Intervention-linked Community Research

An Underestimated Method of Community Organising? Insights from the City Lab Bochum-Hustadt

Abstract

Community Organising is usually not conceptualized as research and vice versa community research is not conducted with the aim of community organising. However, in our contribution, we draw attention to the many parallels between community organising and intervention-linked community research practiced in the Bochum City Lab. We first introduce the working methods of the City Lab and then present its historical development. On the example of the research project “EMPOWER” - we will show how collaborative knowledge production can foster processes of politization and empowerment. We will close with a comparative view on theory and practice of community organising and the City Lab concept.