DETAIL 9.2020

From the editorial 9.2020

Housing – and What Else?

Money talks – this sober principle still dominates the planning of residential areas today. Many municipalities find it difficult to resist investor-driven urban development. But local residents have become more demanding. It’s is a well-known fact that a lively urban quarter needs more than just affordable housing, ample parking spaces and a functioning traffic infrastructure. Yet it is much more difficult to translate this insight into actual planning.

In this issue, we take an in-depth look at two current neighbourhood developments. Prinz Eugen Park in Munich and Erlenmatt Ost in Basel are pursuing ambitious goals in terms of resource conservation, mixed use and social integration. We also take a look beyond Europe’s borders. In the Reports section of this issue, Florian Busch describes the forces at work behind the apparent chaos of Tokyo’s urban planning and the challenges facing Japan’s capital city with its pending population decline.