Index for Volume 22

Using a number of physical elements/built forms that were distinctive of Benin City during the pre‐colonial period as a benchmark, the study establishes the traditional character of the city. It then examines changes in the economy and society as well as technology and their impacts on the character of the city through the colonial and post‐colonial periods. The study shows that in spite of the significant impact of colonialism on the transformation of the urban structure, urban change had minimal impact on the character of the city during the colonial period. It shows, further, that massive changes which have taken place in the society, economy, and technology particularly since independence have, in the context of inadequate planning, resulted in considerable changes in the character of and, consequently, erosion of cultural values in the city. A number of measures including land use planning, urban design, legislative and financial provisions as well as cultural education are suggested for addressing the situation.     

The experience and legacy of French colonial urban planning in sub‐Saharan Africa

This paper examines the activities of French colonial authorities in the urban planning arena in sub‐Saharan Africa. It reveals that, despite the dearth of information on these activities, especially in the relevant English language literature, the French were very active in the planning field before and during their colonial era in the region. While these activities might have been intended to do no more than facilitate the attainment of French colonial development objectives, they have far‐reaching implications for contemporary development efforts. It is argued that French colonial urban designs, schemes and legislation have negative implications for urban transportation, housing, land tenure and the growth and development of urban centres vis‐à‐vis the rural areas. Problems in these areas are aggravated by the fact that post‐colonial authorities in the region have opted to inherit and vigorously enforce the planning legislation and schemes crafted by their colonial predecessors.     

The politics of public space planning in Singapore

This paper considers the role of, and hence the social and political significance that has been accorded to, the design and provision of public spaces in the urban planning process. This approach gives useful insights into understanding the role these spaces have played in the colonial and post‐colonial city of Singapore. This discussion argues that public spaces in both the colonial and the post‐colonial city are essentially constructions by the ruling élite and its planning regime and are thus politically charged. Popular involvement has been singularly lacking in the planning and development of public spaces in post‐colonial Singapore. Instead, the general public has been marginalized in the creation of these spaces by the colonial and post‐colonial state. The completeness of this exclusion is shown through the demise of most of the vital and liveliest, albeit previously appropriated, public spaces of the colonial city. Public housing and the re‐invention of public spaces provided by a new social and political order followed the end of British colonial rule. In the following discussion, the role and significance of public spaces through the colonial period and then in the post‐colonial developmental state are examined. It is shown that public space provision by government authorities has served initially more as an imposition of colonial ideals and social segregation, and latterly as a reification of the prevailing political ideology, than in meeting real public needs for such spaces. A major focus of this article is the use of public space as a political tool of control by the state over its denizens in the Foucauldian sense, and how this could be construed even through different systems of governance and political agendas in Singapore.     

The economics of housing programmes in Ghana, 1929–66

Researchers have generally assumed that housing policies of the colonial and the immediate post‐colonial governments were shaped solely by social and political considerations. From a social perspective, some have argued that governments intervened in the housing field purely on health grounds to create good sanitary conditions and prevent the spread of diseases, especially amongst the colonizers and indigenous educated elites. From a political perspective, writers have argued that the key goal for most housing programmes was to prevent unrest and ensure political longevity. Even though each of these arguments has some merit, little, if any, consideration has been given to the economic logic of housing policies and programmes. Indeed, researchers have generally assumed that colonial and immediate post‐colonial governments never considered the economic significance of housing. This assumption is incorrect. Through surveying published and archival sources, this paper aims to rectify the neglect of the economic logic of housing policies by demonstrating that economic implications were considered in the implementation of housing policies and programmes. As will be shown, housing was seen not only as a necessary tool to secure labour and improve productivity, but also as an essential element for the success of economic development projects, especially industrialization programmes.     

