Speaker
Description
Urban densification is increasingly advocated by planners throughout Europe as a viable solution to housing shortages and the reduction of land uptake. By optimizing existing urban spaces, densification promises to alleviate the pressure to develop greenfield sites, thereby preserving natural landscapes and promoting sustainable urban growth. Suburban areas have huge potential for densification, yet densification in these areas is barely in the focus of spatial planning and systematic implementation is often tardy. Existing property rights and stakeholder interests hamper development. Yet it can be expected that in different countries the hampering factors differ.
Western and post-socialist contexts deal differently with property rights and land policy. This study investigates possible soft densification of suburban areas in Germany, as a Western European state, and the Czech Republic, a post-socialist state, through the lens of three key research questions.
The first research question examines the historical development of suburbanization, analyzing how the trajectories differ between the Western and post-socialist settings. A comparative content analysis of literature explores temporal and quantitative distinctions, highlighting the role of property rights transitions—particularly in the Czech Republic's post-socialist privatization—in shaping suburban patterns.
The second research question investigates the morphological characteristics of suburban neighborhoods, comparing plot sizes, building layouts, built-up areas, and housing typologies (e.g. individual houses, row houses, duplexes) in the case studies of Prague and Dortmund suburbs. Using geospatial analysis, this study uncovers how spatial configuration and built environment in these regions can determine spatial reserves for soft densification, offering the most empirical insights of the research.
The third research question addresses governance perspectives, focusing on how soft densification is reflected in policy documents and perceived by municipal representatives. Data include interviews, legislation, and strategic documents, analyzed through keyword searches and qualitative coding. This research highlights how property rights frameworks—such as land-use regulations and ownership constraints—shape the feasibility and implementation of densification policies, revealing differences in institutional approaches and municipal practices.
By integrating historical, morphological, and governance perspectives, this study elucidates the interplay of suburbanization, property rights, and densification policies in Germany and the Czech Republic. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how socio-political and legal contexts influence suburban development and offer valuable insights for spatial planning and housing policy.
| Keywords | soft densification; suburban densification; housing policy; property rights; post-socialist suburbanization |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
