Perspectives on decentralization past,present, and future: a review of conferences in Grenoble,Milan, and Delft (2017–2019)

ABSTRACT

Decentralization has actively engaged various fields of sociology, economy, and governance in the development of urban regions and territories. As a multifaceted strategy, decentralization contributes to enrich our understanding of national and international forces, power struggles, economic factors, and their impacts on the built environment. To frame the discourse of decentralization on urban development, three institutions of ENSAG Université Grenoble Alpes, Politecnico di Milano, and the Delft University of Technology closely collaborated to organize three conferences in Grenoble, Milan, and Delft, respectively. They called scholarly attention re-thinking of urban and regional planning of the twentieth century through the lens of decentralization’s values and ideologies. These three conferences laid out how decentralization and its evolution engaged with the field of planning, and in turn, affected urban transformation and regional development worldwide. Focusing on the role of decentralization in urban and regional planning, these scholarly events offered an innovative perspective on research on planning history. This report, therefore, reflects upon the discussions took place at these three conferences to outline the diversity of perspectives on decentralization and its role in urban and regional planning in the past, present, and future.     

Sustainable urban growth in peripheral areas

The monograph addresses the factors affecting the degree of sustainability exhibited by population growth in peripheral urban settlements. Development differentials between core and peripheral regions in countries of different size and various level of economic development are discussed and specifically, the following issues are considered: 1, core versus periphery: inequalities and development needs; 2, development peculiarities of peripheral urban settlements; 3, criteria for sustainable urban growth; 4, factors influencing urban growth in peripheral areas; and 5, planning strategies for regional development. Two major theoretical considerations are posited for discussion. First, that ‘sustainable population growth' of an urban settlement is defined according to the settlement's ability to attract newcomers and retain current residents (migration attractiveness). Second, that the preconditions which are essential for sustainable population growth in peripheral areas are not identical to those in the core. A set of analytical models designed to explain development peculiarities of peripheral settlements are suggested and several planning strategies are also proposed, aimed at enhancing the socio-economic sustainability of existing settlements in peripheral areas. These include: 1, the formation of compact development clusters; 2, the concentration of state and local financial resources on selected development settlements; 3, the adoption of a system of progressive economic incentives to promote private investment in peripheral areas; and 4, stricter regulation of land use in core regions.     

Beyond property: Industrial estates and post-suburban transformation in Jakarta Metropolitan Region

Past studies on urbanization in East Asia in general and in Indonesia in particular have taken the edge of large cities as the extension of the metropolitan core where the zones of urban-rural transition take shape. The current article argues that the emergence of global cities and decentralization trends in the last decades have challenged this traditional conception. Jakarta Metropolitan Region (JMR) is beginning to join the global trend of post-suburbia, which refers to the decentralization of urban life to the outskirts of a metropolis. Several post-suburban elements in JMR are identified in this article, including planned deconcentration of hi-tech industries and multinational companies, followed by the growth of projects beyond land and property development, including suburban cultural centers with a Western flavor. Despite these commonalities, this article argues that post-suburbia in JMR has its own uniqueness due to the reduced carrying capacity of the metropolitan core, the persistent yet relatively passive influence of the state, symbiotic relations between the market and the public sector, and the privatization of planning rules.     

Core–periphery dynamics in the Portland, Oregon, region: 1982–2006

The relative strength of positive and negative spillovers of urban development is a long-standing and contested issue in regional and development economics, and the search for spread and backwash effects of development in urban core economies goes back at least 50 years. Using data from IMPLAN and the Bureau of Economic Analysis to develop multiregional input–output models, we developed estimates of core–periphery economic interdependence (sales and purchases of goods and services and commuting of workers between the core and the periphery) of the Portland, Oregon, region for 1982 and 2006. We explored whether the changing flows of sales and purchases, spillovers and commuting between 1982 and 2006 suggested a dominance of spread effects or backwash effects. We found increased commuting between periphery and core, decreased core–periphery transactions, and smaller core-to-periphery spillovers and periphery-to-core spillovers in both goods and services. Our findings do not point to a clear dominance of spread or backwash effects. Results showing smaller core-to-periphery and periphery-to-core multipliers/spillovers suggest that spread effects related to trade in goods and services weakened between 1982 and 2006. Our findings of increased commuting are consistent with enhanced spread effects in labor markets.     

