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14:00   AESOP - Workshop Innovations in urban planning
Chair: Tom Daamen
System-search CULTURAL HERITAGE IN URBAN REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS: A FRAMEWORK TO ANALYSE COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIES
Marnix Smit, Marlijn Baarveld
Abstract: Due to technological, economic and spatial developments, various inner-city industrial areas have lost their former use and their original economic value. Many of these areas have elements of cultural-historical value. Preserving this cultural heritage means managing it for the benefit of current and future generations, and –by doing so - contributing to a sustainable development. Governments, private parties, citizens and interest groups are often convinced of the desirability of preserving the cultural heritage. However, the presence of cultural heritage entails extra complexity. Hence, public and private parties are searching for new methods, processes and instruments to embed cultural heritage in urban redevelopment projects. In this paper we present a framework to study strategies used and their implications for balancing costs and benefits. To develop this framework, we analyzed five Dutch urban redevelopment projects with cultural heritage and confronted the results with literature. We then argue that value creation, through collaborative efforts in finding new uses, and value claiming, by negotiating on the costs and benefits involved, go hand in hand. From this perspective, value creation and settlements regarding costs and benefits of cultural heritage depend on how stakeholders handle this tension.
System-search THE IDEOLOGY OF THE ECO-CITY: A DISCURSIVE APPROACH
Elizabeth Rapoport, Anne Lorene Vernay
Abstract: Around the world, growing concern about the environmental implications of urban living is putting pressure on municipalities to come up with strategies and measures to keep cities liveable, minimize environmental degradation and reduce carbon emissions. One response to these concerns is the emergence of new sustainable urban developments, sometimes called “eco-cities.” In a recent review, Joss (2010) identified more that 70 such projects worldwide. A brief look at such projects demonstrates that the term “eco-city” is being used to describe a diverse range of urban projects which vary in scale, ambition, and design. In this paper, we use discourse analysis to explore these differences and reveal the underlying ideologies of these projects. In the social sciences, discourse analysis is used to study the way in which issues and understandings are socially constructed. It does so through the analysis of both statements, and the context in which those statements are made. A number of authors have demonstrated the value of discourse analysis to understanding how planning decisions are made (Kumar & Pallathucheril 2004; Portugali & Alfasi 2008). Similarly, in the field of environmental sociology, discourse analysis is used to explore the way that environmental issues are constructed by actors (Dryzek 2005; Hajer 1995). The particular value of discourse analysis demonstrated by these works is its ability to reveal the impact of intentional and unintentional expressions of bias and ideology. Building on this work, in this paper we analyse how planners communicate about eco-city projects to the world in order to search for the ideologies underpinning their work. Such an understanding could then inform sustainable planning policy and practice. Our analysis focuses on the positions that planners take on two key issues: their views on how to achieve environmental change and sustainability their views on how to undertake planning practice. The paper consists of two parts. First we present the results of a discourse analysis of documents about a selection of eco-city projects, and of interviews with practitioners working on these types of projects. In the analysis we identify the presence, recurrence and context in which indicative words and phrases, such as technology, participation, and sustainability are used in communicating about the projects. From this analysis, we establish two broad categories that projects fit into, each of which is defined by an underlying ideology about the best way to achieve urban sustainability. From this analysis we identify two categories of eco-cities: the technocentric eco-city, and the process-focused, socially grounded eco-city. In the second part of the paper, the implications of each ideology are further explored through a closer analysis of one example from each category. Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm, Sweden is used to illustrate the technology-focused projects while EVA-Lanxmeer, in Culemborg, the Netherlands is used as an example of the socially grounded eco-city initiative. Our analysis shows that eco-city projects may emerge from very different ideologies about how to undertake sustainable urban planning. The respective roles of technology and of participation emerge as particular points of difference. We believe this demonstrates the need for further constructivist studies of sustainable urban developments to develop a more critical understanding of how contemporary projects propose to achieve urban sustainability.
System-search THE AREA-BASED PLANNING PROCESS OF DUTCH HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS
Arne van Overmeeren
Abstract: Housing associations in The Netherlands are important actors in the field of urban planning, since they own and manage nearly one third of the total Dutch housing stock and account for 46% (2008) of all newly developed housing. Housing associations are independent social enterprises, which take their own decisions on this stock. Therefore it is important to find out how these organisations make these decisions. These decisions can be made in different ways. Many housing associations in The Netherlands work with asset management plans to secure that their portfolio meets company goals and market demand. However, in practice decisions of housing associations are often not a direct result of their strategic plans, but of incidents at the neighbourhood level, or of emerged opportunities. Next to that, housing associations nowadays do not only focus on the quality of their own housing stock, but also on the physical, economical and social quality of the whole neighbourhood, which implies cooperation with a wide variety of local actors. As a result housing associations in the Netherlands are increasingly employing an area-based approach towards asset management, which takes into account the characteristics of areas and the other actors present in the area. In order to analyse the different ways housing associations implement this area-based approach, the concept of planning is used. Planning is deconstructed into four elements (actors, activities, knowledge and purpose) and five planning types are identified (rational, incremental, collaborative, political and advocacy planning). These planning types and their elements are transformed into propositions that are tested in a survey among housing managers working in priority neighbourhoods. From this survey a diffuse picture arises. Housing associations use different elements from different planning types. However, emphasis is on the elements of the rational and collaborative types.
System-search A METHOD TO STUDY THE MANAGEMENT OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
Erwin Heurkens
Abstract: The management of urban development projects in the Netherlands has changed significantly in recent years. These projects have become mainly ‘led’ by developers as they manage the entire life cycle of development projects, while public actors mainly facilitate development projects. This changes the way projects are organized and managed and might resolve in different outcomes. Therefore, this research aims at understanding the roles of public and private actors in private sector-led urban development projects and aims at determining the effects of their cooperation by conducting empirical research in different contexts. This paper provides a method for academic scholars to study the management of urban development projects, as management has been underestimated in theory as a way to influence project outcomes. A conceptual steering model is introduced which provides opportunities to describe, analyze and compare complex urban development cases. Furthermore, empirical findings from case studies in the Netherlands and England are presented and compared with each other to indicate how the conceptual model can be used.
System-search REDEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES IN HELSINGBORG, SWEDEN: FROM THE MUNICIPAL PERSPECTIVE
Helena Palsson, Stefan Olander
Abstract: Keywords: Property Development, Urban Planning, Project Management, Relationships ABSTRACT The structure and purpose of urban areas varies over time. For 50-100 years ago it was often desired to have closeness between the city centre and adjacent industries and infrastructure, e.g. the harbour and railways. Today these land areas are coveted for housing and commercial interests. In the beginning of the 21st century the municipality of Helsingborg in the southern part of Sweden decided to convert the south industrial harbour area in Helsingborg into housing and offices. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the factors that can influence future relationships between various stakeholders in urban redevelopment projects, special attention will be given to efforts made in early stages of how to manage and organise the project from an overarching vision into an action plan for project implementation. Interviews with participants in the project management team for the development of the H+ area in Helsingborg and with involved municipal officials lead to mapping the expectations for the future development. Partial results shows that open communication between involved stakeholders and public officials give a good base for participation and engagement. Transparency and goal definition along the project planning characterise a well performed property development process. Thus, creating an interest by developers to invest and establishes a baseline for stakeholder management in forthcoming phases of the project.