Computer-based methods

Computer-based methods for a socially sustainable urban and regional planning

With the professorship for architectural informatics, Prof. Donath/König

Global restructuring and urbanisation presents a great challenge for urban and regional planning and highlights a pressing need for sustainable planning strategies. Current sustainable strategies focus on development concepts such as re-densification, mixed use approaches and polycentrality, which are primarily the result of economic and ecological considerations. This research project aims to provide a methodical instrument that takes into account the social dimension of sustainability by making it possible to assess current models of urban planning from the viewpoint of social sustainability and from these to develop new types of planning concepts.

Simulation techniques such as agent-based models and graphic-based analytical procedures help to reveal new ways of approaching relevant planning issues. By combining these with small-scale empirical data it is possible to investigate the effects of built structure on the spatial organisation of inhabitants and vice versa. Through a comparison of simulation models and empirical data, one should be able to derive theoretical concepts which can in turn be used to evaluate specific built structures. Such concepts can then be used as a basis for generative software that can provide recommendations for sustainable approaches to urban planning.

The project is funded by the German Research Foundation (Do 551/18-1)