Competition_Saratov_eng-01

Saratov’s city centre, Open International Competition

Saratov’s city centre, Open International Competition 

July 24, 2020

Competition_Saratov_eng-01

In Saratov, a Russian city on the Volga River, an International Competition for the Best Integrated Spatial Development Concepts for the Development of the City Centre has been launched. ISOCARP Institute will support the review of the results for the Open International Competition. Teams from all around the world are invited to participate in the competition. Architects and urban planners are faced with the task of developing architectural and urban planning concepts for integrated development—documents that define the primary planning, landscape and transport solutions for a construction or development project. 

‘The competition’s goal is to choose a concept that can offer options for the use of this territory while accounting for the necessary environmental rehabilitation of green spaces and allowing for the creation of an exemplary residential district on the territory of the former airport’ – said Denis Leontiev, CEO of Strelka KB.

The competition will take place in three stages. In the first stage, a jury of experts will review all of the applications submitted and choose five competition participants. As part of the second stage, each of them has to develop an architectural and urban planning concept of integrated spatial development based on the technical brief that they will receive. Based on the results of this stage, the jury will choose two finalists. During the third stage, an exhibit of the finalists’ work will be organised along with a popular vote that will ultimately help determine the winner of the competition. The winner will be chosen by the Government of the Saratov Region, based on the jury’s recommendations and the popular vote. The winner will be announced in Spring 2021. 

The jury was  composed of Russian and international experts. Among them was Didier Vancutsem, director of ISOCARP INSTITUTE; Adriaan Gueze, co-founder of West 8 and founder of the Surrealistic Landscape Architecture (SLA) foundation; Ingo Kanehl, managing director of ASTOC GmbH & Co. KG и ASTOC International GmbH; Nikolai Shumakov, president of the Union of Architects of Russia; Igor Sorokin, scholar of local lore and member of the Association of Art Historians(AAH LLC); and other specialists in the architecture and urban planning fields. The full list of jury members can be found on the competition website.

To read the full press release, click here. 

Click here for the introductory video.

 

‘Planning Disrupted’ 2, webinar results and presentations

‘Planning Disrupted’ 2, webinar results and presentations  

August 30, 2020

On Wednesday, the 19th of August 2020, ISOCARP Institute in cooperation with: ISOCARP – International Society of City and Regional Planners , eThekwini Municipality, SACN – South African Cities Network, SALGA – South African Local Governments Association, SAPI – South African Planning Institute, MILE – Municipal Institute of Learning eThekwini  Municipality, SACPLAN –  South African Council for Planners, held the second ‘Planning Disrupted’ webinar. Based on the overwhelmingly positive response to our first webinar, our next offering in the “Planning Disrupted” series was Planning With People. This time we took a deep dive into what planning with people means. The webinar engaged with approaches and Covid19-induced opportunities for a local and international planning context. 

The webinar started with a kick-off presentation from ISOCARP and SACN. ISOCARP presented the results of the “Planning Beyond Limits – Building Livable Communities” ISOCARP YPP project in Jakarta and Bogor, Indonesia. While SACN launched the Practitioner Profile Magazine. The Magazine profiles the human behind the planner and is a good reminder that planners are people too, especially when we talk about “planning with people”. 

After the welcoming words and the kick-off presentation the webinar moved on to the four Breakout Sessions, which offered an interactive, broad and moderated discussion on the following topics:

1. Voices in Planning: The Bright Side of Planning Disruption – moderated by SACN, eThekwini Municipality

This session looked at the opportunities inherent in Covid19 and beyond to bring creativity, trust-building and meaningful partnerships into planning with people. A celebration of the diversity of views and voices and a willingness to embrace unheard and challenging perspectives through creative methodologies and confidence in process and deep listening. 

2. Community-oriented Plans: Methods and Approaches for Successful Implementation – moderated by ISOCARP

Community oriented plans (COP) aim (in general) to adapt the theoretical urban planning knowledge and standard planning practice to be more responsive to local people’s needs. Participatory planning is just one of the methods to implement COP, and in this session we discussed how communities can plan for their future as part of an integrated planning process for an area, and what tools and methods they may have at their disposal.

