Top-down sustainable urban development? Urban governance transformation in Saudi Arabia

This paper focuses on transformation in sustainable urban governance by examining the prospect of fostering sustainable development through top-down urban governance. It takes a case study of urban development in Saudi Arabia, which had been administered through a centralized framework devoid of the environmental assessment of policies and plans. Urban planning documents made limited references to the environment. Consequently, Saudi cities have been ranked low on environmental sustainability. However, recently, due to the political imperative of addressing the problems, low oil prices, and the Arab Spring, there has been a remarkable transformation in urban governance. The planning of some of the major cities has been decentralized and some policies implemented to curb unsustainable development. This article reviews these changes to investigate how top-down approaches might still be relevant in promoting sustainable development. It concludes that there is a need to implement a framework of legislation and administrative procedures integrated with strategic environmental assessment (SEA) to ensure proper sustainable institutionalised urban governance. The findings could serve as lessons for those operating under similar political contexts especially in developing countries.     

城市快速发展时期的社会住房建设:法国的教训与启发

在1950至1970年代的城市化快速发展时期,法国在城市边缘和郊区进行了以大型住区为主要形式的大规模社会住房建设,虽然有效缓解了战争破坏和人口增长带来的住房短缺,却因廉租性社会住房在城市特定地区的大量集聚,以及大型住区本身存在的选址远离中心、建筑形式单调、空间尺度夸张、建设质量低下、设施配套缺失等不足,在1960年代末和1970年代初引发了居住空间的社会分化现象,并在1980年代随城市社会经济结构转型而不断加剧,迫使法国城市不得不从社会、经济、环境、设施和住宅建设等多方面入手,通过实施一系列城市政策和项目计划,对其进行综合整治和更新改造,以抵制社会排斥,鼓励社会混合,促进城市整体和谐发展。文章通过梳理法国社会住房的发展历程,特别是城市快速发展时期社会住房的建设发展,总结其中的经验教训,旨在为当前处于快速发展时期的中国城市的社会住房建设提供有益的启发和借鉴。     

TOWARD EQUALITY OF URBAN OPPORTUNITY

Freedom of movement is basic to the achievement of national goals in housing, civil rights, education, and the elimination of poverty. As a goal of urban planning, it implies extending a wide variety of residential choices to all groups. Yet urban development policies in many cities and suburbs tend to restrict residential choices available to the poor and to minorities. These policies result in pan from competition for local tax resources, which reinforces social prejudices. Several approaches are suggested for reorienting local development policies in support of national social objectives.     

The Film Industry and South African Urban Change

Internationally there has been considerable discussion on the role that creative industries play as a strategy by which post-Fordist cities can revive stagnant urban economies. Among those sectors of the economy that form part of the creative industries, the filming sector counts as one. On the whole, these debates have been conducted with reference to the post-industrial cities of the north. Little attention has been placed on the role of the filming sector in the developing south generally, its spatial distribution, and its relationship to other economic and social geographies in those urban places. The paper provides a spatial analysis of the filming industry in urban South Africa and relates it to general economic and social geographies in two South African cities that have identified the filming industry as a key development strategy. In addition, an agenda for future research, in particular pertaining to urban South Africa is outlined. It is concluded that there is a broader urban planning and geography project at hand. Questions need to be asked about how the filming industry interacts with other government programmes and the ongoing transformation of physical and symbolic spaces in urban South Africa.     

Maintain,demolish, re-purpose: Policy design for vacant land management using decision models

Decline, measured in population growth rates, population levels, housing stock and economic activity, and associated increases in vacant land in urban areas, is a reality for cities and regions within the United States. However, planners increasingly see ‘decline’ as a development state to anticipate and a development strategy to consider. For example, a place may lose population while continuing to provide a high quality of life and social value. Vacant land is central to planning issues related to decline: some currently-occupied housing may likely become abandoned and demolished, yielding vacant lots, while some currently vacant lots may be inputs to alternative uses such as recreational space, urban farming or commercial uses. In this paper, we develop decision models that enable planners to generate a range of neighborhood-level development strategies that jointly optimize multiple objectives related to residential satisfaction, scale economies in development and equity. We apply these models to a case study of a small city. Model solutions may help planners understand how alternative model formulations are associated with spatial variation in active versus passive land uses, values of important output measures such as residential satisfaction, and the special role that vacant land plays in regional development policies that can be classified as smart growth or smart decline.     

