The field research trip to Brasília, the capital of Brazil, officially started on the 12th of april in 2022. 17 students of the mastercourse „global change and regional sustainability“ attended the journey, but not for everyone did the field stay begin with the official research process. Many got to know the country individually beforehand - a few went to the exciting metropolis Rio de Janeiro, where they got to see and experience the disparities of the city, remarkable landscapes and the colorful carnival. Others started their journey with attending soccer games in São Paulo or exploring the depths of the Amazon.

On the 12th of april, the group and the professors Dr. Martin Coy and Dr. Tobias Töpfer finally came together in Brasília, warmly welcomed by the residents of the „Instituto Bíblico de Brasília“, which the students called their home-base for the following three weeks. To get the whole group acquainted with each other and the surroundings around the Distrito Federal (the state of Goiás), the research trip started with a short but beautiful excursion to a brasilian fazenda (a typical brasilian cattle farm) in the depths of the Cerrado (the predominant ecosystem in Goiás and the Distrito Federal). Furthermore, the professors introduced the students to cities like Goiânia and Pirenópolis, which helped them to understand the history of the country and the influences on current developments.

Thereafter, returning to the capital, the official research process in Brasília began. The research topics, which are illustrated in the map, were already determined and prepared in Innsbruck. With the knowledge they had already acquired, the students prepared themselves for interviews on the first days of the field stay, which were held with experts in the fields of urbanity, urban planning and sustainability. Based on the knowledge gained, the groups set out to conduct field research independently. Many groups conducted interviews in the respective urban areas in line with their topic. Others set out to make observations or map neighbourhoods. Although each group had been assigned a different topic, there were always points of intersection. Due to the integrative nature of the topics, everyone was able to gain insight into all themes. In addition to the research process, the students had enough time to get to know the city life of Brasília, where they were mainly kept company by young and local students. Some went swimming in Lago Paranoá, others enjoyed brazilian dances at a cultural music festival, which added a little life and colour to the parliamentary, monumental character of the city.