Planning Rural-Urban Landscapes: Railways and Countryside Urbanisation in South-West Flanders,Belgium (1830–1930)

In the international literature on today’s urban condition, Flanders is presented as prime example of urban sprawl, generally described as unplanned incremental development induced by the quantum leap of private car ownership. The research on rural-urban landscapes in south-west Flanders qualifies and substantiates this assertion by analysing pre-war keystone processes of infrastructure planning in relation to land-use patterns and landscape transformations. The research reveals that not only the development of rural-urban landscapes reaches back far beyond the welfare state, fuelled by railways prior to highways, but also shows that the supposedly chaotic hybrid landscape has its roots in drawn-out landscape ideologies inscribed in public works policy. The analysis—which crosses the divides between disciplines (landscape and infrastructure planning), concepts (rural-urban, modern-traditional), and geographical scales (national, regional, local)—reveals consistently planned mechanisms of public works policy and landscape change underlying both the diffuse regional urbanisation patterns and local landscape transformations, which are generally perceived as spontaneous or vernacular developments. Infrastructure planning facilitated a spatial organisation that attributed centrality to the transport network rather than the metropolis, and that conceived a resilient infrastructure framework rather than a stylistic spatial constellation in order to steer and geographically root heterogeneous modernisation processes within the landscape.     

Public Participation: Technology and Democracy

Abstract

Computerized visualization methods offer planners and architects some new ways to support and facilitate democratic decision-making. However, the uses of this technology in public participation are just beginning to be explored. This paper describes a community planning process in which a combination of high- and low-tech visualization methods—a Geographic Information System (GIS) and a human artist—was used to increase public participation and draw out local knowledge.     

Engaging the public with online discussion and spatial annotations: The generation and transformation of public knowledge

Online discussion with spatial annotations has been proposed as a method of facilitating public participation in spatial planning. It has been assumed that it will widen the knowledge base behind decisions by bringing local, first-hand knowledge into planning. However, what type of knowledge will be generated by such a geographically referenced public discussion in the planning process? This article addresses this question by tracing how an online discussion that allowed spatial annotations was implemented in a real-life land-use planning process in Tampere, Finland. The analysis focuses on two distinct phases of knowledge production. First, discussion focuses on how establishing this particular technology as a public forum impacts on the type of knowledge that is provided by the participants. The second part of the study addresses how planners assimilate information from geo-referenced public discussion. The article suggests that the interplay between (1) the site of knowledge production that was at the same time the arena of public discussion, (2) the issues that were deemed necessary to be cared for publicly, and (3) the people who were willing and able to enter the public arena and address issues in the way that the public arena afforded was crucial in shaping the type of knowledge that was generated. Furthermore, the results suggest that the constraints set by the local planning procedures and practical work of planners effectively guide the transformation of this knowledge into the domain of planning. The article starts to unravel contingencies of knowledge production related to public participation methods which use online discussion and spatial annotations.     

THE LIMITS OF STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR CITIES

ABSTRACT: Developed in the private sector, strategic planning is rapidly being applied to cities. This article describes public sector strategic planning, places it in the history of urban planning and evaluates its goal orientation and effectiveness. Strategic planning is shown to be closely related to rational-comprehensive planning; as such, it is open to the same types of criticisms that have been leveled at rational planning reforms. At the same time, strategic planning is differentiated from traditional rational planning by its focus on future environmental trends. While external trends are important, the article concludes that they are rarely decisive for local policy making. Claiming to be a technique that can be used to support any goals, in practice, strategic planning often biases the planning agenda in favor of economic growth over other goals, such as redistribution of wealth or democratic participation. Strategic planning focuses on the effects of policies and is not concerned with the process of decision making; the values of democratic participation and checks and balances lie outside of the techniques of strategic planning. The article concludes that strategic planning is not wrong—simply incomplete. Strategic planning has a place, albeit a limited place, in democratic decision making.     

