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Consultancy firms as intermediaries: their perceptions on community involvement in urban development (work in progress, please do not cite without permission)
No full textBook of proceedings: Annual AESOP Congress, Spaces of Dialog for Places of Dignity, Lisbon, 11-14th July, 2017Consultancy firms are key-players in urban development as they are knowledge depositories, and have knowledge of regulations, real estate development, and planning processes in the western world. They are intermediaries for public and private parties and can play a role in the exchange of policy ideas and views. The responsibility of translating community interests in informal and formal agreements in urban development is increasingly outsourced to consultants. As external agents, they can shortcut institutional boundaries and find new ways to engage with communities and other stakeholders in urban development projects (UDPs). This study explores the role of consultants in urban planning practices. Specifically, their role in how to involve communities in the planning processes and how to incorporate community interests in urban development. This study is part of a broader research, aimed to investigate community-linked incremental urban development and its ability to find smart solutions to address economic, social and environmental challenges. The following research question is stated: ‘Which perceptions on community involvement in urban development do employees of consultancy firms have and how do they incorporate or forfeit community interests in urban development?’ To explore the role of consultants in urban development I have chosen for a single case-study. A single case study helps to explore in depth the perceptions of consultants on the involvement of community interests in urban development. I also explore the relationship of consultants with their clients. The relation between consultants and their clients is described ranging from the idea that consultants are neutral actors because they are hired by their clients to the idea that consultants are some kind of ‘shadow government’ or ‘consultocracy’ (Hodge and Bowman, 2006; Saint-Martin, 1998).Published versio
Study on the optimization of residential space in resource-based cities - a case study of Yulin
No full textBook of proceedings: Annual AESOP Congress, Spaces of Dialog for Places of Dignity, Lisbon, 11-14th July, 2017Resource-based city refers to the city, which is based on the formation and development of natural resources such as minerals and forests, and takes resource exploitation and processing as leading industry. According to the types of resources, resource-based city can be divided into coal city, forest city, nonferrous metallurgical city and oil city. According to development process, resource-based cities are divided into two types, one is "mine first then the city", the other is " city first then the mine". This paper addresses the latter one. City originated before the development of resources, and the exploitation and processing of resources which is situated in surrounding areas has accelerated the development of the city, and caused the rapid expansion of urban construction land, the rapid change of spatial structure. The urban residential space plays an important role in the spatial change of urban function, and its spatial optimization has become an important content of urban spatial structure adjustment. The paper, taking Yulin City as an example, studies the evolution of urban residential space by analyzing residential space of Yulin main built-up areas, and exploring the current situation of urban residential space and the factors that influence the spatial distribution of urban residential space.Published versio
The development of Chinese planning theory since the 1978: a thematic perspective
No full textBook of proceedings: Annual AESOP Congress, Spaces of Dialog for Places of Dignity, Lisbon, 11-14th July, 2017The year 1978, when China initiated its policy of reform and opening-up, marks a distinct turning point in the history of urban planning in modern China. A new Chinese urban planning system, with its values, ethics, approaches, laws, regulations and so on, has gradually formed since that time. A set of Chinese planning theory also emerges within this system development. This set of theory ‘is interpreted as the values, principles and working procedures which conduct planning practices’ (Zhang, 2008) by Chinese planners. This paper will mainly discuss Chinese planning theory.Published versio
Reaching for simplicity; citizen participation, complexity theory and the transport megaproject
No full textBook of proceedings: Annual AESOP Congress, Spaces of Dialog for Places of Dignity, Lisbon, 11-14th July, 2017“I would not give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity; I would give my right arm for the simplicity on the far side of complexity” Oliver Wendell-Holmes Jr. At every stage in a research project an academic is faced with the problem of acknowledging complexity, attempting to process its implications and reaching for the elusive simplicity that we hope exists on the far side. For a researcher in the field of landscape architecture this is a particularly pressing problem, due to the nature of the landscape itself as a complex emergent system. My PhD is a participatory research project, which aspires to acknowledge the role of all participants in this system as “researchers, as agents of change, and as co-constructors of landscape knowledge” (Deming and Swaffield, 2011: 202). So, in studying the implications of complexity theory for public engagement with a transport megaproject, what glimpses might there be of simple solutions? Complexity theory can help us to comprehend the nature of landscape, its problems and their possible solutions, because it offers a way of understanding how landscape works. It gives us the perspective of ‘emergence’, from which we can aspire to conceptualise the landscape in a pragmatic way. The term ‘emergence’, in the technical sense used by complexity theorists, was coined by English philosopher G.H.Published versio
