Seminar Week Autumn Semester 2020

Abstract

Along five walks we explore the city vegetation of Basel and built connections to the conditions of the surrounding landscape. Obtaining a panoptical view of the “nature of the city” is the goal of intensive study of the territory.

Objective

In addition to a comprehensive insight into the vegetation of the city of Basel, the students receive an introduction to the method of walking as a way of exploring the urban landscape from a pedestrian perspective.

Content

Five walks lead us through the territory of the city of Basel. The tri-national area (Germany, Switzerland, France) with its exceptional geological, topographical, hydrological and climatic situation has a specific and diverse vegetation. We discover this diversity on the walks in the Petite Camargue, on the Tüllinger Hügel, during the crossing of the Jura and in the parks within the city. The walks are led by proven experts. In conversations, Sonja Hassold (biologist), Günther Vogt (landscape architect) and Markus Ritter (ecologist) explain the relationships between the vegetation found and the conditions of the landscape. In doing so, references are made to the political, social and economic influencing factors that regulate the development of the landscape and significantly influence its shape. The program is contextualized by dealing with the topic of walking science. Markus Ritter introduces the theory and method of promenadology in evening lectures, seminars and reading sessions, focusing on the person of Lucius Burckhardt (sociologist, 1925 - 2003).

Resources