18-20 September 2023, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture; Ljubljana, Slovenia

Let It Grow, Let Us Plan, Let It Grow: Nature-based Solutions for Sustainable Resilient Smart Green and Blue Cities

Proceedings

A constantly growing world (around 8 billion people now, 9.7 billion to be expected by 2050 [1]) with constantly expanding cities and urban agglomerations is facing various challenges such as scarcity of resources, infrastructure provision security, risk of disasters, global warming or ageing of the population. These topics have to be seen as global challenges which are unevenly distributed across the world regarding the dynamics of those phenomena and their geogeaphic location.

Are Nature-Based Solutions the key to liveable, sustainable, resilient cities even under the threats of climate change? Is it just about greening the cities and their green and blue infrastructures? What is the context of their technological developments and social innovation?

What are Nature-Based Solutions (NBS)? The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines them as actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems. These actions address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, and simultaneously provide human well-being and biodiversity benefits with common societal challenges. [2, 3] Another perspective of NBS is solutions that use ecological and environmental services to address contemporary environmental, social and economic challenges. [4] 

NBS are definitely being understood well beyond greenery or only biotic nature. There are strong relations with topics such as liveability, social cohesion and human activities, and urban planning, architecture and design as key disciplines. Thus, beside green and blue (water) infrastructure as currently the most often addressed manifestation of NBS in cities, REAL CORP 2023 suggests to reflect also on the physical processes and materials (abiotic nature) as inevitable parts of nature. These can bes seen in connection with parameters of urban planning, such as morphology, land use, availability of space for (land) use occupancy etc. These physical world processes are also part of nature, especially as the properties of locations and sites that may well dictate their further development as well as the selection of suitable NBS for implementation at these specific locations.

NBS that directly use natural processes (e. g. natural terrain with high vegetation, which in urban areas is most often associated with a park), especially in dense urban patterns, are generally more difficult to implement due to spatial as well as economic constraints. NBS that may be more appropriate in such situations may come from a set of ideas and proposals that “mimic” nature. Here, it is important to note that nature is made up of both biotic and abiotic components. For example, in terms of reducing the occurrence of heat islands in cities, solutions can be found in the selection of suitable building materials and their appropriate treatment, appropriate physical characteristics of the components of abiotic nature, optimum orientation of buildings and their compositions on the sites, as this can influence the natural ventilation of the rooms (micro scale) or area (macro scale). 

Other open questions include ways in which NBS can be addressed in various spatial planning documents and processes and how can the capabilities of NBS be used in effective policy making and implementation.

14-16 November 2022, AirportCity Space, Vienna, Austria (hybrid conference)

Mobility, Knowledge and Innovation Hubs in Urban and Regional Development

Proceedings, CD-ROM

Mobility hubs are far from being limited to their function as transport hubs. They are multifunctional and versatile places of encounter. In places where many people come together, information and knowledge are exchanged and new ideas are developed. Since mankind has become sedentary, such hubs have formed where the exchange of people, goods, but also ideas and knowledge takes place. With the rise of cities, this process has intensified and today, when almost 60 % of the world's population lives in cities, dealing with this centre function is more important than ever.

New challenges keep emerging that keep us busy maintaining and developing the functions of such hubs:

• Societal transformation and changes in population and ageing structures require adjustments to both urban structures and rural areas.
• The climate crisis simply does not allow us to continue as before. Ecological footprint, energy performance certificate and climate governance are not mere buzzwords, but important fields of action to steer future developments.
• The increasingly easy access to all forms of mobility on land, water and in the air is not only changing our settlement and social structure. The construction and operation of mobility infrastructure is often resource-intensive.
• Above all this hovers the sphere of digitisation. Much is already possible without having to physically move for it – data, information and knowledge move instead.
• In recent years, the pandemic has shown how quickly our structures can be shaken to their foundations even without "conventional" natural disasters. The diverse reactions and the struggle to return to normality, which continues to this day, have produced some remarkable results.

