Please join CSU as we welcome our guest speaker Gabu Heindl, and moderator Gernot Riether on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET for our next Green Cities Event of 2024!

Watch the Video Recording Here

Talk abstract:

In her lecture, Univ. Prof. Dr. Gabu Heindl will explore how urban space has become a battleground for political and economic forces. Through gentrification, exclusionary security policies, and the prioritization of investment interests, cities are being reshaped to serve profit rather than people. Her lecture invites us to reimagine urban planning as a tool for fostering inclusive, resilient communities that thrive even amidst crises – expanding public spaces for democratic engagement and active participation. With a critical eye on participatory planning and alliances with grassroots organizations, she will discuss how cities can resist the pressures of privatization and austerity, making space for democratic empowerment in our urban environments. Join us for an in-depth look at the intersections of architecture, politics, and practice, as we consider not only defending but also expanding the democratic potential of our cities.

Speaker: Gabu Heindl

Gabu Heindl is an architect, urban planner and activist in Vienna as well as Professor and Head of the Design and Research Department ARCHITECTURE CITIESECONOMIES | Building Economy and Project Development at the University of Kassel. Her office GABU Heindl Architecture focuses on public space, public buildings, common-ownership and non-market housing as well as collaborations in the fields of history politics and critical artistic practice. From 2013 to 2017 she was chair of the ÖGFA – Austrian Society for Architecture.

Gabu has obtained a doctorate in Vienna and studied architecture in Vienna, Tokyo and Princeton University. From 2018 to 2021 she was Visiting Professor at Sheffield University with a research focus on Urban Commons and subsequently Professor of Urban Design at TH Nuremberg. 2019-2023 she ran a Diploma Unit at the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA), London. Gabu lectures frequently and has published numerous articles and books including the co-editing of Building Critique, Architecture and its Discontents, Spector Books 2019, the monograph Stadtkonflikte. Radikale Demokratie in Architektur und Stadtplanung, Mandelbaum 2020 (2022 3rd edition) and with Drehli Robnik: Nonsolution, adocs 2024. 

Moderator: Gernot Riether

Gernot Riether is Coordinator of the Arch, MS.Arch, M. and M.U.D. Master of Urban Design. and Associate Professor at the Hillier College of Architecture and Design at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and serves on the Board of Directors of the Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization (CSU). Riether previously was the Director of the School of Architecture at NJIT, taught at Kennesaw State University, Ball State University, ENSA Paris La Villette, Georgia Tech, NYIT and Barnard College at Columbia University. His research projects and grants are in areas of public space, information technology and building construction. His book, Urban Machines, co-authored with Associate Professor Marcella Del Signore, explores the relationship between public urban spaces and information technology. Riether has published more than 40 scientific papers, articles, and book chapters. Projects from his Design Build Studios won architecture competitions, were presented at international venues such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris. 

Learning Objectives 

1. Understand how urban spaces are influenced by political and economic forces, including gentrification, exclusionary security policies, and prioritization of investment interests.
2. Examine urban planning’s role in creating inclusive, resilient communities by promoting public spaces that enable democratic engagement and active participation.
3. Discuss Participatory Planning and Grassroots Alliance. Recognize the importance of participatory planning processes and the role of alliances with grassroots organizations in countering privatization and austerity in urban spaces.
4. Identify Strategies for Expanding Democratic Potential in Cities. Develop strategies for preserving and expanding democratic potential in urban environments, especially in response to pressures that limit public access and participation.
5. Explore the Intersection of Architecture, Politics, and Urban Practice. Reflect on the interplay between architecture, politics, and urban practice in shaping cities that prioritize people over profit, ensuring space for democratic empowerment.

Sponsor Organization for Green Cities

Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization (CSU), UN-Habitat, AIA New York, AIANY Planning & Design, the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, Habitat Professionals Forum for Sustainable Cities, Creative Exchange Lab (CEL), Global Urban Development (GUD), and the Columbia University Center for Buildings, Infrastructure and Public Space (CBIPS).