Editorial

摘要

Our April issue presents for debate two of the central areas of urban civilisation: high density housing and public space. On the first of these two themes we direct attention to two key urban development areas in Austria's two largest cities. In both the Seestadt Aspern in Vienna and the Smart City near Graz Main Station an intelligent balance between high density and innovatively designed public space is being tested. And, naturally, new models of social and climate-resilient building at a larger scale. Here it is shown, once again, that the larger the project, the more important a mix of functions is. Plenty of open space both public and private, communal functions, as well as efficient mobility and consumption offers are the key to a liveable city in the present and the future. The second theme, which is closely connected with the first, is public space. In the current multi-crisis mode through which we have to battle, this theme has clearly gained enormous importance. The demands made on it have grown by leaps and bounds: here we are not talking just about "neutral" public space nor about the kind of over-functionalisation that is regulated to death and robs public space of its public character. The issue is not just the two-dimensional design of areas, it is more about several levels that could and should be intelligently connected with each other vertically. In designing public space, we could and should apply the pressure at these and many other points. In addition, there are still many areas in our cities that find themselves in a kind of functional limbo - they represent valuable planning potential that offers numerous chances for the future. The wealth of opportunities to exert influence makes it seem reasonable to be equally optimistic about the chances for our urban civilisation.