Josje, Jessica and Vera represented GoverDENSE at this year’s conference of the International Academic Association on Planning, Law, and Property Rights in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We organized two special sessions that brought together researchers studying urban densification in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Throughout the sessions, the presenters highlighted the shift towards more flexible planning approaches, for example through project-based planning or continuous negotiations with landowners and developers. In this context, trade-offs were discussed between flexibility on the one hand, and quality and effectiveness of plan implementation on the other side.

Naturally, we were especially fascinated by the vast densification potentials of Detroit’s abandoned neighborhoods. We learnt about the region’s varying planning challenges, ranging from Detroit’s wealthy suburbs, where residents successfully block the construction of denser forms of housing, to downtown Detroit, where (re)development is sluggish while landowners wait for the right time to invest.