From 4-9 OCT 2022 the 13th urbanize! festival is dedicated
to the ecosocial transformation of our cities with discussions, workshops, walks, artistic interventions, film and music.
Free of admission.
The urgent need to reduce CO2 emissions, combined with the vision of a more
liveable city, is giving new momentum to planning concepts such as the »polycentric city«. The walkable, decentrally organised
»15-minute city« is gaining international resonance. No surprise, since our cities were geared towards walking and therefore
to local structures and circular flows for the longest time in their history.
It
was only the expansion of mass transport and motorised individual transport that made the era of functionalist urbanism, suburbanisation
and the consumer and leisure society possible. But the car-oriented city creates many problems: huge areas are being sealed,
endangering biodiversity, forming heat islands and barriers during extreme weather events. Noise and air pollution are increasing,
while neighbourhood contacts are decreasing due to the lack of quality public space. The limited access to education, culture,
recreational space and social facilities in the periphery creates social inequalities. Instead of strengthening small-scale
local supply and local economic circles, the wealth of the neighbourhoods is shifted to corporations whose jobs are often
non-local and mostly socially questionable.
The time seems right for a radical transformation of urban planning
and many European cities are already embarking on this path. In polycentric approaches the guiding principle of »accessibility«
is being replaced by »proximity«; neighbourhoods and districts form networked planning units and act as drivers of socio-ecologic
transformation. Walkability, active mobility, density, diversity in design and mixed uses are the new planning parameters;
the creation of high-quality public spaces becomes central. This also calls real estate developers onto the scene, who are
driving gentrification with high rents in the liveable neighbourhoods.
What can the complex planning concepts accomplish
and what practical international experience already exists? What role does participation play? How can displacement and gentrification
be prevented and social diversity ensured? What does the large-scale reduction of motorised individual transport mean for
the city? Which structures will become obsolete, which new uses are envisionable? How will public space be restructured? How
will work, social and cultural infrastructures be provided in the neighbourhoods? How can the transformation succeed?
The 13th urbanize! festival invites you to collectively envision the present and future of the city. Join us!
