Planning southern Iraq: placing the progressive theories of Max Lock in Um Qasr,Margil, and Basra in the context of Iraqi national development, 1954–1956

ABSTRACT

Between 1954 and 1956, the architect, educator, and planner, Max Lock (1909–1988) produced a trilogy of plans to modernize the historical city of Basra and create new areas at Margil and Um Qasr in the south of Iraq. The New Basrah Plan was heavily inspired by the works of Patrick Geddes and aligned with contemporaries such as Lewis Mumford, Lock’s planning was progressive in scope and looked to differ from the planning of post-war principles in Britain through his notions of ‘civic surgery’. Contrary to this, his plans for Um Qasr and Margil focussed on infrastructure and the creation of more industrial areas not prioritizing people and place as highly as he did in the New Basrah Plan. Lock’s ‘Civic Surgery’ offered an alternative to mainstream thought by attempting to create usable, humanistic spaces, which hampered by politics and legislation, resulted in the plan’s shelving and were contradicted by his other works’ philosophies. New retrospective analysis of his underappreciated career reveals the complexities of his planning which this article demonstrates through the ‘failure’ of the New Basrah Plan and his plans at Um Qasr and Margil.     

Book Reviews and Lists

Burdell, Edwin Sharp. A method of investigating the administration of the zoning ordinance in Columbus, Ohio, 1923-31. Reprinted from Abstracts of Doctors' Dissertations, No. 17, The Ohio State University Press, 1935; pp. 33-49.

A Hundred New 'Towns for Britain: a scheme of national reconstruction proposed by J47485; rev. and enlarged ed. London, Simpkin Marshall, Ltd., Nov. 1934. illus. Price 3s.6d.

James, Harlean, Ed. American planning and civic annual: a record of recent civic advance, including the Proceedings of the Conference on City, Regional, State, and National Planning, 1935. Washington, American Planning and Civic Association, Inc., 1935. 356p. illus, plans. Price $3.00.

Lambie, Morris B., Ed. Training for the public service: the report and recommendations of a conference sponsored by Public Administration Clearing House. Chicago, Public administration Service, 1935. 49p. (Publication no. 49.) Price 50 cents.

Malcher, Fritz. The steadyflow traffic system. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1935. 91p. illus., diagrs. (Harvard City Planning Studies, Vol. IX.) Price $1.00.

Merrill, Harold, and others, Comps. Some re-cent references (since 1928) on national and state planning in the United States, compiled by Harold Merrill, James T. Rubey, and William H. Heers. Washington, National Resources Committee, Oct. 1935. 24p. (U.S. Geological Survey Library, Bibliographical List No. 5.) Mimeographed.

U.S. National Resources Board. State planning: a review of activities and progress, June 1935. Washington, Govt. Printing Office, 1935. 310p. maps, plans, charts, tables. Price 75 cents (paper cover).

U. S. National Resources Committee. Regional factors in national planning and development. Washington, Govt. Printing Office, Dec. 1935. 223p. illus., maps, charts.     

Collaborative Land Use Management: The Quieter Revolution in Place-Based Planning

A Global View of Automobile Dependence

Cities and Automobile Dependence: An International Sourcebook Peter W. G. Newman and Jeffrey R. Kenworthy. Gower Publishing, Brookfield, VT, 1989. 389 pp. $79.95.

Recent Perspectives on Suburban Community-Building

Building Chicago: Suburban Developers and the Creation of a Divided Metropolis Ann Durkin Keating. Ohio State University Press, Columbus, OH, 1989. 230 pp. $24.95.

J. C. Nichols and the Shaping of Kansas City: Innovation in Planned Residential Communities William S. Worley. University of Missouri Press, Columbia, MO, 1990. 324 pp. $29.50.

The Competitive City: The Political Economy of Suburbia Mark Schneider. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, 1989. 249 pp. $34.95.

