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Sozialer Wohnbau. Internationale Bauausstellungen. Beide sind über hundert Jahre alt. Was auf den ersten Blick zusammenpasst – die Welthauptstadt sozialen Wohnbaus präsentiert sich mit der ersten österreichischen IBA einmal mehr auf der internationalen Bühne – wird bei näherer Betrachtung komplex. Denn Wien interpretiert das traditionsreiche Instrument IBA anders und schreibt dem weltweit bestaunten sozialen Wohnbau das Neue auf die Fahnen. Warum eigentlich? Diese Resonanzstudie reflektiert, wie die IBA_Wien gearbeitet und was sie beigetragen hat; mit ihrem Team, aber vor allem als Prozess mit vielen Beteiligten aus Wien und der Welt. Dafür haben wir 55 Menschen aus aktiven Institutionen und Fachöffentlichkeit gefragt, wie sie die IBA_Wien von ihren Anfängen ab 2012 über den Startschuss 2016 bis kurz vor der Abschlusspräsentation 2022 erlebt haben. Dieses Hinhören war lohnend. Wir hörten starke Anerkennung und kritische Hinweise, konstruktive Vorschläge und geistreiche Impulse, offene Widersprüche und deutliche Gesprächsbedarfe, gemeinsame Haltungen und weiterführende Fragen. Diese vielfältigen Resonanzen stellen wir dar, analysieren sie, ordnen sie ein und lernen aus ihnen. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die IBA_Wien kein isoliertes Projekt in einem abgegrenzten Zeitraum ist. Sie ist eingebettet in größere Themen und längere Entwicklungslinien. Sie ist eine kleine und temporäre Akteurin in einem komplexen, langfristig orientierten, kontinuierlich weiterentwickelten, leistungsfähigen und einzigartigen System sozialen Wohnbaus. Dieses System befindet sich, genauso wie das Instrument IBA, seit über hundert Jahren in einem permanenten Lernprozess. Es zeigt sich, dass die IBA_Wien als Plattform in diesem System Lernprozesse sichtbar machen und unterstützen konnte. Dafür hat sie selbst laufend gelernt, und dafür erfährt sie breite Wertschätzung. Doch den Interviewten ist vor allem der Blick nach vorne wichtig: Angesichts gegebener Herausforderungen wird Lernen immer noch wichtiger werden. Die IBA_Wien zeigt hierfür über ihren eigenen Abschluss hinaus Wege und Möglichkeiten auf. Sozialer Wohnbau. Internationale Bauausstellungen. Beide lernen seit über hundert Jahren. 2022 treffen sie sich in Wien und fragen: Was lernen wir morgen?, Die IBA_Wien ist 2016 mit der Mission ausgerufen worden, angesichts globaler Herausforderungen in Wiens sozialem Wohnbau innovative Projekte und Prozesse in Gang zu setzen, zu unterstützen und zu kommunizieren. Das future.lab wurde beauftragt zu durchleuchten, inwieweit und wie dies gelungen ist. Kurz vor der Abschlusspräsentation 2022 wurden im Rahmen der Resonanzstudie die stattgefundenen Aktivitäten und Prozesse aus verschiedenen Blickwinkeln reflektiert. Dafür wurden 55 Menschen aus aktiven Institutionen und Fachöffentlichkeit gefragt, wie sie die IBA_Wien von ihren Anfängen ab 2012 über den Startschuss 2016 bis kurz vor der Abschlusspräsentation 2022 erlebt haben. Als Ergebnis werden 7 Impulse für Wien und Lerneffekte zum Instrument formuliert. Neben dieser Innenperspektive, die Andreas Bernögger und Rudolf Scheuvens (future.lab TU Wien) bearbeitet haben, nahmen Uli Hellweg (ehem. Geschäftsführer IBA Hamburg), Brigitte Scholz (Leitung Kölner Amt für Stadtentwicklung) und Klaus Selle (em. Professor für Planungstheorie und Stadtentwicklung, RWTH Aachen) eine Außenperspektive ein.

