Curriculum DevelopmentTeaching Modules

ALEX DEFFNER VASSILIS BOURDAKIS

Dept. of Planning and Regional Development, School of Engineering,

University of Thessaly (UTH), Volos, Greece

PICT, Final WP6

8-Mar-2005

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ContentsI. PARTICIPANTS

CLASSIFICATION

II. 4 CORE TEACHING MODULES

III. 4 TEACHING MODULES FOR THE PUBLIC

IV. 3 TEACHING MODULES FOR THE PLANNERS

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I. PARTICIPANTS CLASSIFICATION categories Peculiarities of the Greek case

studyPeculiarities of other case studies

Age group High % of elderly

Educational level Very low, 50% illiterate, 21% school drop-out

Income level Very low, 50% below poverty line

Employment status 24% much higher than the region

Household type Many single parent families

ethnic minorities 15% Roma, refugees and economic immigrants

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II. 4 CORE TEACHING MODULES (6 units)

A. Introductory 1. Introduction to PICT(0,5 unit=0,5 teaching

hour) 1.1. What is PICT (0,1 unit)• PICT (Planning Inclusion of Clients through e-

training) is a transnational project financed in part by the European Commission in the context of Leonardo Da Vinci's Community Vocational Training Action Programme. It is implemented by local authorities, universities, private consultancies and social partners in four European countries: Belgium, Greece, Hungary and the United Kingdom

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Core 2

1.2. Project aims (0,1 unit)

• The project aims to promote effective public participation in planning, through the development and use of advanced ICT (Information Computer Technology) applications that may promote interaction and dialogue between planners and the public

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Core 31.3. Who can benefit? (0,1 unit)• The citizen who cares about planning and wants

to be involved in the decisions

• The local entrepreneurs who are affected by planning decisions and would like to take part in the planning process

• The planners who want to promote participatory procedures through an effective dialogue with the local stakeholders and improve their skills on new planning and design technologies

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Core 4• The local competent authorities who can set

the course for a democratic planning process and train planning personnel to that effect

• The universities which can jointly formulate learning material, develop further and test laboratory applications of "user-friendly" design and mapping tools, for public participation and teaching purposes at the national and European level

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Core 51.4. Actions planned and expected results (0,2 unit)

Step 1: Define the conceptual and operational

framework for public participation in planning. To that effect the project reviews and encodes theory and practice of public participation across Europe and compiles characteristic examples of good or not so good practice and legislation

Step 2: Set up four pilot projects, one in each participating local authority.

The pilot projects are launched by determining the needs of citizens and planning professionals in order to encourage dialogue between them

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Core 6Step 3: Focus the participatory procedure on a planning

issue and develop suitable ICT applications. Information Computer Technology applications are used to illustrate points for discussion and interaction between the public and planners. A learning methodology is also compiled to enable all stakeholders involved to increase their capacity for participation

Step 4: Self-manage the process. Each pilot area establishes a Local Consultative Committee and a "task force" to offer advice and practical help to individuals

Step 5: Host local workshops and an international conference.

The purpose is to raise public awareness and to widely announce project products and results

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Core 7

• United Kingdom– Knowsley

Metropolitan Borough Council (Project Contractor)

– Liverpool John Moores University, School of the Built Environment

– European Council of Town Planners (ECTP)

• Greece– PRISMA Centre for

Development Studies (Project Coordinator)

– Municipality of Agia Varvara in the Prefecture of Athens

– University of Thessaly, Dept of Planning & Regional Development

Project partners

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Core 8

• Belgium– Hogeschool voor

Wetenschap & Kunst Sint Lucas Architectuur

Project duration

The project started in November 2002 and will end in October 2005

• Hungary– Budapest University of

Technology and Economics

– WEBhu Kft. ICT Consultancy

For more information

please visit the project website

www.e-pict.co.uk

Project partners

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Core 9

B. Planning & participation (2,5 units)

2. Planning (1,5 units)

2.1. General concepts of urban planning (1 unit)

2.1.1. Space, time and culture (0,5 unit)

• Avoidance of spatial determinism: urban interventions can strengthen or weaken already existing social tendencies BUT they cannot by themselves create new ones

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Core 10

• Importance of temporal dimension: Focus on daily life but also raising attention for a prospective view over longer periods of time

