LUDA is a research project of Key Action 4 "City of Tomorrow & Cultural Heritage" of the programme "Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development" within the Fifth Framework Programme of the European Commission.

The LUDA e-newsletter is a free electronic document, edited by the LUDA research team from the Leibniz Institute of Ecological and Regional Development in Dresden (Germany). The e-newsletter is distributed every three months, providing project updates, information on current affairs and details of other interesting issues.

In this issue of the newsletter we would like to present an important outcome of the project work. The position paper: "Sustainable Cities at the centre of the knowledge-based economy and cohesive European society". This paper is a contribution to the ongoing discussion on the thematic domain for the 7th Framework Programme of the European Community for Research and has been discussed and agreed by the participants of the last LUDA conference in Salzburg.

This issue comprehends the city stories written by the colleagues from Edinburgh and Dresden. Both cities are advanced in their rehabilitation process and present their achievements so far. The story of Edinburgh - Craigmillar illustrates how with the use of the Urban Design Framework the challenges, conflicting issues and priorities can be tackled. The Dresden story focuses on the projects leading in small steps to the improvement of the quality of life in the Weißeritz area.

We wish you a nice lecture!

LUDA Conference "Sharing Experiences - Developing Strategies for Large Urban Distressed Areas" in Salzburg 2nd -3rd December 2004

The two days of conference were devoted to "Sharing experience" between the cities within the LUDA Project. During the panel presentations and discussions in the working groups specific experience in urban rehabilitation, especially to the environmental quality and urban structure aspects, in community capacity/governance and image aspects and in human/social development and economic development aspects were compared and exchanged.
In a common work a position paper was produced as a result of intensive exchange during these two days of conference and one workshop day. It has been signed by the participants as a policy paper addressed to the European Commission and called "Sustainable Cities at the core of knowledge-based economy and cohesive European society". The whole text of the paper is published in this newsletter >See Position Paper<.

The Craigmillar Urban Design Framework is online

The Craigmillar Urban Design Framwork states a plan for the development of the Craigmillar area and decribes the standards that new development must meet. It can now be obtained via the following web link:
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/CEC/City_Development/Planning_and_Strategy/Development_Frameworks/craigmillar_framework.html

Strength in diversity

On 29th and 30th November 2004, an informal EU ministerial meeting for territorial cohesion and urban policy took place in "De Doelen" in Rotterdam. Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, Sybilla Dekker, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Government Reform and Kingdom Relations, Thomas De Graaf, were hosting this ministerial meeting.

Reform of the cohesion policy
Danuta Hübner, the new Commissioner responsible for Regional Policy stated that in policy terms, we cannot ignore territorial disparities in the larger EU. With the enlargement of the EU there are now 13 Cohesion countries instead of 4. These are the Member States whose gross national income is below 90% of the EU average. This is connected to the new economic processes increasing a demand for structural and cohesion funds. The enlargement is also an opportunity to increase the competitiveness and dynamism of the EU economy.
It has become commonplace to note the slow progress towards the Lisbon objective of making the EU more dynamic and competitive and raising employment rates and growth potential. Progress has been slow mainly because national governments have found it very difficult to undertake reforms and to make the necessary investments as well as there was to small ownership of the Lisbon process outside Brussels meetings.
The reforms of the cohesion policy for the period 2007-2013 are responding the challenges of the enlargement and the Lisbon agenda through the greater support of the poorest regions and countries which have the highest potential for real convergence. New Member States will receive up to 4% of GDP in EU funds. Cohesion policy will continue also outside the poorest regions. The reform will substantially simplify the administration of the EU funding.
The discussion paper for the meeting included a stated need for a new phase in EU cooperation on the territorial aspects of EU policies. The new phase will be aimed at deepening the territorial dimension, building on the objective of territorial cohesion and integrating it into EU policies with the aim of supporting the Union's ambitions of sustainable economic growth. The huge territorial and cultural diversity of the enlarged Union should in this respect be seen not as a problem but as an asset that will have to be better exploited as a unique potential for the Union.

