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Kimon Krenz | PhD thesis | Patterns Of Shrinkage And Growth In Post-Industrial Regions
Research
Subject
Patterns Of Shrinkage And Growth In Post-Industrial Regions
Primary and secondary supervisors
Abstract
Following industrialisation-induced exponential growth, a number of European regions are undergoing major transitional processes. This is especially the case for coal-mining areas, characterised by heavy industries and economic mono-structures, facing the inevitable end of mining industries. These regions’ structural changes – spanning economic, social and ecological spheres – become exposed to spatial implications, such as urban decline.
To understand the phenomena of urban transformations, it is important to acknowledge their inherent complexity. This PhD project considers urban and regional developments to be both processes and complex systems of different inter-dependent multi-scalar networks. It investigates path dependencies and analyses the urban network of two Central European post-industrial regions in Germany and the United Kingdom, exploring how their morphology relates to their present socio-economic situation in the context of urban shrinkage. The purpose is to examine the extent to which industrialisation and de-industrialisation have affected the spatial structure of these regions. In the field of spatial research, methodologies of systematic morphological analysis at regional scales are still underdeveloped which is why there is not yet a comprehensive analysis and understanding of these structures. The aim of this research is to develop an interdisciplinary methodology in order to understand regions as multi-scale entities, and their patterns of growth and decline
By undertaking a spatio-temporal analysis using the theoretico-methodological Space Syntax approach and GIS methods, the research reveals complexities between the different spheres, offering a deeper insight into regional morphologies and their origin. The overall contribution of the thesis to the study of regional morphologies and urban shrinkage is the identification of spatial structural features of socio-economic potentials of regions and particular areas within them. It will contribute to identifying and evaluating preconditions for regional adaptability, resilience and sustainability.
Biography
Kimon Krenz is an architect and urban designer with degrees from the Bochum University of Applied Sciences and University College London (UCL). He is currently undertaking a PhD at UCL’s Faculty of the Built Environment | The Bartlett School of Architecture.
He receives funding from The German National Academic Foundation, The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Kimon is a Course Coordinator and Tutor for the MSc Space Syntax: Architecture and Cities (SSAC). He is regularly involved with design and project development at the architectural practice Archwerk Generalplaner KG (Bochum, Germany) and also works as a consultant for numerous urban development projects.
Contact
Links
- Publications
- Krenz K., (Forthcoming 2017). ‘Regional Morphology: The Emergence of Spatial Scales in Urban Regions’. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Space Syntax Symposium. Lisbon, Portugal: Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon.
- Krenz, K. (Forthcoming 2017) ‘Employing Volunteered Geographic Information In Space Syntax Analysis’, in Proceedings of the 11th Space Syntax Symposium. Lisbon, Portugal: Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon.
- Psarra, S., Kostourou, F. and Krenz, K. (eds) (2017) E-merging Design Research: Pop-Up City. London, United Kingdom: The Bartlett School of Architecture.
- Psarra, S., Kostourou, F. and Krenz, K. (2016) ‘Designed and Emergent Tectonics: Resituating Architectural Knowledge’, The Plan Journal, 0(0), pp. 11–28. doi: 10.15274/TPJ-2016-10000.
- Psarra, S., Kostourou, F. and Krenz, K. (eds) (2016) E-merging Design Research: Rio@Rio. London, United Kingdom: The Bartlett School of Architecture.
- Krenz, K., Kostourou, F., Psarra, S. and Capille, C. (2015) ‘Understanding the City as a Whole: An Integrative Analysis of Rio de Janeiro and its Informal Settlements’, ISUF 2015 XXII international Conference: City as organism. New visions for urban life. Rome, Italy: Sapienza Università di Roma, pp. 647–660.
- Krenz, K. (2015) ‘Capturing Patterns of Shrinkage and Growth in Post-Industrial Regions: A Comparative Study of the Ruhr Valley and Leipzig-Halle’, in Karimi, K., Vaughan, L., Sailer, K., Palaiologou, G., and Bolton, T. (eds) Proceedings of the 10th International Space Syntax Symposium. London, United Kingdom: Space Syntax Laboratory, The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, pp. 72:1–72:18.