Papers by Karsten Zimmermann
Planungssysteme vergleichen – aber wie?, 2023
Abstract: International comparative planning
studies is a growing field of planning research
that... more Abstract: International comparative planning
studies is a growing field of planning research
that enjoys increasing recognition. In Europe
in particular, various approaches have emerged
over recent decades that can be considered established
in the scholarly literature. However, a
closer look at the literature reveals some weaknesses,
particularly against the background of
the methodological quality criteria of social science
comparative research. For example, explanatory
comparisons are rare in comparative
planning studies. Often, case study research
designs are chosen, while large N studies and
qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) are still
rarely used. This paper summarises these weaknesses
and points out avenues for further development.
Final report of the project [NNLT] No Net Land Take, 2024
In different European countries, the objective of reducing the artificial use of land is already ... more In different European countries, the objective of reducing the artificial use of land is already reflected in land use regulations in very different ways. In some countries, national policies to limit land take have given rise to debates rarely encountered by those involved in urban planning[1], involving charges and counter-charges like favouring "attacks on the countryside", the "race to unbearable densities" or the "inability to meet the needs of industry". This report aims to explain the debates that could arise from this policy in its various stages of implementation (the definition of the objective of no land take, the administrative and technical tools designed to implement it, and land take's impact on the actors of the urbanisation process) and the solutions that have been found - or not - to alleviate these difficulties.
The report is not designed to say everything about the no-net land take policy in Europe but to give a clear view of the different political options that are available to achieve this objective in terms of implementation, operationalisation, and, finally, appropriation. As a result, the report is not a set of "best practices". Instead, it seeks to give a clear understanding of the main administrative, economic, political or social constraints and drivers influencing the implementation of No Net Land Take (NNLT).
Routledge eBooks, Dec 22, 2017
Der VS Verlag fiir Sozialwissenschaften ist ein Unternehmen von Springer Science+Business Media. ... more Der VS Verlag fiir Sozialwissenschaften ist ein Unternehmen von Springer Science+Business Media. www.vs-verlag.de Das Werk einschlieBlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschiitzt. Jede verwertung auBerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des verlags unzulassig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere fiir Vervielfaltigungen, Obersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und die Einspeicherung und Verarbeitung in elektronischen Systemen. Die wiedergabe von Gebrauchsnamen, Handelsnamen, Warenbezeichnungen usw. in diesem werk berechtigt auch ohne besondere Kennzeichnung nicht zu der Annahme, dass solche Namen im Sinne der Warenzeichen-und Markenschutz-Gesetzgebung als frei zu betrachten waren und daher von jedermann benutzt werden diirften.
Raumforschung Und Raumordnung, 2010
Wissen ist trotz zunehmender Bedeutung fuer die Raum- und Regionalentwicklung bisher keine zentra... more Wissen ist trotz zunehmender Bedeutung fuer die Raum- und Regionalentwicklung bisher keine zentrale Kategorie der Planung. Mit dem Beitrag wird das Ziel verfolgt, auf die Relevanz verschiedener Wissensformen fuer Planungsprozesse aufmerksam zu machen. Dazu wird auf sozialwissenschaftliche Ansaetze zurueckgegriffen, um konzeptionelle Ueberlegungen zur Wissensverwendung in Planungsprozessen zu entwickeln. Dies kann einen Beitrag zum besseren Verstaendnis von Planungsprozessen leisten und bietet in diesem Sinne einen Ansatzpunkt fuer weiterfuehrende, planungstheoretische Ueberlegungen. (A)
Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Jan 13, 2023
Supported localism? – Cities facing the challenge of multiple transitions in the German Federal State, 2024
There has been a keen interest in how cities reacted to the several moments of crisis in recent E... more There has been a keen interest in how cities reacted to the several moments of crisis in recent European history. In a comparative study on state support schemes for cities in the face of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, Cucca and Ranci (2022, p. 13) call the German approach “supported localism”. This approach is characterised by supportive financial relationships between cities and upper-level governments and vertical coordination. At the same time, cities enjoy significant financial autonomy and leeway to implement policies. The research is limited as the only German case study is Munich – a prosperous city and capital of Bavaria that generates enough tax revenue to react in a situation of crisis. Other cities in Germany have much fewer resources and rely more heavily on state support.