• Multiculturalism: in a multicultural area it is ‘easier’ to argue for the importance of culture. e.g. in Brussels the different ethnic groups are rather large & connected, though not often integrated in a context of diversity

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Core 112.1.2. Creativity, innovation and leisure (0,1 unit)• Use of creativity (process from consumption

to production) as a dynamic tool for urban innovation and imaginative action, focusing on culture

• Having an open mind for innovative practices (as well as theoretical approaches)

• Importance of leisure activities especially for areas that have unemployed people who are rich in time (they have more, albeit ‘forced’, leisure time) and poor in money a general contradiction

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Core 122.1.3. Sustainability (0,8 unit)

• Three dimensions of sustainable development in planning:

Social – Economic – Environmental

• Definition of a sustainable city: ‘organised so as to enable all its citizens to meet their own needs and to enhance their well-being without damaging the natural world or endangering the living conditions of other people now or in the future’ (

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Man made city (Tokyo)

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Reckless urban sprawl (Phoenix, Arizona))

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The endless city (Mexico City)

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China’s urban miracle? Shenzhen

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Core 13• Attributes of a sustainable city:

‘just, beautiful, creative, ecological, of easy contact & mobility, compact & polycentric, diverse’

• Initial considerations of sustainability:‘sustainability is future preservation involving actions ethically or aesthetically accepted, so that they become satisfying things to do now: ‘as historical preservation requires the disposal of the irrelevant past, so future preservation requires the elimination of the irrelevant future’

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Curitiba Brazil, promoting urban sustainability (the first university of the environment)

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Core 14

• Peoples Needs as a Starting Point

– Clean air & water, healthy food, good housing– Quality education, vibrant culture, good health

care, satisfying employment or occupation– Safety in public spaces, equal opportunities,

supportive relationships, freedom of expression– Meeting the special requirements of the young,

the old and the disabled

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Core 15• culture of sustainability: development of concepts of real

sustainability– Involve the whole person– Place long term stewardship above short term

satisfaction– Ensure justice and fairness informed by civic

responsibility– Identify the appropriate scale of viable human activities– Encourage diversity within the unity of a given

community– Develop precautionary principles,anticipating the effects

of our actions– Ensure that our use of resources does not diminish the

living environment

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Core 16• Sustainable cities-best practice initiatives

according to International Council for Local Environment Initiatives (ICLEI)

–Improved production/consumption cycles

–Gender & social diversity

–Innovative use of technology

–Environmental protection & restoration

–Improved transport & communication

–Participatory governance & planning

–Self-help development techniques

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Core 17• Checklist of key questions for sustainability: Does my city-

–Compile an annual environmental report?–Use life cycle analysis in its own

purchasing decisions?–Support public environmental education?–Create jobs for environmental

regeneration?–Have polices for transport integration and

pedestrianisation?–Encourage ecological businesses?–Support ecological architecture and

urban villages?

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Core 18

• Commission of the European Communities (1998) - 4 policy aims – strengthening economic prosperity and

employment in cities – Promoting equality, social inclusion and

regeneration in urban areas– Protecting and improving the urban

environment: towards local & global sustainability

– Contributing to good urban governance and local empowerment

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Core 19• 5 lessons for policy development according to

Wally N’ Dow, former Dir. Gen. of UNCHS (United Nations Centre for Human Settlements)

–Use the power of good examples–Understand the complexity of urban issues–Local level action has large scale

repercussions–Exchanges take place between (similar)

peer groups in different cities–There is a need to change the way urban

institutions work

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Core 20• Local Agenda 21 as a tool for sustainability

– Process of developing local policies for sustainable development and building partnerships between local authorities and other sectors to implement them

– Product of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit (UNCED) endorsed by 150 nations

– Integrative goal seeking to break down barriers between sectors in both public and private life – it is a continuing process

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Core 21– Range of practised methods: traditional

consultation on draft plans, public meetings, bringing together of representatives from different interests, round tables, focus groups

– Sustainability indicator: asking people to identify specific measurable aspects, parts of their living environment which, to them, indicate their health

– Support mechanism: no setting out by Local Agenda 21 but local authorities have been leaders among governments in addressing sustainability issues (even before the adoption of LA 21)

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Core 222.2. Vision for local development &

