PLANNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE EUROPE? - TU Berlin

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perverted it), urban theorists increasingly argue that the Leitbild of the Compact
European City is inevitably a conservative, backward-looking notion that no longer
conforms to the spatial reality of today’s German cities (Siebel 2000). Nevertheless, it
serves to uphold the ideal of a multi-functional, mixed-use urban environment that is not
dominated by private cars. By contrast, Sieverts (1998) proclaimed the rise of the
Zwischenstadt (literally: In-Between City) or Network City which rejects notions of
hierarchy and centrality in favor of a vision of an expansive, urbanized landscape that is
functionally interconnected and interdependent. Critics, however, see in it no more than
a legitimation of sprawling tendencies and unfettered suburbanization (cf. Kühn
2000:22).
To conclude, Leitbilder are formed through the interaction of stakeholders. In
turn, a Leitbild functions to structure and organize action and decision-making, so that the
relationship between a Leitbild and the persons and institutions applying it is
interdependent and mutually reinforcing. It should also be noted that while they are
generally intended to be guiding rather than prescriptive, Leitbilder, such as the Network
City, are sometimes overextended and simultaneously applied on the analytical,
normative and prognostic levels. 4
As far as the difference between Leitbilder and spatial storylines is concerned, the
relationship between the two concepts can be summarized as follows: I limit the
application of the term Leitbilder to the discussion of overarching, sector-independent
4 Unfortunately, similar to their English language counterparts, many Germans scholars use the terms
Leitbilder and Paradigmen (paradigms) almost interchangeably, especially with regard to spatial concepts.
Please revert to section 3.4.1 in Chapter 3 for a full explanation of why I object to such a “lose” application
of the term “paradigm” and why I therefore consciously seek to avoid its (over)use. To me, the term
Leitbilder much more appropriately connotes the idea of broad, co-existing, partially competing frames of
reference for decision-making.