Learning through communicating with the public

Abstract

In 2012, ETH Zurich, in collaboration with Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA), organized a travelling exhibition on the theme Darum Raumplanung (Spatial Planning: Here’s Why!), which was hosted by 37 Swiss cities (with 42 stops in sum) over the last three years. Through this exhibition and its parallel events, such as grand openings, guided tours, debates, visits in schools and a website, we wanted to raise public awareness of the public’s responsibility, both individual and collective, for the living spaces and the environment. Guided tours for adults, as well as for primary and secondary school students, were conducted by undergraduate planning students and recent graduates of a master’s programme in planning. We discovered that planning students had gained considerable experience in communicating with the public through this exercise.