Historic Planning and Redevelopment in Minneapolis

The redevelopment process in Minneapolis involves an attempt to recreate the positive aspects of life that existed in the nineteenth-century city, an era when the city was a dynamic and positive environment. Redevelopment has focused on recovering die importance of downtown, restoring die industrial base lost to die suburbs and revitalizing neighborhood life—all characteristic aspects of the historic city. The city's public planning efforts, well documented by Altshuler and others, have involved significant cooperation among city agencies and private organizations. This paper will focus on die role of the private sector in this partnership to encourage redevelopment.

Nicollet Mall and the industrial development program are two of the major accomplishments of the recovery efforts. Where success has eluded the city, as in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood re-vitalization project, more attention to the historic and social needs of residents might contribute to fulfillment of project goals. The Minneapolis recovery effort has demonstrated the benefits of a civic-conscious business elite, a local government willing to innovate with and for private enterprise, a desire in both public and private sectors for quality planning, and the presence of historical perspective in die planning process.     

新媒体与城市规划公众参与

随着新媒体技术的发展,社交网络、位置服务、移动终端等新媒体工具逐渐应用到城市规划实践。新媒体及其产生的“大数据”作为研究“人”的新工具,一方面形成了新的城市规划公众参与方式,另一方面为城市规划研究提供了新的分析工具。结合近年来的若干案例,初步分析了新媒体技术在城市规划公众参与,尤其是第三方参与中的应用,并提出了公众教育、舆论参与、信息分享、数据分析等应用模式。本文还以笔者参与的“钟鼓楼片儿区关注团队”、“梅州围龙屋关注团队”的实践为例,阐述了相关技术的实际应用方式。     

浙江景宁畲族传统村落的绿色村庄规划——以张庄为例

该文以浙江景宁畲族传统村落张庄为例,通过实地调研和文献阅读,得出了当地传统村落的自然生态环境、生产生活方式、建筑形态、村落形态、文化特征等特征,也发现了使用功能、土地利用、传统风貌、公共服务设施等方面存在的问题。文章在此基础上总结了畲族传统村落尊重自然、因地制宜、尊重民俗文化等绿色村庄规划经验,并从建筑使用功能、资源利用、产业规划、空间环境、公共服务设施、安全防灾等方面对张庄进行适宜性优化和提升。     

Innovative Practices in Large Urban Development Projects: Conflicting Frames in the Quest for “New Urbanity”

Large urban development projects are at the forefront of scholarly attention. This article aims at complementing critical analyses of urban projects from a political-economic perspective with an analysis centred on planning agency and practice. The focus is on the role of innovative planning concepts in the governance process. The question raised is: how can discourse on the urban quality of places affect collective choices in a reflective way, possibly leading to integrating private interests within ambitious public strategies?

The question is addressed by analysing planning of large urban projects as a “framing” practice, intended in a dual sense: as a practice defining arenas and forms of interaction, and as a practice conveying ideas, visions, concepts of “urbanity”. The case study presented—the Zuidas in Amsterdam—is interpreted as the scene of conflicting frames about the “public” meaning of places and as the contradictory struggle for framing collective action by means of innovative planning concepts. The analysis highlights the limits of framing approaches that do not adequately address the multiplicity of arenas and interactions involved in the governance of urban transformations.     

An economic modelling approach for public sector construction workload planning

The effectiveness of public sector construction workload planning can be enhanced through employing an economic modelling approach to predict the impact of different workloads on tender price changes. The main problem associated with existing methods used for predicting tender price index (TPI) for construction projects is a lack of robustness when the market becomes unstable. This is due to limited consideration of market conditions in these methods. An economic modelling approach has been developed and applied for public sector construction workload planning in the States of Guernsey where forward planning was required. The developed model overcomes the problem of existing methods—lack of robustness—by correlating TPI of construction projects to demand over capacity ratio of the industry, which represents the industry's economic condition. The model generates the price changes under different planning options associated with different workloads over a five‐year planning period. The information is valuable to the public sector in estimating actually required investment. This ensures the feasibility of the plan and the possibility of contribution to the stability of the construction market. The model development and application process developed in this research can be used to assist a planning process for an industry where a demand, capacity and price relationship is applied.     