Planung neu denken online 2015,2, 61 Seiten(2015)., Published by RWTH, Aachen

RWTH-Themen 2012(1), 24-29(2012). special issue: "Architektur & Wissenschaft / [hrsg. im Auftr. des Rektors: Dezernat Presse und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit der RWTH Aachen. Verantw.: Toni Wimmer]", Published by RWTH, Aachen

Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, 2018; Aachen 1 Online-Ressource (289 Seiten) : Illustrationen, Diagramme, Karten (2019). = Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, 2018, Integrated (city-wide) development concepts serve as orientation frameworks for future evolvement of a city considering multilateral interests. The implementation of these concepts requires diverse negotiation processes including stakeholders from politics, administration, but also with market actors and a multilayered civil society. Why and how these negotiation processes between and with these actors on the city-wide level are designed is the subject of this dissertation., Published by Aachen

Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, 2018; Aachen 1 Online-Ressource (245 Seiten) : Illustrationen, Karten (2019). = Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, 2018, Various groups participate in the development of urban spaces: the decisions and actions of administrations, neighbors, local retailers, politicians, associations, investors and many others influence the image of our cities. However, a dichotomous point of view (‘the municipality’ on the one side and ‘the citizens’ on the other side) persists both in research and practice. This perspective is no longer suitable to describe the reality of communicative diversity: when urban spaces are being developed, we find various negotiations, discussions, conversations, political debates and civic participations, which so far have neither been systematically recorded nor described. Communication is the main interest of this work for it is an important instrument to deal with the interrelations between these groups. Such ‘multilateral communication’ refers to much more than mere civic participation. It includes all individual actions that serve intermediation in planning processes, even the conversations that take place without the participation of the public. The present research shows that especially these closed meetings have a great influence on the planning processes and their topics. Public space is the structure of our cities. It fulfills various ecological, economic, political and social functions for society. In public space the requirements and interests of different groups overlap; managing and mediating these interests in the context of planning processes of public spaces requires a high degree of communication. Such overlapping of private interests and public concerns make planning processes of public spaces an appropriate subject for analyzing multilateral communication. Six (re)design processes of public spaces are at the center of this work. The systematic description and analysis results in new insights on multilateral communication and closes the research gap described above. This work is closely linked to a research project (‘multi|kom’) that was conducted at the Chair of Planning Theory, RWTH Aachen university, from 2015-2018. It engages multilateral communication in processes of urban development. The six processes are elucidated by employing five aspects to interrogate the entire spectrum of participants: ‘content’ (of planning and communication),’actors’, ‘communication design’, ‘framework conditions’ and ‘goals and motives’ across the entire spectrum of participants. Furthermore, this dissertation is especially focused on analyzing the roles of local stakeholders in these processes. This refers to non-municipal actors such as adjacent residents, traders, institutions or even investors. Potential sources of conflict between them and other groups of participants as well as strategies for reconciliation will be sought – the extent to which their acting influences the events will be investigated.The six case studies are processes for (re-)designing public spaces in Germany which employed multilateral communication and which are still being implemented or which were completed within the last five years. An extended research was made on each project and its communicative events by investigating the local press, city websites and council information systems. While city councils are often eager to document civic participation in design processes, hardly any statements can be made on bilateral negotiations and other non-public communication. In order to gather information about them, a total of 32 multi-perspective interviews form an invaluable source for the present research. In the first part of the dissertation, the current state of research on the topics of multilateral communication and public space is presented, while its motivation, questioning and methodology are explained subsequently. The description of the six case studies forms the second, empirical part. In the concluding third part, a cross-analysis of the case studies is conducted considering seven research questions, which were mentioned at the beginning, as well as a brief summary of the most important results. As the cross-evaluation of the case studies shows, local stakeholders influenced all processes, even if public authorities were in charge of the project management. The debates