Dr. Stefano Cozzolino, Urban Planner

Studied Urban Planning at the Polytechnic University of Milan, where he earned his PhD. Various periods researching abroad, among them at the University of West of England (UK), Purchase College in New York (USA), Groningen University (The Netherlands), and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel). Coordinator of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) Thematic Group on Ethics, Values, and Planning. He holds the Italian Urban Planner Professional License.

Research interests:

  • The interplay between planning/design and the emergence of spontaneous socio-spatial configurations.
  • Forms of adaptive urbanism and regulation for complex self-organizing cities.
  • Urban planning ethics and justice.

Contact:
Phone: +49 (0) 231 9051-237
E-Mail: stefano.cozzolino@ils-research.de

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8873-1868

Publications (Selection)

  • Cozzolino, Stefano (2018): Pianificazione urbanistica e città creative. In: Cavazzoni, Filippo: Il pubblico ha sempre ragione? Presente e future delle politiche culturali. Torino, pp. 45–56.

  • Polívka, Jan; Reimer, Mario; Cozzolino, Stefano; Eichhorn, Sebastian; Fleischer, Janne Jakob; Fox-Kämper, Runrid; Goede, Paul; Kummel, Olivia; Leyser-Droste, Magdalena; Lübker, Susanne; Monkenbusch, Franziska; Pehlke, David; Schulwitz, Martin; Specht, Kathrin; Stark, Martin; Stroms, Peter; Wilms, Stefan (2020): Corona 2020 and beyond: Der Unsicherheit durch Flexibilität entgegentreten. Dortmund = ILS-Working Paper 2. // Polívka, Jan; Reimer, Mario; Cozzolino, Stefano; Eichhorn, Sebastian; Fleischer, Janne Jakob; Fox-Kämper, Runrid; Goede, Paul; Kummel, Olivia; Leyser-Droste, Magdalena; Lübker, Susanne; Monkenbusch, Franziska; Pehlke, David; Schulwitz, Martin; Specht, Kathrin; Stark, Martin; Stroms, Peter; Wilms, Stefan (2020): Corona 2020 and beyond: Embracing Uncertainty in Spatial Planning, Urban Management and Design. Dortmund = ILS-Working Paper 2.

Presentations (Selection)