REAL CORP 2022 addresses the links between society's innovative achievements and the confronting demands of our environment, cities and settlements. In order to achieve acceptable sustainable development, spatial planning and related disciplines need to carefully address current trends and influence them with appropriate governance mechanisms to maintain and improve the quality of life, but also to decisively address the concerns of our ecosystem. We therefore invite contributions from all disciplines involved in urban development in order to analyse the challenges for the future of urban spaces in a holistic manner. In addition to science-based contributions, we also welcome practice-based reports on short-term measures and/or long-term strategies for urban and regional development.

7-10 September 2021, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria (hybrid conference)

CITIES 20.50: CREATING HABITATS FOR THE 3RD MILLENNIUM – Smart – Sustainable – Climate Neutral

Proceedings, CD-ROM

Urbanisation of the world is progressing rapidly and seems to be an unstoppable process. According to current forecasts, more than 6 billion people will live in cities in 2050. Compared to 1950, this is almost a tenfold increase in 100 years, resulting from global population growth and the continuing influx of people into urban areas. As a rule, population growth also means additional land requirements. Urban growth often takes place across administrative borders, cities grow into their surrounding areas, (cross-border) urban and metropolitan regions emerge and also influence the development of rural areas, where in turn numerous initiatives for independent sustainable development emerge.

This dynamic development is accompanied by enormous challenges for the organisation and maintenance of urban processes, particularly in the areas of technical and social infrastructure, affordable housing, mobility, recreation, security of supply, etc. Sustainability, resilience and smartness are essential characteristics of cities and regions and are often compared by means of benchmarks. The key question is how quality of life can be maintained and improved in the face of dynamic development of living space.

Even though the world is currently under the spell of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that climate and environmental issues will be decisive for urban development in the coming decades. Climate adaptation strategies will play a central role, because especially in cities, high density, increasing land sealing, lack of greenery and inadequate ventilation increasingly lead to the formation of urban heat islands and the problem of urban warming.

How can urban and spatial planning and all related disciplines contribute to maintaining urban flows, functioning infrastructure and preserving and improving the quality of life? How can urban and rural living spaces actively cross-fertilise each other's development?

REAL CORP 2021 also reflects on the global COVID crisis in a special track, featuring contributions dealing with human well-being, public health, blue and green as critical infrastructure and the role of planning and mitigating strategies before, during and after the pandemic

15-18 September 2020, RWTH Aachen, Germany (virtual conference)

SHAPING URBAN CHANGE – Livable City Regions for the 21^st Century

Proceedings, CD-ROM

Urban regions around the globe are developing in very different manner. Nevertheless, the are several common themes:

• historic administrative boundaries do not represent real urban structures any more, cities expand beyond these boundaries and form metropolitan regions, which may even result in transnational functional urban areas and agglomerations;
• in almost all cases it is of utmost importance to coordinate urban development between several governments, administrative authorities and institutions on different levels, but this task turns out to be a quite difficult one;
• cities and regions are hungry for resources and see themselves opposed to density and environmental problems as well as other threats, nevertheless sustainability, resilience, high quality of life and considerate exploitation of natural resources are central goals of urban development;
• new technologies and digitisation play an essential role in the development of cities, urban regions and metropolises – without appropriate urban, environmental and mobility technologies it would hardly be possible to see urban development, maintenance of functionality and creation of livable urban areas.

In numerous European cities and agglomerations, in particular, we can currently see two kinds of processes which may appear to be contradictory at first glance: reurbanisation and regionalisation. City centres and centrally located urban quarters become more attractive, especially for people who (re-)discover the benefits of urban life. This return to core cities as a place of life has a lot of reasons, but it is strongly linked to changes in the working environment and the trend to combine working and living much more as it waspossible in suburban fringe areas. In this regard, well equipped and multi-functional urban quarters do have their advantages. At the same time we have a regionalisation of urban issues, mostly because cities get more and more under pressure.

Even if cities and villages are changing, they keep being places of (collective) memory and recognition; places where bonds are established. Identity and homeland – terms that are supposed to designate such qualities of a city – are, however, not based solely on the familiarity of a living environment whose essential characteristics have hardly changed over a long period of time, but can be traced back to the specific atmospheric qualities of a city, a neighbourhood or a region. Therefore, not only the architectural heritage with its historical buildings, streets, open spaces and districts is decisive for the identity of a city, but also the ability to create new, convincing and in the best case unmistakable atmospheres within the framework of urban development.

