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The purpose of the chapter is twofold. First, it discusses the causes and characteristics of the current proliferation of rail station area redevelopment megaprojects around the globe, revealing them to be an important subset of the new generation of megaprojects discussed in this volume. Second, it offers a detailed and timely account of recent struggles surrounding “Stuttgart 21,” a massive, hugely controversial rail station redevelopment megaproject in Southern Germany, drawing lessons from the controversy over Stuttgart 21 for urban megaprojects more generally. This study is a qualitative case study analysis that involved interviews and document analysis. The experience of “Stuttgart 21” validates previous criticisms of megaprojects regarding transparency and public accountability in decision-making, environmental challenges, and cost-overruns. The political conflicts over “Stuttgart 21” are intimately tied to fundamental disagreements over future urban development and transportation policy, the costs and benefits of multibillion Euro megaprojects, and related democratic decision-making procedures. Rail stations emerge as an important, as-of-yet underexplored subset of urban megaprojects. Rail stations, especially those serving new high-speed rail corridors, are crucial development nodes within complex postindustrial urban–regional restructuring processes. But they also have a distinct character and historical identity. As the mass protests in Stuttgart show, they also clearly serve important identification functions in citizens’ lives.

Regionalism implying some form of city-region or metropolitan-level planning and governance has long been promoted for multiple reasons albeit with varied success. Experiencing a resurgence in 1990s, regional coordination and cooperation has proven effective in pursuing economic development and bolstering competitiveness. Unfortunately, other voices, such as those promoting regional scale land use planning and management to cultivate more sustainable urban form and settlement patterns became comparatively crowded out. With climate change-related environmental and ecological pressures mounting, the chapter suggests it is time to frame regions as socio-ecological rather than mere socio-economic spaces, thereby placing greater emphasis on ecosystems and ecological land management and a circular, regenerative economy. Using the city-region of Stuttgart (Germany) as exemplar, our contribution initiates an exploration into whether statutory regional planning in combination with various informal tools and a multi-level governance framework allows actors to begin to embed and implement these emerging ecological sustainability concepts.

In the search for appropriate solutions to cope with ever increasing road traffic, cities and urban agglomerations across Europe are placing great emphasis on new transport and mobility solutions, and electric mobility in particular. Being located at the intersection of the three constituent sectors automotive, information and communication technologies and green energy, electric mobility is perceived as future-oriented sector. Innovation in the sector not only requires the collaboration and exchange of knowledge, but also an increase in skilled workforces and distinct job qualifications. These demands emerge, on the one hand, through the electrification of cars, which results in structural changes in the entire value chain. On the other hand, growing customer and service orientation further accelerate such developments. So far, the knowledge about the concrete demands for engineers as knowledge carriers and innovation driver is rather scarce. To shed some light on this issue, the purpose of this paper is to discuss companies’ altered demand for engineers in electric mobility and the role of networks (e.g. clusters).

This paper discusses two regions characterised as traditional automotive regions (Stuttgart in Germany and Alsace/Franche-Comté in France) and the shift in demands of the companies in these regions using the engineering workforce as an example. Electric mobility related companies were surveyed and asked about their current need of engineers. In addition, the survey investigated the companies’ ways of recruiting engineers, their spatial scope of search for employees and the skills and thematic courses needed to solve the lack of qualifications. The survey results are discussed against a background of regional framework settings and influencing factors of both the regions analysed.

This paper finds that there is a shift in qualification demands of engineers involved in the sector of transport and mobility. Initiated by the processes along the entire value chain, new skills are required by companies. The current engineers are asked to mix their technical know-how with service orientation and knowledge of new markets.

The world is becoming increasingly mobile. Within the last decades, the number of daily commuters has expanded producing high capacities of road traffic. This has brought several challenges for cities and regions. To face them new transport and mobility concepts are of key importance for cities and regions. Along these lines, well-skilled human capital in the form of engineers is needed to expand the concepts with their skills and knowledge.

We investigate causes for the cost overrun and delay of the railway project Stuttgart 21. Besides, we try to forecast the actual costs and completion date at an early stage.

The results of exploratory research show the causes for the cost overrun and delay of Stuttgart 21; we compare our findings with other railway projects. To estimate the costs at an early stage, the reference class forecasting (RCF) model is applied; to estimate the time, we apply an OLS regression.

We find that the following causes are relevant for the cost overrun and delay of Stuttgart 21: scope changes, geological conditions, high risk-taking propensity, extended implementation, price overshoot, conflict of interests and lack of citizens' participation. The current estimated costs are within our 95% confidence interval based on RCF; our time forecast underestimates or substantially overestimates the duration actually required.

A limitation of our approach is the low number of comparable projects which are available.

