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In both countries, France and Germany, there is great pressure to change and adapt towards new forms of urbanity and to conceive new strategic approaches with limited public finance and a need for economic efficiency. Not all types of urban areas are equally affected by these issues. The book aims to do justice to this situation, con-sidering in both cases the context of the national urban systems. As it proved impossible to address all the topics relevant to the spatial development of urban and rural areas, the authors decided to concentrate on a number of important topical themes which are undoubtedly relevant in both countries, albeit in different ways, and which could be significant for a comparison. The focus is thus on issues related to metropolises, small and medium-sized towns and particularly current issues of urbanity, sustainability, Smart Cities, transport and mobility, and the role of cross-border urban development. The structure of the chapters is conceived in these terms. Besides scientific and theoretical approaches, the authors also consider the practical planning perspective and methodological aspects of the topic at hand. They mainly address three relevant factors: the differences between the two institutional systems, the development paths and historical constants, and how new challenges are addressed on both sides of the border.
About the author
Evelyn Gustedt was Head of the Scientific Section European and International Issues in Spatial Development of the ARL from 1998 to the end of 2021. She studied landscape architecture, landscape and open space planning as well as state and regional planning at Leibniz University Hannover (LUH). After working in private-sector planning offices and research institutions, she was employed at the LUH, where she completed her doctorate under Dietrich Fürst on intermediary organisations. The focus of her many years of ARL work was on planning systems, especially in European countries.
