Urban development in Freiburg, Germany – sustainable and neoliberal?

In recent years, sustainable urban development has emerged as a relevant but contested field in urban studies. A broad and diverse literature has discussed sustainable development from various perspectives. Some authors have researched urban sustainability from a technocratic perspective, looking for technical and managerial solutions. Others have shed light on the political dimension of urban sustainable development in our times of urban neoliberalization. This branch of literature focuses on the problematic relationship between market-oriented growth on the one hand and aspects of equality and justice on the other hand, which come along with the idea of sustainability. This article argues that the professionalization and new forms of urban management, as well as a shift towards urban governance and citizens’ participation have intensified consensual practices of urban regulation. Sustainable politics that have occurred in many cities around the world place emphasis on justice, tolerance and participation as the principal drivers for urban development. Empirical evidence shows, however, that these goals are subjugated to economic growth. Drawing on empirical work carried out in Freiburg, Germany – a city long hailed as a forerunner of urban sustainable development – this article promotes the opinion that the idea of ‘sustainable development’ in its current form is nothing more than an oxymoron, aimed and invented as a fuzzy concept in order to disguise the fundamentalist believe in growth that lies beyond such development

Setting the ground for global city formation: Neoliberalisation and local elites in Frankfurt on the Main

This paper approaches the global city concept from a local perspective taking into account the political action of local elites in times of urban neoliberalisation. Drawing on the empirical research carried out in Frankfurt (Main), we argue that the very beginnings of the global city formation were less a result of global processes superseding local ones, as is often argued, but rather emerged out of local political action contested by local protests. In the first part, we will revisit the global city concept and contrast it against a critique of urban neoliberalisation. The second focuses on reviewing the history of urban restructuring in the Frankfurt Westend during the 1960s and 1970s. We suggest that the transformation of the Westend into a “strategic site of global control” (Sassen 2011) has been constructed as a narrative in order to legitimise local forms of real estate speculation, marketisation of commodification. Our paper tries to unfold the logics and strategies of such neoliberal urbanisation by critically reflecting upon historical events since the 1960s

Extension of the ANSYS® creep and damage simulation capabilities

The user programmable features (UPF) of the finite element code ANSYS® are used to generate a customized ANSYS-executable including a more general creep behaviour of materials and a damage module. The numerical approach for the creep behaviour is not restricted to a single creep law (e.g. strain hardening model) with parameters evaluated from a limited stress and temperature range. Instead of this strain rate - strain relations can be read from external creep data files for different temperature and stress levels. The damage module accumulates a damage measure based on the creep strain increment and plastic strain increment of the load step and the current fracture strains for creep and plasticity (depending on temperature and stress level). If the damage measure of an element exceeds a critical value this element is deactivated. Examples are given for illustration and verification of the new program modules

Long-term follow-up of 22 psoriatic patients treated with ixekizumab after failure of secukinumab

Switching of biologic agents in treatment of plaque psoriasis is a common strategy. Only a few studies are available on switching between IL17A-blockers. In a retrospective study, we identified 22 psoriasis patients who, after failing secukinumab as a first IL17A-blocker received ixekizumab with an observation period of at least 24 weeks. At last observation 10/22 patients had a good response (PASI75 or PASI<3) using ixekizumab therapy. None of five patients with primary non-response to secukinumab reached a good, durable response to ixekizumab. In conclusion, ixekizumab appears to be a therapeutic option as a second IL17A-blocker in psoriasis patients who did not show a primary non-response to secukinumab

Contesting sustainable transportation: bicycle mobility in Boston and beyond

This article traces the social and political aspects of cycling mobility in the Boston area. For some, attracting a certain desirable demographic by investing in bicycle infrastructure is problematic because it could lead to gentrification. Not investing in low-income neighborhoods, however, could be seen as a perpetuation of an unjust distribution of resources. While the bicycle is a common cost-efficient choice among low-income residents, it also symbolizes a privilege for new urban elites, although for very different reasons. Drawing on interview data gathered between 2015 and 2016 with city officials, cycling associations, and transportation planners, the article details the different narratives that unfold in the construction of bicycling infrastructure: First, bicycling has often been conceptualized in the rhetoric of Boston city officials in terms of economic growth. The promotion of cycling helps satisfy the city’s ostensible need to attract or retain a well-educated, young and mobile workforce for whom good bike infrastructure is a criterion when choosing places to work and live. Second, some have observed that bicycle infrastructure in the US is often included in neighborhoods that are undergoing processes of gentrification or have recently been gentrified. Third, bicycle infrastructure improvements have been met with suspicion or resistance by residents in neighborhoods where displacement – or the fear of it – is an issue. This article shows that bicycle mobility in the US is charged with social dynamics which influence the way bicycle mobility is conceptualized, both as a social practice and as a political strategy.

