Culture, politics and the legal framework ______________________________________ City planning - urban development - city culture Cultural impact assessment Culture as a public obligation in federal and U.A. statues Building site art Regional planning as a basics for cultural development Improvement of organisational legal and financial framework Material safeguards for culture and the arts Reform of administration and organisation All management positions are to be limited in time by fixed-term contracts. The modern city requires policies embracing all aspects of life. City planning, urban development and culture are therefore all parts of one whole. In the future this will demand closer and mutually open-minded co-operation in the areas of city planning, social policy, leisure, culture, science and schools. City planning - urban development - city culture In order to validate this process legally and organizationally a broadly defined cultural impact assessment is necessary. The city of Linz, by analogy with point 4 of article 124 of the Maastricht Agreement, thereby commits itself to take cultural aspects into account in fulfilling all its communal functions. A cultural impact assessment valid for the domains of the city of Linz is formulated as follows: "The city of Linz, by analogy with point 4 of article 124 of the Maastricht Agreement, commits itself to take cultural aspects into account in fulfilling all its communal functions." In practice this means that culture and the arts, and politico-cultural aims, are seen as essential elements in social and communal developments and are taken into consideration in the meetings and discussions of committees, advisory boards and decision-making bodies (e.g. by consulting with competent artistic authorities or setting up panels of cultural experts). This will ensure that these aspects are considered in the decision-naking and development of all communal projects and processes. We are proposing to the province of Upper Austria and to the federal government that they also pass resolutions to introduce a cultural impact assessment in their respective fields. Cultural impact assessment A further step is to define culture as a public obligation by initiating the standardization of a federal aim regulation through the constitutional legislature. Through the appropriate regulations in the federal constitutional statutes and the Upper Austrian constitutional statutes the state, province and local councils should be obliged to safeguard ideal, material, cultural and artistic values through the promotion of culture and the arts and to guarantee the freedom, independence and variety of artistic and cultural life. A proposal is being made to the federal government that they should define culture as an obligation through the standardization of a federal aim regulation. The province is being urged to adopt an appropriate version of article 14 in the provincial constitutional statutes. Culture as a public obligation in federal and U.A. statues . IThe realisation and further development of the project "Building Site Art" is going according to plan. The artists for this project are commissioned after consultation between the building authorities and the artistic administration. A proposal has been made that "Building Site Art" should also be regulated by a provincial ruling from the Upper Austrian authorities. The City of Linz is committed to giving special consideration to architectural and spatial quality in the building of schools and kindergartens ("pedagogical building") and invites the federal and provincial governments to also adopt this principle in their respective fields of activity. Building site art The regional planning regulations of the province should be re-examined with a view to establishing more direct cultural contacts between the city and its immediate surroundings. Regional planning as a basics for cultural development It is also necessary to improve the structural and organizational framework for creative and performing artists and for the promoters of cultural events. It is important above all to simplify the system of authorization for these events, to relieve the financial and administrative burden of non-commercial projects, and to stimulate artistic experiments and the avant-garde. All relevant regulations and guidelines, as well as conditions individually imposed, are therefore being examined to see if they are still appropriate, and adjusted to contemporary requirements. It is proposed that the provincal and federal authorities also re-evaluate their tax regulations and stipulations regarding cultural events, in particular with a view to revising the regulations concerning taxes, contributions and endowments. We also request the federal authorities to devise and implement a social security law to give protection to those active in culture and the arts. We are also directing a proposal to the relevant authorities and committees that they should revise all collective and theatre agreements and those agreements and regulations pertaining to cultural productions in order to bring them into line with modern practice. As a cultural city Linz is committed to the material safeguarding of culture and the arts by means of an appropriate increase in the culture budget in the light of prevailing conditions. The distribution of budgetary resources should be examined in the light of our special priorities and as far as possible re-structured accordingly. Improvement of organisational legal and financial framework As a cultural city Linz is committed to the material safeguarding of culture and the arts by means of an appropriate increase in the culture budget in the light of prevailing conditions. The distribution of budgetary resources should be examined in the light of our special priorities and as far as possible re-structured accordingly. Financial resources must be made available to ensure that the guidelines and priorities of the CDP within the various cultural centres of the City of Linz can be adhered to. Material safeguards for culture and the arts The "Kameralistik", the deployment of personnel and other administrative processes should be brought into conformity with the requirements of a modern city and cultural administration. The realization of the project "business group budgetting" by the Linz financial administration is a very positive example of the requirements of a modern administration. The proposal for an adaptation of the Kameralistik(?) and other administrative processes is also directed at the federal and provincial authorities Reform of administration and organisation The City of Linz is committed to the important principles of openness and consistency in its decision-making and positioning, to clear structures in the distribution and delegation of responsibilities, and to service qualifications in line with contemporary needs (multicultural openness, a culture of dialogue, language etc.). All management positions are to be limited in time by fixed-term contracts. All management positions are to be limited in time by fixed-term contracts. Cultural Development Plan CONTAKT Kulturdirektor Mag. Siegbert Janko Kulturdirektion der Stadt Linz A-4041 Linz, Hauptstraße 1 - 5 Tel.: +43 (0)70/7070-2930 Fax: +43 (0)70/7070-2955 mail: info@kua.mag.linz.at