The new conditions of the network society and relational geography are fast transforming the temporal and spatial variables of urban and regional development. Urban activities are becoming interrelated at very different levels of scale and a large portion of the required communication is seemingly instantaneous. The dynamic social and economic forces have a direct impact on local and regional spaces, requiring an adaption of the methods of organizing spatial collective action. Tendencies of rescaling and the accompanying forms of specialized spatial organization may disrupt territorially integrated qualities of place. The increasing divergence of spatial, economic, social and environmental qualities produces new threats and opportunities for organizing collective action in transforming spaces. The interrelationships between social and spatial interaction, on the one hand, and the need for taking collective action to transform spaces on the other is the research area of the group. We will investigate new ways of organizing collective action in the dynamic social and spatial context, focusing more specifically on three closely interrelated problem areas:
- Integrative strategic planning and projects in contexts of metropolitan transformation;
- Mobility and spatial planning in transforming spaces;
- Institutional capacity to realize environmental protection;
The aim of the programme is to uncover forms of collective action and to test their legitimacy and effectiveness; their positive contribution to integrative processes of spatial transformation is essential for successful performances. Collective action is investigated in its institutional meaning and – at a more operational level – in the expression of spatial and environmental interventions via planning, policies and projects. As the research of the group focuses on both levels and their interaction, both the meaning of institutions and the operational interventions are therefore essential ‘variables’.
The mission of the group’s research programme closely follows the general mission of AMIDSt – to maintain and further develop a significant scientific contribution to the international scientific community. Besides fulfilling this academic mission, the group aims at providing significant contributions to the practices of planning and policy-making. This dual valorization of scientific results – both in society at large and in the scientific domain – is crucial. For planning studies in particular, it is essential to develop research strategies in close interaction with social and professional networks in order to learn and to test new concepts for planning strategies of collective action. This is not to be confused with ‘applied science’. We take a distinct scientific position of critical reflection, conceptualization and testing. The interaction with practices is needed in order to feed the pathways of learning on both sides.
urbanplanningams 