Stakeholder

Protagonists, Key Figures, Institutions

A new focus was put on the involvement of members of the public – not only because interventions or innovative urban structures in the familiar cityscape require public acceptance and a new approach to the urban environment, but also because persistently shrinking cities can only meet the common need when citizens accept a new degree of responsibility for the ensuing tasks and the necessary transformation processes. At the planning and implementation stages in each of the towns and cities, the town planning, planning and building authorities and departments were the main partners for the IBA Office. Frequently, networks composed of parties active in the redevelopment process evolved; local citizens, associations, initiatives and major institutions were also integrated into the processes.

This International Building Exhibition was shaped largely by the people in the participating cities: not the architects, but the people are the driving force of urban redevelopment.