基于激进马克思主义的城市居住空间分异研究

随着我国社会主义市场经济的发展,住房分配制度的改革、住宅产业化步伐的推进等政策的推出,城市已经出现一些新的城市社会空间特征,城市居住空间分异的现象是其中之一,而且城市居住空间分异的特征也在逐渐演变。文章介绍了城市居住空间分异的演变历程,对其引发的社会问题进行了因果分析,并用激进马克思主义的社会空间统一体理论简要解释城市居住空间分异的特征和内涵,最后从规划的角度,提出了相应的规划对策。     

大城市保障房供应的两种结构——发展阶段转换背景下的广深实践

摘要　从住房供应结构（Structure of Housing Provision）的理论视角出发,基于广深两城实践,着重论述中国大城市保障房供应的 两种结构,即“政府主导”（大规模建设模式）和“政企联合”（配建模式）。不同的供应结构,根植于不同阶段的社会经济及城 市发展背景,其本质为不同行动主体由于资源动员能力的差异而联合起来以实现保障房供应。“政府主导”的大规模建设模式盛行 于“十二五”期间,主要受自上而下的中央政府压力以及城市扩张期郊区建设用地的相对可获得性所驱动。在“后‘十二五’”时期, 一方面大城市发展阶段逐渐由增量扩张转向存量更新,新增建设用地受限,而存量用地更新涉及复杂的利益主体和高昂成本,在此 情景下“企业化”的政府无法“独自”实现保障房供应;与此同时,大城市的保障房需求日益高涨,实现保障房供应的主体多元化（特 别是开发商）是形势所需,“政企联合”的配建模式成为典型。     

Towards Effective City Planning—The Case of Cape Town in Identifying Potential Housing Land

Vacant land in cities is an important resource as it presents opportunities for urban renewal and revitalisation and can contribute to municipal revenue. In a context of growing informality and homelessness in cities of the South, the presence of large tracts of vacant land is a sign of inefficient urban planning and a dysfunctional land market. It is therefore critical for local governments to have reliable data of the extent of vacant land parcels in cities and their potential for housing development, particularly affordable housing for the poor. This paper will detail and discuss the “Potential Housing Land Model” developed by the Cape Urban Observatory, part of the African Centre for Cities, based at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. South African cities, and in this case the city of Cape Town in particular, face huge constraints in terms of suitable, well-located and affordable land for low-cost housing development. A tool like the “Potential Housing Land Tool” is one tool which could assist decision-makers in identifying such land parcels. Besides identifying land that can potentially be used for housing; the model can also allow officials to pin-point areas that are not well-serviced. The deployment of the model on the World Wide Web makes the tool available to a range of users including municipal officials, academic researchers and organised sectors of civil society who might benefit from this kind of information. The responsible and strategic use of this model and the information it provides, can facilitate a broad-based discussion about vacant land and its potential use in the city, allowing for more transparent and participatory planning. The application of tools like the “Potential Housing Land Tool” can therefore greatly assist in improving urban governance and can contribute towards more efficient and sustainable urban planning and management systems.     

Value for money: Quality and price of land for social housing in the Netherlands

The Dutch take pride in their policy on housing and the development of urban land. After the Second World War, the Housing Act—dating from 1901—was elaborated into specific rules for physical planning and a system of subsidizing the production and management of a large number of social rented dwellings. The effectiveness of the Dutch approach was based upon the synergy of state interventions in physical planning, housing and land policy. This article analyses the performance of this system in two respects. Firstly, it looks at how the system affected the influence of prices of virgin land and of land development costs on decisions in physical planning, and what effect it had on prices of serviced land for social housing. This section is based on an analysis of Dutch land policy and the resulting land prices for housing over the entire post-war period. Secondly, this article considers what the Dutch system contributed to social integration in Dutch cities, and whether it gave lower—income groups access to locations with better quality than the free market would have offered. This second part of the study is based on empirical data on the socio-spatial development of The Hague and its region. Regarding the existing English literature on the successes of Dutch policy, the author suggests a more carefully balanced appraisal. This leads to some points for a research agenda for land policy in the Netherlands, given the rapid shift to marketled production in Dutch housing.     

