Projects

Track Record

URC is based on the international Strategic Partnership (Erasmus+) Urban Dynamics (2015-2018) that initiated the interdisciplinary collaboration between Social Sciences and the Humanities regarding the study of urban complexity from a transatlantic perspective and that, among others, did also contribute to the establishment of the German Excellence Subcluster Urban ROOTS at the University of Kiel in 2019.

Early on, the international URC Working Group’s measures and activities in collaborative research and research-based teaching-learning have been grant-aided by the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and the Arts (BAYLAT), the Argentine National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), and the European Union.

Alongside with several urban cultural studies projects, five international lecture series on “Possible Cities” (2019/20), “Urban Resilience” (2020/21), “Art and Social Integration in Pandemic Times” (2021), “Fluid Urban Cultures” (2022/23), and “Urban Methods” (2024/25) have been organized by the partners so far.

Together with workshops, events, and proceedings related to ‘Urban Innovation’ (Augsburg 2019), ‘Urban Potentials’ (Coimbra 2023), etc., and conferences dedicated to ‘Urban Cultures of Participation’ (Augsburg 2023) and ‘Urban Cultures of Transformation’ (Buenos Aires 2023), the URC Working Group launched in October 2024 an accredited international Urban Cultures Master’s Degree Study Program, fostering cross-cultural and transprofessional research-based Urban Cultural Studies.

Further interrelated projects with active URC partner participation are, among others:

Augsburg
+ International Doctorate Program ‘Rethinking Environment’ (WZU-UNIA & LMU Munich)
+ CultuRES – Cultures of Resilience Research Network (ISLA-UNIA & USAL)

Buenos Aires
+ Escrituras Fronterizas Research Group (USAL)

Coimbra
+ ARTÉRIA Network (CES-UCB)
+ CREATOUR – Creative Tourism Destination Development in Small Cities and Rural Areas (CES-UCB)
+ ECHOES – European Colonial Heritage Modalities in Entangled Cities (CES-UCB)
+ IN SITU – Place-based innovation of cultural and creative industries in non-urban areas (CES)
+ UNCHARTED – Understanding, Capturing and Fostering the Societal Value of Culture (CES-UCB)
+ URBiNAT – Healthy corridors as drivers for regeneration of social housing neighbourhoods through co-creation of social, environmental and marketable NBS (CES-UCB)

Santiago de Compostela
+ CEER Center for Euroregional Studies for Galicia and the North of Portugal (USC et al.)
+ CETUR Tourism Study and Research Center (USC)

São Paulo
+ Sites of Memory and Conscience Research Group

Project Sponsors