2019 Young PlannersWorkshop

Plymouth, UK

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PLANNING ON THE EDGE

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Introduction

PapersVisual impact assessment of the rural-urban fringes as a tool for spatial planning: case study in Ljubljana, Slovenia KostanjšeK BarBara

Green Belts, Geography and Governance: Towards a Spatial ‘Solution’ for a 21st Century Green Belt? Goode Charles edward

Title: London’s Green Edge – the effect of Green Belt Policy on London Morphet Charlotte, norMan oliver

Cultural Landscape of Former Yugoslavia and Mediteranian Cities - Planning on edges and crossroads ĐorĐević aleKsandra, pešić Mladen, Milojević MiliCa

PLANNING ON THE EDGE OF EXISTENCE - Case study of Velo Grablje, Island of Hvar Zlodre Marijana

Miracle or Disaster: How Regional Planning outside the Border can influence Local Planning inside the Border? Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB)Ko vivian, nG jeffrey

Planning on the edge of a secondary city: the legacy of thepast and the need for a prospective urban planning.The case of Tours (France)deMaZiere Christophe, hasanen alaa, Kopeć eMilia

Improving France and Spain cross-border links: The Urban Development Plan for the recovery of Canfranc International Railway Station santos BeatriZ, araGon raquel

Resilient planning for urban rivers: between risk protection and cities regeneration. Messina’s Territorial StrategyduCCi Marta, Maroni Giulia

A Wardian case of Planning: The Edge as a Preservation Mechanismsantos ZaMBrano Karla

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INTRODUCTION

ECTP-CEU (the European Council of Spatial Planners - Conseil Européen des Urbanistes), founded in 1985, brings together 40 000 spatial planners with 27 professional town planning associations and institutes from 25 European countries.It is an umbrella association providing its members with a common framework for planning practice, planning education, continuing professional development and the definition of professional responsibilities.ECTP-CEU sets standards of education and conduct for the planning profession; identifies, celebrates and rewards examples of good planning all over Europe, and engages in dialogue with local, national and European governments.In accordance with these objectives, the initiative of the Young Planners Workshop seeks to set out young planner’s perspectives and experiences in a frame of new European cities paradigms

The workshop theme on planning on the edge focuses on a broad perspective of city frontiers and territories frontiers.This perspective includes the relationship of cities with physical limits: the water; particularly by the sea and coast, rivers or lakes, (Planning coastal settlements, urban rivers corridors... etc, urban generation around the water...); but also relationships with other peripheral limits, nature urban voids; transitory zones in the city with people coming and going; even Edge as the transition from one physical environment to another: green, peripherial rural areas.Border, frontier or divided cities can be considered as cities on the edge. A border cities close to the boundary between two counties, states or regions have highly cosmopolitan communities, as traveling and trading often go through the town. They can also be flashpoints for international conflicts, especially when the two countries have territorial disputes.

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PAPERS

The workshop also includes the perspective of Cities on the edge thinking in cities located far from the centre of their country and sometimes closer to abroad with a potential to develop their position “on the edge” and its connectivity within Europe and the world.Finally planning on the edge includes urban policies on the edge from a social-economic and cultural approach:

a) relationship with the periphery of the society, within the cities and amongst different kinds and scales of cities,b) cities which have a “transit poles” social structure, “immigration port”... etcc) thinking in the different effects and results of the globalization in big cities, small cities and rural areas.

From the Program of the Workshop.

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VISUAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE RURAL-URBAN FRINGES AS A TOOL FOR SPATIAL PLANNING: CASE STUDY IN LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA

Barbara Kostanjšekjunior researcher, Ph.D student, University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Landscape Architecturebarbara.kostanjsek@bf.uni-lj.si

