VGU Urban Development Planning Overview over Modules and ...

Technical University Darmstadt www.urban-studies.de
International
Co-operation
and Urban
Development
Course description
Year One
1 Course identification
2.3.4.
2 Module 2.3.
Physical planning,
urban design
& ecology
3 Name of course Urban heritage preservation
and inner city revitalization
4 Course instructor Prof. Cor Dijkgraaf from Urban Solutions, Rotterdam
(formerly IHS Rotterdam)
5 Contents /syllabus Historic urban centres often become abandoned by
business people and more affluent residents. Buildings
and whole neighourhoods fall into physical and social
decay. Reasons may be manifold, but very oftenneglected
building maintenance, expensive restoration
costs and inadequate infrastructure play key roles.
Mere architectural restoration of historical buildings –
even if the money was available to pay for the works –
will not necessarily bring back urban quality and life, or
guarantee for subsequent regular maintenance. In
order to achieve real revitalization of this areas, a
comprehensive scheme, involving many administrative
sectors and private stakeholders, must be well coordinated
to gather resources from many partners.
All over the world, well organized urban property
owners are using state authority to create a new form
of government to protect their interests in many
derelict urban centres. With the power to impose taxes
and provide collective services, proponents claim that
business improvement districts (BIDs) effectively clean
and secure outdoor public spaces. Even if this is often
true, it is important to examine the proliferation of such
publicly endowed and privately managed
organizations and question the extent to which they
contribute to the political, economic, social and spatial
2.3.4 Page 1