30/01/2025
Keen to get a glimpse into EKA Urban Studies? Read this new essay by Andra Aaloe reflecting on the "research studio" class exploring Paljassaare, an intriguing urban nature landscape in Tallinn. Aaloe and Keiti Kljavin have worked with students on the Paljassaare research since 2020, after their previous explorations into other sites of advanced marginality such as Maardu and Narva. The essay introduces the idea of olfactory landscapes to reflect on the role of smell as a marker of waste, stigma and postindustrial imaginaries. The essay was published in MAJA, no. 118.
30/01/2025
Are you interested in studying Urban studies Master’s program on EKA? Join an online info session next week, on Thursday the 6th of February and learn more about our program!
EKA urban studies online info session
- 6 February, 18.00 (EET)
- https://zoom.us/j/98932297009
Looking forward to see you there!
29/01/2025
Applications for entry to study in the Urban Studies MSc programme in the coming autumn will open already on February 1! If you are interested to meet our faculty, current students and alumni, and to ask questions about the programme from the programme leads, join us for the Urban Studies online info session next week, on February 6 at 6 PM EET!
More info and registration: https://www.artun.ee/en/eka-masters-and-phd-programmes-online-info-sessions-2025/
24/01/2025
Nuestra querida lima, gracias por todo!
Hoy llega el final de este increíble taller que tuvimos el honor de planificar en un rincón lejano del mundo. Todas nuestras expectativas fueron más que superadas. Esta ciudad frenética nos recibió con los brazos abiertos, con platos calientes, olas tranquilas y amor. Queremos agradecer a todos los que participaron, a los estudiantes y amigos que nos acompañaron, a y por apoyarnos y a , , .peru y por prestarnos su mirada e inspirarnos con su trabajo e ideas a lo largo de nuestro camin del ser. Compartiremos más fotos en los próximos días y, en abril, presentaremos todo nuestro trabajo aquí ya en Estonia (y online). Nos llevamos los recuerdos y el aprendizaje muy de cerca. De verdad, gracias!
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Our dear Lima, thank you for everything!
Today marks the end of this incredible workshop that we had the honor of planning on a distant tip of the world. All of our expectations were more than exceeded. This frenetic city welcomed us with open arms, with warm plates of food, pacific waves and love. We thank all the people who participated, the students and friends who joined us, and for supporting us and , , .peru and for lending us their eyes and inspiring our way of being with their work and ideas. We will share more photos in the coming days and, in April, we will present all of our work here, in Estonia (and online). The memories and learnings, we carry very close to us. Truly, thank you!
24/01/2025
Urban Studies visiting PREVI (Proyecto experimental de vivienda), a late 1960s experimental housing project in Lima, Peru. Thank you to Pool Taboada from Universidad Científica Del Sur for the tour.
05/12/2024
Join us for a day in Paljassaare to dive into the dreams and actualities tied to the plenteous lands of the peninsula. DREAM | LAND | FILL is a collage of 13 individual projects by Estonian Academy of Arts Urban studies master students, sharing stories, insights and imaginaries from Paljassaare.
As the sea is filled to be ready for use and development, a pressing question remains: ready to build on it, but for whom? What kind of dreams are projected onto this “dreamland” and whose dreams are they? Which dreams are being put aside? We will shed light on investors and explorers, land-fillings and floodings and both human and non-human actors changing the peninsula.
Through our diverse projects and approaches, we aim to grasp the complexities of experimentation and speculation, of gambling and playing, of desire and urbanising and ruralising.
What might possible futures look like for both communities and ecosystems, humans and more-than-humans?
Be ready for an exciting pilgrimage of seven hours and eight kilometres on varied terrain! Please bring along headphones and power banks, snacks and warm beverages, and dress warm!
Starting point Maleva 2A.
Studio is supervised by Andra Aaloe and Keiti Kljavin.
17/10/2024
The Peninsula of Paljassaare, a former closed-up military zone, conservation are, a port, a small neighborhood, a Water Treatment Management, a sunken ship, and so much more...
Trying to grasp fragmented Paljassaare through the idea of a Palimpsest allows us to reflect on the Peninsulas different layers. This metaphor applies to the various layers of its landscape - ecological, industrial, military, and speculative - that have accumulated over time. Ongoing changes, with traces of each phase visible. Currently, it finds itself as an intermediate, in-between the tension of unforgettable past and utopian transformations.