  • Building Beauty: Humanizing Urban Planning. Vortrag auf der Veranstaltung „TEDxMitte“, 19.10.2024, Berlin.
  • Masterplanning And Complexity Theories Of Cities: Discussing The Difference Between Complexity Of Design And Design For Complexity. Vortrag auf dem AESOP Annual Congress 2024 „Game Changer? Planning for Just and Sustainable Urban Regions“, 10.07.2024, Paris, Frankreich.
  • Revisiting The Urban Periphery Issue In Planning Education. An Alternative Beyond ‘Naïve Approaches’ And ‘Victim Mentality Mindsets’. Vortrag auf dem AESOP Annual Congress 2024 „Game Changer? Planning for Just and Sustainable Urban Regions“, 09.07.2024, Paris, Frankreich.
  • Structural preconditions for adaptive urban areas: Framework rules, several property and the range of possible actions. Vortrag im Rahmen der 18th Annual Conference der International Academic Association on Planning, Law, and Property Rights (PLPR) an der TU München, 20.03.2024, München.
  • The uneasy marriage between urban beauty and planning: the conceptual misunderstandings threatening this relationship. Vortrag auf dem AESOP Annual Congress 2023 „Integrated Planning in a World of Turbulence“, 14.07.2023, Łódź, Polen.
  • A crisis of lost values: rediscovering the relationship between urban beauty, democracy and complexity. Vortrag auf dem AESOP Annual Congress 2023 „Integrated Planning in a World of Turbulence“, 12.07.2023, Łódź, Polen.
  • Complexity of design and/or design for complexity? Towards a better integration of complexity thinking in urban planning and design. Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „Complex [cognitive] cities: Sensing, Planning and Design in urban Transformations“ der AESOP Thematic Group on Planning and Complexity, 20.04.2023, Manchester, England.
  • Stealing (and learning from) the old concept of beauty for urban planning. Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „Beg, Steal or Borrow“ der AESOP Thematic Group on Planning Theories, 17.03.2023, online.
  • Where does urban beauty come from? The formation and evolution of the most appreciated neighbourhood in Dortmund. Vortrag auf dem AESOP Annual Congress 2022 „Space for Species: Redefining Spatial Justice“, 26.07.2022, Tartu, Estland.
  • Urban Beauty: Beyond the Eye of the Beholder. Vortrag auf dem AESOP Annual Congress 2022 „Space for Species: Redefining Spatial Justice“, 26.07.2022, Tartu, Estland.
  • Structural preconditions for self-adaptive cities: framework rules, several property and the range of possible actions. Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung der AESOP Thematic Group Planning and Complexity „Sensing the city“, 21.07.2022, Tallinn, Estland.
  • A crisis of lost values: rediscovering the relationship between urban beauty and democracy. Vortrag auf der Annunal Conference der AESOP Thematic Group Ethics, Values & Planning und des ILS „Operationalizing the Just City“, 25.02.2022, online.
  • Institutional preconditions for self-organizing cities: Several property, framework rules and the range of possible actions. Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „The Geography of the Law“ der Polytechnic University of Turin, 13.–14.12.2021, Turin, Italien.
  • On the spontaneous beauty of cities: neither design nor chaos. Vortrag im Rahmen des ISUF21 – International Seminar of Urban Form der Universiteti Polis of Tirana, 30.06.2021, online.
  • Cities, cultural actors and the pandemic: it is time to deal with this issue! Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „Social Disruption and Urban Complexity. Reflective thoughts on how Covid-19 transforms cities and their planning” der AESOP Thematic Group “Planning & Complexity”, 27.11.2020, online.
  • Beyond design. How Property Patterns Influence Self-Organising Process of Change in the Built Environment. Vortrag im Rahmen einer Session der REAL CORP 2020 Aachen, 16.09.2020, online.
  • The (Anti) Adaptive Neighborhoods. Embracing complexity and distribution of design control in the ordinary built environment. Vortrag auf der 5. Dortmunder Konferenz Raum- und Planungsforschung „Räume neu denken – Planung in einer Welt im Wandel“, 17.02.2020, Dortmund.
  • Property, action and urban self-organisation. Vortrag im Rahmen des Symposiums on Case Studies in Self-Governance, 26.10.2019, London, Großbritannien.
  • What urban design is and what it is not. Vortrag auf dem AESOP Annual Congress 2019 “Planning for Transition“, 11.07.2019, Venedig, Italien.
  • Adaptive Cities – Mitigation, Adaptation, Innovation. Vortrag auf dem AESOP Annual Congress 2019 “Planning for Transition“, 10.07.2019, Venedig, Italien.
  • Action, property and self-organisation. Vortrag auf dem AESOP Annual Congress 2019 “Planning for Transition“, 10.07.2019, Venedig, Italien.
  • Urban Design and Property Rights. Vortrag im Rahmen eines Research Workshops der Polytechnic University of Milan und des ILS Dortmund, 19.06.2019, Milan, Italien.
  • Rediscussing Jane Jacobs today in Italy. Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung Jane’s walk (Biennale dello Spazio Pubblico), 31.05.2019, Rom, Italien.
  • Anti-adaptive urbanism. Planning and design responsibilities. Vortrag im Rahmen der Fourth Cosmos + Taxis Conference „Spontaneous Urban Planning at the Intersection of Markets, Democracy and Science“, 25.05.2019, Vancouver, Canada.
  • Action and the City. Emergence, Complexity, Planning. Vortrag im Rahmen des Annual Planning & Complexity Meetings: Emergent Patterns in the Built Environment, 09.11.2018, Tel Aviv, Israel.
  • The anti-adaptive-neighborhoods: is urban design the only problem, or do we underestimate other relevant planning conditions? Vortrag auf dem AESOP Annual Congress 2018 „Making Space for Hope“, 12.07.2018, Gothenburg, Schweden.
  • The Creative City: Reconsidering Past and Current Approaches from the Nomocratic Perspective. Vortrag im Rahmen des International Symposium on New Metropolitan Perspectives, 23.05.2018, Calabria, Italien.
  • The evolution of emergent socio-spatial configuration in planning. Vortrag auf der 3RD Cosmos + Taxis Conference, Istituto Bruno Leoni, 17–19.11.2016, Mailand, Italien.
  • Simple relational rules for emerging social-spatial orders. Vortrag auf der EURA Conference 2016 „City lights. Cities and citizens within, beyond, notwithstanding the crisis“, 16.–18.06.2016, Turin, Italien.
  • The city without planners: the extreme case of Liberland. Vortrag auf der EURA Confrence 2016: „City lights. Cities and citizens within, beyond, notwithstanding the crisis“, 16.–18.06.2016, Turin, Italien.
  • How urban planning constrains complexity and spontaneous order: the relation between action space and framework rules. Vortrag auf der Conference „Jane Jacobs 100: her legacy and relevance in the 21st Century“ der Delft University of Technology und Rotterdam Erasmus University College, 24.–25.05.2016, Delft, Niederlande.
  • The role of actions. Public conditions for an open society. Vortrag auf der Italia 45–45, XVIII Conferenza Nazionale Società Italiana degli Urbanisti, 11.–13.06.2015, Venedig, Italien.
  • Which rules for resilient cities. Global Growth Agendas: Regions, Institutions and Sustainability. Vortrag auf der Konferenz der Regional Studies Association, 24.05.2015, Piacenza, Italien.

