New Toolkits for Regional Sustainable Development

Zentrale Elemente von Nachhaltigkeit sind ein langfristiger Zeithorizont und Politikintegration. Um dies auf regionaler Ebene zu erreichen, sind neue Kommunikationsformen notwendig. Als Katalysator können eine Reihe neuer, computergestützter Informations- und Kommunikationsinstrumente dienen. Insbesondere ihre Integration trägt dazu bei, kritische Masse-Effekte, zersplitterte Verantwortlichkeiten und Kurzfristdenken zu überwinden

Solving urban problems through co-creation: The LOOPER project

The aim of this paper is to present the LOOPER participatory co-creation methodology and platform developed in the Learning Loops in the Public Realm (LOOPER) project to demonstrate ‘learning loops’ i.e. new ways of decision-making which bring together citizens, stakeholders and policy-makers to iteratively learn how to address urban challenges. The methodology and platform are demonstrated in three Living Labs with different spatial, cultural and thematic contexts. The main issues are traffic and mobility in Brussels; traffic and green space in Manchester; and air and noise pollution in Verona. The paper discusses the LOOPER approach to support finding solutions to urban problems in a participatory co-creation process. The experiences from the LOOPER Living Labs show that combining offline and online participation tools is often necessary in co-creation and that online tools should have a low entry threshold. Furthermore, formal evaluation methods can be effective tools in ensuring stakeholder participation

Seeing the wood for the trees: Social Science 3.0 and the role of visual thinking

© 2016 ICCR Foundation. Social Science is increasingly called on to address “grand challenges”, “wicked problems”, “societal dilemmas” and similar problematiques. Examples include climate change, the war on drugs and urban poverty. It is now widely agreed that the disciplinary structure of academic science, with its journals, curricula, peer communities, etc., is not well suited to such trans-disciplinary, ill-bounded, controversial issues, but the ways forward are not yet clear or accepted by the mainstream. The concept of a next generation paradigm of “Science 3.0” has emerged through work on sustainability systems analysis, and for this multiple channels for learning, thinking and communications are essential. Visual thinking in its many forms (from technical representation or mapping, to photography or video, to design or illustration, to fine art) can bring to the table tacit and “felt” knowledge, creative experience and links from analysis with synthesis. This paper first sketches the contours of a Social Science 3.0, and then demonstrates with examples how visual thinking can combine with rational argument, or extend beyond it to other forms of experience

Dealing with sustainability trade-offs of the compact city in peri-urban planning across European city regions. European Planning Studies

ABSTRACT The compact city has become a leading concept in the planning of peri-urban areas. The compact city concept is often advocated as "sustainable" because of claims that include lower emissions and conservation of the countryside. The literature shows, however, that there are certain trade-offs in striving for compaction, especially between environmental and social aspects of sustainability. In this article, we describe expressions of the compact city concept in the planning practice of several European urban sample regions, as well as policies and developments that contradict the compact city. We look at examples of positive and negative impacts of the compact city that were observed in the sample regions. Further, we discuss attempts by planners to deal with sustainability trade-offs. Being aware that developments in the peri-urban areas are closely connected to those in the inner city, we compare the sample regions in order to learn how the compact city concept has been used in planning peri-urban areas across different contexts in Europe: in Western, Central and Mediterranean Europe, and with growing, stable or declining populations. We conclude with recommendations with respect to balance in applying the compact city concept

Strategies for Sustainable Urban Development and Urban-Rural Linkages

An important driving force behind urban expansion is the growth of the urban population. But for Europe, this is not a sufficient explanation. The major trend is that European cities have become much less compact. Since the mid-1950s European cities have expanded on average by 78%, whereas the population has grown by only 33%. In the PLUREL project - an integrated project within the EU’s 6th Research Framework Programme - more than 100 researchers from 15 countries analysed the impacts of urban land consumption at a pan-European level and, through six European and one Chinese case studies, identified how land use conflicts and the pressure towards periurban areas can be strategically managed in different development and regulatory contexts. To summarise, the following strategies were identified as important steps towards more sustainable urban-rural futures: (i) better coordination of transport, land use and open space planning; (ii) urban containment and densification – development of a green compact city; (iii) preservation of blue and green infrastructure; and (iv) preservation of agricultural land and the promotion of local production. The need also remains to strengthen governance at the regional level while at the pan-European level there is clearly a need for more policy attention to be given to urban-rural linkages