of philanthropy, non-profits, academia and private practice; as curator; publisher, editor and writer; teacher and critic. Working with and for: B Architectural Publisher, COurban, Cumulus, DAC, Danish Arts Foundation, Design Declaration, Gehl, Gehl Institute, International Federation for Housing and Planning [IFHP], Realdania, Scale Denmark. Positions of trust include: DIS Faculty Chair, DIS Board member. Affiliated with DIS since 2002.
Mathilde Riou
Masters (Urban Studies, KTH Royal University of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, 2017). Masters (Civil Engineering and Urban Planning, National Institute of Sciences (INSA) Lyon, France, 2016). Project manager in sustainable and participatory urbanism, Wigwam Consulting, 2017-2020. Freelance process consultant and visual facilitator for urban projects, The Urban Mycelium, 2021-present. With DIS since 2024.
Short Study Tour
About this tour
Our short Study Tour to Hamburg offers an experience of one Europe’s most important urban centers and ports. Hamburg has a long history as a ‘free city-state’ and leading member of the Hanseatic League, serving as Denmark’s gateway to continental Europe, and Germany’s gateway to the world. It is a city shaped by shrewd traders and salty seafarers, which can be traced in today’s corporate culture and queer counter-culture. Through talks, tours, and site visits, you will be introduced to the urban contexts of Hamburg and the forces shaping the city, with parallels being made to Copenhagen’s own urban culture and urban development.
Learning outcomes
Compare and contrast the urban structure and culture of Hamburg and Copenhagen, and learn about the inter-relationships and cross connections between these two cities
Learn about dynamics and drivers of urban development and transformations of Hamburg and its harbourscape
Study Hamburg’s approaches to and strategies for urban sustainability, resilience, and livability
Possible activities
Walk the canals and arcades of the Altstadt, inner city Kontorhaus district and experience brick expressionism
Tour HafenCity, with Elbephilharmonie, the beacon of Hamburg’s harbour transformation
Cross over to Wilhelmsburg, on the other side of the Elbe, the international IBA Dock showcase for sustainable urban development
Check out counter-culture in the neighborhoods of Sternschanze and St. Pauli
About this tour
The Øresund Region – a cross-border metropolitan area encompassing Denmark’s Sjælland and Bornholm, and Sweden’s Skåne – is a fascinating focus for contemporary urban studies. From the Viking Age onward, this region became a contested territory as Nordic powers fought for control over the Øresund Strait, a vital waterway for trade and military power. This tumultuous yet rich history has shaped the cities of Copenhagen, Malmö, Helsingborg, and Helsingør, each developing a distinct identity and harbor landscape.
Copenhagen and Malmö, facing each other across the strait, are major cities with vibrant cultures, histories, and urban layouts. Both have successfully transformed their harbors, overcoming industrial decline through innovative waterfront revitalization. Meanwhile, the smaller cities of Helsingør and Helsingborg, once the primary crossing point over the strait, offer unique insights into the strait’s history and significance, while showcasing world-class urban art and public spaces on a more intimate scale.
Today, the Øresund is no longer a barrier, but rather a bridge between Denmark and Sweden, fostering economic and cultural cooperation. This is symbolized both metaphorically and physically by the Øresund Bridge, which has facilitated the movement of millions since its opening in 2000.
During our Study Tour, we will experience the region’s interconnectedness through train and ferry rides, and get to compare and contrast the urban developments and waterfront transformations of different harbor cities. Through walking tours, museum visits, and talks by local professionals, we will gain deeper insights into the past, present and future of the Øresund Region.