Community Planning (0,5 unit) 2.2.1. Vision for local development (0,1 unit)• Abony: quality of roads in questionnaire• Developing a sense for integrated local

development (housing AND public space AND social-economic background)

• Importance of local economic development – ‘new localism’: from outward- to inward-looking societies

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Core 23

2.2.2.Community planning (0,4 unit)

• Focusing on the needs of particular groups (e.g. elderly and Roma in A. Varvara: the first, along with housewives, are willing to participate in PICT but are IT illiterate-on the other hand, young people are IT literate but do not seem willing to participate in PICT)

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Core 24• Principles of community planning

–Agree to the rules and boundaries–Be visionary yet realistic–Build local capacity–Encourage collaboration–Have fun–Learn from others–Have personal motivation and take initiatives–Respect the cultural context of others–Be receptive to training–Visualisation of result

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Core 253. Participation (1 unit) 3.1. General concepts of public participation (0,7

unit)3.1.1. Methodology & various concepts (0,3 unit)• Developing an appropriate methodology of

discussion between the public and the planners (two separate groups, and then together, e.g. assembly in Brussels)

• combination of simplified versions of SWOT Analysis & Delphi method (internal environment: Strengths, Weaknesses, external environment: Opportunities, Threats)

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Core 26• Synergetic distribution of information: Integration

of different sorts of communication channels to invite and inform people, in respect of the existing of associations, planners and authorities

• Self-help and independence: Enable involvement by providing means to inform oneself (empowering one’s viewpoints and points of view)

• Joined development: Enable interaction and discussions

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Core 27• different views of Public Participation (pp) depend

on the degree of involvement of the experts and the criteria of the representing the public – lack of experience and consequently of

participatory culture in Greece (however, participatory experience in A. Varvara)

– Brussels: in respect & connected to the existing strong elaborated participatory fabric

– Abony: inviting the public to participate in planning decisions & consultation with public (result of questionnaire)

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Core 283.1.2. ‘Schema of Public Participation’ (0,2

unit)• Hampton-two major objectives behind the

introduction of greater public participation in planning during the late 1960s– policy-making and decisions can benefit from better

information about public preferences and residents’ concerns.

– Public participation can draw people into a stronger and longer-term relationship with government and enhance their current and future ability to play a significant role in policy-making

• Relationship of specific techniques to subsidiary objectives in public participation

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Core 29

• the involved groups are distinguished in:–major elites (e.g. local business groups,

major employers, Chambers of Commerce, trade unions)

–minor elites (local interest groups, community associations, action groups

–public as a collection of individuals

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Core 303.1.3. Equal Opportunities Guide (0,1 unit)• London Government Management Board -

conditions for success within LAs, selection of relative factors:

–race –women –disabled –elderly –children –part time & casual workers

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Core 313.1.4. Key principles for good practice in pp

(0,1 unit)• Clear aims of participation at the outset • insurances of the central role of local politicians at

the programme • link of motives, objectives and intentions of the

participation programme with the appropriate techniques

• interpretation of the nature and implications of policies and plans for the users

• identification of the procedures for information collection from the public in order to evaluate and act

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Core 323.2. Key skills (0,3 unit)

3.2.1. Citizenship, democracy & participation (0,1 unit)

– definitions

– changing patterns

– new arrangements

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Core 33

3.2.2. Alternative viewpoints (0,1 unit)

– stakeholder mapping

– equality of opportunity

– conflict and diversity

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Core 34

3.2.3. Negotiation and conflict resolution (0,1 unit)

– the skills

– the process

• Civil rights perception

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Core 35C. IT (6 units)

4. Methods & techniques

4.1. Methods for helping people to get involved in planning (3 units)

• e.g. electronic map, gaming, simulation

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Core 36

• Technology support: having group sessions in which tools and technologies play a supportive role.

