Programme :

Torill Nyseth Uit, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, "Planning with or for Diversity ?"

European cities has as a consequence of the new transnational migration pattern and refuge crises become much more diversified. The number of immigrants reach 20-30% of the population is most of the larger cities, and a bit less in small and medium sized cities. Housing 150-200 different nationalities is not uncommon. Multicultural cities has become the new “normal”.

Planners have a responsibility for “managing our co-existence in shared space” (Healey 1997, p.3). One of the greatest tasks for planners of the 21st century is planning for increased diversity. Immigrants invisibility in European cities, and the failure of planners to actively create spaces that encourage immigrants`s presence in public space is one of the challenges (Sandercock, 2017). In an era of increasing diversity, this requires an agility to understand and work with divergent ideas of what constitutes common culture (Risbeth et al 2017). There seems to exist a collective disengagement with the diverse socio-political urban contexts within the planning professions.

Planning administrations does not reflect this new diversity – or diversity is treated as a “fringe issue” - they are completely “white” – composed of planners of European origin and the plans are colour-blind. Policies towards immigrants are organized in specialized policy areas, such as housing programs, language programs, social services, employment policies etc. In Norway there are plans in all municipalities – in each of these areas – but what about urban planning regulated by the Planning and Building Act, like neighbourhood plans or city centre plans or municipal plans ? Are the new diversity reflected in these plans ? And how does urban planners reflect on diversity issue in their professional practice ? What attention to diversity do planners give when involving citizens in planning processes ?

In this presentation I will discuss these issues through a study of two medium sized cities in Northern Norway, Tromsø and Bodø. How does planners in these two cities understand diversity ? What reflections do they express about the fact that the cities they plan for have become diverse ? How does this reflection influence on the practices of planning and participation in planning processes ?

Pavlos Delladetsimas (Université d’Athènes) : "The embededness context of European countries in support of alternative land policies"

The adminstrative, the legal and the land registration systems determine a comlpex interplay that shapes the insitutional-policy setting in the European member states, and in turn the inherent embeddedness environment allowing to develop alternative land based policies. In the context of this lecture, a comparative analysis of nine EU member states will be presented (UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, Greece) out of which diverse initiatives have emanated. The analysis of these Europe cases is analyzed according to eight major domains :

a) Legislative background that emanates from historical developments. b) Key aspects from the present institutional-legislative system that could operate in support of landed commons. c) The spatial planning and policy system. d) The cadastre and land registration system. e) The existing land policy and property management system. f) The land and real-estate taxation system. g) The ability to create and mobilize governance systems. h) The effects emanating from EU guidelines and regulations.