City, Ensemble ! The Esch Clinics: From Urban Research to Policy Making
October 27–28
Curated by Markus Miessen, César Reyes Nájera, and Ena Kukić—Cultures of Assembly (COA)
After three years of situated research in Esch-sur-Alzette, The Esch Clinics enters a new phase: moving from urban research towards concrete policy recommendations and new forms of institutional and civic practice.
Since its launch in 2024, The Esch Clinics has brought together researchers, local actors, public servants, cultural organisations, civic initiatives, and international practitioners to read and understand the social, spatial, and political complexity of Esch, a former industrial city in Southern Luxembourg. Developed as an embedded form of critical spatial practice, the project has focused on the everyday realities, frictions, aspirations, and care structures that shape the city, with particular attention to the urban commons and to forms of collective political action. One of the outcomes of this shared process was the Assemblée Citoyenne, a collaborative design research project of Cultures of Assembly with DemocracyNext and the City of Esch, a space for neighbours to come together, share perspectives, and imagine new ways of shaping the city. The research has also generated a series of questions and demands that we aim to translate into practical forms of policy and governance.
The symposium City, Ensemble ! The Esch Clinics: From Urban Research to Policy Making marks this transition. Over two days, we will bring together international practitioners, researchers, housing experts, public servants, and local actors to explore how situated urban research and knowledge can be translated into legal, institutional, and governance frameworks grounded in the commons.
The symposium begins with the public event Building the Commons at Esch City Hall, bringing together various experience both from the realm of design practices and policy making. The session will examine how strong ecosystems of practitioners, administrations, public servants, political actors, and civic initiatives can produce meaningful change in the provision of public space, housing, and public services. Contributions will include Janet Sanz on the Green Axes and Superilla in Barcelona; Josep Maria Borrell on research, innovation, and high standards in social housing through IMPSOL; Céline Zimmer on housing as an invitation to cooperate; and Michael Obrist on housing, communing, and de-financialization. These trigger talks will be followed by open discussions with the support of a group of renowned international respondents, including Oana Bogdan, Diane E. Davis, Jean-Paul Espen, Mar Sierra Figueras, Carolin Genz, Iva Marčetić, Antoine Paccoud, Felix Petersen, Dubravka Sekulić, and Catherine Warin.
On the second day, the symposium moves between Belval and Esch. The first working session, Public Space, Governance, and Urban Justice, will address the relationship between policing, regulation, public space, and democratic rights. Rather than treating these questions exclusively through regulatory frameworks, the discussion will consider how urban governance might engage practices of care, mediation, negotiation, and shared responsibility.
A second session, From Housing Research to Housing Policy, will focus on the housing crisis in Luxembourg and across Europe. Bringing together researchers and practitioners working on cooperative housing, public housing, community-led initiatives, and alternative governance structures, the session will ask how experimental practices can inform regulatory and institutional innovation, and how housing might be understood as social infrastructure rather than simply as a market commodity.
The symposium is conceived not as a conventional conference but as a working process between research, practice, and policy. The recommendations resulting from the Symposium will form the basis for continued dialogue with the City of Esch and other institutional partners, contributing to the longer-term ambition of COA to develop more equitable and democratic approaches to urban planning and governance.
Dates
Cultures of Assembly—24 rue du Brill, Esch-sur-Alzette / Esch City Hall—Place Hôtel de Ville, Esch-sur-Alzette
October 27
Public event Building the Commons at Esch City Hall.
October 28
Non-public working sessions at Campus Belval and Cultures of Assembly.
Symposium contributors
Oana Bogdan, Josep Maria Borrell, Diane E. Davis, Jean-Paul Espen, Mar Sierra Figueras, Carolin Genz, Ena Kukić, Iva Marčetić, Markus Miessen, Michael Obrist, Antoine Paccoud, Felix Petersen, César Reyes Nájera, Dubravka Sekulić, Janet Sanz, Catherine Warin, and Céline Zimmer.