If past traditions were building blocksA perspective on low income housing development in Nigerian cities

The global millenial challenge of providing shelter for all by the year 2000 calls for a reevaluation of existing strategies for housing production and the charting of new courses. This paper examines one approach in which the wealth of meaning, knowledge, skill and experience in traditional Nigerian residential architecture may be useful in addressing contemporary urban low-income housing problems. It is found that, with slight modifications to existing development control standards, the traditional compound house (built on the courtyard principle) offers a solution with some potential to improve the quality of urban low income housing while, at the same time, alleviating some of the bottlenecks inhibiting the supply of such housing at present. It is suggested, therefore, that this house form could be a veritable resource for policy makers in the quest for an enhanced quality and quantity of low income housing in Nigerian cities.     

浅谈长沙市农贸市场的规划和改造

农贸市场是城市零售业态的一种,是城市社区商业的重要组成部分,与城市居民的日常生活息息相关。但随着城市文明的发展和人民生活水平的提高,传统农贸市场在规划和设计中的弊端日益暴露出来,对大中城市的农贸市场进行改造和提升势在必行。本文以长沙城市社区的农贸市场为调查对象,从区位布局、人员流线、建筑环境等多个角度展开实态研究,并尝试在规划和设计等方面提出适宜于中小城市社区农贸市场设计的合理依据和管理对策。     

Emerging Workplaces in Post-Functionalist Cities

ABSTRACT

This paper explores new types of workplaces that are emerging due to the growing flexibility in work arrangements and the use of information and communication technologies. In addition to home and office, third places, such as libraries and coffee shops, are increasingly used as temporary workplaces. Moreover, there is a proliferation of co-working spaces that are designed as temporary working locations. Thus, the boundaries between traditional urban functions have become blurred; different functions co-exist in the same spaces, and new functionalities emerge as people take spaces into new uses. We may call our cities “post-functionalist,” ones that are no longer based only on predetermined and designed functions. However, there has been little research on the spatial characteristics of these new workplaces as well as on the social features within these places. These phenomena have been empirically studied through observational studies, interviews, and spatial analyses of three such sites: Café Köket, Meetingpoint, and Helsinki Think Company in the city center of Helsinki. The results reveal new forms of appropriation of public and semi-public spaces for working purposes that have not yet been analyzed in the context of existing urban policies and practices. The findings provide input for future visions and the planning of new workplaces.     

Community planning and urban design in contested places. Some insights from Belfast

Although social conflict due to the presence of different groups divided by cultural, religious or ethnic issues plagues many contemporary cities, community and participatory planning methods still pay little attention to segregation in contested spaces as a specific matter of concern. This paper aims to contribute to filling this gap through the development of a novel tool to be implemented during community planning processes in contested cities, particularly in (visual) mapping processes. The pilot area for developing the lexicon has been selected within the city of Belfast, which has been struggling for years with problems related to inter-religious sectarian conflicts. The material effects on the urban structure of the long process of defensive planning during the so-called Troubles and within the post-conflicts peace programmes have been investigated by analysing urban artefacts including edges, borders, barriers, doors, visual control points. The paper suggests that a simple, recognizable lexicon may contribute to honing community planning methods in contested places by integrating the traditional methodology of visual mapping with a tailored taxonomy of elements of urban conflict, which may be used at many stages of the planning process, including developing a visual map, design and planning, and developing and implementing an action plan.     

