Parallel Session 1: Globalisation around the corner

Report: Frank d'Hondt (Vlaamse Verenining voor Ruimte en Planning, Belgium - member of the PIWP)

Abstract
How does globalisation influence cities and cultures? What are the effects of the 'globalised' (generic) architecture and urban planning? And what lessons can be drawn for urban planning and its tools? The themes were explained and discussed by means of a series of presentations.
Under the title World Trade Centre Network the alternatives for global networks were discussed, focusing on collaborative relationships with developing countries. One of these alternatives was a new index for living quality.
In Rotterdam in Nador/Morocco it was clear that remigration can lead to 'suburbia' in a Moroccan city and to a significant flow of finance from Morocco to the European Union. Morocco in Rotterdam discussed among other things multi-ethnic housing typologies.
In Urban Flotsam the creation of (virtual) communication space was discussed as well as new tools for action and process planning. Indensity is a contraction of identity and density and focuses on building bridges between local, urban and global cultures.
The example of Wolfsburg was used to illustrate the development of an industrial area into a service and leisure centre. The presentation on Valencia concerned a park with a combination of science, culture and recreation.
Two Rotterdam presentations were Rotterdam Central Station and IBT Hoogvliet. The first one was concerned with the development of the station into a transport node of international significance. IBT Hoogvliet is comparable to the Internationale Bauausstellung (IBA) in Germany and has as its motto the opposite to 'not in my backyard', namely 'welcome into my backyard'. Infrastructure and mobility was oriented on the complexity of the different 'layers' in a city.
The final report was an explanation of the concept of orgware. Alongside the hardware (the physical space including the infrastructure) and the software (the use of the space) orgware refers to the organisation of these elements through strategic planning, multidisciplinary relationships and conflict management.