How can urban planning become more accessible?

You come from different specialist areas. Marta comes from cooperative urban development, Alex has a strong focus on digital building data. What do you have in common?

Marta Toscano: Our common goal is to view existing buildings as a valuable resource and to organise urban planning in such a way that it is based on reliable information from the outset. Important aspects are often considered too late, which can render entire planning processes obsolete.

Alex Werle: Data and participation have to come together for the conversion culture to really work. If we combine precise building data with the active involvement of citizens, sustainable and viable solutions can be created.

Why do you think it is important to preserve existing buildings instead of demolishing them?

Toscano: We simply can't afford it any more. Neither ecologically, economically nor socially.

Werle: The construction sector is responsible for 40% of global CO2 emissions and produces 60% of the world's waste.

Toscano: Existing buildings contain immense amounts of CO2 that were already released during their construction. If we demolish and rebuild everything, we multiply the footprint. But it's not just about CO2. Cities are places of memory. Demolition always means a loss of identity.

Werle: In most cases, remodelling and further development are associated with high risks. This is because there is often a lack of objective data to recognise the potential of a building. This is precisely where we come in with our precise inventory to enable well-founded decisions and thus reduce risks.

How do you collect the data?

Werle: We currently use various methods for 3D as-built surveys, as every building and project has different data requirements. Depending on requirements, we use mobile, stationary or drone-based scans. This allows us to analyse which materials have been used, how a building is structured and what potential it has for conversion or subsequent use. This data not only helps planners, but also citizens to get a realistic idea of their neighbourhood.

Toscano: Until now, existing buildings have often only been recorded very late in the planning process. But if we incorporate precise data as early as phase zero, i.e. before planning begins, then citizens can make more informed decisions. Cities could then deal with their existing buildings in a much more transparent and sustainable way.

Marta, you work a lot with participation processes. What is the best way to involve citizens?

Toscano: I prefer to talk about co-production rather than participation. This is because participation is a general term that is associated with different levels of involvement. It could also just mean providing information or asking for opinions that ultimately play no role. We work differently. We focus on direct co-design. For example, with hand-built models that citizens can build themselves without prior knowledge or a high level of education.

The approach is also important. Many people do not have access to planning knowledge. That's why we need to use simple language, visual representations and methods that don't exclude anyone. Participation needs to get out of the meeting rooms and into the places where people are. On the street, in cafés or in schools.

Can anyone simply make a wish?

Toscano: No, and it's important to communicate this from the outset. Participation needs clear scope, otherwise it only leads to frustration. We want to check at an early stage which proposals are feasible and what works for the majority. To this end, we have launched an experiment.

How exactly does this work in practice?

Werle: Our experiment combines physical models with digital building data. On the one hand, there are measurable facts such as geometry, materials and structures. On the other hand, there are subjective perceptions such as memories, feelings of safety and aesthetic impressions. We bring both together.

Toscano: People can redesign their city in models, while at the same time digital tools show what effects this has on light, feelings of space or safety. This is more interactive and closer to reality than a floor plan or an abstract model on a small scale.

What are the advantages of this?

Werle: It makes it possible to test urban development issues directly. Are dark, scary spaces created? Are open spaces easy to use? Such aspects can be digitally simulated and compared with people's experiences.

What needs to happen politically for climate-friendly urban development to make progress?

Toscano: Phase zero, i.e. early participation before planning, must become mandatory. Today, it is often only voluntary, which leads to the results of participation being ignored later on.

Werle: We also need more flexible building laws. Many remodelling projects fail due to outdated regulations that are no longer up to date.

Toscano: That's right. For example, if a multi-storey car park is to be converted into living space, the ceilings would have to be insulated. However, this reduces the room height - or the insulation is not correct. According to current regulations, living space may only be created from a minimum height of 2.40 metres. If the height is a few centimetres lower due to the insulation, or the insulation value is too poor, this makes a sensible conversion impossible and the building becomes a candidate for demolition.

What are your hopes for the future?

Werle: It is important that digital building data is used consistently in order to make fact-based decisions. We need a better data basis to enable sustainability in existing buildings.

Toscano: My wish is that people can really help shape the future. Urban planning must not take place in a quiet chamber. Local people must have a say in how their city develops, based on knowledge, not just on assumptions.