Assessment of urban identity through a matrix of cultural landscapes

Identity of a given place arises from a combination of social and cultural characteristics of the related community which reincarnated in physical shapes and forms of the urban locality. Soaring growth of contemporary cities beside recent transformations of traditional urban spaces have been caused some gaps between physical features of urban environments and their cultural identities. This issue, accordingly, supports the need of special attentions to the cultural and social aspects of transforming places under a process of urban design/planning. We provide here an analysis framework with emphasis to the identity of the place from the cultural aspects of the settlement. This technique mainly concerns to identify cultural features of the urban spaces and preserve them during further urban regeneration. To this aim, representative factors of the places identity are hybridized with the characteristic elements of cultural landscape and collected as a matrix of cultural landscapes, CLs. We convinced from the analysis that it may be oversimplification if solely attention to the physical features for improving quality of urban identity whiles it is affected by some nonphysical aspects, as well.Provided matrix of CLs is also implemented for a test case. Some factors of cultural landscape are discovered and the related effects on urban identity of designing place are discussed in micro and macro scales. Analysis highlighted some tangible/intangible characteristics of the studied public urban area which have to be critically considered through further transformation of the place. Accordingly, a preliminary design of the example studying area is suggested as a green linkage space between natural area in countryside and cultural realms in central parts of Mashhad city.     

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.     

Urban Residential Satisfaction and the Planning Implications in a Developing World Context: The Example of Benin City,Nigeria

As urban expansion continues into the 21st century, one of the daunting challenges facing many developing countries is the planning and the management of cities in such a way as to meet a planning reformist role of promoting equitable, efficient and sustainable urban settlements. In the face of mounting criticisms of technocratic top-down approaches to housing and infrastructure development, there is a need for studies on the interface of satisfaction assessments and planning on the one hand and the social and cultural implications for urban management on the other. This is particularly so in the context of developing cities that are often characterized by dwindling public finances, urban poverty, spatial variations in housing and services, and poor socioeconomic conditions, as well as top-down approaches to urban management. A systematic spatial assessment of urban satisfaction is presented using Benin, a traditional West African city, as a case study. The significance of the satisfaction approach for planning, social and equity concerns is identified, and it is argued that we should look beyond it and incorporate community participatory approaches in the urban development process.     

Historical continuity and post‐1945 urban redevelopment: the example of Lee Bank,Birmingham, UK

The reconstruction of British cities following World War II is characterized by a marked gap between the rhetoric and the reality. Visions for ideal cities, in particular those growing out of the modern movement in architecture, were diluted and warped by the ‘messy’ business of reconstructing actual cities, filled with real people whilst operating within democratic structures. This paper examines elements of this confrontation of the ideal and the real, by looking at the context for changes to the urban fabric within a single housing estate in Birmingham, self‐nominated ‘second city’ of Britain. The overarching theme is of historical continuity and change – the extent to which the urban fabric has been destroyed and remade. As such, the paper examines not only the nominally ‘modern’ post‐war reconstruction, but also how a contemporary, ‘post‐modern’ phase of redevelopment is dealing with the city form created in the 1950s and 1960s.     

The Historic Urban Landscape paradigm and cities as cultural landscapes. Challenging orthodoxy in urban conservation

Today, for the first time in human history, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. According to UN-Habitat, within two decades, five billion people will live in cities. Coincidentally, within the field of cultural heritage conservation, increasing international interest and attention over the past two decades has been focused on urban areas. This is timely because pressure for economic development and for the prioritising of engagement with the global economy has accompanied rapid urbanisation. In many societies, pressures for economic development have privileged modernisation efforts leading to the loss of traditional communities. Accompanying this has been a concentration in the field of urban conservation on famous buildings and monuments rather than seeing cities as communities of people with values and belief systems that are reflected in the city’s overall setting: its cultural landscape. This paper explores alternative ways of seeing cities particularly through the Historic Urban Landscape paradigm.     

‘The spring of hope,the winter of despair’: an unfinished narrative of Mediterranean cities

Early in 2011, a powerful surge of protest calling for political and social change swept along the North African shoreline. Not for the first time, and almost certainly not for the last, the established rhythms of urban life in the region were to be severely disrupted. The patient work of well-laid plans counted for little as people took to the streets and military governments resisted; overnight, public squares became places of protest and even battlegrounds. Tunis, Tripoli and Alexandria – the three cities that feature in this paper – were by no means the only places to feel the strong winds of change. Moreover, all three of the case studies have long histories and, as with so many other cities around the Mediterranean, turbulence is nothing new. It is hard to think of other parts of the world where cities have so often experienced changing fortunes: at one moment in history nourishing the growth of civilization, at another trapped in a spiral of decline. Located between three continents, in a region of geological as well as geopolitical instability, Mediterranean cities are familiar with bad times as well as good. This paper explores the nature of this volatile process and its impact on urban life and form.     