论中国乡村景观及乡村景观规划

在快速发展的城市发展过程中，乡村景观研究是景观科学和景观规划研究的一个前沿领域，该文运用景观规划学，景观地理学和景观生态学的综合观点，系统探讨了乡村景观，乡村景观规划的概念，乡村景观规划的原则和意义，并在此基础上进一步探讨了现阶段我国乡村景观意象，景观适宜地带，景观功能区，田园公园与主题景观和人类聚居环境等乡村景观规划的核心。     

特大城市依托快速交通有机疏散路径研究

我国特大城市承载力的动态平衡不仅关系到城市自身的可持续发展,更关系到城镇体系和城市一区域系统的整合优化。由于现阶段我国特大城市的集聚效应远高于扩散和辐射效应,导致特大城市地域空间上的资源要素供给与需求矛盾突出。随着快速交通的发展,加快特大城市人口、产业以及功能在内部地域空间、城镇体系和城市一区域系统三个层面的有机疏散,更加突出作为国家区域性中心城市的主要职能,从而实现特大城市资源要素供给与需求的平衡。     

以区域视角破解城市外围区发展困境的规划实践——以天津市蓟县为例

城市外围区是位于城市行政区界边缘的欠发达地区.作为典型的城市外围区,天津市蓟县存在人为行政划分割裂自然发展需求,人为阻碍导致地区封闭落后与缺乏权益组织协调内部利益和外部政策的发展困境.规划从区域协调视角构建破解其发展困境的相关机制,促进区域性产业的发展,形成面向区域的空间结构,建立区域性生态体系和交通体系,提出区域协调的政策建议.     

新阶段北京城市空间布局的战略思考

系统回顾了历版北京城市总体规划的空间布局特征,从功能体系、空间结构、空间形态、区域协同4个方面分析了当前城市空间发展面临的问题和成因,提出了"四个中心"谋保障、"一核一主一副、两轴多点一区"立结构、"一屏、三环、五河、九楔"塑形态、"一核两翼、四个跨界城市组团"促协同的城市空间布局优化的战略措施。     

论创意阶层与城市发展

当代社会,知识与创意正在替代传统自然资源和有形劳动成为城市经济增长的主要源泉,而创意型人才则自然而然成为城市可持续发展的决定性力量.创意阶层作为工人阶层、服务阶层之外兴起的又一个新的社会阶层,是培育基于学习、革新和时尚生活方式的新城市经济动力.从地理上看,创意阶层具有独特的区位偏好,创意阶层往往集中在那些能够提供宽松的社会氛围和各种就业机会的多样化城市和区域,创意阶层的密集度与地方多样性呈正相关.从城市发展来看,创意阶层的相对密度与地方经济增长呈正相关,一个城市和地区对于移民、艺术家、同性恋、波希米亚风以及社会经济和种族融合的开放程度与其经济质量的高低有着密切的关系,而创意阶层的集中程度与地方创新和高科技产业生长也有一定的相关性,创意阶层集中的城市往往也是创新和高科技产业发达的创意中心.     

长江三角洲城镇空间演化与上海大都市增长

通过分析 1990年代以来长江三角洲城镇空间在地域社会经济持续快速发展、城市化进程不断加快的背景下所发生的剧烈演化 ,从中揭示这种演化的成因及其作用机制 ,同时指出在经济全球化进程中 ,该地域核心大都市增长与区域城镇发展互动的必然性和必要性     

紧凑城市形态下地上地下空间整合原则初探

城市"精明增长"的核心是城市的紧凑集约发展,作为空间资源的重要组成部分,城市地下空间利用是紧凑城市理论的内涵之一,在关于城市形态和功能的争论的过程中,尽管忽略了城市地下空间的综合利用,但是国内外实践表明其对于城市的可持续发展仍起着重要的作用。为了实现城市的紧凑形态,必须要充分分析城市上下部在功能、空间、效益等方面的特点,遵循区域功能相协调的原则,区域环境相协调的原则,立体化、人性化相协调的原则,经济、环境、社会效益相协调的原则。     