Conclusions of the meeting
The territorial challenges require a coherent approach to the development of the EU territory that takes account of its diversity.
With regard to a coherent approach to the development of the EU territory the Ministers stated that the regions and the Member States have to identify their unique development potential and their position in the European territory, and to place spatial development strategies in a transnational and European development context. Integrated spatial development approaches enable regions and cities to exploit their potentials more effectively and support the Lisbon Strategy aims. The EU policies with a territorial impact have to be more coherent and take account of Europe's great territorial and cultural diversity as an EU potential. The future cohesion policy should consider the sectoral and spatial components ensuring an integrated approach and coherence between national policy priorities and those for transnational and interregional cooperation.
With regards to the urban policy the ministers agreed that they are going to make a concerted effort to put urban policy higher on the European agenda. More attention must be given to the role of the cities as a driving force behind economic development and a better social climate. The EU countries shall also collaborate more in this area. A European exchange network will be created with an aim to achieve effective cooperation between urban, national and European networks.

The 3rd Conference of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) will take place in Budapest, Hungary from 8-11September 2005. Section 28 will focus the subject "Europeanisation and New Forms of Governance: Challenges and Perspectives for Civil Society Organisations in the Enlarged Europe". The section is organised by Prof Máté Szabó (University of Budapest) and Prof Annette Zimmer (University of Muenster). It will include eight panels. The deadline is March, 1st. For further information concerning Budapest conference, please visit ECPR's webpage:

http://www.essex.ac.uk/ecpr/events/generalconference/budapest/index.asp

Links:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/networks/nufsd/index_en.htm

The Network of Urban Forums for Sustainable Development (NUFSD) is a network of urban partners comprising Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Non-profit Organisations (NPOs), research institutions and local authorities within the European Union and accession countries.
The mission is to contribute to more sustainable urban development in Europe, which is based on effective communication between the European Union and all stakeholders, especially citizens, in our cities.
The network is supported by the European Commission/DG Environment.

Sustainable Cities at the centre of the knowledge-based economy and cohesive European society
Thematic domains for future European Research within the 7th Framework Programme of the European Community for Research

Cities are the main drivers of economic growth, in addition to social and cultural diversity, across Europe. Given the problems and potential of the Lisbon Strategy, and other urban policies and strategies of the European Community, a range of research initiatives in the 7th Framework Programme are necessary in order to focus on the nature of the knowledge society and cities.

I European Policy Position
The European Union - as stated in the Lisbon Strategy, March 2000 - aims at becoming "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion."

The Nice European Council (2000) focused on a coordinated EU strategy for social inclusion, and the Gothenburg European Council (2001) proposed a strategy for sustainable development, stressing the need to incorporate an environmental dimension into this strategy. Therefore, the European Union Strategy for Sustainable Development "A Sustainable Europe for a Better World" (2001) highlights that "...in the long term, economic growth, social cohesion and environmental protection must go hand in hand."

The Sixth Community Environment Action Programme (2002), the forthcoming Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment (2004) and Aalborg+10 - Inspiring Futures (2004) (providing a valuable framework for sustainable urban development) all emphasise the central and strategic roles of urban research, urban planning and urban policies in order to achieve a sustainable society with a competitive economy; a social cohesive society and a clean, healthy and safe environment. To achieve these aims, cross-cutting and integrated approaches are required, best provided by spatial policies on the urban and regional levels.

The current proposal for regulation of the European Parliament and of the European Regional Development Fund's Council suggests that "the ERDF shall support the development of participative, integrated strategies to tackle the high concentration of economic, environmental and social problems affecting urban agglomerations." The "Council Regulation: Laying Down General Provisions On The European Regional Development Fund, The European Social Fund And The Cohesion Fund" document proposes the reinforcement of urban issues (including urban regeneration), building on the strength of the URBAN initiative, which shall be expanded in the future.