Suburbia Re-examined Barbara M. Kelly, editor. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, 1989. 240 pp. $37.95.

Suburban Lives Margaret Marsh. Rutgers University Press, NeW Brunswick, NJ, 1990. 231 pp. $32.00 (cloth), $13.00 (paperback).

Creating Chicago's North Shore: A Suburban History Michael H. Ebner. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1988. 338 pp. $34.95.

Planning and Its Subfields

City Sense and City Design: Writings and Projects of Kevin Lynch Tridib Banerjee and Michael Southworth, editors. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1990. 853 pp. $50.00.

Community Design and the Culture of Cities Eduardo E. Lozano. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1990. 340 pp. $65.00 (cloth), $24.95 (paperback).

Visionaries and Planners: The Garden City Movement and the Modern Community Stanley Buder. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. 260 pp. $32.50.

Greenways for America Charles E. Little. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 1990. 237 pp. $22.95.

Situations and Strategies in American Land-Use Planning Thomas K. Rudel. Cambridge University Press, New York, 1989. 166 pp. $37.50.

Dumping In Dixie: Race, Class and Environmental Quality Robert D. Bullard. Westview Press, Boulder, CO, 1990. 165 pp. $29.95 (paperback).

Knowledge and Public Policy: The Search for Meaningful Indicators Judith Eleanor Innes. Second expanded edition of Social Indicators and Public Policy. Transaction Books, New Brunswick, NJ, 1975. 352 pp. $22.95 (cloth), $16.95 (paperback).

The Tourist-Historic City G. J. Ashworth and J. E. Tunbridge. Belhaven Press, London, 1990. 283 pp. $39.00.

Leningrad: Shaping a Soviet City Blair A. Ruble. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1990. 328 pp. $45.00.

Urban Planning and Civic Order in Germany, 1860-1914 Brian Ladd. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1990. 326 pp. $37.50.

Berlin: The Spatial Structure of a Divided City T. H. Elkins with B. Hofmeister. Methuen, New York, 1988. 274 pp. $70.00.

Berlin: The Politics of Order 1737-1989 Alan Balfour. Rizzoli International, New York, 1990. 270 pp. $39.95.

After the Wall: East Meets West in the New Berlin John Borneman. Basic Books, New York, 1991.258 pp. $21.95.

The Urbanization of the Third World Josef Gugler, editor. Oxford University Press, New York, 1988. 421 pp. $19.95 (paperback).

Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do It James Q. Wilson. Basic Books, New York, 1989. 433 pp. $24.95.

Juran on Leadership for Quality: An Executive Handbook J. M. Juran. The Free Press, New York. 1989. 376 pp. $35.00

Briefly Noted

Government Assistance Almanac J. Robert Dumouchel. Omnigraphics, Detroit, MI, 1990. 768 pp. $64.00.

Livable Environments for Older People: New Challenges for the Planning Profession, A Collection of Resource/Training Materials Institute on Aging, Portland State University, Portland, OR, 1989. Trainer's Guide, $100.00, 245 pp., Resource Papers for Planners, $15.00, 80 pp., and Video Tape (VHS-18 minutes) $35.00.     

‘Uneasy bedfellows’ conceiving urban megastructures: precarious public–private partnerships in post-war British New Towns

ABSTRACT

From its inception, the European welfare state was a contract between the state, civic society, and the private sector. And yet, studies on the architecture and urbanism of the European welfare state frequently overlook the role played by the private sector, as the emphasis is commonly placed on governmental action. However, apart from governments also private actors played an important role in shaping the post-war welfare state. New towns in particular were sites of experiment. Here, public–private partnerships forged novel collective spaces, which challenged and redefined what constituted the civic realm. This paper focuses on one such novel type of collective space: the megastructural ‘heart’ of second-wave British New Towns. Combining mass consumption with administrative and civic functions, thereby blending the concepts of ‘shopping centre’ and ‘city centre’, these structures embodied the welfare state’s belief that capitalism could neither live with nor without the existence of a pervasive welfare system (and vice versa). Through the analysis of three megastructures, this paper highlights the important role that private actors played in the formation of the post-war British welfare state; it explicates the lofty societal ambitions that these New Town schemes expressed; and it pinpoints the precariousness of public–private partnerships in the development of urban megastructures.     