It is true, however, that all German cities, while they are guaranteed self governance in the German constitution, form part of a comprehensive and complex multi-level governance system. This includes a variety of channels of public financial support; some are temporary and ad hoc; others have existed for decades. The COVID-19 pandemic and the related adverse effects on German cities and towns stress-tested this system of “supported localism”. Whether cities are viewed as a co-producer or passive beneficiary of assistance programmes depends very much on the programme under scrutiny. The German Recovery and Resilience Plan (GRRP), for instance, has no explicit urban dimension and, to the irritation of local government leaders, cities and local government networks were not involved in the design of the plan (Zimmermann, 2022; Zimmermann and Linse, 2021).
The sum available for Germany initially was about €23.6bn, much less than the amounts other European states received and about one-fifth of the country’s own stimulus programme from June 2020.1 Nevertheless, cities will benefit from measures in several areas such as modernisation and digitalisation of public administration and climate-friendly mobility.
Auf welche Art und Weise stimmen sich unterschiedliche Interessengruppen bei der Führung und Gest... more Auf welche Art und Weise stimmen sich unterschiedliche Interessengruppen bei der Führung und Gestaltung von touristischen Destinationen ab? Unter welchen politischen, ökonomischen, sozio-kulturellen und räumlichen Bedingungen agieren sie? Wie erfolgt Koordination über Netzwerke und andere Kooperationsformen, in Markt- und Wettbewerbssituationen, in Verhandlung und Kommunikation? Dieser Band bietet Ihnen einen hervorragenden Überblick darüber, was Destination Governance in Theorie und Praxis bedeutet; eine vielseitige Lektüre für alle, die das Management von Tourismusdestinationen professionell betreiben.
Territory, Politics, Governance
Politik und umwelt, 2007
Page 247. Die Feinstaubproblematik als Governance-Herausforderung fiir die lokale Urnweltpolitik?... more Page 247. Die Feinstaubproblematik als Governance-Herausforderung fiir die lokale Urnweltpolitik? Michael Haus/Karsten Zimmermann 1. Einleitung In diesem Beitrag soll ein in den letzten zwei Jahren ins Blickfeld der Öffentlichkeit ...
Springer eBooks, 2020
We are constantly reminded today that ideas precede and shape the appearance of new "facts". The ... more We are constantly reminded today that ideas precede and shape the appearance of new "facts". The ancient philosopher of Alexandria, Philo Judaeus, taught that there is a city of ideas that predetermines and commands the material world in which we live, and this greater city of ideas Philo called Megalopolis.
Disp, Oct 2, 2017
Evidenced based planning is a salient issue and evokes questions about the role of expertise and ... more Evidenced based planning is a salient issue and evokes questions about the role of expertise and scientific policy advice in spatial planning. The paper considers recent trends in the debate on scientific policy advice (crises of expertise, privatization/democratization of expertise, blurring of boundaries between science and policy) and reflects upon these trends against the background of the particular situation of scientific policy advice in spatial planning in Germany. Many insights from the wider debate on policy advice also hold true for spatial planning. However, spatial planning, at least in Germany, reveals some particularities. The scientific foundation of spatial planning is interdisciplinary and the gap between science and practice is probably less visible compared to other scientific disciplines. This makes dualistic approaches (science-policy boundaries) questionable. At the same time recent trends towards Gesellschaftsberatung (advice for society), transformative science and transdisciplinarity are attractive directions in spatial planning.
