Urban pedagogy: a proposal for the twenty-first century

Abstract

The urban has been studied by students of geography, politics, aesthetics/culture, architects and politicians. Educational researchers in defining the urban as a field of research and practice have looked at schooling and its institutionalized role in cities. A wider discussion of the very character of urban experience and its relevance for pedagogic reflection and practice is a topic that still has to be explored. There are of course some exceptions, such as the Center for Urban Pedagogy in the US and its interest in environmental experiences in an urban context and researchers looking at the community–school relationship or the role of the family and locality. This essay makes an argument for urban pedagogy in the twenty-first century. The inspiration for this proposal is taken from psycho-geographers, both classical (the dialectical imagery of Walter Benjamin) and contemporary (Iain Sinclair) and their emphasis on erfaringspedagogikk (the pedagogy of experience). A number of topics are covered: the movement of pedagogy to informal, less institutionalized arenas, the flâneur, educating the senses (emotions, acoustic, visual/optic, taste, tactile), signifiers and commodity culture. It is argued that these topics can share a concern with living and learning to live in the urban. Towards the end of the essay, how to realize urban pedagogy is raised as a topic for discussion.