Book Reviews and Lists

MIGRATION AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY: the Re-port of the Study of Population Redistribution. By Carter Goodrich and others. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1936. 763 pages. Maps (pert folded), charts, tables. 101/4 × 7 inches. Price $5.00.

GEOGRAPHY: AN INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN ECOLOGY. By C. Langdon White and George T. Renner. New York, D. Appleton-Century Co., 1936. 756 pages. Illus., maps. 6×9 inches. Price $4.00.

American Planning and Civic Association. American planning and civic annul: a record of recent civic advance including the proceedings d the Joint Conference on Planning, held at Richmond, Va., May 4-6, 1936. Edited by Harlean James. Washington, The Association, 1936. illus. [418p]. Price $2.00.

American Society of Planning Officials. Planning for city, state, region and nation; proceedings of the Joint Conference on Planning, May 4, 5, and 6, 1936, Richmond, Virginia. 1936. 170p. Price $2.00.     

The ‘valley of ashes’ and the ‘fresh green breast’: metaphors from The Great Gatsby in planning New York

ABSTRACT

Visions in planning of what a city could or should be tend to be constructed around metaphors, rhetorical tropes that crystalize the image of a preferable future city. Such metaphorizations are never innocent: they draw on pre-existing cultural narratives and activate particular frames of expectation. This article examines two metaphors used in the planning of New York City, and its shores, in particular: the spectre of the ‘valley of ashes’ and the dream of the ‘fresh green breast’. These metaphors, taken from F. Scott Fizgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby (1925), appear time and again in the planning and thinking of the New York shoreline, from Robert Moses’s plans for Flushing Meadow to Major Bloomberg’s waterfront development and Eric Sanderson’s vision of a 2406 New York in Mannahatta (2006). This article examines how the metaphors of the ‘valley of ashes’ and the ‘fresh green breast’ have been adapted throughout decades of planning New York City to accommodate changing relationships, conflicts and ideals, always infused by a pastoral undercurrent that is already questioned in Fitzgerald’s novel.     

SO CLOSE,YET SO FAR AWAY? THE EFFECTS OF CITY SIZE,DENSITY AND GROWTH ON LOCAL CIVIC PARTICIPATION

ABSTRACT: Recent studies in the U.S. context have suggested that political participation is a function of the size and concentration of a city's population. Most of this research focuses on the idea that there is an optimal size and concentration of population that favors active political participation in terms of a higher propensity to vote in local elections, contact local officials, and attend community meetings. The conventional argument suggests a negative relationship between city size and political participation that is mitigated to some extent by the deeper social interactions generated by increased population density. We extend this research by also investigating the influence of population growth on the broader concept of civic participation. Civic participation is a multidimensional concept that requires the use of a broad set of indicators. We expand the number of measures to gauge civic participation at the local level by including data on the formation of volunteer associations, volunteer fire brigades and not‐for‐profit organizations as well as voter turnout. We test the hypotheses derived from extant research using aggregate data collected from Portuguese cities and discuss the implications of our findings for the literature on local civic participation.     

Book Reviews and Lists

Building Lines and Reservations for Future Streets: Their Establishment and Protection. By Russell Van Nest Black, assisted by Mary Hedges Black. Cambridge, Harvard University Press,1935. 243 pages+ plates. Illus., plans, tables, diagrams. 10 × 7 1/4 inches. (Harvard City Planning Studies, Vol. VIII.) Price $3.50.