Multidisciplinary by nature, urban and regional issues encompass a wide variety of European policy objectives in relation to the areas of health, energy, the environment, information and communication technologies, transport, education and training, employment, social affairs and economic cohesion. Therefore, further investigation into these areas will provide a major contribution to the vision of a sustainable Europe.

Within Europe, 80% of the population live in urban areas. These areas play a strategic role in efforts to achieve a dynamic, knowledge-based economy, socially cohesive society and good quality environment. However, environmental issues are at the fore in current discussions, as described in the forthcoming thematic strategy on the urban environment.

Additionally, European cities often experience the emergence of larger urban areas, with low living standards leading to social segregation; causing them to be excluded from knowledge-based society. These areas suffer multiple deprivation such as degraded housing, inadequate or inappropriate facilities (e.g. in terms of infrastructure and transport), rundown or derelict industrial sites, and environmental risks and problems. Additionally, unattractive and disconnected urban structures, unemployment and weaknesses in social cohesion (e.g. poverty, low educational standards, ageing, poor health standards) are detrimental to the sustainable development of the city as a whole.

Any moves to improve the quality of life in these deprived areas have to address problems relating to highly unpredictable development trends and require long-term, multi-layered development, based upon flexible, integrated strategies. These must also be supported by the active participation of all stakeholders, including municipalities, developers, the general public and those involved in inter-governmental and cross-jurisdictional co-operation. Strategic, integrative and collaborative approaches are necessary to reconcile economic, ecological and social development and to achieve commitment from public, in addition to private, stakeholders.

Sustainable urban and regional development will provide major contributions towards improving citizens' quality of life, particularly within areas subject to multiple deprivation.

• Sustainable urban development requires far-sighted strategic planning and development.
• Sustainable urban development aims to maximise developmental opportunities by focusing on an integrated approach, incorporating environmental, economic, social and cultural factors into decision making.
• As sustainable urban development cannot be solved by public authorities alone, a good urban and regional governance approach is crucial for capacity building and increasing stakeholders' commitment. Stronger emphasis should be placed on co-operative networking, the exchange of experiences, public participation and stakeholder involvement (citizens, businesses, the voluntary sector, the media etc.), and mediation and arbitration. It is necessary for sustainable urban development to recognise and further the learning community strategy which European cities are adopting and to meet the knowledge transfer and capacity building requirements of stakeholders, in the development of sustainable communities. Creating favourable conditions for private sector developments is also important.
• Sustainable urban development requires the achievement of economic benefits without having a negative impact upon social cohesion or the environment. Sustainable urban land-use planning plays a strategic role in achieving this aim by promoting environmentally sustainable transport through the protection of soil, water, and air quality, biodiversity and by reducing the volume of waste.
• Sustainable urban development implies measures to combat social exclusion and poverty in addition to finding solutions in terms of the challenges of demographic development, such as the ageing population.

II Proposals for Future Urban Research Priorities
Taking into account European Policies, future research is necessary in the following areas:

1. Function of cities from a user perspective - integrating the emerging spatial, temporal and virtual structures of the knowledge-based society, in the context of complex historically-determined urban structures, both physical and social.
2. Learning cities and the social structures necessary to link individuals and social groups to the city, in order to support cohesion.
3. Flexible urban and regional governance, in the context of the new dynamics and dimensions of urban re/development.
4. The role of cities in enabling a creative environment for innovative forms of production and social processes in the networked knowledge-based society.
5. Intercompetitiveness of cities and their role in the global systems (economic, environmental, social and cultural).

