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Law and Urban Space
Recht und Stadtraum
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 15:47:51
Abstract
Legal rules are tied to urban space. Illustrative is the relation between land ownership and urban morphology or between zoning and the functional dimension of urban space. Legal concepts (from property law, fundamental rights and administrative law) with spatial impacts are introduced and related to the theory of urban design. Moreover, it is discussed how these concepts shape specific places.
Objective
Students recognize the interplay between legal structures and urban space. They can describe legal concepts with spatial impact. Moreover, they are able to compare legally binding targets with theoretical approaches in urban design. By analysing specific places, students learn to find relevant norms, to analyse and to judge them with regard to urban design theories. Thereby, they are able to distinguish design and policy questions.
Content
Using the the term «lawscape» (Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos), we initially discuss general aspects of the interplay between legal rules and urban space. The first part of the course is about the morphological dimension of urban space. We compare positions of urban planners like Trancik (Finding Lost Space) or Rowe/Koetter (Collage City) with property law. Freedom of property in turn contrasts to the theoretical approaches of Bernoulli (Die Stadt und ihr Boden) or Rossi (L'architettura della città). Using court decisions concerning nail houses, we study the tensions between urban development and the system of property ownership. The second part of the course is about the functional dimension of urban space. Key concept is the zone (cf. CIAM 4). This concept is criticized (Wolfrum, Zoning Bien Défini). We compare the concept as well as the critique with the main concerns in spatial planning law. Environmental law and neighbouring rights are also relevant. In the third part of the course, we work on the social, visual and temporal dimensions of urban space. The positions of Jacobs (The Death and Life of Great American Cities), Cullen (Townscape) or Lynch (The Presence of the Past) are compared with the dichotomy public space/private space, safety regulations, regulations on design reviews or heritage protection laws. Working tools are theoretical texts, legal rules, court decisions as well as site analyses. Students undertake a case study in small groups. Selected case studies are presented and discussed in a final meeting.
Resources
Lecture Notes
See Literature.
Literature
Documents will be available online (see https://moodle-app2.let.ethz.ch/course/view.php?id=15143 ).
General Information
- Language
- German
- Levels
- DS
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Registration & Places
- Max Places
- 45
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture | Recht und Stadtraum |
|
18 h semesterly |
Offered In
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GESS Science in Perspective (Only the topics listed in this paragraph can be chosen as GESS Science in Perspective. Further below you will find the "type B courses Reflections about subject specific methods and content" as well as the language courses. 6 ECTS need to be acquired during the BA and 2 ECTS during the MA Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again.)
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Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Competence (Suitable for all students. Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again.)
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Type B: Reflection About Subject-Specific Methods and Contents (Subject-specific courses: Recommended for doctoral, master and bachelor students (after first-year examination only). Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again. These course units are also listed under "Type A", which basically means all students can enroll)
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