The main objective of “Urban Age” is to investigate the cohesion between the physical and socio-spatial features of cities against the background of the continuing global trend towards urbanization. While the previous conferences held in New York, Shanghai, London and Mexico City concentrated primarily on mono-centric agglomerations, the focus of the symposium in Halle was on both the partnership and competition of the German polycentric city network with global cities and the potential of urban development against the background of urban shrinking and a falling population.

During the debate on the first day, in which, among others, the urban researcher Saskia Sassen, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Traffic, Building and Urban Developmen, Lütke-Daldrup and the Mayor of Düsseldorf, Joachim Erwin participated, it became apparent that the term global city per se is not highly significant. Basically – it was concluded – polycentric city networks could be incorporated equally strongly into the global economy as global cities. Consequently, the lack of a large German metropolis does not represent a disadvantage for Germany as a location. However, a new sensibility for the necessity of the centrality of cities should be created and the growth potential of the German city network as a whole should become the focus of a future national urban development policy. For this reason, a particular significance should be attached to cities as anchor points for future spatial planning. Nevertheless, all participants pointed to the necessity for cooperation between the metropolitan regions and a renunciation of competitive thinking at the municipal level.

The main topics covered on the second day of the conference included the role of architecture and urban planning in times of zero growth and/or shrinking in addition to whether success beyond growth is possible for German cities. Together with political scientists, Anne Power and Tony Travers – both from the London School of Economics, architects such as Albert Speer and Omar Akbar – Director of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation – discussed the success and failure of urban typologies and their influence on the social integration power of cities confronted with urban shrinking.

 In the process, the various planning and urbanistic patterns of reaction to the surplus of built-up and developed areas in shrinking cities were discussed. In this context, the heart of the discussion was whether and how urban density should be promoted in cities and how urban policy can possibly influence this. The overall consensus was that the economic and socio-demographic development of East-German cities should be interpreted as a transformation process comprising major potential for urban planning development rather than as “shrinking” or “economic decline”.

The Urban Age Halle Symposium was held in partnership with the City of Halle an der Saale, the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, HafenCity University Hamburg and the German Association of Cities.