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M. Schrenk, V. Popovich, P. Zeile, P. Elisei, C. Beyer, G. Navratil (ed.):
"REAL CORP 2018 Proceedings/Tagungsband";
Verein CORP, Wien, 2018, ISBN: 978-3-9504173-5-7; 762 pages.

WELCOME to REAL CORP 2018, the 23rd International Conference on Urban & Regional Development and Spatial Planning in the Information Society!
The proceedings of this year´s conference contain 78 scientific papers; most of them were selected after a double-blind, double-stage (for both abstracts and full papers) peer-review process for publication and presentation at the 23rd International Conference on Urban Planning and Regional Development in the Information Society, REAL CORP 2018. The non-reviewed papers were accepted by the programme committee after a double-blind abstract review. The conference is held from 4 to 6 April 2018 in Vienna, Austria, in co-operation with TU Wien, Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, Research Group Geoinformation.
REAL CORP 2018 "Expanding Cities - Diminishing Space" tries to answer the question: Are "Smart Cities" the solution or part of the problem of continuous urbanisation around the globe?
The world´s total population is expected to hit the 10 billion point in the 2060s, more than 70 % living in urban areas. Cities are not only growing in population, but are expanding in area. Even with constant number of inhabitants there is a demand for more space. As a consequence cities also grow into 3rd dimension: "up into the sky" and "going underground". Many cities kind of expand in time, become "cities that never sleep", extending their urban activities to 24 hours per day all the year round - 24/365. Even in countries and regions with constant or declining population numbers, it is still the cities that attract people. While the "hunger" in the literal sense for food and resources is growing, the "spaces in between", especially agricultural land, but also natural retreats and buffer zones are diminishing.
These aspects of city expansion do not only lead to massive changes all over the world, they also arise multiple challenges, chances and risks which have to be dealt with in planning processes. Current projections indicate that during the next decades the space occupied by cities will be more than three times the amount of today´s urban areas. The majority of the world´s population is already living in urban settlements. Not only megacities like in China, India, parts of Africa and Latin America are growing fast, but also small- and medium-sized cities are gaining population rapidly.
So on the one hand there is the threat that the permanent demand for more space leads to a number of consequences such as scarcity of resources, infrastructural bottlenecks, pollution and devastation of land or social conflicts. Questions arise on how to deal with these problems at short notice, and what has to be done to find solutions to these challenges thinking in long-term strategies - the challenges and problems seem huge. On the other hand more and more unprecedented (urban) technologies are available to monitor and manage cities. Monitoring is as well done by remote sensing in stunning precision, and by extensive sensor networks in (almost) real time. Smart urban technologies promise a contribution to the solution of multiple challenges we are facing in cities. However, these technologies are a precondition for the management and also for the growth of bigger and bigger urban agglomerations. Is this development sustainable? How resilient are huge urban systems based on highly complex technology? Smart urban technologies can be applied in wide fields, an essential aspect is to overcome "disciplinary approaches" and having a holistic view of the city - an approach that urban planners claim to have been using forever. With all the technology in focus of course the goals of sustainability and resilience remain as important as they have always been. Cities are mainly about people and not about technology, so it is still "quality of life" that should be in focus. REAL CORP 2018 shows the current state of the art as well as presents projects and approaches for the use of future technology.
Vienna, the host city of REAL CORP 2018, is still the most liveable city in the world according to the well-known Mercer study on quality of living. The results of this study show, for the 8th time now, that Vienna´s approach to quality of living is acknowledged internationally - an ideal location for REAL CORP which has always been a conference with a strong focus on international presenters and audience - this year we brought together some 250 participants from more than 40 countries worldwide. The main goal of the REAL CORP conference series isto bring together leading experts in the field of spatial planning, geoinformation and related disciplines to exchange their knowledge, share their ideas, discuss current developments and get together for face to face networking leading to the development of new thoughts, partnerships and projects.
The success of the REAL CORP conferences is - clearly without doubt - the result of the efforts of participants, reviewers, and the conference organising team consisting of CORP association, ISOCARP - International Society of City and Regional Planners, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and TU Wien.
We would like to acknowledge the Reviewer Team and Programme Committee members for their valueable voluntary help with the review process. Our thanks go to all participants and authors of the submitted papers as well.
Welcome to Vienna! Have a great conference!
Manfred SCHRENK, Clemens BEYER & the REAL CORP Team