European Urban and Regional Studies, Feb 28, 2011
The governance of metropolitan affairs emerges as one of the crucial issues in many countries. Th... more The governance of metropolitan affairs emerges as one of the crucial issues in many countries. The academic debate shows a bias towards categories and descriptions based on North American and, to a lesser degree, West European experiences. Based on the results of comparative research on metropolitan regions in Germany and in Poland, we can say that there is much more diversity than convergence in the practice of regional reform in the studied cases. Moreover, the normative and analytical framework of the new regionalism is not as appropriate to describe the Polish and – to a lesser extent – the German metropolitan reality as it is widely assumed. Recently emerging metropolitan arrangements bear the features of novelty, but at the same time most of them still lean strongly on governmental premises. Surprisingly, despite obvious differences between the two countries, some cross-national similarities are noticeable between the metropolises, which share some characteristics such as the position of a front-runner in the national economy or the national exponent in the global city hierarchy. The main difference can be identified in the economic focus of the metropolitan governance arrangements. Whereas this is a dominant approach in German city-regions, in Poland it still remains low on the agenda, at least in practice. Moreover the involvement of non-governmental actors in metropolitan initiatives is much lower in Poland.
Urban planning, Aug 25, 2022
Urban planning is simultaneously shaped by and creates new (spatial) knowledge. The changes in pl... more Urban planning is simultaneously shaped by and creates new (spatial) knowledge. The changes in planning culture that have taken place in the last decades-especially the so-called communicative turn in planning in the 1990s-have brought about an increased attention to a growing range of stakeholders of urban development, their interests, logics, and participation in planning as well as the negotiation processes between these stakeholders. However, while this has also been researched in breadth and depth, only scant attention has been paid to the knowledge (claims) of these stakeholders. In planning practice, knowledge, implicit and explicit, has been a highly relevant topic for quite some time: It is discussed how local knowledge can inform urban planning, how experimental knowledge on urban development can be generated in living labs, and what infrastructures can process "big data" and make it usable for planning, to name a few examples. With the thematic issue on "Spatial Knowledge and Urban Planning" we invited articles aiming at exploring the diverse understandings of (spatial) knowledge, and how knowledge influences planning and how planning itself constitutes processes of knowledge generation. The editorial gives a brief introduction to the general topic. Subsequently, abstracts of all articles illustrate what contents the issue has to offer and the specific contribution of each text is carved out. In the conclusion, common and recurring themes as well as remaining gaps and open questions at the interface of spatial knowledge and urban planning are discussed.
Frontiers in Political Science
This study discusses the evolvement of metropolitan governance in Brazil and uses greater São Pau... more This study discusses the evolvement of metropolitan governance in Brazil and uses greater São Paulo as an in-depth case study to demonstrate how metropolitan governance is organized in a megacity region in the Global South. This is of interest as many publications in this specific academic field focus on European or North American city regions that are, on average, smaller in size and part of multi-level governance systems. Hence, many theoretical positions that are established in the scholarly debate do not work well in the context of megacities. The study will describe how the metropolitan governance arrangement in greater São Paulo evolved and reflected on the setbacks and success of metropolitan planning and policies in the context of uncertain state support. Metropolitan regions have been established in Brazil by the military regime in the mid-1970s for industrialization and comprehensive top-down planning. After the fall of the regime in the 1980s, the question of metropolitan...
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Papers by Karsten Zimmermann
studies is a growing field of planning research
that enjoys increasing recognition. In Europe
in particular, various approaches have emerged
over recent decades that can be considered established
in the scholarly literature. However, a
closer look at the literature reveals some weaknesses,
particularly against the background of
the methodological quality criteria of social science
comparative research. For example, explanatory
comparisons are rare in comparative
planning studies. Often, case study research
designs are chosen, while large N studies and
qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) are still
rarely used. This paper summarises these weaknesses
and points out avenues for further development.
The report is not designed to say everything about the no-net land take policy in Europe but to give a clear view of the different political options that are available to achieve this objective in terms of implementation, operationalisation, and, finally, appropriation. As a result, the report is not a set of "best practices". Instead, it seeks to give a clear understanding of the main administrative, economic, political or social constraints and drivers influencing the implementation of No Net Land Take (NNLT).
