Publications

The present report contains the final results of the collective work carried on by a group of researchers operating within the COST Action Land management for urban dynamics -TU602, looking for new perspectives to a more effective control of urban expansion and regeneration by means of innovative methods and tools. The fast change going on, as far as socio-economic phenomena at the wider scale (de-industrialisation, displacement of activities, increased mobility of people and goods, etc.), the European integration, and the affirmation of neo-liberal politico-administrative orientations are concerned, has produced extensive territorial restructuring, deep transformations in the urban form, and the change of the development models.

The pervasiveness of change and the similarity of issues to be tackled in the different countries and towns (“globalisation”) do not automatically mean that there is a progressive amalgamation of European planning systems and land regimes or that local planning approaches and urban management procedures are getting closer. Constitutional systems, property regimes, administrative traditions are conditioning the urban management processes, while local authorities are challenged by the new political orientations and the stronger role of the private bodies. In this context, the elaboration of new urban land management approaches and instruments is needed.

The possibility to gather an extensive number of researchers, practitioners and experts from different European Countries, interested in comparing the domestic systems and experiences, has been the driver for this COST Action.

The mission of the Action is expressed as the need to update the knowledge of the effectiveness of the different land regimes and planning systems operating in the European Countries, in a time of rapid change of political systems, territorial and urban organisation and public policies.

The main objective of the Action is to develop a Europe-wide “comparative framework of land management regimes and policies and to produce recommendations for land mobilization methods and tools in order to foster urban dynamics”. In particular, it has focused on:

1. land management regimes and land policies for urban development and regeneration;

2. land management tools for large urban development projects; and the overall assessment of the performance of those regimes, policies, and tools.

Proceedings from hte workshop in HSB Biel, Switzerland, December 5-6 2005.

By covering theory, design, and fabrication of nanostructured superconducting materials, this monograph is an invaluable resource for research and development. Examples are energy saving solutions, healthcare, and communication technologies. Key ingredients are nanopatterned materials which help to improve the superconducting critical parameters and performance of superconducting devices, and lead to novel functionalities.