|
There is obviously a shared European Vision of a socially fair,
economically feasible and ecologically sustainable city in all
ENTRUST-cities. This vision indeed sounds very idealistic, and has yet
to be verified (or falsified?) in reality. So what's behind this fancy
vision?
City development and area-related regeneration strategies very often
follow a general and higher vision. But what do we mean and what do we
understand when we talk about visions? Who is defining these visions
and with what purpose? What is the use of visions and what can be their
danger? Here are the different answers from the ENTRUST partners:
Visions are broader, ideal and aspirational goals on the
meta-level with a mid- or long-term perspective. They are
very often formulated by societal elites, are politically motivated
and have an idealistic connotation.
Visions serve as an inspiration rather than a framework of action,
e.g. for the important task of partnership-building. They have strategic
importance and should function as a catalyst and motivator to create,
lever, orientate and focus both power and action on a set of certain
aims.
But visions can sometimes lead to high expectations which might be
disappointed during the process. Therefore they need clarification and
specification on the “smaller scale”, i.e. areas and localities,
specific themes or fields of action.
Berlin |
|
These definitions show that visions serve a specific function, quite
often a political motivation. They can be agreed in consensus by many
different partners, because they are usually very positive and full of
promises for the future. And they can help to create a broad partnership
if something is in it (the vision) for every partner. But they can rise
contradictions and cause conflicts, too, if they are not properly
specified and discussed at the local level at the very beginning of the
implementation. Therefore visions need clarification through a clear
setting of aims and objectives to give a framework for the
implementation and an orientation for all partners involved.
In principle, all ENTRUST cities use visions as a prerequisite for
long term planning as well as a basis for defining priorities and main
directions for the cities' development.
Examples for city-wide visions of the ENTRUST-partners
‘Berlin as a multi-centred, socially inclusive City and Capital in
Europe';
‘Copenhagen wants cross sector efforts, partnership building
and participation to implement integrated and holistic approaches to
urban regeneration';
‘Glasgow as an economical competitive, social
inclusive and environmental sustainable city';
‘Metropolis Hamburg as a
growing, pulsing major city with international flair';
‘Vilnius as an
economically competitive regional cultural centre'.
|