Financing Municipal Recreation. By Randolph O. Huus. Menasha, Wisconsin, George Banta Publishing Company,1935. 249 pages. Tables. 9 1/4 × 6 inches.

On Economic Planning: Papers Delivered at the Regional Study Conference of the International Industrial Relations Institute. New York, Nov. 25–27, 1934. New York, Covici, Friede, Inc.,1935. 275 pages Tables. 8 1/4 × 5 1/2 inches. Price $3.00.

Planning Problems of City. Region. State and Nation: Presented at the Twenty-sixth National Conference on City Planning, held jointly with the American Civic Association at Saint Louis, Mo., Oct. 22–24, 1934. Philadelphia, W. F. Fell Co., 1934. 151 pages. 9 1/4 × 6 1/4 inches. Price $3.00.

Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Meeting Ok the Institute of Traffic Engineers. New Pork, [The Institute, 1934]. 128 pages. Tables; charts, diagrams. 11 × 8 1/2 inches. Lithoprinted. Price $2.50.

Slums and Blighted Areas in the United States. By Edith Elmer rood. Washington, Government Printing Office,1935. 126 pages + plates. Illus., maps, chart, tablee. 9 1/4 × 6 inches. (Federal Fmergency Administration of Public Works. Housing Division Bulletin No. 1.)

A Supplement to a Nation Plan: A Basis for Co-ordinated Physical Development of the United States of America. By Cyrus Kehr. [Washington], The Author, 1934. 41 pages + diagram. 9 3/4 × 7 1/2 inches. Price 75 cents.     

Compassionism and the Design Studio in the Aftermath of 9/11

Abstract

The events of 9/11 are dramatically reshaping society. The terrorist attacks in New York City and in Washington, DC, have been extensively examined in the media and addressed in the work of professionals and academicians across a broad spectrum of disciplines. The profession and discipline of architecture is reassessing its position in relation to these events. Architectural education, and the functions of the design studio in particular, are similarly subject to this process of reappraisal. A case study is presented of a studio project on the topic of transportable medical facilities for disaster mitigation. This work is discussed against a backdrop of societal constructs concerning the functions of compassionism in architecture in the aftermath of 9/11. The case study is but one example of the potential of the studio to emerge as a rapid-response vehicle to foster in the student a genuine attitude of social and civic engagement.     

Inclusionary zoning and affordable housing in Sydney

Abstract

Focus in this paper is placed on the issue of inclusionary zoning and developer contributions to provide affordable housing in the City West and Green Square urban redevelopment projects. Both are ambitious inner city urban renewal projects which form key parts of the New South Wales government's urban consolidation policy and also seek to maintain a social mix through the provision of social (i.e. affordable) housing.     

From Geddes’ city museum to Farrell’s urban room: past,present, and future at the Newcastle City Futures exhibition

ABSTRACT

Genuine engagement about how best to achieve liveable urban futures should be part of planning’s raison-d’etre but it has a chequered history of delivery. Exhibitions harnessing the communicative power of mixed media and linked to a progressive and responsive programme of focused discussion and debate remain relevant to community consultation and civic engagement. Terry Farrell’s concept of the ‘urban room’ to involve citizens in engaging with the past, present, and future of towns and cities offers a contemporary refreshment of the approach propounded by Patrick Geddes from the early 1900s. The possibilities of creating novel and compelling opportunities for civic discourse in this guise are explored in this review article though the Newcastle City Futures pop-up exhibition and events held in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK in 2014. This event carries lessons for imagining how planners, developers, governments, and community groups may come together to critically and creatively forge future propositions for the urban condition.     

