THE AALBORG CHARTER
There is an alternative approach which has been less visible in the
US, but which is gaining momentum in Europe. A key document of
this approach is the European Charter of Cities and Towns Towards
Sustainability, negotiated and ratified at a conference in Aalborg,
Denmark in May 1994 and since endorsed by more than 200 of
Europe's most progressive cities. In contrast to the quantitative,
reduction-ist approaches which have arisen elsewhere, the Aalborg
Charter presents a place-centered (i.e., the city) program to create a
local, participatory, balance-seeking process. This puts the Charter
squarely in the realm of architecture and urban design and promises
to extcnd both the nature and influence of the design disciplines. The
Wesrbahnhof Sustainable City Implantation is a study aimed at the
implementation of the Aalborg Charter on a real site and a real
project.