In Halle (Saale) there aren’t many recreational activities for young people during the summer vacations. This is where the “Summerschool” came in. It offered a week of working in public space with other interested young people between the ages of 13 and 17. Participants were encouraged to question their view of the city as a passive, finished construct and to become active themselves in order to improve the quality of life and stay in their own living environment by simple means. In one-day and multi-day workshops with experienced teachers from Halle and Stuttgart, the participants learned to construct street furniture, to creatively use fallow land, to build retreats out of willow branches, to design art objects out of colorful plexiglass remnants, and above all, to understand the city as a changeable and playable space.
Areas with potential in the district were identified in advance in close cooperation with the planning department of the city of Halle (Saale) and the necessary permits were obtained. The Summerschool was part of the research program “Green Urban Labs” of the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR).
