FAU cultural geographer PD Dr. Klaus Geiselhart explains why administrations need to become more interconnected and more willing to take an experimental approach

How can we make living conditions in our cities healthier and more sustainable? Cultural geographer PD Dr. Klaus Geiselhart at Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) is investigating this question. He says: Sustainable urban living spaces require smart urban planning. In our interview, he describes how this can be achieved. 

Why do urban planners repeatedly encounter barriers in their daily work – and what does this have to do with the structures and routines in administrations?

As a task, urban planning is like squaring the circle. According to Section 1 of the German Building Code (Baugesetzbuch, BauGB), urban planning should ensure sustainable urban development for the benefit of the public. This includes not only the promotion of economic development, but also social concerns and an environment where people can live in dignity. Urban planning must promote climate protection and climate adaptation while preserving the quality of architectural design and the character of the town and landscape. Many demands need to be integrated, for example the requirements of the water management office for heat protection, infiltration and water retention, or the need to integrate as much vegetation as possible in line with the requirements of the office responsible for green space management. Both are usually in conflict with the land requirements of traffic planning. Guidelines and structures that would allow these demands to be prioritized for the future are often missing.

You mention “rethinking” municipal administrations. What does that mean in specific terms – and what could such a change look like in day-to-day administration?

The tasks of urban planning also include public participation and the involvement of politicians, so that they can understand the complexity of specific planning projects and make informed decisions that are of relevance to the future. The challenge, therefore, is to meet a wide range of external requirements and, as mentioned earlier, to integrate the planning activities of various departments into a coherent whole. The aim now is to make this integrative interface role of urban planning more visible and to embed it as a cornerstone of local planning culture. It can only become a fundamental part of urban planners’ self-image if they are also seen, accepted, and supported in this role by the public, politicians, and within the administration itself.

Your project also deals with experimental spaces and spaces of opportunity. How can administrations become bolder without risking chaos?

There is no reason to fear chaos: Urban planners are generally highly qualified. The leading strategy documents also call for bold, consistent planning in the interest of sustainability, such as the New Leipzig Charter. Innovative planning also requires the willingness of other stakeholders, especially long‑term political support for the relevant projects and interventions. Urban planners need to take a decisive stance to demand that private individuals and investors comply with numerous requirements for the public interest – for example regarding tree protection or soil sealing limits. A central factor here would also be a liability exemption that guarantees urban planners are not personally liable for any real or even “perceived” damages that may arise.

Sustainability affects many areas at the same time. Why is a networked approach to working in administration so important – and where does it still fall by the wayside?

Healthcare is a particularly illustrative example. In Erlangen, for instance, it is coordinated by the health department of the Erlangen‑Höchstadt district. The example of heat protection makes it especially clear that many urban planning measures are highly relevant to health. Systematic integration of health issues with climate protection and climate adaptation could create synergies. Funds from health‑promotion programs could perhaps also be secured for urban‑planning measures such as unsealing surfaces, tree preservation and planting new trees, greening of spaces and bodies of water, shading, and so on, or even for the installation of drinking‑water fountains, cooling spots, or shaded bus stops and schoolyards. This is particularly interesting because climate protection and adaptation are not mandatory tasks for cities and therefore are the first things to be cut when budgets are tight.

In the end, an orientation paper was produced. Who is it meant to help and what practical insights can readers take away for their own work?

Building on the experiences of urban planners from the region, we present organizational innovations that are aimed at municipal administrative stakeholders. Furthermore, we address political representatives at the municipal and state level, in order to try and bring about the improvement of conditions in administration.. Finally, we address the public to achieve a better understanding of the situation of urban planners and their central role in the socio‑ecological transformation process. Our goal is to highlight both challenges in administrative practice and specific solutions and successful examples; these, in turn, can be incorporated into the work of other cities and serve as catalysts for positive change there.

Further information:

The orientation paper will be presented by the research group led by PD Dr. Klaus Geiselhart on Friday, July 17, from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm in the auditorium of the Baumeisterhaus, Bauhof 9, Nuremberg. Further information about the event: https://www.geographie.nat.fau.de/integriert-handeln-nachhaltig-planen/

About the orientation paper: https://forum1punkt5-mfr.de/orientierungspapier/

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