#27 Between Scale and Approach – Design as a Core Practice in Spatial Planning

Episode #27 explores what “design” means in contemporary spatial planning.

Lena Hohenkamp (Local Spatial Planning, TU Wien) talks with Emanuela Semlitsch and Kerstin Pluch (Local Spatial Planning, TU Wien) as well as Johannes Suitner (Urban and Regional Research, TU Wien) about the role of design in spatial planning today. They discuss the different perspectives, approaches, and scales that shape how planning and design interact in practice and research.

Episode #27 features a discussion on design as a central practice in spatial planning, focusing on the interplay between scale and approach.

Kerstin Pluch studied architecture at TU Wien and ETSAM Madrid and has worked for MA18, the Inter-American Development Bank, and architectural offices in Vienna and Madrid. She teaches at TU Wien and, in her dissertation, researches the concept of residence as a planning tool, with an emphasis on social and spatial justice and the role of location as a common good.

Emanuela Semlitsch has been teaching and researching at the Department of Local Spatial Planning since 2018. Her dissertation explored performative interventions in urban space, drawing on her theater work in public spaces. Her research focuses on urban educational spaces, performative strategies in planning, and design- and practice-based research. She is part of the research team Arbeitsraum Bildung.

Johannes Suitner is Assistant Professor for Urban and Regional Transformation at the Department of Urban and Regional Research. He studies local sustainability transformations, resilient cities, eco-social futures, and the transformation of planning practices.

Lena Hohenkamp studied business administration at the University of Regensburg and spatial planning at TU Wien and ENSA Strasbourg. She has professional experience in local spatial planning in Le Vésinet (France), Hamburg, and Vienna (MA 21B). In her dissertation, she researches Tactical Urbanism and Placemaking.

Credits – Episode #27
Concept and moderation: Lena Hohenkamp
Recording, audio, and editing: Lena Hohenkamp and Larissa Benk
Photo credits: Lena Hohenkamp

ZUKUNFT STADT Podcast Production: Lukas Bast, Larissa Benk, Lisa-Marie Kramer, Lena Hohenkamp, Madlyn Miessgang, Nico Schleicher
Intro music: Jakob Kotal

This episode is part of the mini-series on “Transformation in Teaching”, curated by Lisa-Marie Kramer and Madlyn Miessgang. The ZUKUNFT STADT Podcast is a project of the Faculty of Architecture and Spatial Planning at TU Wien, produced in cooperation with the future.lab and the Department of Local Spatial Planning.