REAL CORP 2020 aims to discuss strategies and concepts for quality change management in the light of the challenges outlined above, which arise in neighbourhoods, cities, urban regions and metropolitan areas in Europe and around the globe. Questions of who the actual actors of current urban, regional and metropolitan regional development are and what role planners can play in the corresponding scenarios will also be explored.

2-4 April 2019, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

IS THIS THE REAL WORLD? “Perfect Smart Cities” vs. “Real Emotional Cities”

Proceedings, CD-ROM

Cities have been created by mankind for thousands of years now, as places for people to live and where they can best develop their talents and activities in work-sharing societies.Although there is still a huge demand for physical structures, lately lots of the discussion on the future of cities has been focusing on bringing digital technologies into cities. The term “Smart Cities” has been excessively used and bears the hope and promise that cities will become more efficient but also more livable.“Smart Cities Solutions” has also become a major industry with a huge future potential.

Cities do not just consist of bricks, mortar, steel, glass and – recently – ICT. A city has an identity, a “spirit”, it is emotional, and this is often something very important for a city and its places and districts, and of course for its citizens. Cities are “home”, there can be feel-good places as well as areas rather to avoid, depending on many factors: common and individual ones. What makes the “spirit of a city” or a place?

Whereas renderings in the Smart City context all too often show almost perfect cities, real cities have their shiny places, but most probably also their “dark sides”. What is the situation and the future of “THE REAL WORLD”? What is the relation between longing for “Perfect Smart Cities” and “Real Emotional Cities”? Will cities and neighbourhoods be “standardized” and more look and feel like each other or will they keep their identities? Will this be just decided in market values?

Can urban planning support keeping and creating places, spaces and cities – “Real Emotional Cities”? What are the tools for the 21^st century city? Of course we must not forget that sustainability and resilience stay primary goals for urban development.

REAL CORP 2019 wants to explore the relations and differences between standardisation trough technical innovation on the one hand and the quest for uniqueness and peculiarity on the other hand.

4-6 April 2018, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria

EXPANDING CITIES – DIMINISHING SPACE. Are “Smart Cities” the solution or part of the problem of continuous urbanisation around the globe?

Proceedings, CD-ROM

The world’s total population is expected to hit the 10 billion point in the 2060s, more than 70 % living in urban areas.

Cities are not only growing in population, but are expanding in area. Also transport infrastructure, industrial zones, shopping centres, logistics centres, event and leisure facilities etc. consume additional space. As a consequence cities also grow into 3^rd dimension: “up into the sky” and “going underground”. Many cities kind of expand in time, become “cities that never sleep”, extending their urban activities to 24 hours per day all the year round – 24/365. Even in countries and regions with constant or declining population numbers, it is still the cities that attract people.

While the “hunger” in the literal sense for food and resources is growing, the “spaces in between”, especially agricultural land, but also natural retreats and buffer zones are diminishing.

These aspects of city expansion do not only lead to massive changes all over the world, they also arise multiple challenges, chances and risks which have to be dealt with in planning processes. On the one hand there is the threat that the permanent demand for more space leads to a number of consequences such as scarcity of resources, infrastructural bottlenecks, pollution and devastation of land or social conflicts. On the other hand more and more unprecedented (urban) technologies are available to monitor and manage cities. Monitoring is as well done by remote sensing in stunning precision, and by extensive sensor networks in (almost) real time.

However, with all the technology in focus of course the goals of sustainability and resilience remain as important as they have always been. Cities are mainly about people and not about technology, so it is still “quality of life” that should be in focus.

12-14 September 2017, TU Wien (Vienna University of Technology), Austria

Panta Rhei – a World in Constant Motion

Proceedings, CD-ROM

Mobility is a multifaceted topic with a complex past development. Ideological quarrels, almost religious wars have been fought during the past decades when talking about mobility issues: boundless mobility for free citizens or priority to humane, liveable settlements? Can mobility cost transparency start an overdue restructuring or would it bring down or complete economic system? Expansion of transport infrastructure to shrink distances or shrinking of transport infrastructure for a compact city of short distances?

