“We are neither living nor dying, we are something in between” Since the beginning of history, the living and the dead have been separated. This has made it almost im- possible to co-live together under one roof. We, ‘the living’, have even created “deathscapes” which have set a clear boundary between us and them, ‘the dead’. In every society, with its own cultural norms and rituals, they act with the dead in their own way - some are buried, others are burnt, but what is common across all societies is that they are not evident in our lives anymore. Looking at it from an urban perspective, the dead occupy a big patch of land in every city. This acts as a burden, as it makes “forbidden spaces” where the living is not able to be part of it. However, in each topic, there is a lesson that can be learned from it. In this case, it’s a 6km stretch informally and formally built, with a rich history and poor squatters who have no choice except to dwell with the dead. This is City of the Dead, located in Cairo, Egypt. The extreme lack of housing has pushed a part of society to live informally in cemeteries, where they have learned to co-live in the same room as the dead; they’ve embraced the idea of sleeping next to the dead, working and playing on those deathscapes. But ever since the government announced that they will demolish those deathscapes as a part of demolishing all informal settlements in Cairo, the time has come to make a stand against this decision, instead learning from their “life hack” and applying it throughout the City of the Dead – creating a society where the dead and living are not separated, maximizing the lost potentials in cases such as City of the Dead and making them not looked down upon and marginalized. This thesis aims to design the city and improve the lives of people living in these cemeteries, dealing with each case with care and compassion.

Shanghai is one of has been a city of high economic and social importance since the early 20th century. The form and historical background of cultural heritages in its downtown districts is different to those in other Chinese cities with protected historical areas such as for instance the Bund area. The text identifies the uniqueness of heritage management regulations in Shanghai, and put forward questions about the function of documentary heritage in urban development with a case study about the newly updated Shanghai Jewish Refugees Memorial Museum. The general urban development of Shanghai is reviewed in the context of the incorporation of heritage in urban planning and specifically the development plans for the Bund area where the museum is located. The history of the Jewish community in Shanghai and of the museum itself is analysed based on the museum exhibition and layout, as also the experience of museum visitors. The thesis builds on archive studies, peer interviews and survey investigation. 292 survey answers have been collected from visitors on the experience of the museum. The results of the survey together with the interviews, individual experience and policy studies, are drawn upon to discuss the role of the museum in urban planning and how it can be developed. It is stressed that the documentary heritage is helpful in minimizing conflict between the everyday experience of heritage and amore exclusive academically informed view on heritage. It is also recommended that multidirectional support will be constructed between document collection, historically reserved areas and the central business district in Shanghai.

Educational disparities in China are rooted in the country’s longstanding rural-urban divide, which the hukou system has institutionalized. However, following a comprehensive reform of the hukou system (2014-2020) disparities in access to education remain ubiquitous. This raises questions regarding the reform itself, in terms of its agenda and effectiveness, as well as regarding the real driving factors of educational disparities in urban China. It is a complex issue that requires a multidimensional analysis, which shall consider both the hukou and other exclusionary factors as potential causes. These include mechanisms inherent to China’s education system, culture, and historical dynamics of social stratification. Making an in-depth review of the literature through institutionalism lenses, this research takes shape in the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of equality of opportunity and social mobility. Supported by empirical indicators and qualitative data, it provides an in-depth and timely understanding of the hukou and underlying factors of educational exclusion that undermine equality of opportunity and hinder upward social mobility among migrant children. This research finds that hukou status is still the biggest determinant of people’s equality of opportunities and social mobility in China and argues that the reform had the potential to make a positive difference. Thereby, this research's main explanation for the resilience of educational disparities in this context is that the 2014 hukou reform’s core intent was to modify migrant spatial distribution in favour of small and midsize cities, as opposed to their current concentration in megacities, and, in doing so, policymakers overlooked many challenges and barriers associated to migrating to lower tier cities and undervalued the importance of education for migrants. This research thus concludes that, rather than a definite lack of political will for solving educational disparities, the reform fell short on schooling issues because economic ambitions have taken precedence over social development and equal access to welfare, including education, among all Chinese citizens.

This project deals with the relationship between Stockholm and the water, investigating its history and searching for a definition of its future. As a city, Stockholm is defined by water; it creates physical distance in the city, but at the same time visually ties it together. Looking specifically at Söder Mälarstrand, an undefined waterfront with great potential, this project seeks to understand the current state of this site and propose a new use for it. How can this urban landscape be defined to accommodate a contemporary use of the waterfront? What should such a development look like architecturally? As a research method, this project looks beyond the physical extension of the site to the images of it constantly reproduced. Without romanticizing the past, the research searches for the character of the site to find a potential for its future use. The project proposes a new use of the waterfront. The quay is widened, and the new space that is created is anchored by the addition of three new volumes programmatically linked to the existing activity on the site, while also allowing new uses in the future. This approach aims to create a more defined public space, making the site permeable.

Urbanization and the growth of populations in cities have led to increased exposure and vulnerability to social and environmental changes, such as natural disasters like floods and climate change uncertainties creating complex social dynamics. Cities as tourist destinations are especially susceptible to such disruptions, as their infrastructure and overall aesthetic contribute significantly to their value, ensuring employment opportunities and public well-being. Consequently, discussions have arisen about the need for cities and communities to adopt resilience thinking in order to prepare for potential stresses and shocks. Although there are established frameworks for creating inclusive resilience strategies that encourage community engagement and participation, limited literature exists on how integrated urban resilience thinking is in transdisciplinary efforts for sustainable urban development. Therefore, this paper explores how participation is integrated in resilience building efforts in urban areas studying the case of Dresden, Germany. It starts with a description of the underlying concepts, followed by a classification of the investigation case laying out the legal and political framework focusing on the concepts of participation, and co-creation in the context of participatory urban resilience. The study further investigates how citizen participation is discussed and implemented in this field by analyzing nine expert interviews. The findings suggest that participatory approaches hold significant potential for improving multistakeholder cooperation, promoting social innovation, and building resilience capacities. However, several systemic challenges are uncovered which would require structural reforms to enable a resilient urban development for Dresden as a destination and its citizens.

Sustainable urban development is one of the dominant movements in the urban planning realm in the 21st century. It focuses mainly on improving current life while keeping future effects to an extent with which future life is not restricted. Adaptive reuse can play an important role in this movement towards more sustainability due to its simple reuse approach. But to improve the process of adaptive reuse a holistic framework is needed. This thesis first develops a holistic framework from recent research literature with the later aim of testing it in form of a case study – focusing on The Plant in Chicago, USA. Six themes were identified as the six to consider for a holistic perspective on adaptive reuse – economic, environmental, technical, context, social, and regulations and policy. Site visits, interviews, GIS-analysis, and desk-based study build the core methods to test the framework and produce the findings. Capital investment, market demands, reconstruction costs, and the influence on the local economy are economic factors that determine the economic performance of the adaptive reuse project The Plant. These findings show the applicability of the framework and further point out possible synergies and conflicts that can be utilized and avoided in future processes. The research indicates, for example, conflicts between environmental performance and economic expenses. Overall, the results indicate the applicability of the framework and the needed consideration of the identified synergies and conflicts for the positive performance of the adaptive reuse process and thus a positive contribution to sustainable urban development.

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