Commuting patterns and car dependency in urban regions
No full textBook of proceedings: Annual AESOP Congress, Spaces of Dialog for Places of Dignity, Lisbon, 11-14th July, 2017We have analyzed car dependency in urban regions in the Netherlands, focusing on the lack of alternatives for the car in daily commuting. As geographical factors like distance from home to work and accessibility of job locations shape important conditions for potential behavioral change in car use and ownership, we map out the alternatives to the car for commuting in urban environments in the Netherlands, with emphasis on the bicycle and e-bicycle for shorter distances and combined bike-train for longer distances. In 2014, in the three big cities and some medium-sized cities (30% of the Dutch population), 60-80% of the commuters have jobs within an acceptable cycling distance (within 7.5 km on average). Moreover, in all big and medium-sized cities and most of the suburban areas in the Netherlands (61% of the population) 60-80% of commuters have a job within e-biking distance (within 15 km on average). These geographical conditions could allow a doubling of the share of the bicycle and the ebicycle in commuting, becoming the dominant forms of commuting in urban areas in the Netherlands. Looking at trends over time, it appears that in the large cities there is a stabilization of the share of jobs within e-cycling distance, but the medium-sized cities show a decrease. The South Limburg case study examined the potentials of the bike-train combination and found that it provides a reasonable alternative to the car for approximately 5% of employees with jobs located beyond e-biking distances.Published versio
Image and quality of life in neighborhoods with renewal demand – challenges in the cooperation between urban planners and housing providers: the case study Würzburg
No full textBook of proceedings: Annual AESOP Congress, Spaces of Dialog for Places of Dignity, Lisbon, 11-14th July, 2017This paper focuses on residential neighborhoods that are located in or near the city center and characterized by a negative (external) image as a result of demographic, social and economic transitions. Using the case study of Würzburg-Zellerau as an example, it will explore approaches to improving a neighborhood's image with a view to enhancing quality of life and to identifying potentials as well as limiting and success factors.Published versio
Sustainable mobility at FEUP
No full textBook of proceedings: Annual AESOP Congress, Spaces of Dialog for Places of Dignity, Lisbon, 11-14th July, 2017Sustainability is a concept that has become entwined with planning of the future, since it means the capacity to endure. It is a balance between the use of resources and productivity, allowing the process to continue uninterrupted. The organizing principle of this concept is called Sustainable Development and its definition was firstly conceived by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), on March 20th, 1987. WCED defined Sustainable Development as the "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (WCED, 1987). Sustainable Development stands on three principal pillars: environment, society and economy, where the latest two are restricted by environmental limits (UCLG, 2008). The transport sector is responsible for 23% of the total GHG emissions, with about three quarters coming from road traffic (Ribeiro, et al., 2007). In addition to this problem, transportation has also other negative impacts on sustainability such as noise pollution, devaluation of public spaces, public health and safety, development and urban sprawl, etc., all of which involve a high cost for societies (Fenton, 2017). Given this situation, the concept of sustainable mobility arises, which can be defined as the one that, responding to people's travel needs, is carried out through sustainable modes of transportation (Portuguese Environmental Agency, 2010). In order to properly formulate a plan for sustainable mobility, studies are required to assess the situation and the suitable course of action. Unfortunately, traditional data collection implies long periods of time and associated heavy costs. In Portugal, many mobility decisions are only supported by the Census, which only provides information on work/school related trips. New solutions must arise to meet the needs for supporting data and the requirements of feasible practical applications. Technology is advancing at an alarming speed, providing an enormous quantity of data in a rate that cannot be processed. It’s the age of Big Data. From small quantities of information taken directly from willing participants to huge amounts of complex and unorganized data retrieved automatically in digital processes, the collection of information is rapidly migrating from straightforward and direct methods to an undetected part of everyone’s life and becoming an increasingly prosperous market.Published versio
Study on the conditions of land use conversion from residential land to farming land
