Urban Design Project 3 "Wicked Copper, From Extraction to Urban Life: Copper's Role in Shaping Global and Local Realities in Hamburg and Chuquicamata“ by Anna Ackermann, Amy Cimerman, Anika Fink, Fred Volske.

This project comes in two books. The first, a smaller book, serves as the research framework, while the second book shares the analysis. The analysis books offers two starting points: “A Day in the Mine” or “A Day in the City”, allowing the reader to choose by which narrative to dive into the complexities of copper.

"When we talk about Dirt Cheap mechanism, we cannot avoid talking about commodified raw materials, and one of the most fundamental and influential is copper. Copper has been mined for industrial and urban use for centuries, and has been one of the main drivers of industrialization and later digitalization. However, the impact of copper production on the countries of origin is profound and far-reaching. The process of copper extraction is often linked to land grabbing, the displacement of (indigenous) communities, the degradation of rights, water pollution, the exploitation of land and labour, and even related with authoritarian regimes.
In this book we aim to analyze the mechanisms of Dirt Cheap processes in relation to copper. Starting from everyday experiences, we examine where copper as a material emerges and how Dirt Cheap mechanisms manifest themselves in its extraction, production and consumption.

We do not only understand copper as a crucial material in Hamburg and Chuquicamata, but also as a spatially shaping element that interacts with its surroundings. Based on this assumption, we adopt the concept of world-making to consider not only the physical properties of copper but also its role in constructing and shaping "worlds". […]"