Gardening cyberspace—social media and hybrid spaces in the creation of food citizenship in the Bristol city-region,UK

Abstract

This paper conducts a detailed analysis of urban food and online networks in Bristol, UK. In particular, it examines social media postings of grass-roots food networks. Qualitative research identifies and analyses five core themes, from which two dominant discourses emerge. Analysis reinforces the multifunctional nature of city food but moves beyond dominant scholarly pre-occupations with nutrition and physical resources. Instead, the paper positions social and symbolic aspects as equal components within the convening power of food. To date, social media has been neglected in urban food research, although this is a space as well-tended and structured as the physical spaces it augments. The paper finds a relationship of limited collaboration between the grass-roots networks and the city council. While the former are dynamic and networked, the council adheres to a linear policy process that limits the scope of citizenship. The relationships examined here indicate implications for urban planning processes.     

The Social Effects of the Physical Environment

Problem: Policymakers and community development practitioners view increasing subsidized owner-occupied housing as a mechanism to improve urban neighborhoods, but little research studies the impact of such investments on community amenities.

Purpose: We examine the impact of subsidized owner-occupied housing on the quality of local schools and compare them to the impacts of city investments in rental units.

Methods: Using data from the New York City Department of Education (DOE) and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), we estimate three main sets of regressions, exploring student characteristics, school resources, and school outcomes.

Results and conclusions: The completion of subsidized owner-occupied housing is associated with a decrease in schools’ percentage of free-lunch eligible students, an increase in schools’ percentage of White students, and, controlling for these compositional changes, an increase in scores on standardized reading and math exams. By contrast, our results suggest that investments in rental housing have little, if any, effect.

Takeaway for practice: Policies promoting the construction of subsidized owner-occupied housing have solidified in local governments around the country. Our research provides reassurance to policymakers and planners who are concerned about the spillover effects of subsidized, citywide investments beyond the households being directly served. It suggests that benefits from investments in owner occupancy may extend beyond the individual level, with an increase in subsidized owner-occupancy bringing about improvements in neighborhood school quality.

Research support: None.     

Book reviews

The Latin American City. Alan Gilbert. London, Latin American Bureau, 1994, 190 pp., £8.99, paperback. ISBN: 0906 156823.

The Homeless. Christopher Jencks. Harvard University Press, London, 1994, 161pp., £14.25 ISBN: 0674405951.

The Housing Authority as an Enabler. R. Goodlad. Longman/CIOH, 1993, 211pp., £14.95 ISBN: 0582 081 882.

The New York Approach: Robert Moses, Urban Liberals, and Redevelopment of the Inner City. Joel Schwartz. ISBN: 08142 05879.

Maintaining Home Ownership: the Agency Approach. P. Leather & S. Mackintosh. The Housing Practice series, Longman/Institute of Housing, 1992. ISBN: 0582 09592–1.     

Towards an analytical framework based on the principles of Civic Design. The case of post-earthquake Talca,Chile 2010–2016

The principles of civic design link the physical conditions of built-up space to its social fabric. Reconstruction of cities following earthquake disasters is seen as an opportunity to revisit the components of civic design and refer it to the neighbourhood scale. This paper provides a review of the principles of civic design, later introducing the Civic Life Analytical Framework (CLAF), used to highlight the socio-spatial particularities of heavily affected intermediate cities, setting the basis for an analytical framework in the context of urban reconstruction. The case study of Talca in its post-earthquake reconstruction stage (2010–2016) delivers empirical grounds, including elements of the social and built-up environmental conditions. The use of CLAF in the northern quarter of Talca involves the observation of morphological aspects, architecture aesthetics, physical structure and dimensions of the collective (public) space, later triangulated with a structured qualitative approach, using data from twenty-two interviews. The results provide a visualization of the main perceptions of residents regarding their sense of agency, community and belonging – these being constitutive dimensions of civic life. As main findings, civic life in Talca is affected by the polarization of dwelling spaces, impacting the conditions for individuals and families to interact with their surroundings, fostering socially disjointed (public) spaces. Conclusions on the importance of exploring civic design through epistemological and methodological interests are given. This approach could also be useful for applying to other cities under similar stress situations.     

From divided to integrated city?

