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Law and Urban Space
Recht und Stadtraum
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:02:26
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=17513 ).
General Information
- Language
- German
- Levels
- DS
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Registration & Places
- Max Places
- 40
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture | Recht und Stadtraum |
|
2 h weekly |
Offered In
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Science in Perspective (In “Science in Perspective”-courses students learn to reflect on ETH’s STEM subjects from the perspective of humanities, political and social sciences. Only the courses listed below will be recognized as "Science in Perspective" courses.)
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Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Competence (SiP courses are recommended for bachelor students after their first-year examination and for all master- or doctoral students. All SiP courses are listed in Type A. Courses listed under Type B are only recommendations for enrollment for specific departments.)
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Type B: Reflection About Subject-Specific Methods and Contents (Subject-specific courses. Particularly relevant for students interested in those subjects. All these courses are also listed under the category “Typ A”, and every student can enroll in these courses.)
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