Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Ray B. Weisenburger / This research explores the challenges related to the visual image of a city situated in a developing country. Originated as the colonial capital of British India, Kolkata faces new urban challenges in the post colonial world. This report intends to answer questions of imageability of the city as relevant to the Third World countries. Empathizing on the issues of scarcity of land, traffic congestion, accumulation of the urban poor, inadequacies in infrastructure and the organic expansion of fluid city boundaries under the neo-ideological globalization and liberal economic policies – Kolkata faces a host of urban problems. Imageability of the city usually tries to define the positive image of a city. The question here is, should the notions of imageability be confined to cities that inherently have succeeded in maintaining an appealing public image or should it be applied to the potential qualities of visual appropriateness to cities that have historically remained unattractive? This research intends to explore the visual quality of an area surrounding the five point intersection at Shyambazar, Kolkata, India. This study will be based on a number of observations and the different visual analysis techniques applicable in critically analyzing the visual conditions of an urban street pattern of a megacity in India. The main objective of this study is to find an appropriate visual quality for Kolkata, a megacity in the tropics – considering various related factors like – historical significance, demographic trends, geographical and climatological influences, transportation pattern, existing land use, socio-economic structure and inherent or associated urban problems of planning in developing nations.

This thesis tries to shed light on the visual portrayal of refugees within German and the British newspapers during the European refugee crisis in 2016. Furthermore, a visual autoethnography of my own refugee photography complemented this study.Through the analysis of 80 newspaper photographs from Germany and Britain (quality press & tabloids), as well as nine of my own pictures, the following research questions had to be answered:Q1: How were refugees photographically represented in German newspapers (quality press & tabloids) during 2016?Q.2 How were refugees photographically represented in British newspapers (quality press & tabloids) during 2016?Q.3 How was I, as an amateur photographer, indirectly influenced in my own photographic portrayal of refugees by contemporary media.The analysis was conducted by coding all images into different visual categories, while observing reoccurring patterns and visual styles. Furthermore, the icnonographic-iconologic image framework was used for an in-depth review of certain newspaper images (each representing a different newspaper) and for two pictures of my own photography in an autoethnographic manner.The findings suggested that women and children were predominantly featured in both, German and British newspapers. German quality press focused on the representations of state control and on the integration of refugees. Furthermore, German tabloids did not refrain from very graphic imagery.British press featured a high number of pictures with women and children, while no representation of refugee integration could be found. Furthermore, the most notorious British tabloid seemed to portray a rather negative and partially criminal image of refugees.My own photography indicated a strong influence of commonly usedrefugee motifs. Thus, a subconscious reflection of international newspaper photography could be identified.