were dominated by the question of ‘transport’, regardless whether streets or squares were the subject of redesign. From the point of view of many stakeholders, parking spaces and their maintenance or elimination are of particular importance. The investigations revealed that the responsible authorities carry out many of the communicative activities in order to increase the acceptance of redesign and planning processes. Stakeholders, however, are involved in the processes in order to inform themselves about developments in their (personal or economic) environment and to assert their own interests. One of the most frequent causes of conflicts is the drop in sales among merchants during the construction phase. Furthermore, often the process of communication and implementation (e.g. from application to approval of funding) is tedious, which often causes a lack of understanding amongst non-municipal actors. Designated people in charge on all sides as well as ongoing information and advertising concepts for the construction phase proved to be helpful in many cases. A positive attitude in the local press also plays an important role when it comes to the public’s acceptance of planning processes and its attention to necessary measures. Overall, it is very important that administrative actors are aware of public and private interests and of those groups which are affected by resulting transformations.Stakeholders appear in different roles and thus influence the processes and design of spaces. Especially when it comes to maintaining parking spots in the business environment of local retailers, they rigorously claim their interest in them – without owning direct rights to these spaces. These influences are usually not publicly documented, which can be problematic if municipal decision-making is driven by singular stakeholders. Multilateral communication in the redesign of public spaces is already common practice; it can be found in various planning tasks and in very diverse starting situations. Since the communicative processes and their effects, possibilities of conflict avoidance and the dimension of influence of non-municipal actors on the processes are essentially unexplored, this dissertation delivers an important contribution to the understanding of the management of interrelations through communication and responds to the lack of research described above. The involvement of various groups in the design of urban spaces is without alternatives – so it is all the more important to deal with the different interests and concerns. A deliberate and conscious design of interdependencies through communication thus represents an opportunity for the design of high-quality and accepted public spaces., Published by Aachen

RWTH Aachen University, Diss., 2017; 225 Seiten(2017)., The economic significance of the German real estate market is immense. Alongside buyers and sellers, estate agents and real estate companies, notaries, lawyers etc., real estate experts are also active in the real estate sector. Expert assessment has a long tradition in Germany and is highly respected internationally. Despite the importance of real estate evaluation, basic de-mands of the expert in practising their job are not present initially. As such, there are countless “experts” on the highly fragile real estate market without appropriate qualifications. They have the unprotected designation of “expert” (German: Sachverständige) and are not subject to any checks.The expert assessment sector in Germany, unregulated in many areas, has led to growth and increased fragmentation. Overall, it is important to note that while the real estate market in Germany is of great economic significance, there are still countless situations in which, despite the professionalism and transparency which is demanded, the opposite is the result.The report is divided into four parts, with parts B and C forming the core of the report. The intro-duction, part A, covers the history, qualification and training of experts, different types of ex-perts, appraisals and the legal foundations of expert assessment in Germany. Each of the prob-lems and discrepancies which become apparent when dealing with these topics in context are formulated in context, graphically highlighted and summarised at the start of part B, which fol-lows.Part B deepens understanding of the problems determined in part A along with a detailed anal-ysis of the weak points. This part looks in more detail at the significance of public orders and oaths (German: Vereidigung), as well as personal certification, domestic professional associa-tions, and criticism of innovations and reforms in the area of expert assessment. In part C of the report, concrete possibilities for optimisation of the overarching, most pressing problems (core problems, as they are called) are worked out, based on the analysis of the weak points. Part D is intended as a supplement and as an outlook of the current trend. The focus here is on current development and trends in the real estate evaluation sector: Analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of online real estate evaluation.The goal of the dissertation is to depict the current system of the German expert assessment system, to recognise problems and weak points and to work out concrete suggestions for im-provement and optimisation in order to minimise any future failed developments and to achieve increased transparency and greater legal compliance for all parties involved., Published by Aachen