The use of hyperbolic function or stepwise exponential discount function can help to give a clearer picture of the costs and benefits. The straightforward use of the RFC for costs and OLS for time should motivate more decision-makers to estimate the actual costs and time which are necessary in the light of the rising demand for democratic participation amongst citizens.

More realistic estimates can help to reduce the significant distortion at the beginning of infrastructure projects.

We are among the first who use the RCF to estimate the costs in Germany. Furthermore, the hyperbolic discounting function is added as a further theoretical explanation for cost underestimation.

In the process of the implementation of the eBologna program and the recent change of the university system, curricula at German universities have been redesigned; courses have been condensed and learning content has been re‐structured into modules, each of which requires an evaluation. Simultaneously, skills required for working in research and development changed; knowledge of mathematical or numerical algorithms and programming skills play an increasingly important role in the daily job routine of the working engineer. The purpose of this paper is to describe, implement and test a new course on numerical simulations along with a new software infrastructure, addressing this predicament.

To support learning by practical exercises, engineering faculties, the faculties of mathematics and physics, and the Computing Center of the University of Stuttgart setup a project for implementing an online programming lab for teaching the required skills. The focus of this project is to provide easy access to the necessary software tools, to avoid the overhead of installation and maintenance, and to seamlessly integrate these tools into the e‐learning infrastructure of the university.

Student evaluations showed a high acceptance of the project and the developed software is now well‐accepted and taken as a self‐evident part of the homework routine.

An online programming lab that integrates seamlessly into the e‐learning infrastructure of the university and is platform and system independent by following the established SCORM standard.

This paper deals with the inverse scattering problem of reconstructing the material properties of perfectly conducting or dielectric cylindrical objects. The material properties are reconstructed from measured far‐field scattering data provided by the Electromagnetics Technology Division, AFRL/SNH, 31 Grenier Street, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731‐3010. The measured data have to be calibrated for use in our reconstruction algorithm. The inverse scattering problem formulated as unconstrained nonlinear optimization problem is numerically solved using an iterative scheme with a variable calibration factor which will be determined during the optimization process. Numerical examples show the successful application of the method to the measured data.

Purpose — In this chapter the three household travel survey methods PAPI (paper and pencil interview), CATI (computer-assisted telephone interview), and CAWI (computer-assisted web interview) are compared in order to show well-known and new methodological effects.

Methodology/approach — The survey concept in the Stuttgart region with the three methods (PAPI, CAPI, and CAWI) offers the possibility to analyze the differences between these methods. This approach offers various possibilities to compare the subsamples and to evaluate the effects of the different survey methods in order to ensure a high data quality.

Findings — The results show a clear tendency that retired people prefer the CATI design instead of CAWI, while younger persons prefer the CAWI design. The PAPI design seems to cover all parts of the population to the same extent and also achieves the same response levels as CATI and CAWI.

Originality/value of chapter — The three different survey methods within one survey allow on the one hand methodological analyses without distortion of results by different framework conditions. On the other hand the CATI and CAWI survey methods are relatively new in the field of multiday surveys especially in Germany.

To show for magnetostatic problems, how the numerically expensive post‐processing with the integral equation method (IEM) can be accelerated with the fast multipole method (FMM) and how this approach can be used to generate post‐processing data that allow for drawing streamlines.

In general, post‐processing with the IEM requires computation of the induced field due to solution variables, the field of permanent magnets and of free currents. For each of the three parts an approach to apply the FMM. With these approaches, large numbers of evaluation points can be used which are needed when streamlines are to be drawn. It is shown that this requires specially tailored meshes.

Post‐processing time can be largely reduced by applying the FMM. Additional memory requirements are acceptable even for high numbers of evaluation points. In order to obtain streamline breaks at material discontinuities, flat volume elements can be used.

The presented application of the FMM is applicable only to static problems.

Application of the FMM during post‐processing allows for a large number of evaluation points which are often required to visualize electromagnetic fields. This approach in combination with specially tailored meshes allows for drawing of streamlines.

The FMM is used not only to solve the field problem, but also for post‐processing which requires using the FMM to compute induced magnetic fields as well as the field due to permanent magnets and free currents. This leads to a speedup which allows for a large number of evaluation points which can be used, e.g. for high‐precision drawing of streamlines.

Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Production and Automation (IPA) in Stuttgart is situated adjacent to the Universität Stuttgart, on the outskirts of the city in a small suburban village called Vaihingen in the state of Baden‐Württemburg. Visitors entering the town by car, hoping to rely on members of the local population for directions to the university, may well find themselves, as I did, in completely the wrong place. Like many German higher education and research establishments, the Universität Stuttgart consists of a number of widely distributed sites. The local dialect is Schwäbisch (something akin to broad Geordie) which makes any form of meaningful conversation in my limited Hocht Deutsch almost impossible.