ETH - Actors and Power Mapping

Actors and Power Mapping was created for the Landscape and Urban Studies program at ETH Zurich. All first-year architecture students explored who’s involved in changing a city — both people and non-human actors — and what kind of power they have or could have. For this course, the focus was on the transformation of Oerliker Park, right next to the university.

The course worked in steps:

Mapping ourselves – we started by exploring our own identities and positions, and how they connect to the people and society around us.

Mapping actors – we looked at the people, nature, and urban features of Oerlikon, imagined their needs, and considered what might block or enable change.

Mapping power – we examined relationships between actors through representation exercises, seeing who influences what and how.

Collective proposals – finally, we practiced creating ideas together through a multi-voiced, collaborative process.

This course is all about understanding how cities change and learning how to think critically about power, people, and the urban world.