The aim of the course is to give an introduction on spatial and transport planning concepts and developments in Japan and especially focusing on the issues of urban development, mobility, shrinking regions and reconstruction. The students will be able to comment and reflect on the following developments:

• Students can critically reflect upon spatial development strategies and future spatial challenges in Japan and Austria.
• Students are able to understand the impact of urban policies on the spatial development in different countries and on different levels.
• Students are able to identify and understand systems of policy makers in complex policy fields, exemplified by the system of urban policies (multi-level and cross-sectoral governance), mobility, shrinking regions and reconstruction after damages from natural disaster.
• Students gain knowledge about the pitfalls and challenges of designing and implementing urban policies on different levels and in different administrative systems.

This transdisciplinary concept module is organized in cooperation with the Institute of Spatial Planning and the Department of Architecture and Environment Systems of Shibaura Institute of Technology (Tokyo).

Field trip to japan and Joint Seminar with students and professors from Shibaura Institute of Technology on case studies in Japan (September 2019)

Through collective discussions and research, aiming to reflect and interpret spatial planning form a Japanese and Austrian point of view, the challenges of spatial planning policies and practices are examined and analyzed. After this interdisciplinary and theoretical discourse, strategies or recommendations for future spatial policies are developed.

written (research paper) and oral (active participation)