• Space and time: Combining scheduling tools with spatial models ('4D-viewer'),

• Joined perspectives: Combining eye-level views and bird’s-eye views ('3D-projection')

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Core 37

• Complementary expertise: Considering different background of people (literacy of architectural concepts, drawing and imaging techniques),

• Compact information and complexity delimitation: Considering universal limits and characteristics of human perception (e.g. mind can only keep seven plus or minus two ‘chunks of information’ in the short term memory at a time)

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III. 4 TEACHING MODULES FOR THE PUBLIC (6,5 units)

A. Planning & Participation (1,5 units)1. Planning-Introductory themes to urban

planning (1 unit) 1.1. Why plan? (0,1 unit)• Necessity of planning even after so many

failures• Necessity of introducing order into chaos?• urban planning is more than restrictions, it is

also potentialities• Focus on basic needs, but urban interventions

can not save everything• Importance of the lack of planning culture (e.g.

in Greece)

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Public 21.2. Definition of planning (0,1 unit)

• ‘deliberate social or organizational activity of developing an optimal strategy of future action to achieve a desired set of goals, for solving novel problems in complex contexts, and attended by the power & intention to commit resources & to act as necessary to implement the chosen strategy’

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Public 31.3. Perception of planner’s job (0,1 unit)

– in A. Varvara association with technical services authority that controls building construction and grants building permissions, rather vague concept of designing towns, streets layouts & traffic management

– Halewood: negative view of planning, confusion (need for more consultation with the community)

– Abony: no knowledge of what a planner does

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Public 41.4. Definition of the problem (0,1 unit)

• It depends on the analytical orientations of the individual:

– academic expert: ‘if the shoe fits, wear it’

– strategic expert: ‘the shoe you’re wearing doesn’t fit, and you should try one like this instead’

– clinical expert: ‘if the shoe doesn’t fit, then there’s something wrong with your foot’

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Public 5

1.4. Urban planning functions (0,1 unit)

Four main functions according to Le Corbusier

– housing

– work

– leisure

– transport

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Tokyo (the biggest city in the world, home to nearly 30 million people)

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Public 61.5. Making cities work (0,2 unit)

• Venice as classic case study (even if few, if any, cities have canals) since its working principles can be applied to modern day cities

• Making cities work depends on best practice examples of:

– arriving in the city (transport): most successful gateways and transport interchanges, first (and lasting) impressions really count, cities are not just places where people live but they are destinations that many people visit for brief period

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Venice (the classic case study)

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The Golden Gate, San Francisco TGV Méditerranée Station, Valence, France

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Chek Lap Kok Airport, Hong Kong

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Nils Ericson Bus Station, Gothenburg, Sweden

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Yokohama Ferry Terminal, Japan

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Salamanca Train Station, Spain

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Public 7

– getting around the city (transport): great challenge for most urban leaders: how to move people around in safety, comfort and speed, acute political trade-offs: pedestrian vs car, pollution vs clean air, communities vs roads, a matter not only of huge public investment but also of ideas and good operating practices

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Edinburgh’s Greenways, Scotland

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Edinburgh’s Greenways

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Bristol, the legible city, England

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Bristol, the legible city

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Cycling in Rennes, France

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Curitiba, Brazil, bus shelters

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Strasbourg LRT (Light Rapid Transit), France

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Portland Streetcar, Oregon, USA

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Brisbane Busway, Australia

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Singapore Electronic Road Pricing Scheme

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ULTra System, Cardiff, Wales

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– enjoying the city (leisure): ingenious approaches that are taken to parks, shopping malls and public spaces, large number of (usually) small-scale amenities that make a city fun to be in

– working in the city (work)

– living in the city (housing)

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Marbella Old Town, Spain

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South Bank, Brisbane, Australia

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Copenhagen squares and spaces, Denmark

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Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, USA

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Toronto Mall, Canada

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Toronto Mall (Calatrava’s galleria)

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Νew Rondas and Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain

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Circular Quay and the Rocks, Sidney, Australia

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Vancouver Downtown, Canada

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Public Realm, Glasgow, Scotland

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Post Office Park, Boston, USA

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Public 9

• Main issues: cities have to find a solution to the car (road space has to be rationed since it is not a free public good), even the most spectacular developments have to be on a human scale, information is the key, it is people (often one individual) that make things happen

• It is a cumulative effect of visionary ideas, sometimes small, that make cities work

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Laissez-faire planning

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Streets for people, Central London, England

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Public 101.7. Various concepts (0,1 unit)

• Human action: a material process indicative of mental processes starting from perception, passing through knowledge and appropriation and leading to consciousness - development of a consciousness for the collective good (A. Varvara)

• Space: focusing on the mental process starting from perceiving buildings, one’s district, the neighbouring district, understanding the larger context of the municipality, to town, region and nation