Urban waterside locations - researched in the big cities of Bonn, Cologne, Leverkusen, Neuss, Düsseldorf, Krefeld and Duisburg - are regionally significant and functionally important urban spaces as well as landscapes which shape the spine of the Rhine section in North-Rhine-Westphalia in a regional scale. Whereas the big cities consistently deal with the functions and design of urban waterside locations in context of urban master plans as well as individual projects, there aren´t any planning authority or planning instruments so far focusing exclusively on functions and design of urban waterside locations in context of the cultural landscape “Rheinschiene”. The research emanates from two theses: 1_Based on the historical urban development, individual imprints of urban waterside locations in the researched big cities influence the as a priority pursued municipal planning goals and transformations of urban waterside locations.2_As a result of the industrialization the researched river section is being seen from the view of higher administrative levels as a connected economic region with the river Rhine as a transportation link. Municipal unique features take a back seat. (Sectoral) Planning on a higher administrative level derives in many ways from the sum of local development goals, not least because those plans evolve from existing relationships and dependencies (concerning economic and transport, nature and landscape) mapped and converted into spatial-functional concepts (Trans-European networks, metropolitan area, cultural landscape). Nevertheless, planning conflicts arise from the different perspectives in particular as regards:• the quality of the heterogeneous types of use, • the sustainability of the transport systems, • the resilience of risk areas, • the qualities of a cultural landscape vs. a constantly transformed urban landscape,• local and regional competitions and synergies.Against the background of a large number of congruent local development interests, unresolved contradictions between local and higher-level plans, resulting challenges and tasks for the future and not least in view of subspaces whose urban spatial and functional integration cannot satisfy, there is a regional need for action. As a result of the research the following components of regional cooperation for a sustainable transformation of urban waterside locations are recommended: • an agreement of the Rhine residents between Bonn and Duisburg on a Rhine Charter "Rheinschiene", • the implementation of a “Regionale Rheinschiene", focusing on the cultural landscape "Rheinschiene", • the creation of a regional master plan "urban waterside locations" • a legally binding safeguard of regional planning expertise for the transformation of urban waterside locations.Perspectively to aim is a regional planning expertise for both the cultural landscape "Rheinschiene" and for the economic area "Rheinland/Rhein-schiene". Looking at the early, regional planning approaches in the Rhineland and the already practiced by Regional Cooperations regional planning based on municipal initiative and interests seems to play an important role for a successful transformation of urban waterside locations.

The thesis 'Change from the industrial area to an urban district : Zurich West. Spatial transformations – planning processes – conversion in use' deals with the development processes of inner city wastelands using the example of the development area Zurich West. To understand the complexity of the change processes, three perspectives were considered and put into relation: 1. spatial transitions, 2. planning processes and 3. types of land use, land use change and and spatial appropriation. With the structural transition from a Fordist to a post-Fordist economy in the eighties, many industrialized countries were faced with the retirement or migration of industry. This change resulted in the regional – infrastructural and functional – transformation of former industrial regions in a lot of cities. Due to the abundance of redevelopment projects, documentations and literature are extensive. Still, the current scientific debate mainly comprises partial approaches that analyse individual aspects and processes. To expand the knowledge of the dynamics and trajectories of regional change, it is necessary to capture the long-term processes of such urban transitions.The processes of change in Zurich West will therefore be investigated over a period of twenty-five years starting about 1990. The examined case study defines a development area in the West of the city Zurich, which has undergone manifold changes through political, economic, spatial and social restructuring – changing from a former industrial area to a new district of Zurich.The consideration of the urban development of the area is based on literature and documentary research, on interviews with urban planners and architects and the use of the method ‘mapping’. Guideline-based interviews with experts from politics, economics and planning, combined with a continuative review of the literature, served to understand the complex planning processes. The question of how spaces in Zurich West are converted and appropriated by local actors, has been investigated by means of narrative interviews with contemporary witnesses. Based on the methods a) participatory observation, b) mapping of everyday