Seemilngly undefined spaces are not merely vacant lands awaiting development, instead they imbody a complexity that needs time and close inspection to be understood
How can we sense and experience the in-betweenness of “wasted” and “valued” in this specific context?
13:00 - meeting at Maleva 2A
13:20-13:30 - climbing Kopli hill+intro
13:30-13:50 - walking to location 1
13:50-14:35 - location 1
14:35-15:00 - walking to the location 2
15:00-16:00 - location 2+lunch
16:00-17:00 - location 3
17:00 - bonfire
Things to bring along:
snacks + drinks
headphones
a mug
warm clothing
waterproof footwear
if you are lost, or have any questions during the afternooon, don’t hesitate to call on this number: +372 5696 3525
Looking forward to see you all!
Urban studies 24
15/10/2024
The first year Urban Studies students are inviting you to an on-site walking tour around the inbetweenness of wasted & valued Paljassaare.
18th of October, 13:00-17:00 ending with a bonfire.
Meeting point: in front of Maleva 2A
Bring proper clothes, snacks and curiosity!
08/07/2024
EKA passed Institutional Accreditation with best possible results!
The Evaluation Council of the Estonian Quality Agency for Education (HAKA) has decided to accredit the Estonian Academy of Arts for the next seven years. EKA achieved the best possible result and will be awarded the HAKA quality label. The Urban Studies curriculum is honoured and delighted to be part of such an academic family.
EKA läbis institutsionaalse akrediteerimise parima võimaliku tulemusega — Eesti Kunstiakadeemia
Eesti Hariduse Kvaliteediagentuuri (HAKA) hindamisnõukogu otsustas akrediteerida Eesti Kunstiakadeemia järgmiseks seitsmeks aastaks. EKA saavutas sellega parima võimaliku tulemuse.
30/06/2024
EKA 2024 Graduation Ceremony of Urban Studies
📸: Marek Metslaid Photography
13/06/2024
After the thesis defense day, we found ourselves in Andra’s summer house located in nature. We can say that it was a little holiday that was good for all of us after the long thesis process 🌳🌳
📸: Paul Simon
13/06/2024
From the thesis defense of our 2024 urban studies graduates!
We congratulate everyone for their wonderful work and for successfully defending their theses. We would also like to thank all our supervisors who pioneered this amazing works.
29/05/2024
The last person to appear before the thesis committee tomorrow is Paul Simon with his thesis "Automated Ambience: Exploring Audiovisual Characteristics and Their
Impact on the Sense of Place of Vienna's Vending Machine Shops"
This master's thesis investigates the phenomenon of vending machine shops in Vienna, independent indoor retail spaces that have surged in number since the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating without on-site staff, these shops are open 24/7, capitalising on temporal supply gaps when conventional retail spaces are legally required to be closed. Previously unexplored in academic research, this thesis examines the legal, economic, and societal factors shaping these shops. By combining qualitative, quantitative, and creative research, it offers a com-prehensive understanding of their development and lays the groundwork for future studies.
The study utilises extensive field research, including spatial mapping, audiovisual observation, and interviews with various stakeholders, to show how the unstaffed nature of these shops significantly shapes their material and sonic characteristics. Building on academic discourse addressing the experience of space and place, the research illustrates how the particular spatial manifesta-tion of vending machine shops leads to a unique yet subjective experience of these spaces.
Key findings reveal that, despite—or perhaps because of—their lack of liveliness, these shops effectively fill temporal, spatial, and experiential gaps in the urban fabric. Inspired by these insights, the author created an immersive artistic installation to explore the subjectivity of spatial experience. In addition to paving the way for future inquiries into the specific case of Vienna's vending machine shops, the thesis thus calls for a more nuanced understanding of the experience of urban space.
Supervised by Sean Tyler & Keiti Kljavin
Reviewed by Jess Myers & John W. Fail
Photos by Paul Simon.