Learning outcomes
Learn about and experience the interconnectedness within the Øresund Region
Compare and contrast the urban structures and cultures of different harbor cities
Study Copenhagen, Malmö, Helsingborg, and Helsingør’s approaches and strategies for urban sustainability, resilience, and livability
Further understand how to read a city through its architecture, art, history, literature, politics, and urban layout
Possible activities
Tour the Malmö neighborhood of Bo01, Sweden’s pioneering project in sustainable urban development and planning
Visits to the M/S Maritime Museum or Kronborg Castle in Helsingør
Tour of Helsingborg’s historical center, exploring how Housing Expos have influenced waterfront development and regeneration
About this tour
Gothenburg is Sweden’s second largest city, and has some of the biggest urban development projects in Scandinavia underway. It is known internationally for its focus on open, innovative, and inclusive urban planning. As the city is estimated to grow by 1/3 within 2035, it is strengthening its focus on sustainable growth. In 2021, Gothenburg turns 400 years, a celebration that includes several urban interventions and projects, among them the opening of a new, spectacular park.
Some of the topics and questions we will explore during this Study Tour include: How can a city grow in a sustainable and inclusive manner? How is Gothenburg upgrading and developing its harbor front? How is Gothenburg dealing with challenges of social inequality and gang-related crime?
Learning outcomes
Compare and contrast the urban structures and cultures of Gothenburg and Copenhagen, and learn about the inter-relationships and cross connections between these two cities
Learn about dynamics and drivers of urban development and transformations of Gothenburg and its harborscape
Study Gothenburg’s approaches to and strategies for urban sustainability, resilience, and livability
Possible activities
Talk and Tour of Gothenburg’s ongoing city expansion
Tour of the historical center of the city, and the large social housing project of the 1960’s and 70’s
Visits to the Röda Sten art museum and Liseberg amusement park
Long Study Tour
About this tour
Nantes offers an interesting case for studying the complexity of contemporary urban areas. Nantes is the sixth biggest city in France, located on the Loire river in Pays de la Loire in the western part of the county. For the last three decades, it has undergone large transformations from an industrial center and port to a vibrant, modern city with a rich history, and is today preserving both mediaeval and industrial heritage and everything in between.
In its transformation, it has become an attractive place to live and work for young people. Nantes is an example where place branding strategies have effectively revitalized the city, which has become an important tourist destination in the region, known for its public art, cultural events, and lively food culture. Nantes is the birthplace of the visionary writer Jules Verne, whose imagination is also a part of the city’s identity.
Nantes’ location on the river Loire allows for us to experience the area on foot, on public transport, and by boat from the river. The city and the surrounding area offers several interesting site visits, including the post-industrial river island Île de Nantes, which connects the north and souths parts of the city, the historic fishing village Trentemoult, the more industrial location of Saint-Nazaire, a port city with the fourth biggest harbor in France, and the coastal towns of Pornic, a popular holiday destination for the locals.
Through walking tours, lectures from local historians, meetings with urban planners, and visits to various museums, you will deepen your knowledge of the history, development, and possible futures for Nantes.
Learning outcomes
Compare and contrast the urban infrastructure of Nantes, Copenhagen and the short study tour destination.
Explore how industrial history informs the current development of urban spaces
Further understand how to read a city through its architecture, art, history, literature, politics, and urban layout
Possible activities
Talk and tour by SAMOA – the public-private developer in charge of the redevelopment of Île de Nantes.
Learn about local placemaking strategies and public housing with the municipality organization Nantes Métropole Habitat
Take the Navibus (harbor bus) to see beyond the city, such as the historic Trentemoult village
About this tour
Paris offers a fascinating backdrop for our long Study Tour exploring the complexities of a modern metropolis. Often celebrated as the “City of Love,” with its rich culture, world-class gastronomy, and the iconic image of Parisians sipping coffee at outdoor cafés, Paris is much more than its stereotypes suggest. This tour goes beyond the typical tourist experience, allowing us to delve into the French capital’s history, urban fabric, and contemporary challenges.
Paris’s history stretches back to the Roman Empire, with layers of heritage visible throughout the city. From royal monarchies and Napoleon’s rule to Baron Haussmann’s transformative planning, the Industrial Revolution, modernism, and even the recent COVID crisis, each era has left its mark, creating a city that is both unique and multifaceted. But even though it is steeped in history, Paris is constantly reinventing itself, addressing modern challenges with innovative approaches.
