More than ‘cybernetics’: urban planning and automatic data processing in the GDR

Data processing and urban planning have always been linked. After the Second World War, computing technology — and with it its application in urban planning — expanded significantly. This paper argues that data processing in the GDR is linked to a concept of urban growth through rationalisation and examines several projects conducted in the German Democratic Republic in the 1960s and 70s. The role of universities is discussed using the case of the HAB Weimar. It is shown that digital technologies were considered promising tools for the rationalisation of the territorial development. The paper then presents a case of a large modelling project for regional development that ultimately failed, followed by examples of successful implementations in urban renewal projects. Since its origins, GDR experts hoped to gather insights for the rationalisation of old city renewal from the new technology. Yet, it must be stated that access to calculation technology generally was limited, leading to theoretical and speculative enquiries.