How can we use today’s knowledge and techniques to shape the forward-looking mobility of tomorrow? Mobility is necessary; each human spends a certain percentage of their lifetime on mobility. When mankind became permanent residents, transport routes were built to cover our daily needs and start early trade. Today, our cities are completely dependent on mobility processes. But how far must, may, or should mobility form – or dominate – our lives?

Actually, how can mobility be defined? On the one hand of course as movement of persons or things, but on the other hand we have to raise the question whether data traffic in form of current or light impulses is also part of mobility? How do we deal with data mobility, which influences and consequences does data mobility have on “conventional” mobility in a narrower sense? Simplification of transport streams has brought much progress and growth to our planet, but it also brought along a variety of traffic problems; which problems can be caused by steadily increasing data traffic?

Mobility can also be defined by the amounts moved: There is mobility of single persons, but many single mobilites can shape mobility patterns which can cause problems due to their size, for example commuters as short-time, but regular phenomenon or migration movements as one-time, but long-ranging and effectful occurences. To sum it up in a single sentence, REAL CORP 2017 dealt with everything that moves in time and space.

22-24 June 2016, Landesbetrieb Geoinformation und Vermessung, Hamburg, Germany

SMART ME UP! How to become and how to stay a Smart City, and does this improve quality of life?

Proceedings, CD-ROM

Smart cities go hand in hand with evolvement and improvement of digital technology. They are a post-industrial reaction to the economic, social and political changes and challenges the world has been facing throughout the last decade – like the demographic change, the financial crisis or scarcity of resources.

In cities there are plenty of players with very different tasks and interests. Many of them are trying to own the term "Smart city". It is somehow fascinating to compare the different interpretations of this label – from a geographic point of view (for example in Europe, USA, China, ...), through its perspective (humans and quality of life or technology and efficieny as centre point?), or generally from an economic position (potential savings on the one hand, rapidly growing business field on the other hand) and via approaches to standardisation of the city and its services.

There are lots of methods to achieve smartness, and there are lots of approaches to define proper smart indicators that tell us something about the smartness of a city. What are their advantages or disadvantages, which approach may claim to be the right one – and why?

5-7 May 2015, Virginie Lovelinggebouw (VAC Gent), Ghent, Belgium

PLAN TOGETHER – RIGHT NOW – OVERALL. From Vision to Reality for Vibrant Cities and Regions

Proceedings, CD-ROM

Cities full of life, commited citizens, visionary politicians, a strong economy, attractive universities, a rich arts and cultural scene, joy and fun in the streets, prosperity, curiosity, inclusiveness – dynamic and stable and of course everything sustainable and resilient and “smart” ...

What are the ingredients for VIBRANT CITIES and REGIONS? And how to make them a REALITY?

Cities and regions are and always have been in permanent transition. Some of the key questions for the development of cities and regions are:

• What and Who are the drivers of development?
• Who defines the directions, whose visions do cities follow?
• Is “planning” still possible in contemporary cities?
• From VISION to REALITY - Visioning, Governing, Planning, Managing, Monitoring, Steering – how to keep cities an regions working and even improve them?
• How to improve quality of life in cities and regions in a permanent process of change by ensuring sustainability and resilience.

REAL CORP 2015 dealt with the question:
How to make VIBRANT CITIES and REGIONS a REALITY? What is the role of PLANNING and PLANNERS in the development of vibrant contemporary and future cities?

21-23 May 2014, Austrian Economic Chamber, Vienna, Austria

PLAN IT SMART. CLEVER SOLUTIONS FOR SMART CITIES

Proceedings, CD-ROM

“Smart Cities” has become a widely used term for the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICT) into the processes of cities and the built environment, aiming to improve the integration of the physical assets as well as social and environmental capital. Fired by several rankings there seems to be a competition for the title of the “Smartest City”.

This kind of hype raises a lot of questions that REAL CORP 2014 dealt with.

• What does “Smart City” mean in terms of quality of life?
• How does it influence the economic perspectives?
• Are the concepts of sustainability and resilience part of “Smart Cities”?
• What about politics and administration, policies and governance?
• How do “Smart Solutions” influence the “hardware” of a city, the urban fabric?
• Last but not least: what is the role of urban/spatial planning in and for “Smart Cities”?

Can we PLAN IT SMART and find CLEVER SOLUTIONS FOR SMART CITIES?

