Harnessing sensing systems towards urban sustainability transformation

Peer reviewe

Harnessing sensing systems towards urban sustainability transformation

Recent years have seen a massive development of geospatial sensing systems informing the use of space. However, rarely do these sensing systems inform transformation towards urban sustainability. Drawing on four global urban case examples, we conceptualize how passive and active sensing systems should be harnessed to secure an inclusive, sustainable and resilient urban transformation. We derive principles for stakeholders highlighting the need for an iterative dialogue along a sensing loop, new modes of governance enabling direct feeding of sensed information, an account for data biases in the sensing processes and a commitment to high ethical standards, including open access data sharing.</p

Regulating Façade Length for Streetscapes of Human Scale

This paper starts from the hypothesis that streetscapes with shorter façade lengths are more pleasant for pedestrians than long and monotonous façades. It analyses four case studies where short façade lengths were implemented by applying different means of regulation and gives insight into an experimental planning example from Schlieren, Switzerland. Through the investigation of these cases, different possibilities to regulate façade length were revealed and categorised. The applied comparative case study analysis and comparative approach showed that most case studies are project-based solutions, either by applying text-based regulations or by reducing parcel size. The experiment in Schlieren offered a possibility to reduce façade length to a maximum value within the standard building regulations (Rahmennutzungsplanung) and therefore make it applicable to more than just singular projects. This approach failed, since it falls into the category of form-based codes, which in the canton of Zurich are by law not allowed in all zones. The experiment showed, however, that form-based codes can act as a powerful alternative to reduce façade length if parcel size cannot be influenced and more than just one single project perimeter is to be regulated

Raumplanung in Deutschland - Formeller Aufbau und zukünftige Aufgaben. Spatial planning in Germany - Formal structure and future tasks

Diese Arbeit berichtet nicht nur über den Stand der Planungspraxis und des Planungssystems in Deutschland, sondern versucht sich vor allem auch mit der Zukunft von Raumplanung und Raumentwicklung zu befassen

The Swiss Civil Society Sector in a Comparative Perspective

Switzerland has a strong nonprofit sector, with a long historical tradition and of high importance to the Swiss society. Elements such as independence, individual responsibility and self-help are social cornerstones which are deeply rooted in the mind of the Swiss population and have thus shaped Switzerland‟s entire social system. Over the centuries, these factors have led to the development of a large and significant civil society sector alongside the state (Helmig et al., 2009). The term “civil society sector” encompasses all nonprofit organizations (NPOs) existing between state and private firms, which are, in principle, sustained by private parties and do not pursue profit oriented goals (Etzioni, 1973; Levitt, 1973). Therefore, the civil society sector (or third sector) is best described as a complement to the two social constructs “state” and “economy”. NPOs point at the weaknesses in both state and economy, that consist of strong tendencies to rigid bureaucracy and the exclusive focus on profit maximization, respectively (Hansmann, 1980; Weisbrod, 1988). Meanwhile, in their way of functioning, they try to combine the strengths of the state and economy, which could be subsumed under predictability and public control on one side, and under flexibility and efficiency on the other (Seibel, 1990). To date, only a few details about the exact contribution of the NPOs to the total economic output of Switzerland are known. To some extent, this can be explained by the heterogeneous structure of the NPOs that constitute the Swiss civil society. This heterogeneous structure is visible not only in the difference in sheer size between large economic associations and small environmentalist groups, but also in the large scope of activities NPOs conduct, ranging from sports to advocacy to humanitarian aid abroad (Lichtsteiner et al., 2008). Because of this heterogeneity the civil society sector is seldom considered a separate sector as such. This working paper aims at narrowing down the term civil society sector in quantitative and qualitative terms, especially by discriminating between NPOs and organizations of the for-profit economic sector. The following chapter provides detail on the project‟s objectives, the approach to gathering and analyzing data, and the way in which NPOs have been defined for the purpose of this project. As a basis for this work, we used the guidelines of the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project (CNP) that has been dealing with the comparative study of this sector since the early 1990s. The research project sought to document the Swiss NPOs quantitatively, following the methodological guidelines spelled out in the United Nations Handbook on Nonprofit Institutions in the System of National Accounts (United Nations, 2003) and to compare the Swiss findings to those from other countries surveyed by the CNP. It also seeks to describe the Swiss nonprofit sector qualitatively by putting this set of institutions into historical and political context. As a result the study provides the first comprehensive empirical overview of the nonprofit sector in Switzerland enabling the systematic comparison of the Swiss results to those from other countries. These major empirical findings about the scope and scale of Switzerland‟s civil society sector will be summarized in Chapter 2. Furthermore this chapter examines the comparisons of the Swiss findings to those of the over 40 countries on which comparable data is available. Introduction IV Chapter 3 draws the key historical factors that shaped the development of NPOs in Switzerland. Chapter 4 addresses the key issues the sector is presently confronted with, particularly in terms of the impact of government policy. Finally, Chapter 5 discusses some conclusions from the findings presented here and outlines their implications for public policy, NPOs, and research