29/05/2024
Luca Liese Ritter's master's thesis, to be defended tomorrow, is entitled “If I am good enough to breathe this air, I should also be good enough to know its composition” – Toxic Politics and Lived Experience in the Industrial Town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen in Socialist East Germany"
This thesis examines the socio-political dynamics of industrial pollution in relation to state control and the lived experience of the residents of Bitterfeld-Wolfen during the GDR era. The city’s chemical industry, driven by the regime’s aspirations for progress, generated vast quantities of toxic pollutants, earning it the infamous title of “Europe’s dirtiest city”. The study views pollution as a socio-material issue shaped by power, knowledge and experience, and considers pollution as a toxic politics operating at multiple scales that manifested locally. Drawing on (embodied) urban political ecology, environmental humanities, and feminist scholarship, the study examines the link between (failed) environmental policies and people's perceptions of environmental hazards, and their mutual formation. Despite extensive research on economic and environmental policy in the GDR, the experiences of individuals affected by environmental degradation have received little attention. By analysing Eingaben (citizens’ petitions, often in the form of complaints), the thesis combines structural analysis with lived experience, drawing on Sara Ahmed’s notion of complaints as a phenomenology of institutions. This integrated approach reveals how residents navigate toxic environments and engage with toxic politics through the act of complaining, experiencing a double exposure to pollution and state control systems. This research highlights the critical need to synthesise material, experiential and structural analyses in order to effectively understand and address the complexities of urban pollution.
Supervised by Agata Marzekova & Andra Aaloe
Reviewed by Aro Velmet & Caroline Ektander
Photo Credit_ © Deutsche Fotothek _ Peter, Richard jun.
29/05/2024
Kush Badhwar thesis is entitled "A Disappearing Hill: Temporal Dynamics of the Navi Mumbai International Airport Megaproject". Join us tomorrow 30th of May, 9:00-18:00 for Urban studies defence, EKA, Põhja pst 7, D403.
India is undergoing a significant infrastructure transformation where megaprojects play a pivotal role, and their ground-level effects need further understanding. This thesis focuses on the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) project, first proposed in 1997 and projected for completion in 2025, examining it through the lens of temporal dynamics. The study aims to understand the experiences of those displaced by the project and the relationship between the airport and the city of Navi Mumbai in which it is being constructed.
This thesis aims for close proximity to the lived and rearranged experiences of time at the airport site. By observing and analysing social interactions and materials shared socially during the airport’s pre-development phase, it uncovers not-readily legible contestations of time and space on the site. The study reveals details about environmental impacts, resettlement, and rehabilitation processes, focusing on how displaced populations perceive, understand, and respond to the project over time. It also identifies continuities between megaprojects, such as land acquisition for successive projects, highlighting a continuum of dispossession affecting traditional livelihoods and land ownership. This research enhances the understanding of
megaproject impacts, particularly in India, to contribute to urban studies and associated fields.
Supervised by Kaija-Luisa Kurik & Sean Tyler
Reviewed by Henriette Steiner & Vineet Diwadkar
Photo by Kush.
29/05/2024
Introducing next thesis "From Conflict to Collaboration with Nature:
Convivial Conservation in Sarıkum Nature Reserve" and his author Alp Eren Özalp.
Strictly protected natural areas have been created in order to prevent the destruction and exploitation of natural resources that have intensified with the Anthropocene era. Today, with neoliberal approaches, intervention in protected natural areas has increased and there has been an intense commodification of nature. Privatisation, commodification and marketization of these areas lead to environmental degradation. The subsistence activities of local people living in these areas are affected by nature conservation areas in various ways. Rural regions and nature reserves often face conflicting interests, particularly as economic pressures and neoliberal policies commodify natural resources, affecting both ecological integrity and local livelihoods.
Through the analytical lens of urban political ecology, conservation approaches developed from the industrial revolution to the present day are discussed and their shortcomings and positive aspects are evaluated and methods that can be put into practice are discussed. The legal changes that emerged during the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AK Party), the ruling party of Turkey, are discussed and the impact of neoliberal policies on nature conservation areas is examined. The positive as well as problematic aspects of the Sinop Nature Tourism Master Plan that emerged with these policies are discussed. The main purpose of this study has been twofold. Firstly, it contributes to opening up conservation theory by engaging with the ideas of convivial conservation. Secondly, it provides a situated, ethnographic research-based study of the real-life conflicts emerging at the nexus of rural life and conservation in Turkey. Combining these two strands of investigation, it hopes to provide conceptual and research-based evidence that can inform policy makers and identify practices that align conservation efforts with rural socio-economic realities within the Sarıkum Nature Conservation Area.
Supervised by Sean Tyler & Agata Marzecova
Reviewed by Karina Vabson & Sinan Eresnu