Towards ‘Resilient Cities’ – Harmonisation of Spatial Planning Information as One Step along the Way

Abstract

By 2050 two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas (UN Habitat, 2006). As a result the dramatic urbanisation process is depleting the world’s resources and the chief culprit behind climate change. Resilient cities can adapt to changes, grand challenges and can balance ecosystem and human functions. Spatial planning aims at making cities more resilient and sustainable which requires innovation, foresight, effective partnership and networks among all actors involved in urban planning processes. In practice, the implementation of these ideas is difficult because cities are dynamic structures and spatial planning processes as well as their outputs are very diverse across Europe and the world. Harmonised spatial planning information and spatial data infrastructures (SDI) encourage monitoring and more transparent planning processes. SDI can be a supportive element for spatial planning processes as it provides important harmonised data input and helps to better understand the complexity of cities and planning.