Civic Crowdfunding as Instrument for Urban Development

Im Mittelpunkt der Masterarbeit steht das Potenzial von Civic Crowdfunding als Instrument der Stadtentwicklung. Zu Beginn werden konzeptionelle Überlegen bezüglich Civic Crowdfunding angestellt und die Verbindung zu aktuellen theoretischen Diskursen in der Stadtforschung hergestellt. Anschließend werden anhand einer vergleichenden Fallstudienanalyse zwischen mehreren Europäischen und einer US-Amerikanischen Stadt, die Stärken und Schwächen von Civic Crowdfunding in der Stadtentwicklung aufgezeigt und diskutiert. Der empirischen Forschung liegen leitfaden-gestürzte Experteninterviews und eine anschließende zweidimensionale Inhaltsanalyse zu Grunde, sowie außerdem eine kritische Literaturanalyse, eine Analyse ausgewählter online Crowdfunding Plattformen und Besichtigungen von aktuellen Civic Crowdfunding Projekten. Abschließend werden aus den empirischen Forschungsergebnissen Handlungsempfehlungen für den planerischen- und politischen Umgang mit Civic Crowdfunding abgeleitetThe thesis deals with the new trend of Civic Crowdfunding and evaluates it as an instrument for urban development. First, the work seeks to develop a theoretical foundation and to embed Civic Crowdfunding in contemporary discourses in Urban Studies. The empirical research of the work is based on a comparative case study analysis between selected Western-European Cities and one US-American city. The methods include semi-structured interviews with experts and a content analysis, as also a critical literature review, an analysis of several online Crowdfunding Platforms and site visits of ongoing and implemented Civic Crowdfunding projects. With the help of case studies, the potential of Civic Crowdfunding as an instrument for urban development is demonstrated and benefits and risks are identified. Lastly, the results are discussed in-depth and the usage in the context of urban development is evaluated. The thesis concludes with recommendations for the favorable utilization of Civic Crowdfunding

When does population growth pay off? A case study of suburban land consumption to assess the Lower Austrian infrastructural cost calculator

Avaa käsikirjoitus, kun julkaisu on Published-tilassa!‘To increase the number of inhabitants’ is a commonly stated top objective in municipal strategies across European countries. Not differently in Austria, local policy follows a logic of growth as financial tax and redistribution systems reward according to population figures; but is demographic growth necessarily financially beneficial for a municipality, irrespective of the type of land use changes, and potentially urban sprawl, that it triggers? The Federal State of Lower Austria offers to its municipalities a strategic online planning tool to pre-assess eventual municipal infrastructural costs and tax revenues that would come with certain population increase. This study tests the Lower Austrian infrastructural cost calculator and, in so doing, seeks to add a spatial perspective to an otherwise oversimplified financial calculation of planning for growth. The case study municipality of Michelhausen formulated an ambitious objective of 25% population growth (+ 700 inhabitants) within a few years in its local development strategy, to be realised by enlarging a rural settlement area. The study will assess five possible alternatives of settlement enlargement with varying housing types for their municipal financial consequences. In conducting this case study, the infrastructural cost calculator, a strategic planning tool offered by the federal planning authority of Lower Austria to their municipalities, will be assessed for its current potential as well as possible enhancement as strategic planning instrument to support municipalities in financial questions when developing building land. Normative lessons drawn from the whole exercise directly address actors and decision-makers in local and regional planning context in Lower Austria. The study ends with a short outlook of possible learnings and transfer into other national and international planning practice contexts.Peer reviewe

Understanding and Managing Vacant Houses in Support of a Material Stock-Type Society—The Case of Kitakyushu, Japan

From a sustainable material management perspective, vacant houses represent material stock and still have potential in the circular economy. This article addresses two aspects of understanding and managing vacant houses: the difficulty of understanding their spatial and temporal patterns and the management of the social costs behind the phenomenon of vacant houses. These aspects are approached by combining a 4D GIS analysis with expert interviews and additional qualitative tools to assess the spatial and temporal dimension of vacant houses. Furthermore, this manuscript presents a tool to estimate the obsolete dwelling material stock distribution within a city. The case of the city of Kitakyushu demonstrates the relationship that exists between the historical trajectories of housing norms and standards, such as comfort, cleanliness, safety, and convenience, and the dynamics of the built material stock and demography for three selected neighbourhoods. The results show that the more locked-in a district is in terms of “obsolete norms and codes”, the more likely it is that the obsolete stock is dead, and consequently, urban mining should be considered. The article concludes that a revisiting of the norms and standards of convenience and other domains is one of the prerequisites of the transition toward a circular built environment and the prevention of obsolete stock accumulation.</jats:p

Understanding and Managing Vacant Houses in Support of a Material Stock-Type Society—The Case of Kitakyushu, Japan

From a sustainable material management perspective, vacant houses represent material stock and still have potential in the circular economy. This article addresses two aspects of understanding and managing vacant houses: the difficulty of understanding their spatial and temporal patterns and the management of the social costs behind the phenomenon of vacant houses. These aspects are approached by combining a 4D GIS analysis with expert interviews and additional qualitative tools to assess the spatial and temporal dimension of vacant houses. Furthermore, this manuscript presents a tool to estimate the obsolete dwelling material stock distribution within a city. The case of the city of Kitakyushu demonstrates the relationship that exists between the historical trajectories of housing norms and standards, such as comfort, cleanliness, safety, and convenience, and the dynamics of the built material stock and demography for three selected neighbourhoods. The results show that the more locked-in a district is in terms of &ldquo;obsolete norms and codes&rdquo;, the more likely it is that the obsolete stock is dead, and consequently, urban mining should be considered. The article concludes that a revisiting of the norms and standards of convenience and other domains is one of the prerequisites of the transition toward a circular built environment and the prevention of obsolete stock accumulation