Special Issue “Spatial Transformation from a Planning Perspective” published
Spatial transformation is one of the keys to tackling the central challenges of the 21st century – far beyond climate change. The transformation of cities and regions, energy and mobility systems, land use, and the ongoing digitalisation all require a distinctly spatial perspective; however, this plays a central role in very few of these concepts. Consequently, discussing and addressing these issues from a spatial planning perspective holds great, yet as yet untapped, potential.
Against this backdrop, the ARL, in collaboration with the Institute of Geography and Regional Research at the University of Vienna, organised the ARL International Summer School 2024 under the title ‘Spatial Transformation from a Planning Perspective’. Advanced PhD students from the fields of human geography, spatial planning and sociology presented and discussed their conceptual, methodological and empirical research on the role of spatial planning in transformation processes. A keynote lecture by Dick Magnusson (Linköping University) and contributions from numerous mentors rounded off the programme.
The findings of the Summer School have now been compiled in a special issue that examines the interplay between spatial planning and sustainability transformations across various sectors. The special issue is open access and available via the European Journal of Spatial Development website.