III Examples of Future Urban Research Needs
Within the framework of the proposed future urban research priorities, the following topics should be taken up within the 7th Framework Programme:

1. Improving the quality of life by strategic, integrated, urban and regional planning:

• The interdependences of urban design, public health, the environment, cultural heritage, transport, social aspects and economic development need to be investigated further.
• Methods for integrating the various levels of planning (including levels of urban agglomeration: the city-region, the city, urban districts and neighbourhoods) require closer analysis, in terms of both planning and implementation. Strategic plans and instruments of governance should be able to take these links and interdependencies into account.
• Research is also required in terms of flexible tools to support the elaboration, adoption, implementation and regular revision of the concepts underpinning strategic integrated urban and regional development, plus associated environmental management plans.
• Methodological and technical advice must be suitable in working to solve the specific problems faced by regions and cities. Research and demonstration activities will be necessary, including focus upon end-users and their requirements.
• In seeking solutions to complex urban and regional problems, it is necessary to investigate a strategic planning process, including: the identification of strengths and weaknesses; problems and potentials; opportunities and threats; and scenario-building and visioning.
• Methods and techniques for strategic planning need to take into account short-term actions in addition to long-term planning. This includes futures and assessment methods as well as methods and techniques for supporting strategic policy-level decision-making, long-term flexible programming and the initiation of joint learning processes.
• Research is required into the integration of expert opinions, from different spheres, into the implementation of strategic integrated plans on urban, regional, national and European levels and broadening the exchange of experiences towards improving the implementation of good practice.
• Methods of monitoring the impact and/or successes of strategic, integrated urban and regional plans must be developed. Monitoring tools are needed, in order to provide early distress warnings and preventative approaches to enable communities to avoid negative outcomes.

2. Involvement of stakeholders to achieve sustainable cities for urban and regional governance

• Methods and techniques are needed to empower stakeholders from various spheres (citizens, private investors, NGOs, etc.), thus strengthening both their ability to engage in participative urban and regional planning activities and their interest in them.. Active stakeholder involvement will be championed as a major factor in a good urban and regional governance. In the long run, joint learning processes will be initiated and maintained.
• It is also necessary to develop methods and techniques aimed at increasing the accessibility of information and expertise and to delegate decision-making powers and responsibilities to stakeholders. These are essential requirements for a strategic collaborative approach in urban and regional development.
• Greater stakeholder involvement in planning activities will include research into creating integrated funding instruments which make use of public and private sources, ensuring investments are adequately used in progressing towards strategic integrated urban and regional development.
• Research should be carried out on incorporating marketing and promotional activities into the integrated urban and regional planning approach, in order to directly address and engage the target audiences (inhabitants, entrepreneurs and other urban market members) thus stimulating urban and regional development and strengthening / enhancing the local and regional image and identity.
• Research should be carried out on improving a municipality's capacity to manage and implement these new approaches.

3. Social cohesion and capacity building in a knowledge-based economy

• Promoting capacity development in terms of social capital and citizenship - responsibility, autonomy, solidarity, trust cooperation.
• Fostering social cohesion, against the background of growing socio-spatial segregation, should be progressed as a central issue. Consideration should also be given to providing adequate access to employment, education, housing and infrastructures for disadvantaged groups of the population.
• Ways of exploiting Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to foster education, lifelong learning and human resource development should be investigated, in order progress towards the knowledge-based society. Use of ICTs can work to prevent further exclusion, which can force urban areas to become disconnected from social and economic development.
• In response to the increasing number of migrations in European cities, research should respond to the scientific demands for strategies promoting diversity and integration amongst different ethnic groups, and the development of more multicultural spaces. Strategies based at neighbourhood or urban district level could make a valuable contribution toward strengthening integration whilst also benefiting ethnic and cultural diversity.

