Integration

Within both urban and regional planning, increasing importance is coming to be attached to integration and the creation of spatial, political, economic and social units. However, it is by no means clear what kind of units should be established, just how the process of creating cohesion can be steered through spatial planning, nor what consequences these processes may have for spatial and cultural diversity. Is it not precisely encounters with the “other”, with different points of view and ideas that give rise to the very diversity which generates innovation? Is it not also the case that metropolises need a hinterland which makes use of metropolitan services and at the same time provides space for both ecological balance and recreation? And yet, diversity and fragmentation also lead to a sense of alienation and to exclusion: both to the exclusion of ethnic minorities and of socially disadvantaged groups, and to some areas becoming uncoupled from economic activity or marginalised politically. How can a balancing act most effectively be performed between integrating diverse ethnic, social, political and religious groups into urban society, on the one hand, and preserving the diversity of urban life, a key aspect of the appeal that cities exert? How can conflicts over the use of space be kept to a minimum and civil-society initiatives put to productive use within planning processes, and how can the common good be safeguarded without resorting to restrictive, plan-led planning? This was the burning issue addressed by the ARL’s Young Professionals’ Forum at its conference on “Integration – Stadt, Land, Me(e/h)r” (“Integration – Town, country and beyond”), held in Hamburg from June 10-12, 2009. This collection of working materials brings together the contributions from both planning academics and practitioners presented and discussed at the conference. In addition to addressing more fundamental issues, the papers can all be related to four overriding topic areas: Integrating incomers at the city and neighbourhood levels Integration strategies for city regions and European cohesion The principle of integration in the context of environmental planning with spatial impacts Integration in (planning) processes.