Collaborative integrated urban development

Examining urban development needs through a participatory process 

Date of label : 29/10/2024

  • Villach , Austria

  • Size of city : 65.099 inhabitants

A group of people gathered outdoors in what appears to be an urban setting.

A group of people gathered outdoors in what appears to be an urban setting.

Summary

The city of Villach (AT) launched an integrated urban development process for the Nikolai Quartier, applying a participatory approach through the "ISEK" (Integrated Urban Development Concepts). This initiative established goals for new commercial, residential, and recreational spaces in this expanding city centre neighbourhood. 

 

Specifically, ISEK Nikolai Quartier:

  • Defined goals, fields of action and projects for future urban development, to achieve urban growth and development via inner-city densification while minimising land consumption;
  • Took into account sociological, technical and planning expertise, as well as the needs of all relevant stakeholders;
  • Integrated the knowledge and needs of citizens in the urban district into the process;
  • Used different methods, like feasibility studies, competitions and participation processes.  

The solutions offered by the Good Practice

ISEK's approach aims to ensure the Nikolai Quartier becomes a vibrant, sustainable district by tackling all aspects of its development. A diverse team of citizens, institutions, city departments, property owners, neighbours, employees, and experts collaboratively set development guidelines and tracked progress, supported by a steering group to monitor and document outcomes. 

  

Key steps in the ISEK process:

  1. Initial assessment of the area, followed by an objective-setting phase.
  2. Creation of a development framework plan based on participatory feedback, with quality standards.
  3. Appointment of a multidisciplinary steering group and inclusion of citizens via surveys and workshops, both online and in person. 

  

This integrative approach aligns with Villach’s building culture principles and leverages participatory practices developed under "Stevi" (an urban development concept) and specific frameworks for public and green spaces.  

Building on the sustainable and integrated urban approach

ISEK's integrated approach involves both interdisciplinary planning and inclusive participation, combining expert insights with public input to enrich the scope and diversity of perspectives. This combination of an expert steering group supported by active citizen participation has made it possible to set up an integrated urban development process that is as broad as possible.  By merging sociological, environmental, and economic factors, this framework positions the Nikolai Quartier as a health and education hub with amenities fostering a high quality of life, robust inner-city connections, and climate-resilient blue-green infrastructure. These elements ensure a balanced, sustainable, and socially cohesive district. 

Based on participatory approach

 ISEK’s participatory model invites stakeholders to actively shape urban planning. Key elements include: 

  • Online survey. The public was invited to take part in a broad-based online survey, with the outcomes taken into account during the Future Workshop.
  • Future workshop. Stakeholders, including residents and property owners, discussed possible urban developments.
  • Results presentation. Specialists helped evaluate feedback, producing an urban development concept tailored to community needs. This approach achieves sustainable results by integrating inputs from all the relevant stakeholders. Using this participatory and interdisciplinary approach, goals and guidelines for the development of the district can be defined, taking into account the needs and wishes of residents, employers and employees, the owners, neighbours, experts and the city departments. The basic prerequisite for this was also that all participants meet at eye level as equals to enable a cooperative exchange. 

What difference has it made?

More than 700 people were involved during the ISEK process, including the steering group, relevant stakeholders, and interested citizens. The participation of many people from diverse backgrounds made it possible to take a multiperspective approach to all the possible requirements of the planning area, and contributes to the acceptance of future implementation steps. 

 

By focusing on the participatory approach, the process serves to democratise urban development through the active involvement of citizens. It also strengthens public understanding and willingness to support future urban development. This integrative approach enables difficult decisions to be made and processes to be carried out, due to all stakeholders jointly working together. ISEK engaged over 700 individuals, encompassing steering group members, stakeholders, and community participants, allowing for a holistic view of the area’s needs. This participatory model supports transparency and strengthens public commitment to urban development, promoting decisions that resonate with a wide array of stakeholders. ISEK’s success highlights the importance of community-rooted planning for resource-efficient inner-city densification. 

  

Further, this participatory process lays the foundation for the next phases, such as funding applications and property negotiations, ensuring continuous citizen engagement and alignment with sustainable urban development goals. 

Why this Good Practice should be transferred to other cities

The ISEK concept is relevant to all cities facing challenges to urban development, such as climate and ecological change, which require optimal use of existing areas to keep land sealing as low as possible and to ensure long-term and sustainable quality-of-life. For this reason, and to combine the diverse requirements for inner-city spaces in the best possible way, an integrated process involving all relevant stakeholders is required. 

 

The ISEK process provides an integrated setting for urban planning that helps implement one of the five policy objectives of EU Cohesion Policy 2021-2027 and also contributes to SDG 11 -  Sustainable Cities and communities. In this way, ISEK also serves to implement overarching goals at the local level. 

 

The framework for ISEK Nikolai Quartier was defined by relevant and obligatory national building laws, the Townscape Conservation Act, and certain traffic guidelines and water legislation. These framework conditions must be taken into account when developing buildings and open spaces. There are differences at the level of the Austrian federal states, but these are unlikely to have any impact on this scale of development. 

 

ISEK can be adapted to other urban contexts, as it offers a procedure that defines steps for designing a participatory urban development process. Even if the specific circumstances and challenges differ from city to city, the concept can be easily and rewardingly transfered, as urban planning and development faces common challenges throughout Europe. 

 

The experience gained in the city of Villach in implementating the ISEK concept highlighted the following factors for its successful transfer to other cities: 

  • A positive attitude towards building culture on the part of decision-makers
  • A low-threshold and well-financed funding scheme, especially for smaller municipalities
  • Compliance with quality procedures for funding approval
  • Support from the funding body in terms of the quality procedure. 

 

The city of Villach is very keen on transfering its ISEK process so that other cities can also test the concept and, if necessary, help it evolve in order to contribute to a sustainable and integrated urban development to meet the upcoming challenges.