WELCOME to REAL CORP 2018, the 23rd International Conference on Urban & Regional Development and Spatial Planning in the Information Society!
The proceedings of this year´s conference contain 78 scientific papers; most of them were selected after a double-blind, double-stage (for both abstracts and full papers) peer-review process for publication and presentation at the 23rd International Conference on Urban Planning and Regional Development in the Information Society, REAL CORP 2018. The non-reviewed papers were accepted by the programme committee after a double-blind abstract review. The conference is held from 4 to 6 April 2018 in Vienna, Austria, in co-operation with TU Wien, Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, Research Group Geoinformation.
REAL CORP 2018 "Expanding Cities - Diminishing Space" tries to answer the question: Are "Smart Cities" the solution or part of the problem of continuous urbanisation around the globe?
The world´s total population is expected to hit the 10 billion point in the 2060s, more than 70 % living in urban areas. Cities are not only growing in population, but are expanding in area. Even with constant number of inhabitants there is a demand for more space. As a consequence cities also grow into 3rd dimension: "up into the sky" and "going underground". Many cities kind of expand in time, become "cities that never sleep", extending their urban activities to 24 hours per day all the year round - 24/365. Even in countries and regions with constant or declining population numbers, it is still the cities that attract people. While the "hunger" in the literal sense for food and resources is growing, the "spaces in between", especially agricultural land, but also natural retreats and buffer zones are diminishing.
These aspects of city expansion do not only lead to massive changes all over the world, they also arise multiple challenges, chances and risks which have to be dealt with in planning processes. Current projections indicate that during the next decades the space occupied by cities will be more than three times the amount of today´s urban areas. The majority of the world´s population is already living in urban settlements. Not only megacities like in China, India, parts of Africa and Latin America are growing fast, but also small- and medium-sized cities are gaining population rapidly.
So on the one hand there is the threat that the permanent demand for more space leads to a number of consequences such as scarcity of resources, infrastructural bottlenecks, pollution and devastation of land or social conflicts. Questions arise on how to deal with these problems at short notice, and what has to be done to find solutions to these challenges thinking in long-term strategies - the challenges and problems seem huge. On the other hand more and more unprecedented (urban) technologies are available to monitor and manage cities. Monitoring is as well done by remote sensing in stunning precision, and by extensive sensor networks in (almost) real time. Smart urban technologies promise a contribution to the solution of multiple challenges we are facing in cities. However, these technologies are a precondition for the management and also for the growth of bigger and bigger urban agglomerations. Is this development sustainable? How resilient are huge urban systems based on highly complex technology? Smart urban technologies can be applied in wide fields, an essential aspect is to overcome "disciplinary approaches" and having a holistic view of the city - an approach that urban planners claim to have been using forever. With all the technology in focus of course the goals of sustainability and resilience remain as important as they have always been. Cities are mainly about people and not about technology, so it is still "quality of life" that should be in focus. REAL CORP 2018 shows the current state of the art as well as presents projects and approaches for the use of future technology.
Vienna, the host city of REAL CORP 2018, is still the most liveable city in the world according to the well-known Mercer study on quality of living. The results of this study show, for the 8th time now, that Vienna´s approach to quality of living is acknowledged internationally - an ideal location for REAL CORP which has always been a conference with a strong focus on international presenters and audience - this year we brought together some 250 participants from more than 40 countries worldwide. The main goal of the REAL CORP conference series isto bring together leading experts in the field of spatial planning, geoinformation and related disciplines to exchange their knowledge, share their ideas, discuss current developments and get together for face to face networking leading to the development of new thoughts, partnerships and projects.
The success of the REAL CORP conferences is - clearly without doubt - the result of the efforts of participants, reviewers, and the conference organising team consisting of CORP association, ISOCARP - International Society of City and Regional Planners, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and TU Wien.
We would like to acknowledge the Reviewer Team and Programme Committee members for their valueable voluntary help with the review process. Our thanks go to all participants and authors of the submitted papers as well.
Welcome to Vienna! Have a great conference!
Manfred SCHRENK, Clemens BEYER & the REAL CORP Team

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