spaces and c) vignettes will be shown how the use of public spaces changes with the transition of the area.Regarding the relations between the three perspectives, it can be demonstrated that various conflicts and blockades can become apparent in such processes that limit or prevent their desired success. This includes that political or even ideological interests can block the development of an overall planning and potential structural changes. It can be demonstrated that a planning frame ‒ which was missing in Zurich West as a result of political battles that created inertia ‒ is needed to prevent spatial and functional fragmentation.Furthermore, it can be concluded that economic interests overrule aims and principles of urban planning and impair their realisation. It becomes apparent that there is a need for other regulations for public actors to control the development of public districts on mainly private property. The experiences made in Zurich West exemplify that informal deals between private and public actors were of great importance. They 1. occurred between partners who contributed private property or investment to the co-operation and 2. released intransparency, since important parts of the negotiations took place closed-door whereby open discourse was undermined.In addition, it can be concluded from the research that ‘option spaces’ can unfold due to blockages and ‘non-planning'. In Zurich West a variety of temporary uses in particular released a pulse on the following processes of change and initiated a subtle conversion of the former industrial area. Although Zurich West in fact transformed into a new district of Zurich, the density of interaction in the publicly available and accessible open spaces remains low.In order to learn from the experiences gained in Zurich West for similar planning tasks, further approaches and questions based on the main findings of this research were phrased. They refer to a) the spatial transition understood as overall planning, b) the urban objective to implement mixed-uses and the question of its realisability, c) options to regulate private development projects, d) public participation in cooperative plannings, e) temporary uses as urban catalyst and f) the use of public spaces. The dissertation closes with the question to what extend changes in planning tasks ‒ with which ‚urban planning’ is confronted with the development of inner city wasteland ‒ have an impact on the role of urban planners. The considerations lead to the conclusion that the redevelopment of inner city wasteland results from the interaction of many actors. Urban planning ‒ ideally ‒ takes over the leading and mediating role as ‘reality-conscious team player’ on a par with other actors.

In recent years, a relatively large number of World Heritage properties in Northern Europe, especially the ones located in the context of urban agglomerations, witnessed discussions about their ‘visual integrity’. Such discussions, referring to significant modifications of city images or landscape scenery (e.g. due to the erection of high-rise tower blocks or new infrastructural elements), appeared often in large-scale properties, the ‘World Heritage Landscapes’. In particular, the case of the Waldschlösschen Bridge, which led to a long, extremely emotional and somewhat painful debate and eventually to the deletion of the World Heritage property ‘Dresden Elbe Valley’ from the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2009, triggered an extremely high public attention. The PhD thesis ‘Landscape 4’ investigates the background of such questions about the ‘visual integrity’ of World Heritage properties on three different levels: The political background which led to the integration of landscapes as cultural heritage into the World Heritage programme, a detailed case study on the recent discussions about the visual Integrity of the World Heritage site Upper Middle Rhine Valley, and the historical background of the reception of the notion of landscape in Northern Europe. The investigation shows that the reasons for questions about the visual integrity of complex World Heritage properties on urban and regional scale very often do arise due to mistakes made during their nomination. In particular, stakeholders should be aware that inscription procedures of large-scale sites on the World Heritage List lead to very different expectations on various decision levels. Fuelled by the currently rising economical value of cultural heritage, especially due to the raising importance of mass tourism for cities and regions, ‘insiders’ with a strong relationship to local decision levels tend to see World Heritage nominations as a chance for a successful economical development for cities and regions. In contrary, ‘outsiders’ with a national and international background tend to stress the importance of the preservation and the conservation of such sites, their cityscapes and landscape scenery. As a result, the nomination of urban and cultural landscapes for the World Heritage List leads often to contradicting expectations on various decision levels. Against this background, the thesis provides recommendations concerning inscription processes, daily management and conflict management in Word Heritage properties. These recommendations are further elaborated in various case studies. Besides that, the PhD provides recommendations for future need in both fundamental and applied research.