No full textBook of proceedings: Annual AESOP Congress, Spaces of Dialog for Places of Dignity, Lisbon, 11-14th July, 2017The demand for residential land is declining and the number of vacant houses and lots is increasing in depopulated areas in rural areas, suburbs and old city centre in Japan for this a few decades. Recently, afforestation for urban forestry and urban agriculture is being promoted as a countermeasure to the increase in vacant houses and plots in depopulated areas of Detroit in the USA. On the other hand, these countermeasures are rarely found in depopulated areas in Japan because abandoned farmland and derelict forests are also increasing in depopulated areas in Japan due to growing aging population. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery in Japan gives priority to the reuse of abandoned farmland and derelict forests because of already developed infrastructure, like irrigation systems, rather than focusing on the reuse of vacant residential land. Current scenario of Japan gives rise to a question i.e. “will vacant residential land continue not to be used in the future?” Examples of recycling residential land for farmland are very limited. At present, the only known case of land use conversion in Japan is in the city of Fukugawa where colonization residential lots have been converted to farmland. The aim of this study is to conducts a case study on Fukugawa Land Conversion and investigates the implications of the possibility of land use conversion from vacant residential lots to farmland and of smooth shrinkage of the city area. The colonized residential lots are scattered along the river Ishikari in Hokkaido. In this area, the original colonizers constructed their own accommodation in the centre of their farming land when they settled in the Meiji Period. As a result, the farming landscape became concave. When aged residents of the colonized residential land stopped farming and moved out, this irregular form of farmland prevented transfer of ownership to other farmers because of its low productivity. The main industry of the City of Fukagawa is farming, so the Fukagawa municipal agriculture committee decided to subsidize the demolition of vacant houses, redevelopment of farmland and costs of land use change up to 90%. As a result, some of the colonized residential lands have been transferred and are used as farmland now. At the same time, the lower productivity farmland is being abandoned and derelict farmland in mountainous areas is being left as it is. This case suggests that the economic rationality of improving farming productivity is needed in order to convert land use from residential land to farmland. In an era of population growth and economic growth, the actual demand for secondary and tertiary industries and residential land use increased and consumed farmland, but in a period of population decline, farmland has also shifted and moved from lower productivity areas to higher productivity areas and actual land demand for farming may not be increasing. In other words, the possibility of increased productivity in agriculture and forestry can create the possibility of land use change from residential land to farmland or forest land. This suggests the importance of productivity improvement of regional agriculture and forestry for discussing shrinking city areas.Published versio
Role and goals of ontological analysis in understanding space and places
No full textBook of proceedings: Annual AESOP Congress, Spaces of Dialog for Places of Dignity, Lisbon, 11-14th July, 2017Places are landscapes as seen from far away, places are cities lived from inside or cities imaged from outside: are they ecological ecosystems too? We intend to focus our attention on lived places. Physical places are complex entities. Nonetheless, we should first distinguish a concept of space from a concept of place. Each of these concepts has different declinations and for each declination there is a possible definition. From a cognitive or a designer’s perspective space is instead conceived as something different, at least not explicitly a 3-dimensional subspace (Freksa et al., 2014). A place is an interpreted space, a reasoned space, a space with feelings, a result of an aesthetic fruition of a physical space. We can define physical space as a set of mental images, spaces of representation, and the architecture of cognitive processes in vision theory. The essence of place lies in the quality of being somewhere specific, knowing that you are "here" rather than "there" (Rapoport, 1977) for example enclosure becomes a very important aspect of place-making which also seems, in some way, to be related to the concept of territory.Published versio
Subverting the present, planning the future: Proposing a counter-planning
No full textBook of proceedings: Annual AESOP Congress, Spaces of Dialog for Places of Dignity, Lisbon, 11-14th July, 2017Our discussion references are the realities of contemporary, capitalist societies under the (more or less) domain of a neoliberal market ideology and economy. In this context of political and institutional changes and mobilizations of different orders and scales in streets and squares, there is an increased academic production regarding processes of insurrection and subversion in the most different spheres of politics and society. (Pierce and Williams, 2016, Olson, 2016 and others). Also, in the discussion of different modes of planning, insurgent and subversive practices of planner scan be identified under certain circumstances. Sager (2011, pp. 8ff), in a broad systematization of forms of planning, describes a range of situations and activities that characterize planning as "radical" and planners as insurgents and subversives. As he states, in a reference to Friedman, "state engagement in radical planning seems close to contradiction in terms". For this reason, he understands that radical planning is "an oppositional but overt activity performed by planners with their professional base in civil society and with a strong commitment to a cause" (Sager, 2011, p. 9).Published versio