What if classrooms had no walls, and instead of lectures, we learned by walking through the city, talking to people, and experiencing history and economics firsthand?
In a , I talked about learning in and from nature, but this time around, I’d like to take you with me on two field trips to Berlin and Hamburg, one for a university seminar, one for a research project called . They are definitely among my most favorite experiences in academia, for both gave me amazing opportunities to learn differently—in and from the cities as a living archives, which in turn deeply affect my perception of them.
Berlin Migrant Entrepreneurship
In Berlin, as part of a seminar on Migrant Entrepreneurship, we built groups to conduct research on sites where this phenomenon could be observed. These include a wide and diverse selection including Rosenthaler Platz, Görlitzer Park, Neukölln, etc.
I was part of the team that took interest in the Dong Xuan Center—a large wholesale market and cultural hub run by the Vietnamese community, but also house shops by other ethnic businesses like Chinese or Afghan. A maze of shops selling everything from fresh produce to imported electronics, the center is a fascinating case study in how migrant businesses shape urban landscape and economies.
By fully immerging ourselves into the space and talking to people in and around it, we learned, beyond the commerce, about the social networks that sustain these businesses, the challenges (immigrant) entrepreneurs face, their stories and opinions that would otherwise not be found in any texts, and the role of spaces such as the Dong Xuan Center in creating cultural belonging, but also mixed perceptions of them from the outside.
It was a reminder that cities aren’t just built from concrete and steel—they’re shaped by the people who live, work, and hustle within them, and the myriad of differences yet somewhere somehow, also, similarities in all of our stories.
Hamburg (Colonial) Wealth
In Hamburg, as part of a selection of research projects funded by the on , the research project I’m a part of—, specifically studies the promises of wealth brought along by smart technologies all over the world, including at the Port of Hamburg.
In order to understand the promises for the present and future, we have to start in the past. We dove deep into the city’s colonial history and its lasting economic impact. The Chilehaus, Afrikahaus, and Slomannshaus aren’t only impressive architectural sites—but also physical reminders of how Hamburg’s wealth was built on global trade, times and again at the expense of others. A striking moment for us was standing at the Afrikahaus, discussing how the Woermann family profited from Germany’s problematic presence in Africa while a paradoxical statue of an African man stood in front of us, quietly embodying the city’s selective memory and colonial amnesia.
The research also took us to Baakenhafen, where Hamburg’s colonial past intersects with its present-day ambitions and hopeful look into the future.
Once a launchpad for German colonial troops, it’s now part of HafenCity, Europe’s largest urban regeneration project. But how does a city deal with such a complicated history? The answers aren’t simple, but walking these spaces made it clear that history isn’t something locked in books and hidden archives—it’s written in the streets, the buildings, and the stories we choose to tell (or forget).
Learning Beyond the Lecture Hall
These trips reinforced something important: Some lessons just can’t be learned from textbooks. Whether it’s standing in front of a colonial-era building or talking to an immigrant in a bustling marketplace, engaging with the city as a classroom gives us a richer, more nuanced understanding of the world.
So, what’s next? More fieldwork, more conversations, and definitely more exploring. Because sometimes, the best way to learn is to step outside and start observing.
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