20-23 May 2013, Acquario Romano (House of Architecture), Rome, Italy

PLANNING TIMES – You better Keep Planning or You get in Deep Water, for the Cities they are A-Changin'

Proceedings, CD-ROM

The relationship between space and time has been formulated in the most diverse planning theories and has fascinated mankind from the beginning. When planning our cities, when defining projects that may improve the conditions of our society, when proposing decision processes that manage the space around us, when implementing techniques to foster development - the relationship between space and time is something we are constantly working with.

Time and space work on different scales, dimensions and topics – and confront us with questions such as:

• How to plan taking into account time, both past history and future development?
• How to integrate monitoring within the planning decision processes, such as in the case of natural disasters?
• How to handle time that cannot be planned, such as long decision processes or real time decisions?

REAL CORP 2013 was the occasion to discuss about theories and methods but also hands-on experiences from all over to world on how planning deals with space in time in order to plan our cities and regions.

14-16 May 2012, Multiversum Schwechat, Austria

RE-MIXING THE CITY – Towards Sustainability and Resilience?

Proceedings, CD-ROM

Cities worldwide are facing rapid social, economic, environmental, technological and cultural changes such as: rapid urbanisation, aging of society, security issues, housing emergency, new solutions on mobility, integration of immigrants, food and water shortage, etc.

Especially in times of economic crisis and demographic changes in cities, it is necessary to think about how to best handle what we have, and therefore “RE-MIXING THE CITY” is a challenge to manage and re-combine the elements which make our modern cities in order to better respond to change. REAL CORP 2012 in Schwechat will offer the possibility to collectively discuss a wide range of topics in different panel groups and workshops.

REAL CORP 2012 covered the following sections and topics:

• Can “mixed cities” be more sustainable and resilient?
• Living, working, learning, relaxing, enjoying, shopping, ... – anything anywhere & anytime?
• Is it the purpose of spatial planning to “sort land uses in space”?
• Do the urban patterns and structure of our cities still meet the needs of the people in their everyday life?
• How do urban, transport and environmental technologies and solutions shape our cities?
• New faces, new approaches, new ideas – does and can migration re-mix the city?
• Time-space patterns of the 24/7 city

18-20 May 2011, Zeche Zollverein, Essen, Germany

CHANGE FOR STABILITY – Lifecycles of Cities and Regions

Proceedings, CD-ROM

Changes and diversification are ubiquitous in cities and regions. The quest for continuous renewal and improvement is a driver towards a thriving development, as well as land use impact, displacement and “constructive destruction” with all the side effects.

Urban development is not a one-way street leading towards an ideal end. Changes of the framework – like revival or crisis of economic sectors, the change of social ideals or ecologically driven challenges – demand the adaptation of the system of aims and development strategies. Also changes of the infrastructure and targeted interventions of planning (lighthouse projects, major events, …) lead towards elementary changes of the dynamics and trends of development.

Permanent change takes place – often as continuous, evolutionary development, but sometimes also with huge, dramatic turning points.
The matter of “change as requirement for stability of cities and regions” is the core topic of REAL CORP 2011. How can planning deal with “lifecycles of cities and regions”?

Special attention will be paid to the technical possibilities of confronting and forming the changes: planning processes and instruments as well as urban, environmental, transport and communication technologies.

18-20 May 2010, Messe Wien, Vienna, Austria

CITIES FOR EVERYONE – Liveable, Healthy, Prosperous
Promising vision or unrealistic fantasy?

Proceedings, CD-ROM

The role of urban planning and urban technologies on the path towards improved quality of life, health, sustainability and prosperity in our cities.

Cities are places of competition, stress, inequalities, traffic jams, environmental stresses and strains and permanent struggle. Cities often are an aggressive environment, not only for children, the elderly and the weak. But on the other hand cities are centres of economy, culture, creativity, science and innovation and therefore provide excellent perspectives and a lot of chances for many people – cities are attractive places! Meanwhile more than 50 percent of world population lives in cities, soon it will be about 70 percent.