  • The (anti) adaptive neighbourhoods. Vortrag im Rahmen einer Lehrveranstaltung an der Polytechnic University of Milan, 30.09.2024, Mailand, Italien.
  • Teilnahme am Expertenpanel „Beautiful Urbanism“ am University College London, The Bartlett School of Planning, 04.07.2024, online.
  • Jane Jacobs. Vortrag an der TU Wien, 08.05.2024, Wien.
  • Beauty and Complexity. Vortrag an der University of Groningen, 28.02.2024, Groningen.
  • (Anti)Adaptive Neighborhoods. Planning and Design for Complex and Emergent Urban Areas. Vortrag an der University of Groningen, 27.02.2024, Groningen.
  • Urban Beauty. Beyond the Visible and Designable. Vortrag an der Art University of Isfahan, 03.02.2024, online.
  • The City as Action. Planning with and for urban complexity. Vortrag an der TU Dortmund, 23.11.2023, Dortmund.
  • Self-Adaptive Cities. Gastvortrag an der Utrecht University, 13.11.2023, Utrecht, Niederlande.
  • Urban Complexity: Action, Property, Beauty (and What Planners Don’t Say About Them). Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „OPEN SUMMIT 2023“ von Prometheus – Das Freiheitsinstitut, 30.09.2023, Berlin.
  • An urban anti-adaptability detector. Gastvortrag an der University of Groningen, 28.02.2023, Groningen, Niederlande.
  • On urban beauty and its peculiarities. Gastvortrag an der Tel Aviv University, 09.02.2023, Tel Aviv, Israel.
  • A crisis of lost values. Rediscovering the relationship between urban beauty and democracy. Seminarvortrag an der Polytechnic University of Milan, 07.10.2022, Milan, Italien.
  • Self-adaptive urban areas. Gastvortrag an der University of Groningen, 11.03.2022, Groningen, Niederlande.
  • The intangible beauty of cities and conditions to stimulate it. Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung “Intangible Venice” der RWTH Aachen University, 19.11.2021, Aachen.
  • Adaptive urbanism. Reasons, examples and tactics. Gastvortrag an der University of Groningen, 09.03.2021, online.
  • Action and the city. Vortrag im Rahmen einer Open Lecture der Universiteti Polis of Tirana, 05.03.2021, online.
  • A new research field and some open questions. Vortrag im Rahmen des Workshops „Time-sensitive planning and design for adaptive neighborhoods” des ILS – Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung in Zusammenarbeit mit Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Groningen University, RWTH Aachen University, Polytechnic University of Milan, Utrecht University, 11.02.2021, online.
  • On the spontaneous beauty of cities: neither design nor chaos. Vortrag im Rahmen eines PhD-Workshops an der Fakultät für Architektur und Landschaft der Leibniz Universität Hannover, 27.01.2021, online.
  • Venice between museification and depopulation. Is it right to pay for visiting it? Vortrag auf dem Workshop “Dreaming about Venice“ an der RWTH Aachen University, 13.11.2020, online.
  • Jane Jacobs. Vortrag im Rahmen einer Lehrveranstaltung an der Politecnico di Milano, 06.11.2020, online.
  • Adaptive reuse and urban heritage regeneration in times of Covid 19: the perspectives of those who lead the sector? Vortrag im Rahmen der ROCK Open Knowledge Week “Cultural Heritage leading urban futures” des ROCK Networks, 30.10.2020, online.
  • You can’t zone beauty. Framework-rules for self-organizing cities. Vortrag bei der Israel Planning Association, 29.10.2020, online.
  • Redeeming urban resilience: perspective on morphology (and urban design). Vortrag im Rahmen des PhD Excellence Course „Can urban resilience be redeemed?” an der Politecnico di Torino, 29.10.2020, online.
  • Why are some areas more spontaneous than others? Vortrag im Rahmen des Workshops on gentrification auf dem WORLD ANTHROPOLOGY DAY 2020, 30.05.2020, online.
