City Planning - Architecture - Society

Editors: Prof. Dr. Harald Bodenschatz, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Barbara Schönig

ISSN 2191-0472

City planning and architecture impact every aspect of our daily lives. There is a certain leeway but there are also limit. The decisions in city planning and architectrue are traditional made by few: proprietors, business men, politicians, administrators.They decide within societal rules and regulations and guided by their own interests and abilities, and despite democratic structures not always to the satisfaction of the populace. City planning and architecture are increasingly becoming subject of societal controversy. This, in turn, affects the decision process which is first and foremost recommendable because societal controversy is necessary, particularly concerning the dramatic challlenges in city planning and architecture.
All of us know that our cities are subject to deep reaching economic and social change. The more or less precise bulletpoints of this change are: climate change, energy shortage, globalisation, ageing society, increasing social differentiation, dwindling public resources, partial shrinkage of cities. Central characteristics of post-war industrial societies like relatively short training periods, clearly deined lifestyles of specific age groups, stable jobs, a clearly defined daily routine, a defined yearly rhythm, long-term relationships, a solid categorization into political and social institutions, comparably steady income sources from the public domain. low energy costs etc. are fading. What these changes mean for architecture and city planning is anything but clear. What is sustainable architecture, sustainable city planning? What are city planning and architecture supposed to provide for future generations?This needs to be discussed critically. new objetives have to be developed in open discussion, the right ways and means have to be stuggled for together.
The fight for your city, your neighborhood, your street or your house is oftentimes led isolatedly: Not In My Backyard (NIMBY). Such an attitude is not particuluarly sustainable but can shine a light on fundamental problems. What is needed now, is first and foremost strategies that benefit the whole city, the whole region, and eventually, the whole planet. A successful fight is based on comprehensive knowledge and intense exchange of historcal and international experience.
This series aims to contribute to this at the tense intersection of city planning, architecture and society.

The editors:
Harald Bodenschatz:
Degree in Sociology, Political Science, Psychology and Economics in Munich and Berlin. Professor at the RWTH Aachen and TU Berlin since 1972. 1978 doctorate on "Städtische Bodenreform in Italien. Die Auseinandersetzung um das Bodenrecht und die Bologneser Kommunalplannung" at Oldenburg University. 1986 habilitation at TU Berlin with the postdoctoral paper "Platz frei für das neue Berlin! Geschichte der Stadterneuerung seit 1871". 1995 vocation as professor for Sociology of Planning and Architecture at TU Berlin; Guest professor in Rio de Janeiro, Brasilien (1997) and Lima, Peru (2000). City Planner (special focus on preservation of historical cities) since 1980; 2004 - 2009 speaker for the Schinkel Center of Architecture, City Research and Historical Preservation, member since 2005 and speaker for the Transatlantic Graduate College Berlin - New York "History and Culture of the metropolises of the 20th century" since 2009. Research focus: City Restructuring and Preservation, City Center Planning in post-industrial society, City Planning in Suburban Spaces, City Planning and Dictatorship.
Barbara Schönig:
Prof. Dr.-Eng. M.A., Literary Scientist and Dipl.-Eng. city planner. 2009 doctorate at TU Berlin, research assistant at TU Berlin since 2002(Focus: Sociology of Planning and Architecture, at TU Darmstadt (Focus: Spatial Planning and Infrastructure Planning); professor for City Planning at Bauhaus University Weimar since 2012. Research Focus: Suburbanisation and Reurbanisation, Governance and Planning in Metropolitan Areas; Civil Society and Planning, City Development in the U.S.