The Role of the Public Sector in Urban Development: Lessons from Leidsche Rijn Utrecht (The Netherlands)

This article describes how the local planning authority plays a role both as a regulator and as a facilitator of urban development processes. Using the study of a large-scale housing development process in the Netherlands (Leidsche Rijn Utrecht), it is argued that the regulating and the facilitating roles of the local planning authority, that are now combined in the spatial plans, could be better if separated. This would allow the planning authority to regulate only where necessary, and to facilitate where possible, thus creating more space for collaborative processes. On a practical level, this analysis allows an approach for the public sector to be discerned, represented by the local planning authority, to pursue housing and land use policy by inducing the other actors in the urban development process to co-operate. On a more theoretical level, the article contributes to our understanding of the role and position of the public sector in development projects where public and private interests meet.     

A Planning Life: Bridging Academics and Practice

Looking back at a life as a planner–educator, the author sees many positive signs that three main concepts not only continue to shape the field of planning in fundamental ways, but are gaining steam. First, the primary product of city and regional planning is the creation of good places for people—not only physically, but also socially, economically, and environmentally—from streets and neighborhoods to cities and regions. Second, public planning is fundamentally a collaborative process, involving not only direct stakeholders but also an influential cast of practitioners, politicians, administrators, citizens, advocates, analysts, researchers, and educators. Third, the most important role for the planner is to be a tireless advocate for good collaboration and good places, building consensus for doing the right thing through helping the public and decision makers understand the consequences of their actions.     

Planning for Water Capacity Expansion

More responsibilities for planning water resources are being placed on local planners at a time when demand for water services is uncertain and financial conditions are pressing. Planners will need to scrutinize and refine conventional criteria for evaluating proposed expansions in the capacity of water and wastewater systems. They will have to counterbalance traditional engineering approaches to planning, which emphasize economy of scale, by paying more attention to finance rates and demand forecasting. And they will need to consider rehabilitating water and wastewater systems—as both a supplement and an alternative to expanding them—in making decisions about local infrastructure.     

关于行政区经济格局下地方政府规划行为的思考

首先分析"行政区经济"格局下地方政府行为所具有的"政府"和"经济人"双重特征,指出地方政府规划价值取向是经济增长和城市形象改善最大化,与维护社会公众利益的规划价值理性存在一定偏差,进而剖析地方政府规划价值取向和具体的规划行为,在此分析基础上提出借助地方政府对城市规划的重视,在美好的规划价值理性与切合实际的规划行为之间寻求平衡点,是"行政区经济"格局下规划理想与客观需求结合的一条现实途径,地方政府规划行为虽然受其双重行为特征影响而存在一定偏颇,但地方政府规划意识的加强及在公众参与、法制化建设方面的实践,有助于推动规划价值取向由"国家本位"通过"地方本位"、进而走向"公众本位"的演进,从而最终实现规划的价值理性--维护公众利益.     

对公众参与制度化的探索——深圳市龙岗区“顾问规划师制度”的构建

公众参与制度 ,是现代城市规划管理要素之一 ,是由传统的“精英规划”走向“民主规划”的重要标志。结合深圳龙岗公众参与规划的工作实践 ,通过对现行体制下规划管理工作中存在问题的反思 ,学习并借鉴先进地区经验 ,探索公众参与制度化的有效途径 ,构建具有龙岗特色的顾问规划师制度。介绍了龙岗“顾问规划师制度”的总体思路 ,工作内容 ,组织和工作方式 ,顾问规划师的角色定位以及各级政府的角色定位     

The managerial turn and municipal land-use planning in Switzerland – evidence from practice

New Public Management (NPM) reforms are intended to increase efficiency and support a more managerial approach to public problems. This paper examines how NPM-type reforms have led to the growing influence of finance and real-estate departments in local level planning in Switzerland. Drawing on over 50 interviews, the paper maps the growing influence of flexible private-law or incentive-based instruments as complements to more binding instruments (typically zoning) in land-use planning practices. NPM reforms have prompted a renewed interest in public property, forcing municipalities to position themselves in relation to the necessity to sell or retain public land. The results show that NPM has affected practices of land-use planning in Switzerland, but the outcomes are more complex than a one-to-one takeover and there is variation across the country. The Swiss case study helps extend the wider international debate about NPM and planning. This paper highlights the complex impacts of managerialism on planning reform as well as ongoing tensions between increased efficiency in plan implementation and public scrutiny.     

