No abstract

Cities face a variety of challenges today. To react on these challenges, especially the design of public space as a space of encounter and negotiation is important. In this context, cooperative planning processes are gaining more and more popularity, as cooperation seems to offer the chance to produce solutions for a diverse urban coexistence and a collective understanding of the common good.Despite the frequent use of the term, there is yet no clear definition of cooperative planning processes. In this regard, the article analyses the development process of the ‘Österreichischer Platz’ in Stuttgart. The project strategy included an open-ended experimental process over the course of 2 years with a multiplicity of stakeholders. The innovative cooperation of various initiatives, the civil population and representatives of the city administration and politics defines the project as a lighthouse project for urban development in Stuttgart.