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Public 11• Open & green spaces & tree planting as

improvement of the quality of life (A. Varvara)• Cultural activities: from popular culture to

high culture• Art as a cultural function in the city • Time: focus on the present (solutions of

problems), but also importance of interventions with long-term impacts

• Urban furniture (e.g. lighting) as an enrichment of security at night – discouragement of drug dealing (A. Varvara)

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Public 12• Regaining trust and belief in the potential of

urban interventions, learning about results of previous best practices (e.g. development of trust to the authorities in A. Varvara)

• Changing the shape of the area

• Pros and cons, alternative actions

• Simulation game

• Involvement of unemployed in urban development projects and cultural activities

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Public 131.8. Visualization: plan & map reading (0,1

unit)– A. Varvara: some apprehension after

explanation– Brussels: abstract, 2D reduction time aspect

missing in reading plans – Abony: inability & ‘questions asked about

familiar buildings • examples of cities’ representation in cinema:

the city in cinema as a real life ‘scene’ of applying planners’ ideas, and the planner as a ‘director’ of everyday life

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2.Participation (0,5 unit)2.1. Introductory themes to public participation

(0,4 unit)2.1.1. The idea of pp (0,1 unit)• One of the three main ideologies of planning

alongside property and the public interest • Pp in the policy making process is easier for

some groups in society than for others• p. in government by adults is an aspect of

democracy

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Public 15

• The representative principle of government is built on the assumption that it is difficult, if not impossible, for the public to take part in making the decisions that crop up every day in government and administration

• There are circumstances when governors believe that people should have the opportunity directly to take part in decision-making rather than rely on MPs or councillors to take decisions on their behalf

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Public 16• Distinction between politics & government: politics

is an activity where the merits of alternative forms of action to deal with problems in the public sphere can be publicly debated as a prelude to choice, government is where decisions are formally made on behalf of all

• P. in planning can span a spectrum of consultation and debate, where the public is engaged in discussion but has no right to decide policy (politics), through to more direct forms of decision-making about planning and environmental issues (government)

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Public 17• General extension of politics and pp beyond use of

ballot box are usually made on the basis that: society and public opinion is becoming more diverse, government procedures have severe shortcomings, profound changes are occurring in all spheres of life, and politicians and professionals cannot keep abreast of the growing diversity of needs and interests within the population

• Others claim that decisions about physical development are much too important to be left solely to elected politicians in their seclusion of parliament or council offices

• LA 21 is an example of a world-wide programme intended to extend citizen involvement in environmental politics (see CORE 2.1.3., slide 21)

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Public 18

• Definition of pp in planning: range of opportunities and mechanisms for the public to engage directly in the land-use and environmental policy process, either as a form of politics or as a limited form of direct engagement in government

• Restricting the definition of pp in planning to these formal channels of engagement in the policy process is not intended to suggest that informal or ‘unscripted’ action by members of the public is not legitimate

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Public 192.1.2. Types & forms of pp in planning (0,2 unit)• a well known typology appeared in the 1960s at a

time where there was a broader, world-wide eruption of interest in citizen involvement and political action intended to make governments sit up and listen (France 1968, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations)

• Arnstein’s ladder of participation has frequently been reproduced or adapted since it first appeared in 1969: degrees of citizen power (citizen control, delegated power, partnership), degrees of tokenism (placation, consultation, information), non-participation (therapy, manipulation)

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Public 20• Shortcomings: not least its apparent elevation of

one set of interests (‘the public’) in the policy process above all others-it fails to distinguish between politics and government

• Main value of the typology is to show that pp initiated by government can include public relations and manipulations with no release of power to the public

• Local public opinion can be parochial and not always in the broader interest such as NIMBY (‘not in my backyard’) protest against, say, the provision of new affordable housing in country towns and villages

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Public 21• attempting to understand Arnstein’s ladder

introduces the idea of power within the policy process: an important component of the ‘politics of planning’

• Individual and group participants in the planning process have different amounts of power

• Power is a complex and contested concept but a simple definition suggests it is ‘getting your own way’

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2.1.3. Aspects of co-operation (0,1 unit)

• Openness towards change

• Skills for structured debate

• Understanding the change of perspective from in-site insights to overview

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2.2. Benefits of involvement in planning matters of the community (0,1 unit)

• democratic credibility: community involvement in planning accords with people’s right to participate in decisions that affect their lives-it is an important part of the trend towards democratisation of all aspects of society