Good urban governance results in economic efficiency, social equity, gender-aware policies, overall sustainability and ultimately, improved living conditions of not only the urban poor but all city residents. […] Good urban governance is not merely a matter of efficient management; it also has political dimensions related to democracy, human rights and civic participation in decision-making processes. (UNCHS, 2001: 211, emphasis in original) The Commission proposes the urgent establishment of a City Development Partnership to enable the development and implementation of a shared development agenda. This partnership must be about concerted action and must be co-owned by the Council, other government agencies, parastatals, the private sector, labour and civil society organisations. The emphasis of the city development partnership will be on a highly focussed campaign or campaigns which can mobilise the commitment, energy and resources of a wide range of stakeholders but which substantively address our core issues of a divided city, dysfunctional communities, and a dual economy. (Unicity Commission, 2000: 9) Previous versions of this paper were prepared for a conference on urban governance in Boston during September 2000, under the aegis of the National Academy of Sciences, and the “Urbanizing World and UN Human Habitat II” Conference, 4–6 June 2001, Columbia University, New York.     

上海市松江新城跨越式发展中的规划决策创新与探索

松江新城是上海市"十五"期间"一城九镇"重点建设的地区之一,在跨越式快速推进的背后,城市规划真正起到了"龙头"的作用,在规划决策上和规划管理上有不少创新和探索,在建设体制、运行模式和办事程序上也有不少探索.该文通过对各地考察团和记者的问题进行梳理,有针对性地总结研究了松江新城实施跨越式发展当中规划决策的创新与探索.     

Neighborhood Planning as Collaborative Democratic Design

Problem: Historically, neighborhood participation has lapsed into NIMBYism or has not been especially effective at long-term, inclusive, and integrative planning.

Purpose: I aim to describe and analyze an example of how local governments can function as civic enablers and capacity builders for collaborative and accountable planning among neighborhood stakeholders and city government.

Methods: This is a case study of Seattle's neighborhood planning approach in the 1990s based on semistructured interviews with 33 current and former planners, other officials, and neighborhood activists, and review of a broad selection of neighborhood plans and other planning documents and newspaper coverage of the planning process.

Results and conclusions: The city of Seattle developed a set of tools and resources to empower local citizens in the planning process while also holding them accountable for actions consistent with specified broad values and planning targets. This, together with the city's substantial investment in neighborhood planning staff, who served as relational organizers and intermediaries of trust, was critical to the success of neighborhood planning and to the emergence of a collaborative governance culture among highly diverse and often contentious community associations, business interests, city departments, and the city council.

Takeaway for practice: Diverse neighborhoods can find common ground and make positive progress on planning to address shared citywide concerns. However, they need staff assistance to do this. Neighborhood planners can play this role, but only if cities fund them to do this time-consuming work and provide institutional support and guidance.     

The machine in the garden city: Patrick Geddes’ plan for Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is a pedestrian‐scaled city of neighbourhoods supportive of an active civic life. This despite a building fabric clad exclusively in International Style garb, an architecture said to be antithetical to humane urban life. The city's success lay in the tightly controlled and binding plan provided by Patrick Geddes in 1925. Applying both a variation of the ‘super‐block’ — in a manner that actually fosters the growth of communities — as well as a platting strategy responsible for the development of a distinct building typology, Tel Aviv has managed to resist anti‐urban propositions. These characteristics, coupled with Tel Aviv's narrow streets, its interstitial spaces and its extensive planting produce a city that even proponents of traditional urbanism could applaud.     

The City of Collective Memory: Its Historical Imagery and Architectural Entertainments and The See-through Years: Creation and Destruction in Texas Architecture and Real Estate, 1981–1991

Abstract

The Planwerk Innenstadt (“master plan for the inner city”) was passed in 1999 by the Berlin local government as the official model for local architectural projects in an extended area that includes the historic city center. The plan is based on the urbanistic concept of the “European City” and has been the subject of a heated debate since its first publication.