Built Environment Symposium

The number of people living in cities is increasing. Together with a growing concentration in cities, there is a bigger need for more humane living spaces. The question remains: what does the ideal urban living space look like? What is the potential of construction planning as an effective means for improving the livability of our cities? Based on examples from the German-speaking area, the Alpbach Built Environment Symposium will outline the challenges to a humane planning of cities and living spaces.

The concepts of other European cities will serve as a starting point of discussion. The increasing trend for creating greening zones leads to an upgrading of houses, streets and parks. Citizens strive to become more actively involved in organising their surroundings. New questions regarding infrastructures arise. Which instruments of good city and regional planning are already in use and which instruments are yet to be devised? Which new approaches in housing policy concentrate on reconciling urban agglomeration with quality of life? Experts from the areas of planning, research, architecture, and politics will discuss these questions and share their visions of the ideal living space of the future.