Large cities are seen as focal points of economic and social change in the age of cognitive capitalism. They are the engines of the knowledge society and incubators of technical and social innovation. At the same time, cities are faced with polarization, segregation and social conflicts. Their enormous economic and residential attractiveness – indicated by the recent population growth and an expanding employment base – is more and more constrained by physical and social limits to growth. The lack of developable land and affordable housing as well as commercial spaces in many metropolitan areas reveal the severe difficulties of meeting the expansive demand for urban production and city living. In many cases, infill development and densification is confronted with strong opposition from local residents. Excessively long planning procedures and the tied financial situation of many city governments further hamper the claimed environmental and social transition towards sustainability.

In this session, the manifestations, drivers and impacts of urban change as well as the changing conditions of urban planning will be discussed. We are looking for contributions on current trends of urban change and the opportunities and limitations of public intervention on local tiers. Potential topics are:

• Housing market developments and local growth management and housing policies,

• Processes of reurbanisation and emerging patterns of “post-Fordist” suburbanisation,

• Processes of social change and new forms of socially inclusive urban policies,

• Challenges of urban shrinkage, especially with a view on urban services and local infrastructure systems,

•  Policies of urban re-development in the context of climate change adaptation at local planning levels – concepts and instruments,

• Local strategies in dealing with social opposition against public planning and new governance models of participation and empowerment.

Chair: Stefan Siedentop, Johann Jessen