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The landscape as a living environment is nowadays being perceived mostly as a cultural phenomenon. Changes within landscapes caused by social processes are becoming more evident, notably the changes due to consumption, which presents an issue in urban-rural fringes. In this context, the research will explore the aspect of physical transformation of the landscape and its identity, as well as the society’s perception of these changes. An insight into existing perceptions of landscape changes will open questions about the approaches to monitoring the processes in the landscape, the implementation of policies and their impacts, daily human influences and direct physical interventions in the space. The research will be twofold – consisting of physical and social analysis of urban fringes. When dealing with spatial data, we face objective, specific facts. However, public perception is based mostly on subjective assessments stemming from personal experience. The perceptions of urban fringes, obtained by focus groups will be an important criterion for verifying the appropriateness of landscape evaluation and management models. Based on the results obtained, the concept of landscape planning will be upgraded with sociological thinking about human collective action in the space.The aim of the research is to answer whether (and to what extent) landscapes protection and management models correspond to the interpretation of the landscape of consumption, created as a result of social transformation. Concurrently, the goal is to verify the relevance of current landscape evaluation models and enable the identification and role of landscapes in spatial identity. On the basis of the findings, the intention is to present a proposal of methodological and substantive improvements that would properly address the evaluation of landscapes modified due to social transformation. The results will contribute to more appropriate and effective approaches for integrative planning of urban fringes.

ABSTRACT

Barbara Kostanjšek studied landscape architecture on the Biotechnical Faculty (University of Ljubljana), where she gained her title as Master of Landscape Architecture (MSc) in June 2018 and received Faculty award for her master thesis in the same year on innovative solutions for provision of basic goods on regional level. Her past work experience was research on the field of regional development within the Interreg Alpine Space project INTESI – Integrated Strategies for Services of General Interest, where she contributed to innovative solutions for the provision of services and recommendations for integrated strategies applicable in various areas. Currently she works as a junior researcher at the Department of Landscape Architecture with her research focused in transformation and evaluation of landscapes on the rural-urban fringes with service and retail facilities due to human consumption. She also works as a teaching assistant for Environmental Planning and Impact Assessments on MSc programme.

biographies

KostanjšekBarbara

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Spatial planning of economic zones on rural-urban fringes lacks comprehensiveness and rationality in general, since it’s based mostly on greenfield investments. In addition, environmental impact assessments procedures mainly lack considerations of visual impacts. This paper explores the scale and characteristics of visual impacts of a contemporary economic zone, adjacent to the Landscape park. The research consists of mapping different infrastructure types and visual impact assessment of a selected economic zone on the south-west of Ljubljana, at the edge of the Ljubljana moors Landscape park of national importance, also included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The visual impact assessment of Ljubljana Vič Economic zone is done by assessing multiple interrelated criteria. The visual impact assessment is backed with public perception through focus groups of inhabitants.The aim of the research is to evaluate the selected area’s visual impacts and to answer whether (and to what extent) the visual impact assessment of economic zones can improve the existent protection and management models, since we assert that the aspect of the visual impact on landscape quality is not sufficiently taken into account in the environmental impact assessments. Consequently, the goal is to verify the relevance of current landscape assessment models and enable the identification and role of the urban-rural edge in spatial identity. On the basis of the findings, the intention is to present a proposal of methodological and

1. INTRODUCTION

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economices and retail in forms of large and peripheral economic zones has been widely occurring (Garb and Dybicz, 2006; Bole and Ravbar, 2009) and is predicted to continue (Šuklje Erjavec et al., 2016). In one of the studies on the impact of new retail development on land use and soils (Spilková, J. and Šefrna, 2010), the problem of the sealing of urban borders with economic zones is greater and more noticeable in smaller cities, which is also explains the selection of the site in Ljubljana with current population of 292.988 on 1. 1. 2019 (SURS, 2019). The most commonly discussed issues are the collapse of urban centers and the outflow of commercial functions to the periphery of cities, the lack of competitiveness of small retailers towards major international trade chains, the aesthetic aspect of newly built stores and also radical social changes (Sailer-Fliege, 1999; Spilková and Šefrna, 2010; Marot et al., 2018).Among the more serious problems are changes in land use due to uncoordinated urbanization, such as the loss of important agricultural and natural land (Sailer-Fliege, 1999; Žiberna, 2018). Changes in the use of land on the outskirts of cities are a key indicator of the process of spatial processes. The existent national database as a tool for monitoring land use changes does not reflect actual changes in urban areas (Foški, 2018). Such changes are taking place at the regional and municipal level, since the Spatial Planning Act (2017) only regulates the placement of economic zones with shopping centers exceeding 5000 m2 and priority areas intended for economic development exceeding 10 hectares of area. For all small-scale interventions, the placement is determined at the level of each municipality (Spatial Planning Act, 2017). Similar practice is in the Czech Republic, where local self-government (Spilková, J. and Šefrna, 2010) is responsible for spatial planning of economic zones with commercial buildings, while no impact studies are carried out. However, some countries (Poland, Hungary) already require an Environmental Impact Assessment and retail impact studies.

substantive visual impact assessment improvements that would translate into guidelines for reducing negative impacts of commercial areas on rural-urban fringes.