Die Innenstädte als Handelsstandorte sind seit Jahren einem intensiven Strukturwandel ausgesetzt. Neben der Ansiedlung von Handelsflächen an dezentralen Standorten, stellen vor allem der Niedergang der Warenhäuser und die zunehmende Ausweitung des Online-Handels eine Herausforderung für den innerstädtischen Einzelhandel und seine überkommenen Strukturen dar. Aktuell verleiht die Expansion von Einkaufszen-tren an innerstädtischen Standorten diesem Veränderungsprozess eine besondere Dynamik. Einerseits besteht die Chance die mit der Warenhaus-Krise einhergehenden Attraktivitätsverluste durch die Ansiedlung von Einkaufszentren in den Innenstädten auszugleichen. Andererseits sind auch Befürchtungen durchaus berechtigt, die in der Ansiedlung innerstädtischer Einkaufszentren eher eine weitere Gefährdung für die Entwicklung der Innenstädte sehen. Vor allem die Standortwahl übt entscheidenden Einfluss auf Quantität, Qualität und Intensität der städtebaulichen Auswirkungen von Einzelhandelsnutzungen im Allgemeinen und Einkaufzentren im Besonderen aus. Folglich bildet eine - unter städtebaulichen Gesichtspunkten entwickelte - Standorttypologie den Ausgangspunkt, um Ursachen, Entstehung und Ausprägungen von durch Einkaufszentren hervorgerufenen Wirkungen nachzugehen und ihren Stellenwert in Stadtentwicklung, Städtebau und Planungsrecht zu ermitteln. Vertiefend werden Akteure aus Planung, Wirtschaft und Handel zu den eingetretenen positiven und negativen städtebaulichen Auswirkungen (ex-post-Perspektive) von 22 ausgewählten realisierten Einkaufszentren unterschiedlicher Standorttypen in NRW befragt. Da mit der Ansiedlung innerstädtischer Einkaufszentren ein ausgeprägtes Chancen-Risiko-Verhältnis in Bezug auf die Entwicklung der Innenstädte einher geht, werden die gewonnenen Erkenntnisse zu zwei planerischen Strategien verdichtet. Zum einen ein projektbezogener Qualifizierungsansatz, der vor allem die Grundlage bietet, potenzielle Risiken einzuschätzen und gezielt abzubauen. Zum anderen ein integrativer Ansatz, der die Ansiedlung von Einkaufszentren als möglichen Ausgangspunkt bzw. als wesentlichen Bestandteil einer zukunftsorientierten Innenstadt- und Zentrenentwicklung begreift. Abschließend werden die Rahmenbedingungen und Grundzüge eines Planungsprozesses dargestellt, dessen Ziel es ist, Chancen, Potenziale und Synergien systematisch für die Innenstadt als Mittelpunkt der Europäischen Stadt zu erschließen und nutzbar zu machen.

Based on the current structural and spatial transformations of especially European universities, the paper studies the various dimensions of the relationship between university and city in a predominantly qualitative urban research in texts and pictures in order to define the relevance of university sites for the townscape. As a result, starting points for planning activities are given. In a first investigation the universities’ development of building typologies and programmatic structure is being followed in their communal and urban environment, whereas the second investigation presents the current situation in respect to the institutions’ symbolic significance and internal activities by exploring different types of urban locations and spatial structures. Both rely on selected examples, which are uniformly presented. Starting with the prototypes of college and assembly hall, the genesis shows the development of representative ‘university palaces’, ensembles, and campuses paralleling the institution’s integration into the state apparatus. While the ‘university palaces’ resemble other representative buildings of the time, the campus can be regarded as an independent spatial form. Campuses can be found in the following constellations: in compact composition (central, dominant buildings with surrounding open spaces; main road), spacious composition (central, dominant open space with spaciously arranged surrounding buildings; ring road), and laminar composition (mixed areas of buildings and open spaces; road grid). Accordingly, three types of urban settings can be defined: the seldom found fragmented, integrated-urban setting in mostly inner-city locations, the generally dominating, distinguishable affiliated-urban setting in inner-city or suburban locations, and the self-sufficient setting in mostly rural locations, which was especially employed in the 20th century. Covering the spectrum of mentioned types, the second investigation studies functionally and spatially concise elements as well as sites of movement, sojourn and representation at four universities: at the RWTH Aachen University (D), at the Universitet Århus (DK), at the UNAM in Mexico City (MEX), and at the University of East Anglia in Norwich (UK). As a result, today’s university is more closely connected to the city as before by means of its programmatic structure (offers to diverse population groups), by urban and regional planning (joint or complementary building projects and marketing), although the institutions’ area sizes and building typologies bring forward a general introversion. Therefore, it is essential to counteract the latter by a good integration into the urban traffic system and into the surrounding townscape. The investigations show, that universities’ public spaces are strongly demanded for activities of sojourn and representation by internal users. Attractively designed spots, functional and spatial hierarchies as well as a functional heterogeneity (central and teaching/research facilities, catering and leisure facilities) increase activities of sojourn while considering the specifics of the university lifestyle of offering both spots of discourse and spots of seclusion. The institution’s representation relies on spots of collective events and on symbolic buildings and elements. Among the symbols are the per se representative historic main buildings, the historic central buildings along with the main open space of campuses and selected