After successful completion of the course, students are able to work independently, problem- and task-related in planning. The methodological and instrumental knowledge already acquired in the basic courses has been deepened, skills in conceptual, strategic, integrated and application-related planning have been acquired. Using a concrete planning area as an example, the students become familiar with fields of action in the interaction of politics, decision-makers, planning and the population and independently developed a development concept in groups, including a mission statement and lead projects as well as an implementation strategy. The results are presented in an understandable, comprehensible, graphically and textually appealing way.

St. Pölten is characterised by heterogeneity: the central, medieval city centre with the railway station in the north and the government district in the east meets business parks, brownfield sites, single-family home neighbourhoods, attractive nature and rural structures. St. Pölten has only been the capital of Lower Austria since the mid-1980s; until the end of the 1990s, government was still based in Vienna. There is therefore a strong connection not only due to the location (30 minutes by train), but also historically - with both negative and positive connotations. After decades of little population change, St. Pölten has been growing steadily over the last 20 years and currently has around 58,000 inhabitants.

Impulses for the existing city The majority of our city of tomorrow has already been built. A strategic approach to existing buildings is therefore of particular importance. Increased demands on living space and its surroundings, an ongoing change in working and production conditions as well as constantly changing mobility behaviour are leading to continuous transformation processes. Against the backdrop of the climate crisis and rising population figures, these must be designed sustainably. In St. Pölten in particular, there is also the question of how to deal with urban brownfield sites. More than 25% of the building land that has already been zoned is still undeveloped - significantly more than the average in Austrian provincial capitals. All of this provides an opportunity to address the question of how these developments can be managed in a high-quality way, how old and new can be combined and how the existing city can be included in transformation processes.

City in the face of climate change It is particularly important to develop new perspectives in view of the climate crisis and its dramatic consequences. St. Pölten is a climate pioneer city and has published the Climate Framework Strategy 2022, among other things - in contrast, climate change still plays a minor role in the current ISEK 2016. What consequences does this have for urban planning? What does this mean for St. Pölten? Despite ambitious goals, strategies (e.g. concept for active mobility) and concepts (e.g. for the redesign of the Promenadenring), St. Pölten is still heavily influenced by motorised private transport.

A view on the big picture This extraordinary planning task requires extraordinary processes of dialogue and development concepts. Therefore, this space should be understood as comprehensively as possible in terms of its settlement-structural, functional, historical, economic, ecological and identity-creating aspects. Questions will be defined and scenarios created in an open process of research, questioning, curiosity and open-mindedness in order to develop meaningful positions and concepts that suggest a way of dealing with St. Pölten. The task of Project 2 will be to create an integrated urban development concept with a clear focus on aspects of climate protection and climate change adaptation, from which objectives for the development of settlements and business locations, questions of mobility and social cohesion can be derived and interrelationships renegotiated. 

A repertoire of qualitative and quantitative methods, techniques and tools are used to relate intuitive and emotional approaches to rational ones and theoretical models. By working with sketches, plans, models, diagrams, texts, photos and films, the urban space is recorded and analysed and, based on this, guiding principles and guiding projects are developed. Based on a joint "layer analysis", the structural-spatial, economic, social, ecological and cultural conditions are examined and presented for the respective subject areas. In developing the guiding principle, it is important to convey an image of the "big picture", to put the essentials in the foreground and to motivate action.

The iterative drafting process is supported and accompanied within the framework of excursions, intensive workshops and corrections. Additional inputs and discussion contributions from the supervisors and external experts provide inspiration and motivation. Presentations of the (interim) results with feedback and discussion are used to communicate the main ideas and to develop them further.

Spatial planning does not only require the development of problem-oriented solutions, but also the supply of argumentation bases for these solutions. In the early stage of the project, the focus will therefore lie on the development of digital argumentation bases. The necessary technical support is provided by the cooperation of the spatial simulation laboratory (Simlab).

Interim reports and presentations as well as final documentation and presentation. The overall assessment is done by the team of supervisors.

The following knowledge and skills are required for participation in project 2:

• Skills of municipal and regional planning instruments and institutions
• Basic knowledge and methodological approaches to independently gain an overview of the social, ecological and economic situation of municipalities and regions
• GIS / techniques of plan design

The positive completion of the Introductory and Orientation Phase (STEOP) as well as the seminar "Spatial Development Planning" is the prerequisite for the completion of the module.

   Hinweis:

For students who have started their studies after October 1, 2021, the positive completion of the STEOP and the LVA SE "Spatial Development Planning" is a mandatory requirement.