We will explore these many layers through neighborhood tours, visits to suburbs that highlight urban and social issues, and discussions on the role of arts in public spaces, participatory urbanism, and the impact of large-scale events like the recent 2024 Olympics. Our tour also enables us to experience Paris’s diverse urban fabric through boat tours on the Seine and Canal Saint-Martin, bike tours, and visits to repurposed buildings, creative spaces, and urban parks.
These experiences will highlight Paris’s contrasts, where wealth and poverty, grand architecture, and vulnerable neighborhoods coexist, revealing how the city’s history of social movements and political activism continue to shape its evolution. With insights from local experts, we will gain a deeper understanding of Paris’s history, development, and future possibilities, while comparing it with other cities like Copenhagen.
Learning outcomes
Compare and contrast Paris’s urban structures and cultural dynamics with cities like Copenhagen, offering real-life perspectives on current city planning debates
Explore the forces driving Paris’s development by delving into its culture, history, and socioeconomic layers, gaining insight into the city’s unique layers and paradoxes
Discover Paris’s strategies for sustainability, cultural growth, and livability, and see how these are shaping the city’s future
Possible activities
Visit the Saint-Denis district to explore urban and social challenges and modernist architecture
People watching at cafés and urban journaling
Boat tour on the Seine and Canal Saint-Martin to discover the city from the water
Workshop with a local artist on the role of urban arts in public spaces
About this tour
This week-long Study Tour goes to the Ruhr Valley district of Germany. This is one of the densest urban agglomerations of Europe, which is in the midst of transforming from a carbon past to a sustainable future. The Study Tour takes you to Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg and Düsseldorf, major cities traditionally known as centers of industrial revolution and famous for their soccer clubs, but which are now hubs for hi-tech and environmental innovation. Ruhr, ‘the city of a thousand flames’, is now illuminated by a rainbow of colors, and the heavy metal industry has been converted into landscapes of amenity.
Highlights of this Study Tour include the UNESCO-listed Zeche Zollverein industrial complex and the Duisburg Landscape Park, both part of the European Route for Industrial Heritage, along with powerhouses of art & design and contemporary culture.
Learning outcomes
Learn about urban strategies for transformations from a carbon past to a sustainable future
Study re-adaptions and re-configurations of industrial infrastructure, once closed and disjunct territories, into inviting green landscapes of amenities honoring identities of past heritage
Compare and contrast continuous cityscapes and industrial belts of Europe, in this case the Ruhr Valley district, with the U.S.
Possible activities
Get at sense of one of densest urban areas of Europe, spanning from Dortmund in the East across Essen to Duisburg in the west
Go intermodal on various types of rail infrastructure: trains, city lines/S-bahns, undergrounds/U-bahns, and street cars & lightrail
Explore the European Route of Industrial Heritage – including the UNESCO-listed Zeche Zollverein industrial complex, a monument of industrial architecture, once the pride of coal and steel production and now a showcase of industrial heritage and design innovation
Experience new paradigms in landscapes and ‘back to nature’ throughout IBA Emscher Park and Duisburg Landscape Park North
About this tour
Tour the major Central European city of Vienna, where east meets west in what was once the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Together on this Study Tour, we will experience the historic city center of Imperial Vienna, known for the Habsburg legacy of architecture and highbrow culture. We will read the city, looking towards the Ringstrasse, a ring road of grandiose palaces, as well as parks, public institutions, and places of art and culture.
Through walking tours, lectures from local historians, meetings with urban planners, and visits to various museums, we will explore the city through time, investigating Vienna of 1900 as a seat of empire, Red Vienna between the first and second World Wars and the models for affordable housing developed at the time, and finally Vienna of the 2000’s, with it’s current urban agendas and new developments, in order to understand what makes Vienna so livable today.
Learning outcomes
Gain insight into factors shaping this city and influencing others, both in the past and now in present day
Explore the complex relationship between the various facets and scales of the urban experience
Embrace the city as the ultimate classroom
Engage with fellow students and instructor in an educational and social setting outside of DIS
Possible activities
Explore Aspern Seestadt, an intelligent construction site for the smart city of the future