modern central buildings. Yet, the latter require a more striking appearance to become a unique solitary structure than the classical main buildings. Especially extra-curricular events taking place in central university spots as well as symbolic buildings play a role for townsfolk and therefore have the potential to strengthen the connection between university and city. Provided this partnership should be intensified a need for planning action arises particularly in the boundary areas of university sites: by an orchestration of symbolic buildings and by a stimulation of university’s and city’s public spaces along intersections by means of inviting buildings/façades, catering and leisure facilities as well as by attractive spots of sojourn. As a result, the paper shows that in addition to partnerships with the economy especially building and spatial typologies have the potential to sharpen a university’s profile and to contribute to the identification of its members and townsfolk with the institution.

Structural change is a constant process in urban development. In the same way that industrialisation had a dramatic effect for the towns on shaping their structure from the middle of the 19th century onwards, the process of deindustrialisation that began from the middle of the 1960’s also led to changes in the structure of towns. The structural change shows the way to areas being abandoned that could be used in new ways by the owners of the land, with the support of the relevant planning and approval processes by the local authorities. The literature primarily covers proposals for action and organisation regarding the revitalisation of the areas involved in these structural changes. The literature and research hardly touch at all on the question as to which roles the process sequences and relations of the main protagonists involved adopt in the complex planning and implementation processes that are part of restructuring and which approaches by control of the processes arise. Clearing this deficit is the start-ing point of this work and justifies the interest in researching it. The development sequences of nine cases from Düsseldorf and four external conversion cases were analysed and evaluated so as to obtain a knowledge of the overall conditions involved in complex renewal and restructuring processes. Why take Düsseldorf as an example? Düsseldorf contains, except for the collieries, the complete typological cross-section of abandoned areas that had formerly been used by the Montan industry, the railways, the post office and the harbour, an exemplary case that it is very suitable to examine the structural changes and the restructuring of the abandoned areas and the involved processes. The evaluation deals with the questions after the development processes and process structures from the areas abandoned up to the completion of the realization. Particularly the combination of participants, the chronological sequences, the strategic background, the cooperation structures between public control of the procedures and private project management, the restrictions, obstructions and success factors were looked at. The aim is to verify the thesis that a strategic and cooperative form of control of urban renewal processes is crucial to future urban development. The analysis and evaluation comes to the conclusion that the cases that had been selected show very long times for conversion. In some areas changes in the overall conditions resulting from the lengthy implementation times led to changes in the planning and implementation goals and also to a change in the structure of players involved. Varying rates of speed of development of the areas concerned were found. The result of it is that those areas being managed and run by the municipal administration and the persons responsible for the project have shorter implementation times than those that had been left entirely to market forces. In the latter areas there was only cooperation between the main players from time to time during the planning and approval procedures. A form of coordinated overall control was missing here. The long times to make the changes also meant that the period of the implementation and effective marketability of potential items on these sites such as apartments, shops, commercial buildings and offices is impossible to calculate. This makes it harder to plan the urban development in advance. The conclusion to be derived from this is that an active and cooperative form of control throughout the planning and implementation processes by the municipal authorities and the persons responsible for the project is indispensable. In addition to the requirement for control by the persons responsible for the project, this also involves in the case of the municipal authorities a cooperative and supportive form of complementary control during the prolonged periods of implementation. At the centre of this is the urban planning, by which the instruments should be balanced out the various interests of investors, the administrative authorities and the local citizens. The urban planning concept that has been developed jointly through a consensus is the base for the type and quality of the entire restructuring process from urban planning, urban design, economic and ecological points of view. This is secured by the municipal development planning. The urban construction contract regulates the sharing of the costs and the joint actions of the players involved. The control requirements related to urban renewal and their strategic orientation will be of increasing importance in future. While in the past the structural changes related to the giving up land use that became available for other purposes in individual segments such as commerce and industry, railways and post offices, in the future it will also be necessary to look at the towns and cities as a whole within their regional and global context.

