This blog has emerged from a research-based Seminar in the Master of Transcultural Studies at Heidelberg University. The class was geared at an intense, interdisciplinary examination of urban transformation and everyday life in South Asia and Germany. Central for this exploration was the use of concepts related to placemaking, heritage, mobilities and belonging. The focus was Kathmandu Valley (Nepal) as one of the fastest growing metropolitan sprawls in the world, and Heidelberg (Germany) as a historical student city. The class was part of an international teaching initiative with Delhi’s School of Planning and Architecture and Kathmandu Universities department of art and design, entitled "Urban transformation and placemaking: Fostering Learning from South Asia and Ger­many." It is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in their program "Subject-Related Partnerships with Institutions of Higher Education in Developing Countries.