Just like the exhibition of the same name, the Habitat 21 symposium also focuses on various exemplary ways and means to successfully handle the challenges of the urbanization process in the 21st century. Particular emphasis will be on the reconstruction of Nepalese cities and villages following a horrendous earthquake; Michael Badics (Ars Electronica Solutions/AT), Hans Reitz, (Grameen Creative Lab/DE) and Klaus Dieterstorfer (Engineers without Borders/AT) will have something to say on this subject. Lei Yang (CN), ecological city planner in Peking, considers urbanization as a process of catastrophic dimensions. Ian Banerjee (AT/IN) and Ingrid Fischer-Schreiber (AT) will present Digital Community projects from around the world. Katya Serova (RU/US) and Eduard Haiman (RU/US) will elaborate on methods of understanding cities by means of complex data analysis of city dwellers’ behavior. Katja Schechtner (AT) and Dietmar Offenhuber (AT) will argue on behalf of provisional urban infrastructure made by citizens themselves, and Roland Krebs (AT) will give a briefing on city planning tools designed to foster involvement by all those affected by building measures.
Schedule
| 1:30 PM | Michael Badics (AT) |
| 1:45 PM | Hans Reitz (DE) |
| 2 PM | Lei Yang (CN) |
| 2:15 PM | Ian Banerjee (AT/IN), Ingrid Fischer-Schreiber (AT) |
| 2:30 PM | Katya Serova (RU/US), Eduard Haiman (RU/US) |
| 2:45 PM | Katja Schechtner (AT), Dietmar Offenhuber (AT) |
| 3 PM | Roland Krebs (AT) |
| 3:15 PM | Q + A |
Michael Badics (AT) is senior director of AE Solutions, a new division of Ars Electronica, and is responsible for developing the most promising prototypes and research results of the Ars Electronica context into products ready for real-world implementation.
Hans Reitz (DE) is the Creative Advisor to Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus. Together they founded The Grameen Creative Lab to spread Yunus’ concept of social business all over the world.
Lei Yang (CN) is the Deputy Director in CBC Academy, a curator and a researcher on urban future.
Ian Banerjee (AT/IN) is an architect, urban planner and educational researcher living in Vienna.
Ingrid Fischer-Schreiber (AT) is a translator, editor, and project manager.
Katya Serova (RU/US) is part of Habidatum.
Eduard Haiman (RU/US) is part of Mathrioshka.
Katja Schechtner (AT) holds a dual appointment with MIT Media Lab and the Asian Development Bank to create and implement large-scale urban technology investment programs by integrating new data technologies with best practices in urban planning and management.
Dietmar Offenhuber (AT) is assistant professor at Northeastern University, Boston, in the departments of Art + Design and Public Policy. He holds a PhD in Urban Planning from MIT, and studied at the MIT Media Lab and TU Vienna. Dietmar investigates urban infrastructure such as formal and informal waste systems and has published books on the subjects of Urban Data, Accountability Technologies, and Urban Informatics.
Roland Krebs (AT) is an urban planning specialist with experience in strategy planning, project development and management and urban design.