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Exploring the functional area approach in EU urban strategies
Get PDFTransactions of the Association of European Schools of Planning; Vol. 4 No. 2 (2020): The Legacy of the European Spatial Development Perspective; page 146-162A vast literature has investigated processes of spatial reconfiguration, contributing to the emergence of a ‘new urban question’ that not only reframes traditional urban issues but also challenges our understanding of what cities are today. Be that as it may, the ‘European city model’ still remains current, particularly with regards to the institutional role of cities as they are increasingly considered to be relevant policy actors. This urban paradox gives new emphasis to the urban regional scale and urgently calls for the two dimensions to be connected both in terms of territorial dynamics and policy formulation. This paper addresses the topic by focusing on the functional area approach promoted by the European Union regional policy discourse, and by discussing how it shapes and legitimates new spatial configurations, with implications for urban analysis and policy approaches. The paper is based on the analysis of a database which gathers nearly 1000 strategies for Sustainable Urban Development funded by the EU between 2014-2020, and features a significant number of functional areas. The analysis reveals that the functional area approach does not only apply to metropolitan areas, big cities, or Functional Urban Areas, but can also be used for different types of territories, beyond metropolitan areas. It also underscores the need for more extensive research on what spatialities and territorial arrangements emerge from this process
Study on the Construction Strategy of Green Space in Urban Shallow Mountain Area—Taking Xishan Military Industry Community in Wulitun Area of Beijing As an Example
Get PDFThe shallow mountain area refers to the transitional area between the city and the mountainous area. The geographical environment of Beijing has created a large number of shallow mountain areas. As a potential resource for future urban space expansion, the protection and utilization of the shallow mountain area has attracted much attention in the context of rapid urban expansion. This paper discusses the green space network planning of the Wulituo area in Beijing and the green space design of the Xishan military community. From the green network construction and the green renewal of the shallow mountain community, the green space construction strategy research of the urban shallow mountain area is carried out at the meso and micro scales
Alternative Urbanism in the Historic City Centre: A Transnational Perspective on Theory and Practice
Get PDFHistoric city centres are characterised by the tension between the local, represented by authentic spaces of everyday life, and the global, responding to the needs of tourism industry and capital flows. Under the neoliberal paradigm, state-led urban regeneration projects often benefit developers and private investors with little regard to the socio-economic dynamics of existing communities. Recently, this approach has been challenged by alternative practices of placemaking that represent a transition from top-down imposition of urban change to the co-production of space. Such practices are characterised by a more temporary, flexible and tactical approach to the design of space. They represent a collective desire that involves several actors, from local residents and business owners, to civil society organisations and design professionals in the role no longer of the exclusive author but as facilitators and mediators of change. Observing the development of such practice in the western world, and the corresponding theorisation attempts developed mostly by western scholars, this paper looks further to its applications in the global South, with evidence drawn from empirical research in London, UK and Cairo, Egypt. The paper suggests that alternative urbanism may be indicative of a longer-term transition towards a more equitable urban planning practice.publishedVersio
An On Demand Transport in a Low Density Region of Portugal - Alentejo
Get PDFMobility and accessibility to services in low density areas is a concern of municipal management policies in the Alentejo. Alentejo is the least populated region in the country, representing over one third of national territory but only 7.1% of its population. It is also the region with the oldest population, 22.9% being 65 years of age or more (while the national average is 17.5%). The CCDRA (Coordination Commission of Alentejo) has proposed, working with the municipalities, to model an on-demand-transport, based on a suitable selection of route centres and itineraries, with the objective of increasing coverage of the existing public transport network (providing an offer in areas and / or periods of the day or year where this offer does not exist or is in deficit). The project will start soon with five municipalities and, in a second phase all the remaining 40 municipalities can be added according to their will. In a first stage, routes, schedules and frequencies are established depending on health needs, supply needs, weekly markets, access to administrative and financial services or for linking with other means of transportation, and serving mainly elderly people living in distant places not served by public transport. Vehicles only make the routes if, in advance, the service has been requested and only go to the stops that have reservations.publishedVersio
Transposition of Advocacy Experience as Triple-Loop Social Learning in Albania: Fighting HPPs in Protected Areas from the Vjosa River Basin to the Canyons of Osumi
Get PDFThis paper traces the learning experiences of communities, living near protected areas, taking to the Administrative Court, in view of a lack of environmental crime law that would render these cases penal procedures, government decisions awarding the right to build hydropower plants to several national and international companies. We focus on the first four such administrative lawsuits in Albania, arguing against the construction of HPPs in the protected areas of the Vjosa river basin, the Valbona Valley National Park, the Seta river, and the Canyons of Osumi, from 2016 to 2018. Based on Brown et al.'s definition of triple-learning loops as a process transformative of decision-making paradigms and of the learning process itself (2015, pg. 1685), we demonstrate how the fight to protect national parks, bio monuments and dependent livelihoods, accompanied by social media campaigns and protests, have informed practices of participatory social learning (Brown 2015, 1686). We break down the dynamics of the multi-level and multi-agency approaches of these claims, to denote and explain the role of multiple social actors opposing the lack of compliance with environmental legislation on protected areas. We, ultimately, argue that the switch in feedback loops has acted as a catalyst for sustained behavioural change, and rendered possible the transposition of advocacy practices across different communities.publishedVersio
