Knowing the City of Biotopes: The Science and Politics of Urban Nature in former West- and post-unification Berlin

Probably, there has never been any other city of a comparably size that has been as thoroughly scrutinized for its urban wildlife as the walled city of West-Berlin. Whereas their colleagues elsewhere focused mainly on communities and ecosystems which were located in the country-site, in allegedly natural landscapes of other continents or in marine environments, ecologists in West-Berlin turned their own city into their primary research object and practical fieldwork site. Rather than being a purely academic endeavor, the production of environmental knowledge of the city also had a clear political mission: ecology was supposed to monitor the detrimental effects of urbanization on urban wildlife, and, thereby, create a base for a more rational planning of future cities. This presentation will trace the interaction of ecological fieldwork practices and representations (maps) on the one hand, and the development of and ecological planning policy in Berlin from a historical sociology of knowledge perspective. It will thereby emphasize both the co-productive relationship between science and policy, and the constitutive role of place in the formation of ecological knowledge.

Jens Lachmund is a sociologist and senior lecturer (UD) in science and technology studies at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. He has published widely on themes of the historical sociology of medicine, and of the (urban) environment. In his recent work, he has sought to connect perspectives from science and technology studies, environmental sociology, and urban planning history. His books include Greening Berlin. The Co-Production of Science, Politics, and Urban Nature (Boston, 2013). He is also co-editor of Science and the City, OSIRIS 18, 2003 - together with Sven Dierig and Andrew Mendelsohn -, and of Spatializing the History of Ecology (New York/London, 2017) - together with Raf de Bont. He is currently engaged in historical and contemporary research on urban gardening and agriculture in London and Berlin.

Cette conférence publique fait partie du workshop "Écologie urbaine : savoirs, expertise et politique" organisé par Maud Chalmandrier et Joëlle Salomon Cavin dans le cadre du projet FNS Ecolurbs: "When ecology goes to town". Elle est organisée en partenariat avec le collectif «Mondes urbains».

La présentation sera en anglais. Elle sera suivie d'une discussion durant laquelle vous pourrez poser vos questions en anglais, en français ou en allemand.

L'entrée est libre. Pour obtenir le lien de connexion Zoom, merci de contacter maud.chalmandrier@unil.ch