Co-location of manufacturing and producer services in Nanjing,China

Most existing research examines the spatial patterns of manufacturing and producer services via separate investigations and from provincial and municipal perspectives. This paper, however, analyzes the co-location of manufacturing and producer services and their influencing factors from an intra-urban perspective. This empirical study is based in Nanjing and uses a 2001 basic unit census dataset and a 2008 economic census dataset at the firm level. The results show that the suburbanization process of manufacturing was much faster than that of producer services and indicate the establishment of producer services in the urban core and manufacturing in the periphery. The employment of producer services was highly concentrated in urban centers in the two interval years, but gradually expanded to surrounding new towns such as Jiangning, Pukou, and Luhe. In contrast, the employment in manufacturing was dispersed with substantial distribution in the old city and in suburban development zones. Manufacturing and producer services were largely co-located in the new towns of Jiangning and Pukou and national development zones. The spatial autoregression model indicates that the spatial distribution of manufacturing and producer services was subject to the joint effects of agglomeration economics and urban land price, which led the two sectors to retain a degree of spatial separability, even though their co-location was preferable. The distribution of manufacturing was significantly affected by land prices and constantly re-concentrated from urban centers to development zones and township industrial parks in suburban areas. Comparatively, the distribution of producer services was not significantly affected by land price and gradually occupied city centers with high land prices because the sector had a stronger capacity for bid rent.     

The changing population distribution of England and Wales, 1969-81: clean break or consistent progression?

Changes in population distribution in England and Wales in the period since World War II are reviewed. The focus is on whether the trend away from urban centers toward suburban and nonmetropolitan areas observed in the 1960s continued into the 1970s. It is concluded that this process of population decentralization has continued, with movement to more remote areas now also being involved, and that this process is part of the general trend away from urban centers that has characterized urbanization for many years.     

新型城镇化背景下安徽城镇空间结构优化战略

城镇空间结构是一个省区城镇化发展战略的地域空间表现,优化城镇空间结构成为在新型城镇化背景下推进安徽城镇化一个重要任务。分析了改革开放以来安徽城镇空间结构演变的四次转型,梳理了不同时期安徽省城镇化发展战略思路,以及在城镇化发展战略导向下城镇空间结构的特征表现。结合新型城镇化的发展要求,指出安徽城镇空间结构存在的城镇化发展差距拉大、城镇人口向大城市集聚分布、中心城市辐射力较弱、空间资源利用效率偏低等问题,提出在新型城镇化发展趋势下优化安徽城镇空间结构的战略,要从广域、局域和县域3个层次空间上提升城镇群空间内部整合力、提升区域性中心城市功能和增强县城与大镇的人口承载力。     

Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon took its initial growth as a port and regional metropolis serving the Columbia River basin and the Pacific Northwest. It remains a regional transportation, finance, and service center, to which has been added a substantial electronics industry. The city and its region are best known for innovative policy initiatives dealing with urban planning, regionalism, growth management, and community development and revitalization. The city-region is served by the only elected metropolitan government in the United States. That government, Metro, has authority to structure regional spatial planning and also administers an urban growth boundary to maintain compact and efficient urban form. Development within the City of Portland has been directed since the 1970s by an alliance of downtown business interests and older middle class neighborhoods that have benefitted from a strong urban core. Much of city policy and grassroots effort from the 1990s has focused on the challenge of extending the benefits of this alliance to lower-income neighborhoods through community development and affordable housing efforts.     

中小城市中心在瑞士国土开发中的作用

本文论述了瑞士中小城市中心的作用。在瑞士这一高度城市化的国家中,中小城市中心对于维持国家城市体系的均衡发挥着重要作用。与四个最大的大都市地区（苏黎世、日内瓦、巴塞尔和伯尔尼）一样,中小城镇也担负着作为其周围广袤腹地中心的职能。它们提供生活与工作的机会,并将乡村地区和山区连接到国家乃至全球的网络。本文通过间接统计数据和一个案例分析,说明中小城市中心是出口导向型产业重要的集聚中心。这些高附加值的制造业植根于当地,从本地需求中获益的同时也面向全球市场。此外,中小城市中心也获益于它们强烈的本土特性。虽然这些中小城市中心面临着各种各样的挑战,但是它们仍然是均衡区域发展格局的重要支柱。瑞士的区域发展政策遵循多中心的空间发展目标,通过运用各种政策工具,旨在确保均衡的城市体系。     

