| History of PlaNet |
 |
A bit of nostalgic here, read about the origins of the network and how it developped over the years...
September 1996:
Lisbon - 1st International Congress!
Some eager Portuguese planning students had the brilliant idea: "Why not organizing
a big meeting and inviting students of planning departments from all over
Europe?" They did it! From the 15 until the 22 of September ´96 the "International
meeting of Students of Territorial Planning and Management" took place - organized
by NET (Nucleo de Estudos dos Alunos de Territorio). 65 students from seven
countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Portugal, Spain, The
Netherlands) took part . A week filled with excursions, cultural events, discussions
with politicians and a big social program became - also because of the great
Portuguese hospitality - a big success.
The idea of an European Network of Planning Students was born! The participants
of the Lisbon meeting took this idea back home to their universities and first
local groups were set up.
1997: Planning
a Network
Single Students from 8 universities from different countries came in Obidos,
Portugal together to set up a very first outline for the organization and
aims of the European Network of Planning Students. There the name PlaNet was
born.
In August the (now so-called) 2nd International
Congress for Planning Students was held in Amsterdam. The local group of PlaNet
called ASAP (Amsterdam Student Association of Planning) managed to organize
this congress and invited more than 60 students from 13 countries (Austria,
France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, Turkey).
In November 15 Students from 7 universities met in Nantes, France to discuss
the draft of PlaNet.
1998: The informal
year
After the 2nd International Congress for planning students in Amsterdam the
localgroups started with their activities. The local group of PlaNet in Dortmund
organized an one-week-seminar: "The structural change of the German Ruhr-District".
ASAP from Amsterdam organized the "Hub", an audit about
the future of Amsterdam. During two weeks in july twenty students visited
seven Polish towns. Urbs Warszawa had invited us to this workshop. It was
called "Polish Town - New Challenge".
The third international congress for planning students "Metropolis" was organized
by PLANEK e.V. Berlin and PlaNet-Cottbus. 60 students from Austria, Belgium,
Finland, France, Germany, Letvia, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Russia, Turkey and United Kingdom discussed about the "urban scenery for a
global future". At the last day of this congress PlaNet had been founded officialy.
1999: Natural risks
In the summer 1999 ASAP Amsterdam and IfR AK PlaNet-Dortmund organized a seminar
on a boat at the river maas. 24 students from Poland, the Netherlands and
Germany met at "The Workship" to work one week about ecological tourism. The
4th international congress for planning students "Planning in natural risk
areas" was be held at the Azores, Portugal. The local group Net from Lisbon
organized this "risky" meeting.
2000: Crossing the
ocean
This year PlaNet reached out for new borders, the result was a four week
travelling conference including the cities of Amsterdam, Dortmund and Berlin
in Europe as well as New York City and Boston in the US. The conference, named
"tradingplaces", has been documented in a 350+ pages hardcover book
and a multimedia CD-Rom.
2001: cITy: reload
or shutdown ?
In August 2001, Paris welcomed the 5th international
congress for planning students. About 30 students from all over Europe came
to discuss the impact of Information Technologies (IT) on city planning. This
congress was organized by differents PlaNet local groups (ASAP Amsterdam,
IfR AK PlaNet-Dortmund, Planek Berlin, SNIP Kaisersleutern) and took place
at the "Institut d'Urbanisme de Paris", town planning school of the french
local group Urba+.
2002: Suburbia
The last
week of August, PlaNet Copenhagen, a recently
born PlaNet local group
organized the 6th international
congress for planning student. Speakers
from all around the world (USA, Spain, Sweden, Danemark) discussed their view
of the suburbs, where everybody tends to live nowadays. Besides the lectures
and the field trips, two workshops took place and involved the 60 students
from all other europe who came to attended this great meeting.
2004: Wroclaw
From the 18th untill
24th of July 2004 participants of the congress have thought over the processes of urbanisation existing in Wroclaw, especially in the context
of the cities entering European Union in May 2004. more