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• professional education: working closely with local people helps professionals gain a greater insight into the communities they seek to serve-so they work more effectively and produce better results

• Sustainability: people feel more attached to an environment they helped create-they will therefore manage and maintain it better reducing the likelihood of vandalism, neglect and subsequent need for costly replacement

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Public 25• Additional resources

• Better decisions

• Building community

• Compliance with legislation

• Easier fundraising

• empowerment

• More appropriate results

• Responsive environment

• Satisfying public demand

• Speedier development

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Designing in public

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Taking to the streets

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Table scheme display

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Academic resource

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B. IT (5 units)

3. ‘Key skills’ (3 units)

3.1. Computer literacy (1,5 units)• IT illiteracy– A. Varvara: 60% people asked are willing to

learn – Brussels: large % with no PC at home– Halewood, Abony: not willing to communicate

through the internet with planners but willing to attend PC seminars-73% use PC mostly at home

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Public 27• Start with the basics

– Operating the computer (h/w s/w)– I/O – Text editing– Data manipulation

• Project specific tasks: Need to develop metaphors that will facilitate learning and engagement for all– Images/photomontages– Animations, video supporting material– Panoramas, montage of real + virtual (proposed

intervention)– High density, mix of building types

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Public 283.2. Use of internet (1,5 units)

• History, development of networks• Current state• Capabilities of the medium

–Access to Information –Communication

• About the technology, availability, usability

• Involving the uninitiated…

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Public 29Access to Information

• Typology of information

–Documents (text, images)

–Graphs

–Photographs

–Drawings

• Access Methods

–File Transfer Protocols (FTP)

–World Wide Web (WWW)

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Public 30Importance of electronic communication (there exist

crucial gaps in information) especially for people not living in the area

• Synchronous media–Talk, WebPhones, MSN Messenger,

VideoPhones–Internet Relay Chat

• Asynchronous media–Email–Newsgroups–Discussion fora

• Role playing, text-based Multi-user Systems

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4. Virtual Reality (2 units)• Definition of Virtual Reality and Virtual

Environments– Method of visualizing and manipulating complex

datasets– Method of interacting with Computers– A Technology not optical illusion or

hallucination• Evolution of the technology from the 60ies up to

date

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Public 32

• Criteria for successful VR systems (Heim):– interaction – immersiveness – information intensity

• Physiology and Perception of VR– Visual– Aural– Haptic and kinaesthetic

• Virtual Presence

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Public 33

• VR Classification

– Passive

– Explorative

– Interactive

• VR Interaction Typology

– Desktop VR (WoW)

– Video Mapping

– Immersive Systems

– Telepresence

– Mixed Reality / Augmented Reality

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Public 34

• VR Tools

• Hands on:

– Viewing the model

– Manipulating the model

– Familiarisation of the particular VR tools developed

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IV. 3 TEACHING MODULES FOR THE PLANNERS (4,5 units)

A. Planning & Participation (1,5 units)1. Planning (1 unit)1.1. Advanced themes in urban planning

(0,8 unit) 1.1.1. Strategic planning (0,2 unit)• Process of knowledge co-existence of

plurality and constraints (budgetary, educational especially of inhabitants of multi-deprived areas)

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Planners 2• Strategic plan-difference form traditional comprehensive

(‘rational’) planning– Importance on long-term planning & regular updates– They cover a greater range of themes & give greater

emphasis on matters of economy, competition, international networks etc.

– In spite of the larger field they do not aim at the full coverage of the whole range of themes (as in comprehensive planning), but focus on a small number of key-themes

– They prefer more flexible choices (in contrast with the rigid or normative approaches)

– They give crucial importance to the implementation process in which a major component is the participation and consensus of the basic factors that have an impact on urban development (including the organisations of the private sector)

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Planners 31.1.2.Urban regeneration (0,2 unit)• Key themes of urban change & policy: relationship

between the evident physical conditions & the nature of social & political response - need to attend matters of housing & health - desirability of linking social improvement with economic progress - containment of urban growth, changing role & nature of urban policy

• Evolution of urban regeneration: 1950s reconstruction, 1960s revitalisation, 1970s renewal, 1980s redevelopment, 1990s regeneration

