The Spaces between us

Cities are not just physical infrastructures – they are social systems shaped by relationships, encounters, and shared experiences. As such, cities carry immense potential for connection, but also for exclusion. The way we design urban spaces reflects – and influences – how we live together. Whom we see. Whom we speak to. Whom we trust.

Living together in a pluralistic society requires more than tolerance – it requires spaces that allow difference to meet, not only peacefully, but productively. It requires encounters that are not pre-selected by social algorithms or economic status, but that arise from the shared use of streets, parks, plazas, kitchens, and corners. Design plays a central role in enabling these moments. It can isolate, or it can invite. It can separate, or it can connect.

Democratic life depends on such encounters. Not the staged debates of political arenas, but the small, daily gestures of mutual recognition: sharing a table with someone we did not choose, waiting at the same bus stop, building something side by side. These experiences form the basis for solidarity, empathy, and the capacity to listen. In this sense, democratic structures are not only legal or institutional – they are spatial and emotional. They live, quite literally, in the spaces between us.

This might also be the premise that guides the work of VAIR e. V., a collective that creates participatory design projects aimed at fostering inclusion, dialogue, and co-creation in urban environments. By inviting diverse communities into the design and use of shared spaces, VAIR reclaims the city as a place of encounter, transformation, and active citizenship. Their temporary installations, mobile spaces, and collaborative processes open up new forms of participation – particularly for those who are often excluded from traditional decision-making.

As part of the seminar “Design and Community” (Summer Semester 2025), we were pleased to welcome Zijad Dolicanin and Maziar Rastegar to reflect on these themes. Together, we explore the complex path from conceptual impulse to structural change. How can design move beyond symbolic gestures and create long-term impact? How can spatial interventions plant the seeds of genuine transformation in neighborhoods, cities, and the ways we live together?

We warmly invite you to join this conversation!