  • Cities after covid-19: A market urbanist perspective. Teilnahme an einer Expertenrunde im Rahmen eines Online-Workshops der Zaha-Hadid Architects, 23.05.2020, online.
  • Urban Resilience: Action, Property and Self-Organisation. Vortrag im Rahmen einer Online-Veranstaltung der Politecnico di Torino, 04.05.2020, online.
  • What is urban design? A proposal for a common understanding. Vortrag im Rahmen einer Veranstaltung der Universität Groningen, 10.03.2020, Groningen, Niederlande.
  • Neighborhood revitalization: why is adaptability so important? Vortrag im Rahmen einer Veranstaltung der Universität Groningen, 09.03.2020, Groningen, Niederlande.
  • Venice between depopulation and museification. Is it fair to pay to visit it? Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung “Policy Breakfast” des Bruno Leoni Instituts, 21.02.2020, Mailand, Italien.
  • Jane Jacobs – The kind of problem a city is. Vortrag im Rahmen einer Lehrveranstaltung an der Politecnico di Milano, 18.10.2019, Mailand, Italien.
  • Adaptive and anti-adaptive forms of urbanism. Principles, examples and challenges. Vortrag im Rahmen der Vorlesung „Land use ethics and the law“ an der Polytechnic University of Milan, 12.04.2019, Mailand, Italien.
  • The idea of organic planning. Vortrag im Rahmen der Vorlesung „Land use ethics and the law“ an der Polytechnic University of Milan, 11.04.2019, Mailand, Italien.
  • Complexity and simplicity in the built environment. Causes, problems, implications. Vortrag im Rahmen einer Lehrveranstaltung an der University of Groningen, 28.02.2019, Groningen, Niederlande.
  • Embracing Complexity and Distribution of Design Control in the Ordinary Built Environment. Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „Cities, Culture & Economy“ an der State University of New York, Purchase College, 28.11.2018, New York, USA.
  • (Anti) Adaptive Neighbourhoods – Embracing complexity and distribution of design control in the ordinary built environment. Vortrag an der RWTH Aachen, 23.11.2018, Aachen.
  • Organic Planning in the Netherlands: the case of Almere Oosterwold. Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „Land-use Ethics and the Law“ an der Politecnico di Milano, 23.03.2018, Mailand, Italien.
  • The Anti-Adaptive Neighborhoods. Vortrag im Rahmen der Konferenz „New Science and Action for Complex Cities“ der University of Florence, 14.– 15.12.2017, Florenz, Italien.
  • Jane Jacobs: life and ideas. Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „Spatial Planning and Design“ an der University of Groningen, 27.10.2017, Groningen, Niederlande.
  • Simple Rules for Complex Urban Problems. Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „Spatial Planning and Design“ an der University of Groningen, 26.10.2017, Groningen, Niederlande.
  • Jane Jacobs, the Anti-Planner. Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „City Spatial Analysis“ an der Polytecnico di Milano, 10.10.2017, Mailand, Italien.
  • Simple Planning Rules for Complex Urban Problems. Vortrag auf der Konferenz „Changing Cities 2“ des Greek Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, 22.–26.06.2015, Porto Heli, Peloponnes, Griechenland.
  • People in Urban Space. A Jacobsian Perspective. Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „Urban Planning“ an der Polytecnico di Milano, 07.06.2017, Mailand, Italien.
  • Toward a Jacobsian Theory of the City. Vortrag am Purchase College, 22.04.2015, New York, USA.
  • Il caso di Almere e la sfida urbanistica olandese. Da un approccio blueprint a do it by yourself. La ricerca che cambia. Vortrag auf der Convegno Nazionale dei dottorati di Architettura, Pianificazione e Design, Iuav di Venezia, 19.–20.11.2014, Venedig, Italien.