• Definition: ‘comprehensive and integrated vision and action which leads to the resolution of urban problems and which seeks to bring about a lasting improvement in the economic, physical, social and environmental condition of an area that has been subject to change’

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Planners 4• Urban regeneration process: inputs (economic,

social & environmental analysis), external & internal derivers of change-application to an area, outputs (neighbourhood strategies, training & education, physical improvements), outcomes (economic development, environmental action)

• Importance of SWOT analysis: S & W (e.g. institutional context, land-labour-capital), O & T (e.g. technological, public policy)

• Outcomes of interactions: growth, employment & competitiveness-sustainability/environment-social cohesion- effective infrastructure

• lack of experience in Greece, difficulty of public-private sector co-operation, e.g. partnerships

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Planners 51.1.3. Cultural & leisure planning (0,1 unit)• cultural planning definition (Bianchini): ‘the strategic use

of cultural resources for the integrated development of cities, regions and cultures’.

• It implies a cultural approach to urban planning, which uses an infrastructure system of arts planning

• The impact of cultural planning covers many aspects: a) cultural tourism (both domestic and international); b) education and, generally, the cultural level of the inhabitants, i.e. their ‘cultural capital’ according to Bourdieu; c) leisure (both block, i.e. weekend or holiday, and piece, i.e. daily leisure); d) movements (especially daily); e) the incorporation of art in the city (Sitte); f) the greater familiarisation, or even attachment, of the residents with culture; and, g) the latent demand for high quality events and activities (relating both to high and popular culture)

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Planners 6• Leisure most neglected function of urban

planning• growing importance of leisure, not necessarily in

quantitative terms • Leisure activities: cultural, sport, tourism,

entertainment & social life• 5 basic questions in leisure planning: what is to

be provided and for whom? How much should it be provided?, where should it be provided?, how should it be provided?, why should it be provided?

• Open & green spaces as part of leisure infrastructure (A. Varvara)

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Planners 71.1.4.Time planning (0,2 unit)• focus on the future (exploitation of possibilities, strategic

planning, time planning)• Theory: dimensions of time in the city are varied and mainly

reflected in the following factors: a) age (phases of the cycle of life); b) gender (poverty of time for women); c) time distance (between locations); d) paths of people and goods, either by means of foot or transportation (mobility and movement); e) city rhythms (biological etc.); f) timetables (of shops, services etc.); g) the expansion of telecommunication (indicating the domination of time over space); h) virtual world (where the actual reality of space is minimised in favour of an uncertain future); i) mixing (of social groups, uses etc.); j) the creation of infrastructures (focusing on the long durée); k) time as a factor of planning theory and methodology, e.g. the larger amount of time needed in collaborative planning

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Planners 8• Policy: The sectors of urban planning that mostly relate

to time are services, transport, work and leisure; thus the obvious central aim of any time policy must be the amelioration of quality of life

• Time Use Plan: its implementation (and not elaboration) has more social than economic cost.

– Basic elements: recording of timetables recording & mapping of elements of urban infrastructure, time use research of residents

– Issues of basic proposals: rearrangement of timetables of specific shops & services, general traffic proposals, proposals for covering the lack in public spaces

• expansion of the city in time rather than in space?• 24 hour city (e.g. Athens Olympics) – key question: does

the 24-hour city constitute a threat to sustainable development?

• Time planning must be connected with cultural planning, with leisure being the interconnecting factor

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Planners 91.1.5. City marketing (0,1 unit)• it has become a necessity with regard to the

processes of global competition of cities, tourist attraction, urban management, city branding and urban governance

• main criticism that it substitutes for planning - marketing can contribute to the sense of place & must be inter-connected with planning

• Implementation mostly after the results of participation in the intervention): creation of a friendlier place to live & work (discussion in A. Varvara)

• Crucial role of secondary elements of the city not only for planning but also marketing

• Urban furniture with lighting as a typical example (as contributing to the temporal increase of liveliness in a city)

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Planners 10• German model of a city marketing plan

(most elaborated):• 5 phases: Attraction of interest, analysis,

construction of a vision, implementation (various fields e.g. economy & commerce, town centre & local centres, social life & groups of civilians), efficiency control

• Case studies: SWOT analysis based on the following sectors: urban atmosphere (in the general sense), economy, transport, culture-leisure-tourism, supply of municipal services

