The Urban Renaissance-Potential of Inner-City Rail Station Redevelopment Mega-Projects
Final Report Abstract
The main objectives of the research project were - to provide a theoretical and empirical contribution to a better understanding of the specifics of contemporary urban restructuring processes and related urban renaissance planning agendas, and, more specifically, - to provide an internationally comparative account and theoretical contextualization of inner-city rail station area redevelopment mega-projects as key instances of planned, large-scale interventions into the contemporary urban fabric aimed at re-connecting, revitalizing and/or redeveloping central urban locales. The Emmy Noether group successfully confirmed rail station megaprojects as new ‘symbolic places/spaces’ for an urban renaissance and clearly identified five key factors as major drivers behind this ongoing phenomenon. 1) The ongoing deindustrialization of cities. 2) The advent of high-speed rail in key countries across Western Europe. 3) The privatization of state-owned railway companies. 4) The complex urban restructuring processes currently under way as part of economic globalization. 5) The paradigm shift in transport and land use planning away from car-oriented, functionally segregated cities towards denser, more walkable and transit-oriented mixed use settlement patterns. The project’s newly constructed, original database documents as many as 136 rail station area mega-projects in Europe alone, including 52 with a total cost of EUR 500 million or more. An October 2009 international symposium organized by the Noether Group effectively reinvigorated collaboration and academic exchange between different scholars in the field of rail station redevelopment. Follow-up from the conference resulted in a special issue of the journal Built Environment guest edited by Dr. Peters and Dr. Novy.
Publications
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(2009) Städte im Aufbruch. Stadtentwicklungspolitische Handlungsoptionen in Krisenzeiten. Berlin: Planungsrundschau Verlag [308 pages]
Altrock, U., Huning, S., Kuder, T., Nuissl, H. und Peters, D.
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(2009) “The Renaissance of Inner-City Railway Station Areas as a Key Element in Contemporary Urban Restructuring Dynamics.” Critical Planning, 15:1, 162-185
Peters, D.
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(2010) “Digging Through the Heart of Reunified Berlin: Tracing the Story of the Tiergarten-Tunnel Megaproject.” European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, 10:1, 93-106
Peters, D.
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(2010) „Bahnhöfe als symbolische Orte einer Urban Renaissance?“ In: Altrock, U., Huning, S., Kuder, T., Nuissl, H. & Peters, D. (Eds.) Symbolische Orte: Planerische (De-)Kontruktionen (Symbolic Places: Planning (De-)Constructions). Berlin: Altrock Verlag, pp. 291-308
Peters, D.
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(2011) “‘Rail City Berlin’ – Rail Infrastructure Development and Inter-modality in the Re-Unified German Capital.” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board Paper # 10-2528, 60-68
Peters, D.
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(2012) “Rail Station Mega-Projects: Overlooked Centerpieces in the Complex Puzzle of Urban Restructuring Currently Underway in 21st Century European Cities.” Built Environment, 38:1
Peters, D. and Novy, J.
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(2012) “Railway Station Megaprojects as Public Controversies: The Case of Stuttgart 21.” Built Environment, 38:1
Novy, J. and Peters, D.
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(2012) “Train Station Area Development Mega-Projects in Europe – Towards a Typology.” Built Environment, 38:1
Peters, D. and Novy, J.
