Da Nang, Vietnam 24 March 2016-- 46 students from three continents recently attended the 10-day Da Nang Summer School in the Central Vietnamese city. The summer school was spearheaded by the Rapid Planning project and jointly organized by the Technical University of Berlin, the Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus Senftenberg, the Da Nang University of Architecture and Planning and UN-Habitat.

The students, drawn from different disciplines (Environmental and Resource Management, Urban Design, Architecture, Landscape Architecture), explored ideas of how to upgrade a 5 km stretch of the Da Nang river front using a trans-sectoral planning approach. Following a hands-on approach, the students were divided into groups and visited the project site to familiarize themselves with it, identify problems and start conceptualizing possible solutions. As they developed their spatial plans for the riverfront, the students employed an integrative approach focusing on environmental and climate protection, urban agriculture, tourism and recreation services, and waste management.

The summer school was instrumental in exposing the students to real-life situations and to the application of a trans-sectoral approach to planning. It was also beneficial to Da Nang city because it helped to highlight the value and voice of local stakeholders and the importance of the protection and management of open and public spaces in a rapidly developing city. The students’ proposals were presented to representatives from local planning and administrative agencies for feedback before public exhibition.

The outputs of the Summer School will be used to inform the on-going initiative by the Da Nang People's Committee to upgrade the Cam Le district. The Rapid Planning project is a trans-sectoral research project implemented by UN-Habitat and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research.