VIRTUAL MADRID FOCUS ON PEDAGOGY

Abstract

Traditional education systems are evolving to address the changing roles of professions and the complex needs of modern society. The conventional professional roles in shaping urban space andneighborhoods need to be transformed into more nuanced, mediating roles that go beyond prior disciplinary separations or narrow specializations. Henri Lefebvre’s concept of “social space” emphasizes the interaction between physical built environments and social processes, suggesting that both architecture and the social sciences should collaborate to redefine, plan, and make decisions. This paper provides empirical support for adoption of such practice analyzing the process and outcomes of an experimental service-learning project in participatory urban design. The activities involving collaboration of architecture and sociology students with local residents to co-create space through architectural interventions. were conducted from March to June 2025 in Čengić Vila, a residential neighborhood in Sarajevo, where the public space was reimagined through a series of participatory activities. Based on input collected from citizens through brief surveys, panel discussions, and spatial mapping, students formulated design strategies that reflected the issues and priorities expressed by citizens. The project led to the design of nine targeted architectural interventions to enhance public spaces, which were then presented both to local residents and municipal authorities. Participation in the service-learning experience taught valuable lessons about responding to the community’s actual needs; students demonstrated how community-driven goals shaped by civic culture can be translated into actionable outcomes. Moreover, our findings outline strategic directions for the future integration of service-learning into academic and local authority programs, fostering mutually beneficial and sustainable partnerships among local actors.