After successful completion of the course, students are able to work independently in a problem-related and task-oriented way. They have deepened the methodological and instrumental knowledge acquired in the basic courses and gained new skills in conceptual, strategic, integrated and application-oriented planning. They have become acquainted with fields of action in a concrete planning area such as a district, a municipality or an urban region and experienced the interaction of politics, decision-makers, planning experts and the population; in groups, they have independently devised a development concept including a mission statement and flagship projects as well as an implementation strategy. Their findings are presented in a clear, conclusive, graphically appealing and well-written way.
Growth and open space
Following years of stagnation, the population of Linz has grown considerably in recent times. As of 2019, Austria’s third largest city had almost 207,000 residents, and forecasts for the next 10 years predict a continued growth. With more than 210,000 jobs, the capital of Upper Austria is also a major center of commerce and industry. This growth increases demand for land in the entire urban area in the Upper Austrian central region: for housing, businesses and infrastructure projects.
In the recent past, various rezoning procedures in Linz and the surrounding region have highlighted the potential consequences of this settlement expansion: in November 2018 alone, 106 hectares of greenspace around Linz were rezoned for development. How does this affect the quality of life and local recreation in the urban region as well as the ventilation of the city and the urban climate?
"The Green Belt Linz" Project 2 is to show that settlement development in a dynamically growing city and greenspace development are not necessarily mutually exclusive but that – quite on the contrary – successful and sustainable urban development needs to be based on a smart and consistent strategy that ensures a long-term greenspace concept.
The big picture
We will examine this ambivalent relation between population growth and greenspace preservation. The aim is to actively shape this development process and generate added value for all stakeholders by looking at the situation as a whole and considering all relevant aspects. Based on the greenspace perspective, it will be necessary to devise an integrated development concept from which objectives for settlement and economic development as well as mobility and climate-related questions may be derived.
To generate awareness of these concerns it is necessary to create images that enable stakeholders to renegotiate these relations – ultimately, there needs to be an understanding of the big picture. At the end of the day it will come down to devising a spatial development concept to arrive at a holistic approach for the green belt of the city of Linz.
Recording and analysis – the spatial, constructional, economic, social, ecological and cultural conditions in specified fields are examined and the findings for each field are presented.
Mission statement and flagship projects – the mission statement should present the ‘big picture’, focus on the key aspects and encourage action.
The iterative design process is accompanied by and supervised at design workshops and revision meetings.
Input and contributions by supervisors and external experts
Interim presentations with feedback
Presentation and discussion of results
Kommunale und regionale Planungsinstrumente, -institutionen
Grundlagenwissen und methodische Zugänge, um sich selbstständig einen Überblick zu sozialen, ökologischen und ökonomischen Situation von Gemeinden und Regionen zu verschaffen
GIS / Plangestaltung