4. Urban redevelopment as a contributor towards improved living standards and sustainable resource management

• Apart from fostering good urban governance and social cohesion, improving living standards through urban redevelopment requires particular focus on urban structure, environmental quality, the protection of cultural heritage, economic development, and on the image of the urban areas or regions, both internally and externally. Methods of integrating these issues into strategic redevelopment/rehabilitation merit further investigation.
• Successful regional and urban redevelopment very much depends upon the creation of a positive image of the target area. Therefore, the reasons behind a poor image, and its consequences (e.g. crime, high proportions of minority groups, poor physical environment must be investigated, in addition to research into strategies to improve the images of deprived urban areas.
• The redevelopment of brownfields, unused, underused and derelict land, which aims to emulate models of compact cities with high density and mixed use settlements, is a major element in sustainable resource management. Therefore, strategies will have to be elaborated to incorporate the effective prevention of developments on the greenfields, by strengthening urban redevelopment. Furthermore, research is required on how to adapt the model of compact cities with higher densities to maintain relevance for declining and shrinking urban and regional areas.
• Tools and instruments for creating and supporting strategies which will protect open spaces, cultural landscapes and natural areas against urban sprawl should be further developed and disseminated.
  " The development of appropriate methodologies and tools is required for cities to acquire financial and political support towards promoting safe and healthy environments, and safeguarding urban open spaces in order to make cities more people-friendly.
  " Research is needed on energy efficient settlements and on strategies to reduce urban waste, promote renewable energy sources and provide incentives and awards for overall resource efficiency, including within existing building stock.

5. Sustainable local and regional economy in the era of globalisation

• Further research is required into achieving the potential offered by ICTs and the knowledge society, including the integration of ICT development and implementation within overall economic regeneration planning.
• Structural problems in existing European funding regimes that do not support the adoption of sustainability evaluation for either the planning or programming of regeneration projects.
• Methods of initiating a rise in weak local economies through promoting investments, business-start-ups and a move towards knowledge-based economy have to be researched. On the urban district level, special consideration should be given to the role of small- and medium-sized enterprises.
• Research should be undertaken on how to strengthen the commitment of the private sector to urban and regional development; for example, through a stronger focus on public-private and public-public partnerships. Small- and medium-sized companies are often strongly rooted within their urban districts. This should be actively exploited through the development of strategies to support these enterprises, thus stimulating urban development.
• Large amounts of funding are requested for urban recovery in rehabilitation. Municipalities and firms suffer insufficient capacity to gather financial resources. It is necessary to promote and diffuse knowledge of efficient methods and techniques amongst them, towards access to super-national, national, regional and local public funding in addition to access to the financial markets.

The Edinburgh LUDA: Promoting and Regenerating Craigmillar (PARC)
The PARC Regeneration Project

The Urban Design Framework:
Rising to the Challenge - but not too high!

A key aspect of the successful regeneration of the Edinburgh LUDA area, Craigmillar, is the redevelopment of the majority of the housing in the area to provide a standard and quality appropriate for the 21st century.

It is now firmly recognised that "housing only" regeneration, or purely physical regeneration, will not be able to tackle, in a holistic way, the challenges and needs of community regeneration. However it is acknowledged in Craigmillar that the backbone/basis for successful regeneration in the area will incorporate successful housing re-development.

The Craigmillar area is characterised as a mono-tenure housing "scheme" developed both inter-war and post-war, with the usual critique that a full range of facilities and community infrastructure was not provided along with the housing. Also the housing which was developed, whilst seen a distinct improvement on some of the inner city tenements it replaced at the time, now needs to be replaced. To date some successful housing redevelopment has taken place, which it is hoped will be enhanced by a more comprehensive regeneration of the area.

The over-riding concept of the regeneration project within Craigmillar is to "connect" the area and its challenges with the opportunities, which now exist within the wider Edinburgh City Region.

Early on there has been a recognition that regeneration is a complex and challenging task, one which cannot be achieved without significant and substantial support from the area's local and national governments and agencies. Yet also there is now appreciation that sustainable regeneration also needs support and investment from a vibrant and connected private sector. How can the public sector pump prime regeneration in the area so as to create the conditions for a substantial growth in the accompanying private sector investment?

One ambitious target for the regeneration is the provision of some 3200 new houses, which will be both for social housing and for private housing sale, to meet the needs of both the existing Craigmillar community and to attract and accommodate new people to the area.

