In consultation with the funding authority the cooperation with the Russian Federation is suspended until further notice.

Graphics: IRZ
Graphics: IRZ
Russian Federation

On 14 and 22 April 2021, IRZ organised two online events on local self-government for students attending the "Project Management in Spatial Development and Planning" further training programme at the RANEPA University (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration). Around 20 young practitioners attended the lectures.

Lecture on the Hamburg HafenCity urban development project

The speaker at the three-hour online lecture on 14 April was Uwe A. Carstensen, a qualified engineer and Expert Guide at HafenCity Hamburg GmbH. With his lecture "HafenCity: Ambitions, achievements and learning processes from 20 years of urban development in the heart of Hamburg", the IRZ expert informed the students about Europe's largest inner-city urban development project. Covering an area of 157 hectares (388 acres), Hamburg's HafenCity has become a lively urban area used for working, living, education, culture, leisure, tourism and retail. The lecture focused on the following three main areas:

  • basics of urban development around the harbour edge
  • new standards of socially and ecologically sustainable urban development
  • future demands on urban developmen

Urban development in the Berlin-Brandenburg area of the German capital and in Bad Vilbel

The online lecture on 22 April was given by Anja Kneiding, deputy head of the "Spatial Development, Regional Planning" section at the Joint Spatial Planning Department Berlin-Brandenburg, and Dr Thomas Stöhr, Mayor of the town of Bad Vilbel.

Anja Kneiding gave a presentation on regional planning and spatial development in the Berlin-Brandenburg area of the German capital. She focused on the following topics:

  • The German regional development and spatial planning system in general
  • the Regional Planning Act at federal level
  • Laender legislation
  • municipal regulations
  • division of tasks and interaction between the levels
  • local planning autonomy
    • "Special case" Berlin-Brandenburg – a joint authority: How does it work?
    • Example of the State Development Plan for the Berlin-Brandenburg area
    • preparation and participation procedure
    • instruments and enforcement
  • Spatial development – informal instruments for regional development, cooperation formats and projects.

Dr. Thomas Stöhr, Mayor of Bad Vilbel, took over the second part of the lecture and reported on the urban development concepts in the town of Bad Vilbel. Bad Vilbel is a medium-sized town (approx. 35,000 inhabitants) on the outskirts of Frankfurt am Main, which is known nationwide for its mineral springs. Dr. Stöhr spoke about the new "Quellenpark" urban district and its concept, planning and implementation. He also addressed the urban development of the town centre in terms of shopping facilities, medical and office buildings and the development of a town square and public library. The legal basis, including the development scheme, the civil law aspects of land purchase contracts, as well as the financing balance sheet, was also part of his presentation.

The series of lectures was a great success all round. The participants made extensive use of the opportunity to ask questions during the event. Although the lectures were held online, they almost achieved the atmosphere of a face-to-face event.