Transurban spaces of consumption are a sub-category of the partly urban and partly rural space, for which the German urban planner and theoretician Thomas Sieverts in 1997 coined the term „Zwischenstadt“ translating in-between city or transurbia. Transurban spaces of consumption are a collective term comprising all architectonic and urbanistic implications on the built urban environment caused by the suburbanization of large-scale retail facilities. This fundamental study gives the first comprehensive and coherent account of transurban spaces formed by retail aggregations as seen from the point of view of architects and urban planners. The study bases on three columns represented by chronology, typology and field-studies. The chronology of transurban spaces of consumption traces the historic roots and the conditions under which these spaces developed in Germany over a period of over 60 years between 1945 and 2007. Considering retail-endogenous as well as retail-exogenous factors, it is stated, that the close spatial relationship between retail industry and the urban fabric has been partly lost. Thus mass consumption in the 20th and the early 21st century represents an important deflecting force of urban development. In the typology of transurban spaces of consumption eight prototypical retail centre types or location types are being defined and analysed according to their functional profiles and their position within the cityscape. These definitions of prototypes are complemented by reflections on their respective evolution and short case studies of built examples. The typology distinguishes between universal centre types, transgressive transurban centre types and structurally induced transurban centre or location types. Universal centre types can be operated irrespectively of their immediate urban or transurban surroundings. They are functioning in an inner-city setting as well as in a location in the periphery or in the open countryside. Shopping centres and urban entertainment centres belong to this first class. Transgressive transurban centre types emerged in transurbia but now setting out to slowly capture inner cities. This second class comprises power centres, corporate brandscapes and factory-outlet-centres. Structurally induced transurban centre or location types due to their land-take, range of goods and for reasons of profitability can only be successfully operated in transurban conditions. This applies for single- or multi-core agglomerations of large-scale retailers as well as automalls and single big-box markets situated in the periphery of cities. Detailed field studies have been carried out on selected objects, each highlighting and clarifying a respective prototype of transurban spaces of consumption. Perception-based analysis of these spaces focuses on context (politics, history, society), structure (architectural and urban space) and aesthetics (aesthetics of economy, aesthetics of usage, aesthetics of illusion). The field studies comprise the following examples: the Nova Eventis shopping centre near Leipzig, the factory-outlet-centre Wertheim Village, the corporate brandscape Autostadt Wolfsburg, three power centres in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main area, two large scale retail agglomerations in the Cologne / Bonn area and one Big-Box furniture store near Cologne. From these detailed analyses derives a criticism of transurban spaces of consumption, consisting of three main issues: 1. Reduction of urban complexity through negation of context, 2. Homogenization of transurban space and exclusion of non consumption conform modes of use and user groups, and 3. Substituting urbanity and diversity for fake-reality. It is concluded, that for the further urban and transurban development these critical matters of discussion mean that the perceived space of inner city and transurban environments becomes less and less distinguishable. Pseudo-urbanization of transurbia and transurbanization of inner city areas fostered by shopping malls and power centers will change the face of our cityscape. Therefore this study closes with an appeal to city-planners and architects alike to actively manage and shape the transurban spaces of consumption in the future. Finally, five central ideas for the future development of this category of space are formulated: cooperation, integration, hybridization, connectivity and design quality.