From August 30 to September 2, 2017, it’s that time again: steinexpo 2017 is taking place for the tenth time in Homberg/Nieder-Ofleiden, Hesse. This year’s special feature is the ThinkBig campaign for school pupils interested in technology. The German Engineering Federation has launched the ThinkBig campaign together with steinexpo 2017. Other partners […]

From August 30 to September 2, 2017, it’s that time again: steinexpo 2017 is taking place for the tenth time in Homberg/Nieder-Ofleiden, Hesse. This year’s special feature is the ThinkBig campaign for school pupils interested in technology.

The German Engineering Federation has launched the ThinkBig campaign together with steinexpo 2017. Other partners include the regional employers’ association Hessenmetall, the MINT network and the MIRO working committee for training and further education. Various exhibitors at the trade fair will also be involved. Around 500 schoolchildren are expected to come from within an 80-kilometer radius of the steinexpo quarry in Nieder-Ofleiden. The quarry is an ideal place to get young people interested in technology and the stone industry in particular offers numerous interesting job profiles.

The “ThinkBig” campaign was already a great success with young people at the last Bauma. They were able to carry out technical experiments or try out simulators. The participating exhibitors in the Nieder-Ofleiden quarry are also working with trade fair organizer Geoplan to prepare various activities in which schoolchildren can get active themselves. On August 31 and September 1, they will be guided around the trade fair by experienced trainees. The aim of the campaign is to create an informative exchange between young and old and between experienced and newly qualified specialists. The ThinkBig initiative also aims to attract young, future skilled workers.

Scientists at ETH Zurich have published an anthology on the planning process. It contains both practical examples and theoretical essays. And is a must for students.

Planning is mysterious. With increasing complexity, the process of a project becomes more decisive than the physical intervention. Whose voices are drowned out, what role do planners play in this process? Scientists at ETH Zurich organized a series of seminars on these questions with international scientists and practitioners from the planning world. The 232-page book documents the research results.

How to avoid planning errors

The publication has an exemplary structure and consists of two main parts: “Inspiring stories” and “Fundamental topics”. The first part presents seven completed and nine ongoing projects that demonstrate a variety of challenges and approaches to planning practice in Europe and the USA.

The essays on the “fundamental themes” discuss issues and innovative strategies. They should be considered in the various phases of the planning process. For example, the essay “Planning approaches or nothing comes from nothing” mentions that problem analysis at the beginning of planning is crucial and should not be ignored. The lack of a broad discussion of the problems was, for example, one reason for planning errors in the Stuttgart 21 project.

Focus on social aspects

The structure of the book fulfills its purpose of bridging the gap between practice and theory and reaching a broad audience outside specialist circles. The content of the publication is innovative and scientifically sound. It has a clear and concise structure, cross-references between examples and theory, an informative but restrained layout. The clear structure helps people with different backgrounds to better understand the planning process. Professionals can better understand innovative theories and the connection between theory and practice thanks to the example-oriented structure, the notes and the glossary.

Non-experts can rely on the detailed narratives and rich diagrams in the example chapters to understand key planning processes. However, the book’s perspective on planning focuses on social aspects. It leaves open how nature can be included as an important stakeholder in planning and how the process should change to adapt to climate challenges, for example.

A must-read for planning students

Furthermore, the examples focus on Europe, with a brief mention of the United States. Some non-European planning projects would be quite interesting for research and discussion. The European examples are sufficient for new insights, but exploring more projects in different contexts and developing theories, regardless of success or failure, would make the planning mechanism and theory more robust and universal.

This book is not a substitute for a comprehensive planning textbook, but it is innovative: a must-read for planning students who have mastered the theory but have little practical experience. It is also recommended for planners, politicians and others who are constantly looking for more efficient ways of planning.

The text was written in the “scientific writing workshop landscape architecture” at the TUM Chair of Landscape Architecture and Transformation with Prof. Udo Weilacher. As part of the seminar, students select specialist literature and work together on individual book reviews.

What value do undefined spaces have in a city? Dorothee Rummel poses this question in her dissertation “Undetermined spaces in cities: The value of residual space”.