It is true, however, that all German cities, while they are guaranteed self governance in the German constitution, form part of a comprehensive and complex multi-level governance system. This includes a variety of channels of public financial support; some are temporary and ad hoc; others have existed for decades. The COVID-19 pandemic and the related adverse effects on German cities and towns stress-tested this system of “supported localism”. Whether cities are viewed as a co-producer or passive beneficiary of assistance programmes depends very much on the programme under scrutiny. The German Recovery and Resilience Plan (GRRP), for instance, has no explicit urban dimension and, to the irritation of local government leaders, cities and local government networks were not involved in the design of the plan (Zimmermann, 2022; Zimmermann and Linse, 2021).
The sum available for Germany initially was about €23.6bn, much less than the amounts other European states received and about one-fifth of the country’s own stimulus programme from June 2020.1 Nevertheless, cities will benefit from measures in several areas such as modernisation and digitalisation of public administration and climate-friendly mobility.
studies is a growing field of planning research
that enjoys increasing recognition. In Europe
in particular, various approaches have emerged
over recent decades that can be considered established
in the scholarly literature. However, a
closer look at the literature reveals some weaknesses,
particularly against the background of
the methodological quality criteria of social science
comparative research. For example, explanatory
comparisons are rare in comparative
planning studies. Often, case study research
designs are chosen, while large N studies and
qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) are still
rarely used. This paper summarises these weaknesses
and points out avenues for further development.
The report is not designed to say everything about the no-net land take policy in Europe but to give a clear view of the different political options that are available to achieve this objective in terms of implementation, operationalisation, and, finally, appropriation. As a result, the report is not a set of "best practices". Instead, it seeks to give a clear understanding of the main administrative, economic, political or social constraints and drivers influencing the implementation of No Net Land Take (NNLT).
It is true, however, that all German cities, while they are guaranteed self governance in the German constitution, form part of a comprehensive and complex multi-level governance system. This includes a variety of channels of public financial support; some are temporary and ad hoc; others have existed for decades. The COVID-19 pandemic and the related adverse effects on German cities and towns stress-tested this system of “supported localism”. Whether cities are viewed as a co-producer or passive beneficiary of assistance programmes depends very much on the programme under scrutiny. The German Recovery and Resilience Plan (GRRP), for instance, has no explicit urban dimension and, to the irritation of local government leaders, cities and local government networks were not involved in the design of the plan (Zimmermann, 2022; Zimmermann and Linse, 2021).
The sum available for Germany initially was about €23.6bn, much less than the amounts other European states received and about one-fifth of the country’s own stimulus programme from June 2020.1 Nevertheless, cities will benefit from measures in several areas such as modernisation and digitalisation of public administration and climate-friendly mobility.
The book provides an in-depth analysis into how the European Union influences policies at a national level within its member states and how these are implemented in terms of scope and objectives. It explores how this results in fewer commonalities between countries and the gap between the rise of international urban agendas and variegated national urban policies, examining whether a more bespoke approach is better than the traditional ‘one size fits all’.
This insightful book will be an important read for researchers of urban studies and public policy as well as scholars with an interest in urban and regional sociology.
This book analyses the recent reforms and changes in the governance of city-regions in France, Germany and Italy. It covers themes such as the impact of austerity measures, territorial development, planning and state modernisation. The authors provide a systematic cross-country perspective on two levels, between six city-regions and between the national policy frameworks in these three countries. They use a solid comparative framework, which refers to the four dimensions functions, institutions and governance, ideas and space. They describe the course of the reforms, the motivations and the results, and consequently, they question the widespread metropolitan fever or resurgence of city-regions and provide a better understanding of recent changes in city-regional governance in Europe.
The primary readership will be researchers and master students in planning, urban studies, urban geography, political science and governance studies, especially those interested in metropolitan regions and / or decentralisation. Due to the uniqueness of the work, the book will be of particular interest to scholars working on the comparative European dimension of territorial governance and planning.
The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.