This "City Story" illustrates how PARC, by using an Urban Design Framework, sought to tackle these challenges and conflicting issues and priorities, and set out a blueprint for future development, which will hopefully utilise the resources of both the public and private sectors in the regeneration of the housing stock.

The Urban Design Framework is intended to provide both development direction and guidancefor the area. The Framework has been developed by the Joint Venture Company in Partnership with the Council and Community. . Hence the strength of the Framework will be that resultant planning applications within the area, will have to accord with the principles and guidelines set out in the framework. This will ensure a co-ordinated and cohesive development that contributes to the joined up approach to regeneration activity, and will give confidence to potential investors in Craigmillar that there is a concerted and government backed approach to the area's improvement.

However, the Framework, must be both firm enough to establish clear guidance for developers, whilst flexible enough to allow individual developers to propose distinctive and creative solutions to urban living. Also a successful Framework must also seek to meet the aspirations of both the existing and future communities of Craigmillar.

The Framework, seeks to establish a structure to both neighbourhood housing development, the provision of open space and recreational facilities, and the creation of a new town centre and Greenbelt parkland. It will also incorporate proposals for transportation access to new areas of economic growth nearby and plan for the creation of a new tramline connecting the area quickly to the City Centre.

The prominent debate in drawing up the framework with the existing community focused on the appropriate densities for housing redevelopment, and the appropriate height for new flats. Debate also centred on the need for the construction of a range of housing types for local people and the provision of enough social houses for rent, to meet the needs of local people wishing to remain in or return to the area.

Here innovative solutions are looked at within the Framework in terms of the variation of densities and urban form, and the resultant open space layouts with both meaningful public and private open space. Example layouts of housing neighbourhoods provide design guidance here for the subsequent developments.

Good practice visits for both development officials and local community representatives have been organised showing positive examples of how this has been achieved elsewhere, with a range of housing types and forms being accommodated in higher density schemes.

However local people rightly point to the past history of the Craigmillar area, where the past development of housing was at a medium to high density, but in a highly regular and uniform format, which resulted, over time, in an unattractive living environment with problems of security and privacy. Understandably local people are keen that lessons are learned here, and that old problems are not repeated in the new developments.

The Urban Design Framework also introduces the idea of the "homezone", where the pedestrian has priority over vehicles in the residential locality. Whilst Homezones are more common on the continent, they are relatively rare in the UK, and will be usual when introduced on such a large scale, throughout the regeneration area as proposed.

The Framework also seeks to reintroduce to the area the concept of an attractive and bustling "High Street" within a newly developed town centre, rather than creating a separate pedestrian precinct. Once again local people are keen to ensure that new road solutions tackle the existing problems of congestion, through traffic, and in particular road safety.

The draft document, Urban Design Framework was completed in November 2004, and will be the subject of substantial public consultation and discussion early in 2005.

It is hoped that a final document can both rise to the challenge of building a new community in Craigmillar whilst also listening and incorporating the views and needs of local people. Once a finalised Framework is agreed and approved by the Local Authority, it will form the basis of the regeneration activity, allowing the redevelopment programme to progress whilst maximising the required inputs from both the public and private sectors.

The draft Urban Design Framework is available now to the LUDA Network. Details of links to the document are available through the City of Edinburgh Council representatives.

Please contact:

Charlie Shanlin
City Development Department,
The City of Edinburgh Council
1 Cockburn Street
Edinburgh
EH1 1ZW

Email: charlie.shanlin@edinburgh.gov.uk

Approaching "Weißeritz" - the case area in Dresden

Characteristics of the area
Due to its radial location within the city and its spatial dimensions, the "Weißeritz" area has had a formative influence on the urban region as a whole. The area is located in the south west of Dresden. It includes part of the city centre, the (former) industrial zone, road and rail infrastructure, former workers' living quarters from the 19th/20th century and a landscape reserve close to the city limits. The river "Weißeritz", and its old river bed, are substantial components of the 1000 ha area.