从“树形”到“互动网络”——公交引导下的村镇社区空间发展模式初探

公共交通导向(TOD)的村镇社区空间发展模式,是基于东部沿海平原省份城乡公路与道路网络较为发达的地域特性,通过选择性地建设设置公交站点的"城镇型社区",形成网络化互动连接的城乡公交体系及公共服务设施体系,进而触发城乡要素流动、优化公共服务,改变传统发展动力自上而下的树形结构模式。通过对德州市临邑县村镇体系规划的实践研究,发现TOD村镇社区空间发展模式能够在依托地域需求、服务政府决策、优化规划模式和改善功能结构等方面为我国的新农村规划建设提供参考。     

城市发展方式转型下的地方城市规划与实施——以厦门市为例

城市规划及其实施与城市发展的阶段和方式密切相关.当前城市处于快速发展阶段,经济发展、政府职能、公共行政和城市建设等方式正在转型,地方城市规划呈现出新动向.结合厦门城市规划实践,探讨并归纳地方城市规划与实施具有的特征.     

Index,Volume 3

This article addresses the state of urban planning for health in Norway. The country has a long planning tradition, and a constant focus on public health work, so if an integration of health promotion and planning were to succeed, it would most likely be in Norway. This article focuses on the current state of affairs by addressing the following questions: What are the national ambitions concerning health in planning, and how is planning thought to promote health? How are national ambitions translated into local planning in Norwegian municipalities? What are the prospects for further integration between health and urban planning? The intersection between national ambitions and local practices is studied by analysing core national policy documents, survey data from a lateral section of Norwegian municipalities, and qualitative interviews with core actors at the local level. This paper fills a gap in urban planning research, where broad studies of the integration of public health issues at the local level are rare. Its analysis reveals that healthy urban planning has not yet been achieved, even in Norway. There is little knowledge transfer and interaction between planners and public health coordinators, and it has proven difficult to incorporate public health themes that are out of rhythm with planning's traditional focus. However, the activities of thirty municipalities at the forefront of healthy planning show promising signs and there are elements in current planning that may help build towards a healthy urban planning in future.     

Planning for Sustainable Transport in Germany and the USA: A Comparison of the Washington,DC and Stuttgart Regions

Federal, state, and local governments in Germany and the USA strive to make passenger transport more sustainable to combat oil dependence, climate change, local pollution, and negative public health outcomes. This paper compares the Washington, DC and Stuttgart regions to demonstrate differences and similarities between the German and US land-use and transport planning systems. To illustrate local planning for more sustainable transport, we compare two best-practice examples for integrating transport and land-use planning: the Rosslyn–Ballston Corridor in Arlington County in the DC metro region and Scharnhauser Park in the City of Ostfildern in the Stuttgart region. In spite of significant differences in motorization, travel behaviour, sustainability, and planning systems, both Arlington County and the City of Ostfildern promote sustainable transport using comparable strategies: (1) mixed-use development around public transport stations; (2) comprehensive long-range plans; (3) citizen participation; and (4) coordinated transport, housing, and economic development policies.     

我国公众参与城市规划初探

“公众参与”城市规划是上世纪60年代率先出现在欧洲的规划实践，经过四十年的发展，在西方已经成为比较完善的不可缺少的规划环节。然而，在我国“公众参与”尚处于起步阶段。为了解公众参与在当地的实施情况，探讨公共参与的可能性，通过各种调研方式，发现虽然只有短短几年的实践，公众参与已经成为某些城市的规划中的重要环节，但是其中仍然存在诸多问题。笔者根据问题提出了一些解决方案，并且展望公众参与的未来。