Speaker
Description
Integrating urban-rural linkages into local and regional planning processes can be a key factor in shaping sustainable social, economic and ecological transformation processes. In efforts to advance regenerative supplies of energy, food, or building materials while mitigating climate change and preserving biodiversity, the territories of extended urbanization are becoming a central arena for future innovation. Agile planning approaches, multi-stakeholder platforms and models of integrated regional governance are therefore needed to negotiate and envision urban-rural futures across administrative boundaries and sectoral silos.
The Sino-German Urban-Rural Assembly project (URA, 2019-2025) addressed this methodological gap by conducting transdisciplinary and transformative research in living labs in Germany and China. Based on multidisciplinary analyses of socio-spatial practices, material cycles, water landscapes, ecosystems, migration and inclusion, the project initiated "Urban-Rural Co-Visioning" processes in both regions. In a series of multi-actor workshops, researchers and local stakeholders entered into negotiations on regional futures and co-designed goals, future visions and transformation paths for strengthening sustainable urban-rural relations in the living labs. The aim was firstly to develop evidence-based and locally robust guiding principles for sustainable transformation in both regions, and secondly to derive a transferable methodology for “Co-Visioning” urban-rural regions. The paper will present the refined approach as published in a joint policy paper with UN-Habitat.
References
Hagemann, Anke, Ava Lynam, Gaoli Xiao, Wolfgang Wende, Li Fan, Sigrun Langner, Maria Frölich-Kulik, Laura Henneke, and Lukas Pappert. Urban-Rural Assembly: A Handbook for Co-Visioning Interconnected Regions. Berlin: JOVIS, 2024.
| Keywords | urban-rural linkages; regional design; transdisciplinary research; sustainability transition; participatory planning |
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