The aim of the conference

The aim of the conference ‘Shaping regional futures’ is to clarify a performance of regional design: the way how the imagination and envisioning of spatial futures of regions enhances planning on regional and supra-regional levels of scale. During the conference regional design will be investigated as an institutional practice. From this perspective it is a form of analytical reasoning, political advocacy and organisational pragmatism, used to challenge, within a given freedom for interpretation, planning in place. Seen from an institutional perspective regional design is also a way to involve decision-makers, politicians, authorities, experts and a broader public, in learning about why and how to become involved in regional planning. Relationships among authors of regional designs and their audience are a key for the performance of a practice that relies on imagination, representations of what is possible and desired. 

In numerous European regions politicians, administrations, planning professionals, market and civil actors are experimenting with regional design approaches to overcome limitations that statutory planning systems pose. They use the practice to indicate how a growing spatial integration exceeds restricting administrative boundaries and to demonstrate why and how such barriers should be overcome. Regional design practices in European regions vary highly. In some regions they are a commonly used planning endeavour; in others they have not been applied yet – but actors curiously observe the efforts taken elsewhere. Despite the broad interest in practices, few lessons have been learnt from a comparison of practices. 

The joint conference of Munich University of Technology and Delft University of Technology is an occasion to compare regional design strategies that are used in different European regions, to discuss the different facets and dimensions of these practices and to assess their performance. The conference is organized in three sessions. The first session investigates a conceptual framework to identify the performance of regional design. The second session discusses academic notions on regional design and the challenges faced in teaching complex issues related to the regional scale. During the third and last session, case studies of regional design practices in Europe are presented by experts engaged in these practices. This session is used to discuss the relevance of regional design. The concluding plenary session gives room for the comparison of the lessons learnt from each of the three case studies. The conference closes with a public panel discussion on the spatial future of the Munich Metropolitan Region including key players from politics as well as public administration.