“Sustainability is self-evident in high quality planning”

Albert Speer, international urban planner, is a vivid proponent of sustainability in urban planning. He founded and still heads AS&P-Albert Speer & Partner, a Frankfurt-based architectural and planning firm with over 45 years of international experience. The focus of AS&P’s activities lies on Europe, China, and the Arabic countries. Projects range from urban planning and urban and regional development to conceptual transport planning and project management, as well as planning of mega-events and policy advice. AS&P recently published a Manifesto for Sustainable Cities (Gaines & Jäger, 2009). The group’s website outlines their explicit commitment to sustainability: “Sustainability, broadly understood in terms of ecological, economical and social quality, is self-evident in high quality planning and, as a sign of common sense, is always the basis of AS&P’s work.” In the following chapter, Albert Speer responds to some questions from Harald A. Mieg, regarding sustainability and his role as an international architect.