REAL CORP 2010 asks for cities for everyone that are liveable, healthy and prosperous. Is this a promising vision we should work on or is it an unrealistic fantasy? Is it possible to keep and even improve the advantages of cities and reduce the negative effects? Or does the one aspect require the other? What are the possibilities and contributions of urban planning and real estate development? How can ICT, urban, transport and environmental technologies help to improve quality of our life in cities?

22-25 April 2009, Design Centre Sitges, Spain

CITIES 3.0: SMART, SUSTAINABLE, INTEGRATIVE.

Proceedings, CD-ROM

Although major parts of the world are blessed to live in peace and economic wealth at the beginning of the 21^st century, the world is facing serious challenges like

• climate change and environmental issues as well as rising energy consumption and competition on scarce natural resources,
• ongoing globalisation with fundamental changes in economic and working environment around the globe,
• demographic changes, like aging population in Europe and rapid urbanisation in Asia.

In a changing world cities have to advance and to adopt to stay what they are and have always been:

•   drivers of innovation and social improvements,
•   centers of economic activities, science, knowledge and arts,
•   and the best places to live for the vast majority of people.

REAL CORP 2009 dealt with the challenges and perspectives for cities and asks how they might look like and be organized and managed in the future, with a special focus on the role of information and communications technologies in urban development. The major questions to be dealt with at the conference in April 2009 were:
What makes cities smart, sustainable and integrative – and livable?

• How can cities and regions take advantage of globalisation and keep their local character - how to "gLOCALize"?
• How can planners help cities find the way to a successful future?
• Government, governance, mediation, participation and planning - are there models for short-term and long-term perspectives?
• Are there technologies that can support the above-mentioned goals?
• Are there best practises for "livable cities of tomorrow"?

19-21 May 2008, Vienna International Airport, Austria

Mobility Nodes as Innovation Hubs

Proceedings, CD-ROM

Where many people come together, information and knowledge is exchanged and new ideas are created. Airports, train stations and motorway rest stops are not only transportation hubs but rapidly develop as transportation hubs because:

• many people with different needs and ideas interact and take new ideas into the world;
• the reliable functioning of such hubs has to be ensured, so such hubs can push technical development;
• urban and transportation planning, architecture and real estate development face special challenges.

Transportation hubs rapidly develop as business centres, "airport cities" are noteworthy examples of this development.

REAL CORP 008 focuses on the mobility hubs of the 21^st century and discusses:

• How can the role of transport hubs as innovation hubs be improved?
• Which technologies ensure the reliable functioning of the hubs and where is further improvement needed?
• How can anticipatory planning ensure the sustainable development of those structures?
• How can unintentional spatial developments be avoided?
• How can environmental issues be dealt with?

20-23 May 2007, Tech Gate Vienna, Austria

To Plan Is Not Enough

Proceedings, CD-ROM

Main topics: The main topic „To Plan Is Not Enough“ focuses on the relationship between urban development and real estate business, some of the sub-topics are From abstract plans to realized projects: co-operation of urban planning and real estate development in cities;

• PPP – Public-Private Partnerships in urban and real estate development;
• Private and public space in the city of the future – who pays and who benefits;
• The needs of information and knowledge society for the urban fabric;
• Housing the info society;
• Transport and logistics buildings: the underestimated live veins of the city;
• Urban, environmental and transport technologies and their role in successful project realisation.

13-16 February 2006, Congress Center Vienna, Austria

Sustainable Solutions for the Information Society

Proceedings, CD-ROM

• Intelligent Urban, Environmental and Transport Technologies
• Environmental Policies & Climate Protection Measures
• ICT contribution to Sustainable Mobility
• Top Real Estate: Development, Finance, Management
• Housing the Information Society
• Strategic Projects and Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP)
• Geo-Information-Technologies & Information-Infrastructures
• eGovernment, eGovernance, eDemocracy in Spatial Planning
• Gender Aspects in Urban and Regional Development

Sustainability is an essential element of long-term and therefore a basic principle in urban planning, regional development and mobility management. With the Rio declaration and Local Agenda 21 sustainability has become a widely acknowledged and discussed concept and a "megatrend" in diverse economic fields.

22-25 February 2005, Vienna University of Technology, Austria

Real Models - Unreal World
Planners dealing with the unpredictable

Proceedings

Decisions concerning the future should be based on good analysis no matter if it is the purchase of stocks, the choice of a company site or investments in infrastructure.

