Oestliche Altstadt Project

A unique study has been proposed involving the residents of the OAM. Under the guidance of a "consulting group" drawn from expert members of the various "stakeholders" in the INTERREG pilot project (City of Rostock, RGS, UCEF, etc.) an ethnographic study using both qualitative paticipant-observation and qualitative survey techniques will be undertaken by Susan Mazur and a locally-based colleague (TBD).

This study will use the framework of proposed alternatives for the OAM and seek resident opinion as to which project/s they prefer and how they desire to be consulted and involved in the planning process. Using a structure/methodology discussed in one of the breakout groups during the September session we will spend the next month identifying and contacting concerned citizens, political groups and various involved local institutions – alerting them to the project and to the possibilities for cooperation.

Goals and aims

The ultimate goals and aims of this research are numerous. First and foremost, we hypothesize, and wish to determine, whether and how the possibilities for citizen participation differ or compare between the OAM and the prior experience in the Kroepeliner Tor Vorstadt (KTV). We are suggesting that a "modified" take on the concept of citizen participation might be called for here, with an increased emphasis on local business owners, private investors, transient (tourist) residents being added to the list of "stakeholders."

Further, we wish to determine which concrete methods for raising citizen consciousness with regard to participation would work best for this area. We do not wish to assume that the same methods that appealed to the population of the KTV four years ago will work on a 1:1 basis in the OAM.

Results of the study, meant to mesh with presently existing processes of civil and democratic representation, will be incorporated into a plan for direct citizen participation (we feel that the nature of the study, its ethnographic framework, allows for a great deal of participation).

Purpose

The main purpose to proceeding in this fashion is to prevent the waste of much work and local knowledge that has accumulated during the past fifteen (15) years of urban renewal in Rostock. We have a group of committed experts who have a deep investment in understanding the concerns and aspirations of this area – we do not wish to ignore their contributions by failing to consider the pre-existing framework within which rational action should be taken.

The ultimate goal of the INTERREG project in Rostock (among others) is long-term: to raise the level of "participation competence" among both the formal and informal groups that constitute democratic, civil society. We are attempting to integrate these groups into a holistic and porous process in order that information will flow seamlessly across the borders that often separate political process from everyday life.

"Summary of the Yellow Study"

This preliminary research was developed upon the foundations of the European Regional Development Program INTERREG II C. The exact title of the program is, „Innovative urban Planning and Management, participatory and cross sectoral Planning and urban Management; towards integrated urban Revitalization and sustainable Management" or briefly, „An inclusive inner-city development concept covering issues from urban marketing through practical suggestions."

Simultaneously, the Hanseatic City of Rostock has the possibility, through both active participation in themed workshops as well as through the demonstration project, to take advantage of this EU-Project. The interest of the other participants and reference cities (Copenhagen, Vilnius, Tallinn, Gdansk, Riga) comprises an evaluating observation regarding classic urban planning in light of changes experienced during the case study in Rostock, including projects such as the EU Common Initiative, „URBAN".

As such, the theoretical focus as well as the daily praxis and future goals and instruments were selected with reference to an interdisciplinary approach. This means the overlapping and integration of functional areas such as social issues, citizen’s desires and the interests of others affected within the inner-city area.

The main goal of this preliminary research was the preparation of the contribution from Rostock to the INTERREG II - IUPM-Workshop with the theme „Interdisciplinary Planning Methods" as well as to deliver a basis for the anticipated Demonstration Project along the foundation and outcome of the workshop and the accompanying discussion in the city’s Planning Committee.

The research area was defined as the „inner-city" of Rostock. Following, in the cited survey, it can be seen that this is not a solid definition. The selected area corresponds to the „City" in the sense of the „Central Business District" (CBD), the medieval city, the areas of expansion prior to the First World War and the historic city harbor. This area has clearly defined borders through physical barriers, the river and the railroad lines running along levees.

This area has clear functional, spatial and historic borders; at the same time, individual differences within the area can be seen including: area undergoing renewal, the „city center", the so-called „Urban" area, the development area of Holzhalbinsel, the area under historical protection in the „Old City" and the Steintor suburb.

Different programs for renewal and protection were undertaken in each of these areas as well as the activities undertaken by citizens, action committees and other institutions and this has resulted in a variety of data sources.

With a relatively abstract foundation and interpolated data and experience stemming from individual areas and projects, the only possibility for the results of this preliminary research was the production of general recommendations for sensibly proceeding, and the delivery of a suggestion for the Demonstration Project in the eastern section of the „Old City"

Introduction to Pilot project

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