Systematic sharing of knowledge obtained in pilot projects in spatial planning
Get PDFTransactions of the Association of European Schools of Planning; Volume 3 / Issue 2 / December 2019; page 93-111Pilot projects are implemented to obtain results and knowledge that can be reused subsequently. In this paper, we address the question of the efficient and effective distribution of insights between pilot projects. We present detailed considerations on the structures which are required to share the results and knowledge obtained through evaluations of the stages of pilot projects. By establishing such structures, the reuse of existing knowledge is significantly simplified. A common structure for pilot projects allows for information sharing between equal stages of simultaneously running pilot projects. If the obtained knowledge of these individual stages is easily accessible, the need to review a comprehensive final project report is eliminated. For future pilot projects and large-scale projects, the costs associated with reusing existing knowledge is reduced and the cost-benefit ratio improves. We exemplify this by investigating systematic information sharing between equally structured pilot projects
Does the connectivity of urban public green space promote use? An empirical study of Wuhan inner city
Get PDFImproving greenness level is proved to have the potential to enhance green space use and outdoor physical activity level. However, high urbanization level and rapid densification process make green space - especially urban public green space - gradually lost and fragmented, which results in small or even no further land for public green space. Identifying such challenges, some planners and researchers suggest to connect existing urban public green space to encourage use and improve public health. Does it indeed work? Considering that, we research on the relationship between the connectivity of urban public green space and use in Wuhan inner city. In detail, we refer to the Integral Index of Connectivity in landscape ecology theory to calculate the connectivity of urban public green space by the unit of sub-district. Besides, Location Based Service (LBS) data – Tencent Yichuxing - is collected to measure the green space use of every study unit. Based on that, we make a further analysis between the two by Pearson correlation in SPSS. However, there exists in negative correlation between the connectivity of urban public green space and green space use, which is potentially due to the characteristics of public green space (such as quality and accessibility) weighing more than connectivity on promoting green space use.This work was supported by the Innovation Grant from Science and Technology Department of Hubei Province [under Grant number 2017ADC073]; and Program of smart Planning support system Research [under Grant number D1218006].publishedVersio
Bachelor Programme in Urbanism (Faculty of Architecture University of Ljubljana)
No full textUniversity of Ljubljana
46.04940971182202, 14.504605807443872
https://ror.org/05njb9z20The Bachelor Programme in Urbanism delivered at the University of Ljubljana brings together the following aspects of quality in planning education:
— Academic curriculum:
• A comprehensive study programme within the field of urbanism with a strong knowledge emphasis on the urban dimension of planning education.
• A balance between planning knowledge and professional skills reflected in and acquired through the delivery of high1level courses in and around urbanism, and the provision of skills and abilities to address real1life urban issues.
— Teaching pedagogy:
• An assortment of teaching and learning approaches including inter alia project1oriented instruction, case1based work as well as design workshops and studios.
— Elements of distinctiveness:
• An alignment with the urbanism education tradition in planning, which places emphasis on interdisciplinarity as expressed by the programme’s structure connecting knowledge from the fields of urban design, architecture, deliberative planning, sustainability and project engineering.
• Practical orientation to community problem1solving supported by experiential learning
Design in the Anthropocene: an opening to the other
No full textNowadays, more than ever, the acquired awareness of man’s responsibility towards the compound planetary crisis we face is stressing the need of a change in perspective. Against the modernist anthropocentrism, some emerging theories are suggesting that coexistence is not only a human issue, but it rather concerns all the entities (animate or inanimate, material or immaterial) that compose the world. This is not seen anymore as a passive background, but rather as a system of relationships, made of different actors - human and non-human - all provided with a political voice and agency. The idea behind this assumption is that reclaiming ground that has been previously purified of too many missing voices and actors might spur the cultivation of a more responsible, ecologically sound politics. Such change of perspective is, clearly, shaking the foundations of all disciplinary fields and also affecting the very idea and practice of design. What kind of approach to design are these perspectives contributing to shape?publishedVersio
Teaching urban planning through international cooperation project with African cities in very fast transition times
Get PDFThe "African question" is increasingly an "urban question", particularly considering the transition phase and the transformation speed that African cities have been experiencing over the last few years. An important question therefore emerges regarding the quality of the training of urban planners, both in European schools – attended more and more by African students – and in the field of international co-operation between European and African universities, also supported by some recent EU Calls. In this context, this paper is an opportunity to discuss the limits and possibilities of teaching urban planning in a phase of rapid changes and, therefore, to define common strategies to reinvigorate the quality of our teaching and practices of future urban planners, inside and outside the European Schools of Planning while obviously being careful not to succumb to the always concealed neo-colonial drifts that would be even more negative for everyone today