Die Spaziergangswissenschaft von Annemarie und Lucius Burckhardt

Why is landscape beautiful? The walking science of Annemarie & Lucius Burckhardt, lecture by Prof. Martin Schmitz, Berlin

Today, we are more mobile than ever before. Cars, trains, and planes take us anywhere in the world. This has not only changed our visible environment in the form of roads, railways, airports, and settlements, but also our view of the world. Swiss sociologist and planning theorist Lucius Burckhardt (1925-2003) recognized this connection early on in the 1980s. His research at the University of Kassel focused on our perception and mobility and their impact on planning and construction. He called his new subject, which was based in the Faculty of Architecture, Urban and Landscape Planning, “walking science,” “promenadology,” or “strollology.” This minor subject, as he modestly called it, is now providing decisive impetus for how we deal with cities and landscapes, as well as for future architecture and planning.