Promoting the Transformation of Government Function for Achieving the Coordinated Urban-Rural Development of Resources and Environment: Practice of “MultiPlan Integration” in Xiamen

This paper analyzes the main problems in China's urban planning and construction, including conf licts among various spatial plans, the lack of a unified spatial planning management system, the inefficiency of examination and approval administration, and the social contradictions caused by unclear information. It articulates the significance of multi-plan integration from the viewpoints of implementing the national strategies issued by the central government, meeting the underlying demand of development transition of cities, and promoting the modernization of a city governance system and city governance capacity, etc. It introduces in detail the practice of multi-plan integration in Xiamen, which takes the urban development strategies in consensus as the top-level design, establishes a spatial planning system through the "strict control based on one blueprint" and the "coordinated management on one platform," promotes the transformation of the government function via reforming the examination and approval administration system, and builds up a guarantee mechanism through the direct inspection by the top leader of the government and the joint efforts from the top to the bottom. It finally summarizes the effects of the practice of multi-plan integration in Xiamen and proposes some suggestions on further completing the spatial planning system, improving the examination and approval administration system, and accelerating the transformation of the government function, etc., in hope of serving as a reference for other Chinese cities.     

Pro-poorness of planning policies in Bangladesh: the case of Khulna city

The numbers of urban poor are increasing in the cities of Bangladesh. Formal urban planning approaches derived from experience in the global North have largely failed to tackle the consequent poverty challenges in the global South. This study provides new policy directions for pro-poor planning in Bangladesh through a case study of Khulna city. The study analyses secondary data on urban poverty in the city and interviews representatives of the urban poor, politicians, city administrators, academics, and planning professionals to gain a deeper and more nuanced understanding about the pro-poorness of current planning policies. The Khulna case reveals a continued poverty crisis in Bangladeshi cities, manifested by the limited access to income opportunities for the poor, lack of access to decent housing and urban services for the poor and spatial exclusion of the poverty-stricken areas in cities. Existing planning policies in the city fail to tackle poverty issues. Thus, to be pro-poor, planning policies should limit the over-emphasis on economic growth, and explicitly focus upon addressing the needs of the poor rather than over-concentrating on citywide demands. At the same time, planning practice should emphasize the needs of the poor and recognize the contribution of the informal economic and housing sectors.     

Livability in dense residential neighbourhoods of Dhaka

Prime cities in developing countries, like Dhaka experience haphazard and intense horizontal densification. The livability of dense neighbourhoods needs to be investigated, particularly, the role of housing and planning in mitigating density problems and capitalizing the advantages of high-density living. This article argues that housing form and planned community facilities giving respect to socio-cultural practices can significantly influence Dhaka’s livability. Also, a wider definition of housing should be adopted to facilitate improvements in livability. As well, an integrated approach of residential planning is important in intensified housing development projects or planning for dense areas, encompassing housing standards, community facilities, public transport, open space provision and socio-cultural habits. This paper recommends the Bangladeshi Government to ensure enforcement of residential plans, to establish density zones in Dhaka’s main urban areas to guide spatial and transport development and neighbourhood facility provision, and to give greater respect for cultural practices in neighbourhood planning.     

新加坡大规模公共住房在城市中的空间组织和分布

发展公共住房除满足特定居民必要的居所需求外,更需要考虑如何实现公共住房在城市空间中的合理安排和满足特定居民合理居住空间的需求,这既是对城市决策者和规划部门的考验,也对完善城市公共住房机制提出了要求.作为城市国家,新加坡自1960年代中期开始开展的公共住房和新镇建设已持续了40余年,它在城市中以何种空间形态来组织、分布以及形成是考察的重点,并力图从不同视角和层面展开分析,借助地理信息系统工具提供多样化的表达.最终得出结论,各方面因素的综合作用决定了新加坡公共住房既大范围实现了国民基本住房保障,也让绝大部分居民能找到适合的空间位置.     