Lecturer at RWTH Aachen University, Faculty for Architecture

 

  • Unfolding city complexity (Seminar), SoSe 2020, SoSe 2021, SoSe 2022, SoSe 2023
  • Complex cities, self-organization and planning (Seminar), WiSe 2019/2020, WiSe 2020/2021, WiSe 2021/2022, WiSe 2022/2023, WiSe 2023/2024
  • Neapolitan Complexity: the Everyday Life of a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Exkursion und Workshop), SoSe 2023
  • Flexible Cities and Design for Adaptive Neighbourhoods (Seminar), SoSe 2019

Lecturer at University of Groningen, The Netherlands

  • Design Standards and Conditions (Seminar), SoSe 2018

Lecturer at the University Polis of Tirana, Albania

  • Emergent urbanism between formality and informality (Workshop im Rahmen der Tirana Design Week; gemeinsam mit Kacani, Artan), SoSe 2021

Teaching Assistant at Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy

  • Land-use Ethics and the Law, 2012–2017

  • Expert of the committee “Freedom in practice” of the Rising Tide Foundation
  • Head of the Thematic Group “Ethics, Values and Planning” of AESOP – Association of Eurpean Schools of Planning
  • Expert for the Israel Science Foundation
  • Expert for the Publisher Edward Elgar und Routledge
  • Expert und Reviewer for the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (FORMAS) (2021)
  • Research Fellow, Observatory of Resilient Practices, Polytecnico di Milano, Italy (2017–2018)
  • Consultant in the area of “law simplification and land-use plan revision” for the municipality of Gorgonzola, Italy (2017)
  • Consulting work in the field of Community Participation in Planning (CPIP), together with Ulster University (UK), Community Places (UK), and the University of Aveiro (Portugal), Polytecnico di Milano, Italy (2015–2016)
  • Reviews for the following journals:
    • Cities
    • Cosmos + Taxis
    • Environment and Planning B
    • Journal of Planning Education and Research
    • Journal of Planning Literature
    • LAND
    • Land Use Policy
    • Planning Theory
    • Planning Theory and Practice
    • Sustainability
    • Territorio
    • The Journal of Architecture
    • Urban Design International
    • Urban Studies