Problems
One of the major problems is the low, or non-existent, land use by the private sector. One reason for this is the poor image of the area, which relates to its destruction during WWII and the relinquishment of further land use after the reunification of Germany in 1990. The low demand on land use has resulted in a large amount of inaccessible wasteland, empty housing and land usage which seems not appropriate for its central location within the city. Another necessary condition for investment is flood protection, which is only granted after a number of years.
Other problems affecting the quality of life are the links to the city centre e.g. a poor infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians and poor cross-river relations between neighbourhoods (Löbtau - Plauen).
The redevelopment of the site is problematic due to the lack of priorities to force investment, and the lack of consent between land-owners and between the planning departments of the city.

Potential
The area's significant role in connecting the city centre with adjacent residential areas offers development potential. A sufficient transport infrastructure exists, offering access to major roads, the rail network and the local public transport system. A huge amount of wasteland has the potential to be developed into permanent, public open space for housing and recreation, and the creation of designated routes for pedestrians and cyclists. It also offers space for future developments, benefiting the local economy. The river "Weißeritz" and its banks provide a link between the different LUDAs and also offer potential for the development of accessible green open spaces.
Existing remnants of the urban structure, such as parks, squares, industrial monuments and historical sites, can serve as initials for investment and further development.
Vision, chances of development and drivers for change
The vision for the area is to develop a site which attracts both business and residential developments. The key project underpinning this vision is the creation of a high quality green open space. The development of the area depends upon communication and cooperation between land owners, existing and potential investors and the municipality. In order to attract investors and proposals for suitable land usage, the development plans must be communicated more explicitly. Therefore, it is essential to link marketing with urban planning in addition to undertaking research on attracting desired land-use developments.

Projects
In the short term, pilot projects are being carried out in cooperation with stakeholders, in order to highlight existing potential for development. These projects have a positive effect on public relations and on the image of the case study area, as they visualise long term developments.
In the longer term, the establishment of a green connection between the city centre and adjacent residential areas is to be realised. This key project includes a number of additional developments, such as: flood protection, infrastructural development, securing existing urban structures and initiating new economic structures through the improvement of the quality and accessibility of open space.
In order to realize the pilot projects and to ensure the long term developments, including the green connection, are completed, the moderation of differing interests and intensive, continuous cooperation with stakeholders is planned; for example, in marketing. These efforts will concentrate on the priority action areas.

Interdisciplinary work in process
Uniting the visions of various development plans and programmes with the diversity of stakeholders' interests is extremely challenging, particularly due to the volume of demands from lobbyists to exceed the minimum requirements for stakeholder participation. Additional obstacles include the low proportion of publicly-owned land of public land and the high number of private land owners. Below are two examples of planned and live projects addressing the cooperation of stakeholders: these aim to foster consensus-based developments in terms of public welfare and investments.

(1) The Moderation of Interests is an assembly that deals with a former railway area of 11,5 ha which has been mainly waste land for several decades. The so-called "Kohlebahnhof" (a former railway to transport coal) is situated closest to the inner city centre within the Weißeritz-Project (financed by European Funding of Regional Development) and is, therefore, strategic for its urban, economic and ecological potential. Historically, the area was part of the old Weißeritz riverbed: now, the City of Dresden considers the area as a major component of the planned Green Corridor. This will be a public corridor for bikers and pedestrians with the river Weißeritz as the main attraction, linking the city centre with adjacent residential areas and a nearby landscape reserve.

The Moderation of Interests will be carried out across three meetings in Nov 2004, January and March 2005, with landowners and departments of the municipality in attendance. The meetings are aimed at creating a shared vision and clarifying the next steps toward its realisation.

