IT Regions: Innovation and Technology as driving forces for a sustainable urban and regional development

Not only since the Rio summit or local agenda 21 sustainability is a major issue in urban and regional planning. A well-balanced framework of ecological, economical and social conditions for man and environment has to be established and its perseverance has to be secured.

Can sustainable development be achieved by preserving current conditions or even by attempting to turn back time? Or is innovation and technology the only possibility to achieve sustainability?

Continuous innovation and intelligent application of technology are key factors to enable sustainable development. The creative and intelligent use of technology in spatial planning and environmental management is crucial for the succesful development of cities and regions. How can competing cities and regions become succesful sustainable IT regions? How can they find their position by intelligent use of their local and regional potential?

Major topic 1: “GLOCALIZE.IT!”

The same goods in the same supermarket shelves from the North Cape to Fireland, the “business districts” of cities around the globe are like two peas in a pod and the price for the global product “hamburger” provides information about the economic resources of a country. Also the dream of one's own home with garden is almost the same nearly everywhere. Do the meanings of local and regional characteristics completely disappear?
Are they reduced to a few marketable folkloristic aspects?
Or does the local and regional level even gain significance in the view of global and international developments? Is the slogan “think globally, act locally!” out of date or more important than ever?

The guidance topic of CORP 2003 is a request:

GLOCALIZE.IT!

The discussion is up for the possibilities to act on local and regional level under the aspect of international and global developments and the relationship of these aspects in the planning of the future. IT does not only stand for the requests to act but also for the role of information and communication technologies in these processes.


Majaor topic 2: “4D urban & landscape models”

3D models are permanently rising in popularity. More and more cities and tourism regions rely on the effects of 3D modelling. New techniques and fast hardware allow to produce stunning illustrations relatively cheaply and quickly.

But do these improved visualisation opportunities really result in better plans and advantages in the development of cities and regions? Where are the real benefits of 3D modelling? What about the time dimension for future plannings as well as for the past, e. g. for documentation and reconstruction of historical buildings?

Do 4D urban and landscape models already deploy all of their advantages?

“Who plans Europe's future?”

The motto of CORP 2002 is “Europe goes on - Vienna goes ahead!” Vienna was very dedicated within Europe and within the candidates for accession in the last years. If Vienna attempted to initiate a European region in the multi-city region between St. Pölten, Brno, Bratislava, Györ, Sopron, Eisenstadt and Wiener Neustadt with its “natural” centre Vienna, this could be seen as the approach of planning the direct surrounding of the metropolitan area of Vienna in a European way. Also a lot of other planning actions try to encourage people for participation, give them chances to participate, and take their co-operation politically seriously.

For that reason the relations between the city council and the citizens and the participatory right http://de.pons.eu/englisch-deutsch/participatorymust be improved and democracy must be developed. Also the city council of Vienna aims at the target of the use of new technologies for a better communication between themselves and the citizens.

These new knowledge and challenges are focused at CORP 2002. We are all planning Europe. Only with the commitment of all, the aims of a mutual thinking and acting can become reality – and CORP makes a major contribution.