Urban design and development in different societal and spacial contexts is a great challenge. It is relevant not only in the practice of communal planning, but also in research as well as education at universities. The worldwide urbanization is only one of the factors cities today must be put in an international context, understanding global coherence and responsibilities.
The cities around the world offer an extensive portfolio of differentiating problems and solutions that ought to be explored, investigated and evaluated.
As scientists and designers, we architects are highly responsible for a sustainable development of urban environment. To make urban planning more reflective and thus creating a more sustainable future for our cities, new strategies with a high demand for innovative design and creativity need to be developed. These are to be based on a deep understanding of current urban developments and trends, considering historical, economic, ecological and societal contexts. Requirements and consequences of different urban developments need to be considered.
Cities in a global context is a collective, communal mission. It can only be addressed successfully if we manage to use new knowledge and discoveries for urban planning and designing, generate meaningful synergies and bring together scientific thinking and activity with the executive bodies of administrations, politics, the media, and cultural institutions...