Self‐built housing

Houses built by the owner‐occupier constitute a specific form of house‐building common in rural areas and among underprivileged people everywhere. It has a long tradition in Norway, which is still strongly maintained. This paper analyses this practice. Three aspects of great importance in self‐built housing are discussed: firstly, the cultural, social and technical prerequisites for this type of housing; secondly, the planning and manual work the self‐builder participates in; thirdly, the advantages self‐built housing has in relation to the financial standing and everyday life of the people concerned.     

Kainji resettlement housing: 40 years later

Nigeria's Kainji Dam, completed in 1968, displaced 44,000 people from 239 settlements. Three housing forms were designed to provide for urban, semi‐urban, and rural settings, respectively. Forty years later, the urban and semi‐urban forms are integrated into the community while the rural form, modeled after a grain storage structure (rumbu) has been less successful. Five lessons are derived from this scenario: cash compensations are an inappropriate strategy for resettlement; traditional institutions are vital to the success of the process; designs must be relevant to the locality; new housing must allow room for occupants to recreate; and there is more to traditional housing than shape.     

Planning history in Australia: The state of the art

Over the last two decades, planning history in Australia has firmed as both a specific research field and pragmatic endeavour geared to planning practice. The emergence of an identifiable planning history strand across the borders of such disciplines as planning, political science, human geography, and history in the mid‐1970s gained much of its rationale from other developments at this time, including the academic legitimation of urban studies and urban history, an unprecedented level of governmental interest in urban and regional development, reassessment and reaction to traditional land use planning, and the benevolent imprimatur of the British Planning History Group. From the vantage point of the early 1990s, a substantive literature can now be critically surveyed. Diverse if not fragmented, parochial and sometimes quirky, the general nature of this body of work partly reflects the spatial isolationism and parochialism that have been hallmarks of Australian cultural and political development. Beyond the straitlaced general surveys of state, city and metropolitan planning, several established lines of inquiry are evident, notably colonial town layout, civic design, the impact of planning movements, evaluations of metropolitan planning, political conflict, and federal urban policy. The links with cognate fields such as housing, landscape architecture and, increasingly, environmental studies, are close. Alongside these general themes have come more distinctively Antipodean preoccupations like the planning of Adelaide and Canberra as well as the work of Walter Burley Griffin. Future challenges lie in more original research, integration, theory development, and policy relevance.     

Community Visioning: Facilitating Informed Citizen Participation in Local Area Planning on the Gold Coast

Much contemporary planning literature places emphasis on involving people, who have an interest in or may be affected by planning outcomes, in the planning process. This move towards participatory planning has been enthusiastically embraced and implemented in many places both in Australia and overseas. However, there has been little reporting of the practical aspects of implementing such an approach. This article describes a community visioning process that forms the basis of the Mermaid Beach Local Area Planning project on the Gold Coast. Successful operational initiatives and constraints identified through the implementation of this visioning process are discussed.     

小议岳阳市生态宜居城市公共文化设施规划设计策略

文化是一座城市的灵魂,是维系一座城市生命所必备的内在力量。而公共文化设施是城市文化的重要载体。公共文化设施对营造城市公共文化空间、提升城市整体形象、发扬城市地域文化有重要作用,它使城市家园更加舒适和宜居。本文通过分析岳阳市公共文化设施现状并及不足,并结合其生态宜居城市建设的发展方向,从设施、城市及人三方面来提出其公共文化设施的规划设计策略,力图对岳阳市城市公共文化设施的发展及规划提供参老。