可持续视角下的城市人口密度与土地利用研究——以广东省为例

近年来,在我国城市化进程和工业化进程不断推进的过程中,城镇化发展出现低密度和分散化的倾向。这种快速、大规模扩张带来了耕地面积减少过多、过快的问题。长期来看,这必然会对耕地、资源、环境都造成巨大的压力。为防止这种势头继续蔓延,今后要合理确定城市的开发边界,防止城市面积过度扩张,提高建成区的人口密度,走可持续发展的紧凑型城市发展战略。该文的出发点旨在通过提高建成区人口密度从而降低城市土地需求,以缓解城市分散化发展的问题。首先从经济、社会、自然资源角度对城市人口密度的影响因素进行定性分析,建立理论框架与相应的指标体系;其次以广东省为例,通过实证分析量化各影响因素对人口密度的作用大小与方向;最后文章得出结论:准确判断城市土地需求,高效利用基础设施投资,推动产业结构升级并根据城市规模制定和调整土地利用政策等方法可以用来化解耕地保护与日益增加的土地利用需求间的矛盾,从而进一步促进城市社会、经济、环境的可持续发展。     

Urbanizing villages: informal morphologies in Shenzhen’s urban periphery

The phenomenon of urban villages in China has received much scholarly attention in recent years, mostly about their socio-economic aspects and its role in accommodating rural migrants. While the link between the socio-economic functioning and the morphology of urban villages has been recognized, detailed spatial research, and morphological research in particular, is limited. Morphological research has generally focused on either rural villages or centrally located urban villages and much of the peri-urbanity that constitutes the majority of informal development in China remains under-researched. This paper explores the morphologies of urbanizing villages in Shenzhen’s urban periphery, with a particular focus on the distinctions between the old village core and newly built expansions. The paper opens up a series of questions about the morphology and morphogenetic processes of these villages and establishes a framework for future enquiry. How do we understand the informalized planning mechanisms in urban villages? How do we explain the morphological variation of urban villages? Are the processes that characterize urban villages restricted to the Chinese context or is there scope for regional comparison?     

Regional cities: international references in Brazilian regional planning in the 1950s and 1960s

ABSTRACT

A new stage of urban planning emerged in Brazil in the 1950s, with the region as the object of planning. Planners began to recognize the international contribution to the institutionalization of planning and to the development of proposals for Brazilian cities, as well as the connection between planning and urban decentralization ideas. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to delineate the city model that was being proposed within regional scale plans as the result of international urban practices and ideas. Two examples of such plans are presented in this paper: the Regional Plan of Santos (1950) and the Basic Regional Plan for the Coastline of Parana State (1966). As a result of the international references incorporated into these plans, a mixture of urban principles can be identified in these territorial proposals. The regional city model is the predominant principle arising from these plans, derived from the association of two planning scales: urban and regional.     

Polycentrism as a sustainable development strategy: empirical analysis from the state of Maryland

We present in this paper an analysis of economic centers and their role in shaping employment development patterns and travel behavior in the state of Maryland. We begin by identifying 23 economic centers in the Baltimore-Washington region. We then examine these centers first in their role as centers of economic activity and then in their role as nodes in the state’s transportation system. Finally, we identify the commute sheds of each center, for multiple modes of travel and travel times, and examine jobs–housing balance within these various commute sheds. We find that Maryland’s economic centers not only promote agglomerative economies and thus facilitate economic growth; they also generate a disproportionate number of trips and promote transit ridership. These results provide empirical support for policies that promote polycentric urban development, and especially policies that promote polycentric employment development. Further, they suggest that polycentrism as a sustainable development strategy requires careful coordination of regional transportation systems designed to balance jobs and housing within a center’s transit commute shed. Based on these findings we recommend that the Maryland state development plan, and regional sustainable communities plans across the nation, encourage the concentration of employment within economic centers and encourage housing development within the transit commute sheds of those centers.