The civilian reuse of abandoned military sites, so-called conversion, offers great opportunities in terms of both quality and quantity for urban renewal and sustainable spatial development in Germany. Stakeholders are faced with a variety of challenges when finding, planning and implementing suitable reuse of a former military site, a situation which may lead to economic demands and particular interests being given precedence over qualitative concerns. The present research project examines what approaches can ensure greater consideration of qualitative aspects in the scope of conversion projects. In many disciplines the implementation of quality management to achieve systematic organization and control of processes, resources and competences ensures the fulfilment of qualitative requirements. With this in mind, the basic principles and practices of general quality management are used for urban planning processes and applied to the specific requirements of the conversion of military sites. A quality management model for urban planning is developed that takes into account typical quality risks in such military conversion projects as well as the factors that influence their success. The model is based on the design and control of the three basic issues - stakeholders, processes and outcomes - and uses guiding principles to explain the most important quality criteria of a conversion process. The issue of “stakeholders” concerns the target-oriented integration of stakeholders and know-how into the conversion process, the creation of partnership structures and consensual collaboration between those involved in a military conversion project. The issue of “processes” comprises the design, implementation and review of the core processes involved in a conversion. In this context, with the help of appropriate instruments and methods, (quality) targets for civilian reuse are defined, secured and implemented. To a large extent, the quality of processes determines the quality of results. In the scope of conversion projects this includes a sustainable, functional and building culture dimension. Implementation of the urban planning quality management model developed in the scope of this research project together with the practical implementation of the model's quality-related approach promises to put quality aspects at the heart of conversion processes and to enhance the quality of structures, processes and results in a military conversion project.    «

The civilian reuse of abandoned military sites, so-called conversion, offers great opportunities in terms of both quality and quantity for urban renewal and sustainable spatial development in Germany. Stakeholders are faced with a variety of challenges when finding, planning and implementing suitable reuse of a former military site, a situation which may lead to economic demands and particular interests being given precedence over qualitative concerns. The present research project examines what...    »