Bottle necks which need to be clarified in the meeting:

(2) The continuation of progress oriented working sessions is being prepared in cooperation with the IOER. There are three major issues which are scheduled to be finalised between spring and late summer. The first one focuses on the area's (changing) identity and ways to achieve a positive external image. Therefore, the focus will be on identifying common interests and areas of action between the different stakeholders, in order to improve the area's image. An example might be that, according to the different areas of interest, smaller working groups could prepare their input to a common summer project on improving public relations. With respect to external development, parallels can be drawn to Dresden's marketing and marketing opportunities of the site, which were examined in a dissertation.

The second issue addresses the reuse of wasteland and strategies to allow the successful development of the green connection. An overview of positive examples will lead onto discussions in working groups, on the development of fallow properties of strategic importance. An overview of alternative tools and strategies from external experts will enrich the process.

The third issue deals with alternative development scenarios of the Oederaner Straße residential area. This area has been characterized by changing land ownership, empty housing, and the controversial development of investment and its absence. This workshop will be backed up by a semester-long project by geography students from the Technical University, Dresden. The project examines the area's image, living conditions and social structure, drawing comparisons with similar residential areas situated in LUDA.
The aims are, on one hand, to facilitate the working process of both European projects (EFRE,LUDA) and, on the other hand, to initiate structured cooperation with and amongst stakeholders and to gain perspectives that go beyond the duration of the development projects.

Perceiving Progress - short term development through Pilot Projects
There are a number of intermediate projects which have been, and continue to be carried out in the short term, in order to illustrate and facilitate longer term developments. Some of them are the LUDA tours which have been developed in cooperation with local stakeholders, urban development projects and the IOER. These tours introduce visitors to historical information, the present function and future development potential of the case study area. For example, the LUDA-North tour deals with different kinds of green open spaces and their links between the inner city centre and adjacent quarters. This will remain of interest due to the reopening of links between spaces that seemed disconnected from each other because of barriers such as the railway system. Also, the Moderation of Interests contributed to this reopening process by presenting temporary land uses as an initiatory stage in the development of the "Kohlebahnhof". The LUDA-Centre tour focuses on a junction of major roads, the river Weißeritz, residential areas and a shopping street. The predominant theme of this walk is the continuous presence of waste land and empty housing, in combination with the flood hazards of the Weißeritz river. Participants are keen to learn about future development possibilities regarding the river banks and adjacent properties. Therefore, this topic is complemented by input from subject experts.

Last year's land art project, Light & Games, was an initial step toward drawing the public's attention to the Weißeritz and its immediate surroundings. The exhibition was part of a public relations campaign, involving panel discussions of the relationship between "lighting art" and urban development, and the public launch of the framework plan Dresden Weißeritz. This campaign was initiated and organised by Lumopol, a group of artists, architects and planners, and sponsored by local stakeholders, the Weißeritz project (EFRE) and LUDA. This year, another public relations project is planned, revealing more of the area's identity by opening land which is normally closed to the public. Following these demonstrations of the broad variety of existing functions, the main focus will be upon the future of the green corridor and the initial steps of the "Kohlebahnhof" development. The moderation and the working sessions will guarantee key local stakeholders continuous involvement and active participation.

A key step in the development of the green corridor is the revival of fallow properties. Therefore, categories of waste land have been determined in order to simplify the strategic approach according to their ownership, facilities etc. As a next step, key properties will be defined, developed over the next few months with EU-funding (EFRE). The revival of the initial stages of the green corridor is a task which has taken priority, in close cooperation with different departments, land owners and external experts.

please contact:
Wencke Reichel
Stadt Dresden
Stadtplanungsamt
Technisches Rauhaus
Hamburger Straße 19
01067 Dresden

e-mail: wreichel@dresden.de
tel. +49 351 488 3445

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Project Director: Professor Bernhard Mueller

Weberplatz 1
01217 Dresden (Germany)

fon 0049 351 4679 0
fax 0049 351 4679 212

Editorial staff
Dr. Carlos Smaniotto Costa
Christiane Westphal
Patrycja Bielawska - Roepke
Leander Kuettner

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