Road to Bavarity – part 5

In my research on how planning and building responded to environmental risk in southern Germany, it became clear to me that vulnerability was the phenomenon that connected the case to other ones across the globe. The lacking capacity to individually cope with the impact of disaster was precisely the weak spot when it came to rebuilding damaged or destroyed housing. The lack of housing happens to be a general societal weak spot, an everyday circumstance of urban crisis beyond environmental risk. On various occasions I had the opportunity to speak in detail with actors who engage in finding solutions to the housing crisis, especially in cities. These interviews allowed me to write publications for architectural magazines, such as Der Baumeister and Bauwelt. The reviewed cases included housing associations or initiatives in Munich and the specific way they employed the participation of future residents, in order to plan and design housing and apartments. The examples show how participation can contribute to the production of built space. In my book "Bavarity" I present my observations on this topic and discuss them in the context of the "Right to the City", as French urbanist Henri Lefebvre formulated it. From my point of view it is logical to extend this right to the arena of participation – not only in the everyday context of urban development and the ubiquitous housing crisis, but also in the particular context of planning, preparedness, recovery and reconstruction as phases of disaster management. The hope is that the Right to Participation can very well contribute to a sustainable reduction of the vulnerability of impacted residents.

"Bavarität: Krisenbewältigung im baukulturellen Raum" is available from Springer Spektrum and all booksellers.