Greenways, blueways, skyways and other ways to a better London

“ Landscape planners are quick to criticise other professions for single-use planning, but we tend towards the same mistake when planning greenways and urban greenspace.” This proposition is illustrated by the great series of open space plans which was prepared for London between 1929 and 1976. It is then discussed from a theoretical standpoint with reference to Christopher Alexander, the ‘pattern analysis’ approach to landscape planning, and the author's 1991 report to the London Planning Advisory Committee, Towards a Green Strategy for London. The paper concludes that ‘greenway’ is an excellent marketing term, but that product diversification and product differentiation must take place. We need special varieties of greenway for special purposes. Brief Alexander-type patterns are outlined for seven varieties: parkway, blueway, paveway, glazeway, skyway, ecoway and cycleway.     

A walk in the long grass: agriculture,aesthetics, and wildness on Hampstead Heath

Abstract

This article traces a battle over grass mowing and scrub clearance between local campaigners and land managers on London’s Hampstead Heath during the late 1970s. I discuss one of the key arguments in favour of maintaining long grass: its look of ‘naturalness’, which effaced centuries of grazing by sheep and cattle, as well as the extensive land management that went into maintaining this ‘wild’ aesthetic. The 1978 conflict over scrub clearance resulted in a widely reported claim that 20 dead bodies were dumped on the Heath annually. Here, I consider the reality of the claim and the ways in which frictions between local actors point towards a fluid and constantly changing understanding of what is properly ‘wild’ and ‘natural’ on Hampstead Heath. The debate highlights the degree to which both management and historical narratives of public open spaces are the product of complex negotiation.     

伦敦绿地发展特征分析

分析了国际化大都市伦敦的绿地数量与分布特点、绿地评价与规划原则，介绍了伦敦绿地的基本类型、概念及其特征，并着重分析了基于自然保育原则的伦敦绿地发展趋势和途径。     

英国绿色基础设施规划及对中国城乡生态网络构建的启示

以英国为代表的西欧各国在绿色基础设施理念的指导下展开了一系列的规划实践并取得多方效益。本文立足于中国城乡生态网络建设的背景,分析了英国东伦敦绿色基础设施网络和南泰恩赛德绿色基础设施网络2个规划案例,研究了其规划背景与目标愿景、发展框架与实施计划以及审计评估与规划策略等内容,总结了英国绿色基础设施规划的理念与方法,并提出了政策法案层面的制度化与体系化、实施计划层面的科学化与协同化以及规划策略层面的多元化与具体化的启示,以期对中国城乡生态网络构建提供有益借鉴。     

EDITORIAL

Prior analyses of stadium-focused economic development efforts suggest these projects are multifaceted in scope and one-size-fits-all approaches are rarely successful. This study builds upon prior analyses of stadium development projects and provides a comparative analysis of two stadium projects in Denver and Phoenix, with a focus on the role urban form has on the opposing outcomes of the two projects. Results suggest urban form has an impact on the prospects for success of these projects and that strategies to deal with the urban form of a city should be incorporated into comprehensive plans to revitalize downtown areas. A consideration of urban form is particularly important for polycentric urban areas where the success of downtown economic redevelopment efforts remains largely unexplored and unproven.     

北京城市空间发展和土地利用—伦敦经验启示

Beijing is facing a huge challenge to manage the growth of its built-up area whilst also retaining both productive arable land and land for conservation purposes in order to simultaneously realize the three aims of economic development, protecting arable land and generating environmental improvements. Meanwhile, London, as a world city with more than 200 years of industrialization and urbanization, has accumulated rich theoretical and practical experiences for land use planning in a major urban area, such as the creation of Garden Cities, a designated Green Belt and New Towns. This paper firstly analyzes the main characteristics of the spatial distribution of the built-up area, arable land and conservation land in Beijing. Then, some of the key aspects of urban fringe planning in the London region are examined. Lastly, several implications from the experience of London are provided with respect to land-use planning for Beijing, concentrating on a re-appraisal of land-use functions around Beijing, measures to improve the green belt, the development of small towns to house rural-urban migrants and urban overspill, and effective implementation of land-use planning.     

Upgrading Computational Design

Shajay Bhooshan heads up the computation and design ZHACODE group at Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) and is a course master at the Architectural Association Design Research Laboratory (AADRL). Here he argues that Parametricism 2.0 has a vital role to play in the progressing of computational design. Assimilating the exploratory developments of the last 15 years, he asserts how the next phase of Parametricism will enable a further consolidation and evolution of digital practices.     

‘Comfort and Freedom’: The Duke of Windsor’s Wardrobe

Abstract

Clothing belonging to the late Duke of Windsor (1894–1972), which remained in his Paris home until it was dispersed in 1998, provides an insight into both his taste and character. As the young and popular Prince of Wales in the 1920s, he courted notions of modernity, celebrity and informality, rejecting the stiff conventions of his father’s dress and court. His innovative sense of style was emulated on both sides of the Atlantic. Throughout his life he remained loyal to the tailors and haberdashers who helped to craft his image and provide the comfort and freedom he craved in his clothes. This paper considers how some of the surviving garments in his wardrobe can help to define the man who was Prince of Wales, King Edward VIII and Duke of Windsor.     

Aquifer Recharge: An Operational Drought-Management Strategy in North London

The North London Artificial Recharge scheme, which comprises thirty-seven wells and boreholes, is designed to boost resources during a drought. All sources discharge groundwater either to the Lee Valley reservoirs or the New River during the abstraction, which avoids the need for expensive on-site water treatment and significantly enhances the cost effectiveness of the scheme. Fully treated drinking water provides the source of gravity-fed artificial-recharge water, via the normal distribution system.
This paper describes the strategy which was introduced in 1997, in response to a deteriorating water-resources situation. Abstraction occurred over a period of four months prior to the onset of autumnal winter rainfall. Daily abstraction rates peaked at 150 Ml/d, and a total of about 10 700 Ml were withdrawn.     

The True Counterfeits of Banksy: Radical Walls of Complicity and Subversion

Tattoo or consummate object of consumption? Banksy's artwork has an uneasy status. It simultaneously has the power to subvert, questioning the conventions of the art world while potentially colluding with it. Eva Branscome explores the paradox of Banksy in the light of Post-Modernism. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.