21世纪北方城市新型住宅体系的探讨

从社会经济发展角度论述了建立北方城市新型住宅体系的必要性 ,提出发展新型住宅体系 ,以适应住宅产业化要求的思路。根据社会经济可持续发展要求 ,阐明对 2 1世纪北方型城市住宅体系的基本要求 ,提出实现新体系的生产方式和推进新型体系形成的途径     

从个人出行规划到个人行为规划

时空间行为研究从其产生到发展一直具有紧扣社会发展需要、与城市规划相结合的特点。随着现代信息技术的发展及新型研究手段的出现,时空间行为研究在城市规划与管理中应用的技术条件与基础已经形成。个人出行规划即是时空间行为研究在城市交通规划与出行管理中的应用范例。沿用个人出行规划的成果,吸收时空间行为研究的应用成果,可以进一步将个人出行规划拓展为个人行为规划,并基于个人活动—移动行为系统的视角,展开为面向个人的空间移动规划和基于个人的活动空间规划两个层次。     

失地农民的社会适应研究——基于社会排斥理论

以自上而下的方式展开的城市化过程中，农村土地被政府大量征用，导致了大量的农民失去土地而被动的进入城市生活。面对身份从农民到市民的转变，多数人表示对城市生活的不适应。失地农民问题已经成为全国性的社会问题。本研究基于定性与定量相结合的研究方法，从社会排斥的角度，以合肥市芙蓉社区为例，从社会学和城市规划双重视角的角度分析了失地农民的社会适应的状况，并从就业、规划设计以及管理层面对其实现社会融入提出了相关的建议。     

信息流视角下的成渝城市群空间组织特征及其规划探讨 — —基于百度指数的城市网络研究

在“流动空间”理论指导下,采用 “百度指数”模拟城市间以民众关注度为主 的信息流数据,并以此构建成渝城市群城市 网络模型。在模型基础上,分析成渝城市群 空间组织特征,同时对指导空间组织的《成 渝城市群发展规划（2016—2020）》进行 探讨。研究表明成渝城市群空间组织呈现： 一、高度双核集聚化;二、发展不均衡,“马 太”分级化;三、初步网络化,腹地争夺化 三点特征。在此基础上,进一步对规划中提 出的核心城市作用、双核城市关系、成渝主 轴建设、次级城市发展4个议题进行深入解 读,总结反思规划提出的“一轴两带、双核 三区”的空间格局,并为后续规划提供新的 依据与启示。     

Planning and Antiplanning in Nigeria: Lagos and Ibadan

This case study of two Nigerian cities concerns the effects of planning policies on the cost, location, and quality of housing for the low-income majorities of the cities' residents. Planned development policies, followed in Lagos and other cities in developing areas, often appear irrelevant and even detrimental to the solution of housing problems. By contrast, Ibadan has coped with its growth problems in a natural, unguided way without active governmental control over development. To be effective, urban development planning policies must consider access to employment and environmental sanitation together with the operations of the land and housing markets in a programmatic, rather than a project oriented, approach.     

Public space and the challenge of urban transformation in cities of emerging economies: Jeddah case study

Urban planning, design guidelines and new management practices have radically transformed public spaces in many countries. With fresh development decisions, urban spaces change spatially. This may improve places, increasing prosperity and extending expectations of modernization in many cities. However, widespread public disillusion and failures to produce environments reflecting local values can collectively shape public areas. This article contributes to debate about dynamism in such spaces. It explores how modernist approaches to planning and design alongside fractures in management practices in emerging cities have shaped the quality urban space. We use Jeddah as a radically re-planned city in a rapidly developing economy, but one where largely unusable public spaces have failed to meet people's everyday needs and aspirations. Our investigation – based on extensive literature reviews, documentary analyses, morphological survey, photographic and qualitative surveys – provides a better understanding of the role of a proactive urban design for promoting environmental quality. This helps resolve the multiple challenges confronting public space provision.