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Planners 11

1.2. Scenarios governing some common development situations (0,2 unit)

• realistic, optimistic, pessimistic scenarios

• SWOT analysis

• combination of methods with an overall strategy

• Use of inspiration, not as blueprints

• In each case there is a plurality of ways of achieving the same objective

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Planners 12

– inner city regeneration

– Regeneration infrastructure

– Town centre upgrade

– Planning study

– community centre

– local neighborhood initiative

– New neighbourhood

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Planners 13

– Urban conservation

– Derelict site re-use

– Industrial heritage re-use

– Disaster management

– Environmental art project

– Housing development

– Shanty settlement upgrading

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Planners 142. Participation (0,5 unit)

2.1. Advanced themes in participation (0,5 unit)

2.1.1. Type of participation (0,1 unit)

• Realistically, functional participation

– Achieve goals

– Reduce costs

– Comply with procedural requirements

• Attempt, interactive participation

– Involvement in the earlier stages of design

– Cooperating with external agencies

– Contributing throughout implementation

– Willingness expressed in A. Varvara & Halewood

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Planners 15

2.1.2. Aspects of co-operation (0,1 unit)

• learning about the existing associative fabric and civic society

• learning about previous best practices

• understanding the necessity and richness of participation in local urban interventions

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Planners 16• understanding the change of perspective

from overview to in-site insights• promoting contextual as well as locally

specific information: embeddedness of information

• Openness towards public-private partnerships (especially as part of urban regeneration processes)

• Focus on basic needs is not connected to trivial design

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Planners 172.1.3. Governance & local governments (0,2 unit)• Government: confined to the formal structure of

representatives and officials established to coordinate and oversee this function

• Governance (Gilbert et al.): refers to the process of government and, more broadly, to the ways in a which a society manages its collective interests. It includes functions that may be helped by government actions: strengthening institutions for collective decision-making, facilitating & forming partnerships designed to secure collective goals, ensuring the fair expression & adequate arbitration of a a range of interests

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Planners 18• Importance of governance to sustainability:

promotion & practice of sustainable resource use, regulation of the demand for and supply of land, provision of appropriate infrastructure, attraction of suitable investment, encouragement of partnerships

• Thinking locally in order to act globally• Greece continues to rely on formal mechanisms of

administration. The actual role of the private sector and civic society has to be invented. As far as the third sector is concerned, the non-governmental organizations are underrepresented, and in most cases they constitute a one man/ woman show - the public sector is unable to press the state and vice versa

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Planners 19• Role of local governments in the urban environment:– They are the only bodies with the mandate,

responsibility & potential to represent & act for the different & often conflicting interests

– Although they are the bodies with the greatest potential to take integrated approaches to the environmental & social challenges of urban areas they often have neither the legitimacy nor the capacity

– Even if this happens there will be effective action only if it involves leadership of elected officials and participatory & inclusive style of governing

– For most issues of urban sustainability work with partners, other local governments & international networks

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Planners 202.1.4. Collaborative planning (0,1 unit)• openness towards ‘communicative action’ and forms of

collaborative planning or the ‘communicative turn’ in planning (Healey and Forester) – prerequisites in A. Varvara (PRISMA):

– a thorough description of the area including identification of stakeholders, options and sustainable development principles

– a consensus on strategic decisions for the town development perspectives

– raising awareness on the benefits accrued to public participation in planning

– by-passing of the client relationship between local authorities and constituents, a relationship that is very much subject to the pursuing of personal interests

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Planners 21B. IT (12 units)

3. Virtual reality (3 units)

• Definition of Virtual Reality and Virtual Environments– Method of visualizing and manipulating complex

datasets– Method of interacting with Computers– A Technology not optical illusion or hallucination

• Evolution of the technology from the 60ies up to date

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Planners 22

• Criteria for successful VR systems (Heim):– interaction – immersiveness – information intensity

• Physiology and Perception of VR– Visual– Aural– Haptic and kinaesthetic

• Virtual Presence

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Planners 23

• VR Classification– Passive– Explorative– Interactive

• VR Interaction Typology– Desktop VR (WoW)– Video Mapping– Immersive Systems– Telepresence– Mixed Reality / Augmented Reality

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Planners 24

• VR Tools

• Hands on:

– Viewing the model

– Manipulating the model

– Familiarisation of the particular VR tools developed