Urban and regional planning deal with medium to long-term developments and decisions cannot be revised at any time without bigger expenditures - it is a must to make decisions well considered.

To predict future developments differnet kind of models are used. The technical potentials of simulating the real world and forecasting future developments have been improved. However, sometimes it happens that in spite of the best analysis the world does not behave like predicted by the underlying model How can planning handle such unpredictable events? Which models and methods are used in other disciplines?

Core topics CORP 2005:Models as basis for good decisions

• Dealing with unpredictable developments
• Decision Support Systems, Planning Support Systems
• Data as basis of valid models
• City models, traffic models, ...
• Spatial scenarios, long-term perspective planning tools
• Monitoring spatial development
• Self-fulfilling an self-destructive prophecies
• Parametrisation of models (e. g. through civil participation)

25-27 February 2004, Vienna University of Technology, Austria

IT Regions: Innovation and Technology as driving forces for a sustainable urban and regional development

Proceedings

Not only since the Rio summit or local agenda 21 sustainability is a major issue in urban and regional planning. A well-balanced framework of ecological, economical and social conditions for man and environment has to be established and its perseverance has to be secured.

Can sustainable development be achieved by preserving current conditions or even by attempting to turn back time? Or is innovation and technology the only possibility to achieve sustainability?

Continuous innovation and intelligent application of technology are key factors to enable sustainable development. The creative and intelligent use of technology in spatial planning and environmental management is crucial for the succesful development of cities and regions. How can competing cities and regions become succesful sustainable IT regions? How can they find their position by intelligent use of their local and regional potential?

25 February – 1 March 2003, Vienna University of Technology, Austria

Major topic 1: “GLOCALIZE.IT!”

Proceedings

The same goods in the same supermarket shelves from the North Cape to Fireland, the “business districts” of cities around the globe are like two peas in a pod and the price for the global product “hamburger” provides information about the economic resources of a country. Also the dream of one's own home with garden is almost the same nearly everywhere. Do the meanings of local and regional characteristics completely disappear?
Are they reduced to a few marketable folkloristic aspects?
Or does the local and regional level even gain significance in the view of global and international developments? Is the slogan “think globally, act locally!” out of date or more important than ever?

The guidance topic of CORP 2003 is a request:

GLOCALIZE.IT!

The discussion is up for the possibilities to act on local and regional level under the aspect of international and global developments and the relationship of these aspects in the planning of the future. IT does not only stand for the requests to act but also for the role of information and communication technologies in these processes.


Major topic 2: “4D urban & landscape models”

3D models are permanently rising in popularity. More and more cities and tourism regions rely on the effects of 3D modelling. New techniques and fast hardware allow to produce stunning illustrations relatively cheaply and quickly.

But do these improved visualisation opportunities really result in better plans and advantages in the development of cities and regions? Where are the real benefits of 3D modelling? What about the time dimension for future plannings as well as for the past, e. g. for documentation and reconstruction of historical buildings?

Do 4D urban and landscape models already deploy all of their advantages?

27 February – 1 March 2002, Vienna University of Technology, Austria

“Who plans Europe's future?”

Proceedings

The motto of CORP 2002 is “Europe goes on - Vienna goes ahead!” Vienna was very dedicated within Europe and within the candidates for accession in the last years. If Vienna attempted to initiate a European region in the multi-city region between St. Pölten, Brno, Bratislava, Györ, Sopron, Eisenstadt and Wiener Neustadt with its “natural” centre Vienna, this could be seen as the approach of planning the direct surrounding of the metropolitan area of Vienna in a European way. Also a lot of other planning actions try to encourage people for participation, give them chances to participate, and take their co-operation politically seriously.

For that reason the relations between the city council and the citizens and the participatory right must be improved and democracy must be developed. Also the city council of Vienna aims at the target of the use of new technologies for a better communication between themselves and the citizens.

These new knowledge and challenges are focused at CORP 2002. We are all planning Europe. Only with the commitment of all, the aims of a mutual thinking and acting can become reality – and CORP makes a major contribution.