Click here to view the recording for Breakout Session 2!

3. Establishing Community Partnerships: A Challenge for Planning Practitioners – moderated by SAPI

We know that coordinated partnerships can help improve urban planning by addressing different urban challenges from every angle. Identifying formal (and informal) stakeholders may seem like a logical first step, but engaging them to become active and collaborative partners is much more complicated. The Breakout session focused on discussing the challenges and strategies for fostering successful partnerships between planners and the community. 

Click here to view the recording for Breakout Session 3!

4. Building Municipal Identity using Municipal Assets – A KZN Perspective – presented by SALGA – KZN and Maphumulo Local Municipality

How can municipalities use their natural, social, cultural, economic and other assets to build and market their municipal identity ensuring municipal spaces are legible and attract investment and development. The Breakout session showcased perspectives from Kwa-Zulu Natal. The aim of the session was to indicate how municipalities can strengthen their development potential.

Click here to view the recording for Breakout Session 4!

Final Planning Disrupted 2-Webinar-Invitation

Webinar ‘Planning Disrupted’ #2

Webinar 'Planning disrupted' - Planning with People

On Wednesday, the 19th of August 2020, ISOCARP Institute in cooperation with: ISOCARP – International Society of City and Regional Planners , eThekwini Municipality, SACN – South African Cities Network, SALGA – South African Local Governments Association, SAPI – South African Planning Institute, MILE – Municipal Institute of Learning eThekwini  Municipality, SACPLAN –  South African Council for Planners, will hold the second ‘Planning Disrupted’ webinar. Based on the overwhelmingly positive response to our first webinar, our next offering in the “Planning Disrupted” series is Planning With People. This time we will take a deep dive into what planning with people means. The webinar engages with approaches and Covid19-induced opportunities for a local and international planning context. 

The webinar will start with a kick-off presentation from ISOCARP and SACN. ISOCARP will present the results of the “Planning Beyond Limits – Building Livable Communities” ISOCARP YPP project in Jakarta and Bogor, Indonesia. While SACN will launch the Practitioner Profile Magazine. The Magazine profiles the human behind the planner and is a good reminder that planners are people too, especially when we talk about “planning with people”. 

The webinar will then move to the four Breakout Sessions, which will offer an interactive, broad and moderated discussion on the following topics:

1. Voices in Planning: The Bright Side of Planning Disruption – moderated by SACN, eThekwini Municipality

This session looks at the opportunities inherent in Covid19 and beyond to bring creativity, trust-building and meaningful partnerships into planning with people. A celebration of the diversity of views and voices and a willingness to embrace unheard and challenging perspectives through creative methodologies and confidence in process and deep listening.

2. Community-oriented Plans: Methods and Approaches for Successful Implementation – moderated by ISOCARP

Community oriented plans (COP) aim (in general) to adapt the theoretical urban planning knowledge and standard planning practice to be more responsive to local people’s needs. Participatory planning is just one of the methods to implement COP, and in this session we will discuss how communities can plan for their future as part of an integrated planning process for an area, and what tools and methods they may have at their disposal.

3. Establishing Community Partnerships: A Challenge for Planning Practitioners – moderated by SAPI

We know that coordinated partnerships can help improve urban planning by addressing different urban challenges from every angle. Identifying formal (and informal) stakeholders may seem like an logical first step, but engaging them to become active and collaborative partners is much more complicated. The Breakout session will focus on discussing the challenges and strategies for fostering successful partnerships between planners and community.

4. Building Municipal Identity using Municipal Assets – A KZN Perspective – presented by SALGA – KZN and Maphumulo Local Municipality

How can municipalities use their natural, social, cultural, economic and other assets to build and market their municipal identity ensuring municipal spaces are legible and attract investment and development. The Breakout session will showcase perspectives from Kwa-Zulu Natal. The aim of the session is to indicate how municipalities can strengthen their development potential.