Integrierte Stadtentwicklungsprogramme – eine „Vertrauens-Konstellation“: Beispiele aus Frankfurt a. M. und Mailand

Seit Beginn der 1990er Jahre werden in vielen europäischen Städten integrierte Entwick-lungsprogramme umgesetzt. Als politisches Instrument verfolgen sie das Ziel, neue Stadtpolitiken im Mehrebenensystem zu platzieren, die zur Lösung lokaler Probleme – wie sozialer Exklusion in benachteiligten Nachbarschaften – beitragen sollen. Heute stellen integrierte Entwicklungsprogramme eine der vielversprechenden politischen Antworten dar, um multi-dimensionale Problemlagen und „negative Diskriminierungen“ der „wahrhaft Benachteiligten“ zu bewältigen, die sich zunehmend in den Peripherien der Städte abspielen. Um ein solch hohes Ziel realisieren zu können, greifen integrierte Entwicklungsprogramme auf „weiche“ und „kommunikative“ Planungsinstrumente zurück, durch die unterschiedliche Akteure befähigt werden, in formellen Planungsprozessen zu kooperieren. Ausgehend von den eigenen empirischen Untersuchungen zwischen den Jahren 2005 und 2007, wurden in der vorliegenden Studie mittels qualitativer Forschungsmethoden die Koordinationsprozesse in zwei unterschiedlichen integrierten Entwicklungsprogrammen in Mailand und Frankfurt untersucht. An zentraler Stelle stand die Frage nach den Vertrauensbeziehungen der Akteure und deren Wirken auf das jeweilige Programm. Dabei wurde konzeptionell und empirisch zwischen personenbasiertem und institutionellem Vertrauen unterschieden. Während der täglichen Umsetzung von Governance auf der Quartiersebene konnte festgestellt werden, dass die theoretisch noch zu ziehende Trennung zwischen Formalität und Informalität in der Praxis von den Akteuren umgangen und zusehends verzerrt wurde. Auch die Zuordnung von Kompetenzen der einzelnen vertikalen Verwaltungsebenen konnte stellenweise nicht mehr eindeutig nachvollzogen werden, da durch die Kooperation unterschiedlicher Akteure auch unterschiedliche Interessen, unterschiedliche Kompetenzen und verschiedene Handlungsroutinen Einzug in das Programm gehalten hatten. Regionale und städtische Vertreter, private und öffentliche Akteure, Zivilgesellschaft und Markt stellten zusammen ein Kaleidoskop von Visionen und Interessen auf, in dem das Komplexitätsniveau derart anstieg, dass die erfolgreiche Umsetzung des Programms wiederholt gefährdet wurde. Durch das Fehlen starker, formeller Mechanismen und regelnder Strukturen fiel personenbasiertem und institutionellem Vertrauen, als informellen Mechanismen, die Bedeutung zu, die hohe Komplexität zu reduzieren. In beiden Programmen reagierten die Akteure auf die Komplexität des Programms erwar-tungsgemäß mit einem relativ hohen Niveau an personenbasiertem Vertrauen. Während aber in Frankfurt dieses personenbasierte Vertrauen durch institutionelles Vertrauen ergänzt wurde, stellte sich der Aufbau institutioneller Strukturen im Mailänder Kontext als schwierig dar. Infolge dessen war das Mailänder Programm wiederholt von schweren Problemen innerhalb des Koordinationsprozesses betroffen. Als Ergebnis kann festgehalten werden, dass institutionellem Vertrauen eine sehr viel stärkere Bedeutung innerhalb integrierter Entwicklungsprogramme zufällt, da dadurch innerhalb der Programme neue Regelungsstrukturen geschaffen werden, die dazu führen, eine neue politische Kultur zu etablieren. Integrierte Entwicklungsprogramme erscheinen damit nicht nur als lokal begrenzte politische Intervention, ihnen liegt vielmehr eine übergeordnete Bedeutung inne. Das vorliegende Werk wirft einen kritischen Blick auf integrierte Entwicklungsprogramme, indem es das hohe Komplexitätsniveau der Koordinationsprozesse betrachtet und hinterfragt. Nach mehr als zwei Dekaden der Durchführung integrierter Entwicklungsprogramme in europäischen Städten und nachdem die Europäische Kommission in der Leipzig-Charta erneut auf die Wichtigkeit von Governance in diesem Zusammenhang verwiesen hat, möchte diese Analyse dazu beitragen, mithilfe eines neo-institutionellen Ansatzes in der wissenschaftlichen Diskussion vor allem das hohe planerische Risiko eines auf Governance aufbauenden Planungswegs zu thematisieren.Since the 1990s integrated urban development programmes have been established in almost all European cities. They are a political instrument for implementing new urban policies in the multilevel system of urban policies and are aimed at tackling local problems such as social exclusion and urban deprivation in “deprived” neighbourhoods. Today, integrated development programmes are considered to be the most promising political answer to overcome multifaceted “negative discriminations” and to prevent further deterioration of the conditions of the “truly disadvantaged” in the urban peripheries of European cities. In order to realize this ambitious objective integrated development programmes place emphasis on “weak” and “communicative” planning tools that enable various actors to cooperate in formal planning processes. Based on empirical findings gathered between 2005 and 2007, I have analyzed coordination processes in two different integrated development programmes in the periphery of Milan (Italy) and Frankfurt (Germany). In my empirical research, I approached co-ordination processes in both case studies by interpersonal and institutional trust. Unlike traditional modes of urban planning, in both case studies coordination and cooperation included formal as well as informal mechanisms. During the daily implementation of Governance on the local level, in both case studies existing boundaries between formality and informality became blurred and even