14-16 February 2001, Vienna University of Technology, Austria

International Planning & Geo-Multimedia

Proceedings

Information and communication technologies in and for spatial planning are the main focus of CORP 2001. “Border Crossing” is the kewqord of the event and should not be understood only in spatial, but also in professional and organisational terms. The lead questions are:

• What is the role of information technology in and for spatial planning?
• Should we keep the “institution” alive with the same major topics every year?
• Should we make a cut, break up with tradition and finally do something completely different?
• Or is there a possibility to keep theestablished and still significant parts and complete them meaningfully?

Cross-border co-operation, the use of GIS in spatial and urban planning and web-based methods like web mapping and geo-multimedia ar the main fields of CORP 2001.

16-18 February 2000, Vienna University of Technology, Austria

State of the art and Perspectives of Planning

Proceedings

CORP 2000 emphasises information technologies in and around spatial planning. The topics of previous CORPs like

• computing as tool for planners,
• new media as an instrument to convey planning content and
• the effects of information technology on space and fields of spatial planning

are going to characterise also this year’s symposion.

The growing use of the web, geographic information systems and visualisation and multi-media techniques concentrate as “new technologies” in the central focus of spatial planning. From this awareness a new major topic arises for CORP 2000: State of the art and Perspectives of Planning. The submitted papers show new approaches to information technology. Interactive GIS applications, web-based citizen information and participation, traffic telematics, “GeoInfo Austria” and computer-aided efficiency control in spatial planning are only a little amount of manifold contributions.

10-12 February 1999, Vienna University of Technology, Austria

Meeting Place for Planners

Proceedings

The aim of CORP 1999 is to act as a kind of communication background for different keyplayers of planning. This means not only the exchange among planners, but also communication between planning and research, private companies, public administration and universites.

Thus, CORP 1999 deals with these major topics:

• internal communication and communication management within public administration
• perspectives of urban planning building administrative networks
• geo-mediation systems in the WWW
• co-operation and information systems for municipal planning
• GIS-based planning

11-13 February 1998, Vienna University of Technology, Austria

Nothing is working without the internet

Proceedings

Also this year’s topics and participants are manifold and varied. The world wide web as central media of communication and exchanve is one of the major themes of CORP 1998. The focuses can be summed up as follows:

• Landscape modelling and computer-aided 3D visualisation
• urban planning in the WWW: experiences with web-aided planning processes
• urban marketing, cartography, nature protection, landscape planning and planning information in conntection with the internet
• the digital city
• GIS in regional planning and new possibilities offered by internet and intranet technologies

12-14 February 1997, Vienna University of Technology, Austria

Proceedings

CORP 1997 deals with the active use of new technologies as well as with the influence of technological changes on the fields of spatial planning. The presentations of CORP 1997 deal with these major topics:

1. Computing as tool for planners: GIS, CAD, digital planning bases, and the possibilities arsing from networking among planners. Not only the current status and the potential possibilites of computer use in spatial planning will be discussed, but also the influence of computer-aided tools on planning methodics, planning action and planning efforts and, last but not least, the quality of planning.
2. New media as instrument to communicate planning contents: What is the use of high-quality planning if its contents cannot be brought to the people? Without suitable possibilities to convey planning matters to stakeholders and persons concerned, the conversion of planning into reality will become more and more difficult, if not even impossible. So which role do new media play when it comes to the communication of the contents of planning?
3. Effects of information technology on spatial structures: New technologies will not only support planners doing their work, but some also have the potential to change space itself. Spatial planning must face these challenges because it will not be enough to solve today’s problems tomorrow – as planners we have to face the future and adapt to new challenges in time.

14-16 February 1996, Vienna University of Technology, Austria

First symposion on computer-aided spatial planning

Proceedings

The first CORP in 1996 takes place on the background of the enormous interest from almost all fields of planning to exchange knowledge regarding possibilities and experience with new, computer-aided tools. Therefore, we organised a symposion in the hope to meet these expectations.

The main topics of the first CORP were:

• spatial planning as a whole: the influence of computers and information technolgy as spatial planning instrument
• local planning: CAD and GIS as administration and planning tools
• design and animation – digital 3D models of cities and urban places
• landscape and environmental planning – GIS as an instrument to support planning processes and computer use in landscape planning and environmental impact assessments
• transport planning: accessibility models and GIS-aided traffic noise analyses