the contour of the levels of vertical political-administrational structures got increasingly fuzzy and barely traceable due to different levels of interests, different levels of authority and different routines of all actors involved. Regional and urban as well as local representatives, private and public actors, civil society and the market have built together a kaleidoscope of visions and interests, where the level of complexity repeatedly challenged the success of both programmes. Within this environment the level of trust appears as crucial. As expected, actors in both programmes have shown a relatively high degree of interpersonal trust relations. But, while in Frankfurt these relations have been supplemented by institutional trust, the Milanese programme failed in developing a stable institutional arrangement. As a result, the Milanese programme has been faced with serious problems regarding the process of coordination. Accordingly, institutional trust seems to be more important for bridging the gap caused by the absence of traditional planning processes and their structuring order. Institutional trust relates to new roles, routines and norms that are expected to establish a new political culture. As thus, local governance programmes should no longer be understood as only a territorial intervention in the neighborhood, but have a more important meaning to urban politics. This book offers a rather critical perspective of integrated development programmes by questioning the high level of complexity of coordination processes. After more than two decades of integrated planning in Europe and the European Commission’s recent appeal to strengthen the governance tools for integrated programmes, the author tries to propose an alternative perspective on integrated development programmes now taking into account also the difficulties and the high level of risk within this planning process.Dall’inizio degli anni ‘90 in molte città europee sono stati messi in atto i Programmi di Sviluppo Integrato. Essi rappresentano lo strumento per l’implementazione di nuove politiche locali nel sistema multilivello delle policies urbane, e sono rivolti alla soluzione di problemi quali l’esclusione sociale e la deprivazione urbana nei quartieri svantaggiati. Oggi, i Programmi di Sviluppo Integrato sono considerati la risposta più promettente sia per la soluzione delle situazioni problematiche multidimensionali sia per la prevenzione dell’ulteriore deterioramento di quelle condizioni di reale svantaggio presenti nelle periferie urbane delle città europee. Al fine di realizzare un obiettivo così ambizioso, tali Programmi si affidano a strumenti di pianificazione “morbidi” e “comunicativi”, che mettono in grado i diversi attori di cooperare nei processi formali di pianificazione. A partire dai risultati di precedenti ricerche, svolte tra il 2005 ed il 2007, nel presente studio vengono analizzati i processi di coordinamento di due diversi Programmi di Sviluppo Integrato, quello di Milano e quello di Francoforte attraverso la questione della fiducia interpersonale e istituzionale. Diversamente dalle modalità tradizionali della pianificazione urbana, nei due casi esaminati, la cooperazione e il coordinamento implicavano sia meccanismi formali che informali. Nella pratica quotidiana del doing Governance a livello locale, i confini esistenti tra informalità e formalità divengono sfumati, spesso oltrepassati o vistosamente distorti dagli attori coinvolti. Tale sovrapposizione rende persino complesso individuare in modo chiaro la suddivisione delle competenze dei singoli livelli politico-amministrativi, poiché, assieme ai diversi attori, nel programma sono coinvolti interessi, livelli di autorità e prassi differenti. I rappresentanti della politicà regionale che locale, la società civile e il mercato hanno costruito un caleidoscopio di interessi e punti di vista in cui il livello di complessità aumenta tanto da mettere a rischio l’attuazione degli stessi programmi. Il grado di fiducia è dunque cruciale. In entrambi i programmi, come prevedibile, gli attori hanno mostrato un grado relativamente alto di fiducia nelle relazioni interpersonali, ma, mentre a Francoforte queste relazioni si sono integrate con la fiducia istituzionale, nel contesto milanese la costituzione di strutture istituzionali stabili è risultata problematica. Il risultato è stato che il programma di Milano e il processo di coordinamento in particolare, hanno dovuto affrontare seri problemi. All’interno dei Programmi di Sviluppo Integrato la fiducia istituzionale ricopre un’importanza ulteriore, poiché, proprio grazie a questa, vengono create nuove strutture regolatrici, all’interno dello programma stesso, che contribuiscono a stabilire una nuova politica culturale, colmando quel gap causato dall’assenza dei processi di pianificazione tradizionali. Allo stesso modo, i Programmi di Governance locale non possono considerarsi semplicemente meri interventi politici su di un quartiere ma assumono maggiore importanza per le politiche urbane. Il filo conduttore alla base di questo testo è una prospettiva critica dei Programmi di Sviluppo Integrato che osserva e mette in discussione l’elevata complessità dei processi di coordinamento. Dopo più di due decenni di attuazione di questi Programmi nelle città europee e dopo che la commissione europea, con la Carta di Lispia, ha rafforzato l’importanza della Governance in questo ambito, questo libro fornisce, attraverso un approccio neo-istituzionale, un contributo alla discussione e alla tematizzazione dei rischi che i processi di pianificazione comportano