2. CONTEXT

The always challenging context of rural-urban fringes (RUF) is important in order to understand the spatial pattern of accelerated urban growth, including related issues for sustainable development policy-making and planning for the city and its hinterland in the countryside (Srivastava et al. 2012; Scott et al. 2013). The literature defines RUF as an intermediate zone in between concentrated urban/city landscape and absolute rural landscape in which rural society gradually quasi-transforms into urban within its social, demographic, cultural, occupational, and especially land use characteristics (Singh et al. 2012). This so-called “transition zone” allows the expansion of urban infrastructure – industrial, residential, public, semipublic facilities and transportation networks which are either planned or unplanned (Doan and Oduro, 2012). The interweaving of »urban« and »rural« physical, economic and social environment is fairly complex and not easily separable one from another (Taubenböck et al. 2014), henceforth such area can be termed as ‘zone of fusion’, similar to ‘area of transition’, ‘zone of transition’ (Fesenmaier et al. 1979), ‘chaotic landscapes’ or ‘heterogeneous mosaics’ (Scott et al. 2013). The urban-rural fringes can therefore occur in distinct spatial patterns that imitate spatial distribution patterns by biofilm cells, with biofilm meaning “an assemblage of surface-associated microbial cells” (Donlan, 2002). Microorganisms also exhibit distinct patterns of spatial distribution, which are influenced by inherent capabilities of the species, historical contingencies and environmental factors (Martiny et al., 2006; Haagensen et al., 2015). Confined spatial organisation patterns are, in case of urban-rural fringes, similarly influenced by the three named factors.Rural-urban fringes are under constant pressure of urban sprawl, which is, apart from foreign market forces, a result of weak or unadequate spatial planning and subsidies for land consumption (Colsaet, Laurans and Levrel, 2018). Large retail chains from Western Europe which have reached their growth limits and encountered legal obstacles in their home countries, have moved to Central and Eastern Europe and competing with one another for key locations, market share in order to maintain growth (Garb and Dybicz, 2006). In Slovenia as well as in other post-socialist countries the trend of urbanisation along with decentralisation of

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attitude towards the natural environment and other living beings. Furthermore, people’s preference is stronger to areas with human interventions consistent with natural processes (Sheppard, 2001; Nassauer, 1995). Degraded and abandoned areas that are subject to erosion and pollution are visually least attractive (Nassauer, 1995). Arriaza et al. (2004) argue that the visual appeal of landscape is reduced if there are anthropogenic interventions with a negative impact on landscape ecology, e.g. industry, transport infrastructure, energy infrastructure, deforestated areas and the like.

3. SUBJECT DESCRIPTION

The Slovenian legislation does not explicitly specify a methodology to determine the impact of interventions on the appearance of the landscape (Mlakar, 2006). By doing so, it allows environmental reports to be prepared in different ways. Similarly, Mlakar (2006) believes that environmental reports are often based on direct and uncritical summation of information from existing spatial datasets, and thus represent only a certificate on the environmental acceptability of the plan.The methods of evaluating impacts on the appearance of the landscape are neither innovative nor comprehensive, and are plagued too pragmatically. In addition, they add that photomontages, GIS visualizations, opinion polls and vulnerability studies in environmental reports appear very rarely. According to Golobič et al. (2017) and Čok (2003), the establishment of economic zones was subjected to the liberalist concept of spatial planning, according to which economic areas were placed in the space according to the principle of “new company - new zone”. Such spatial planning was justified in the economic development of the municipalities and supported by numerous positive economic effects. In a wider spatial context, it turned out to be extremely irrational and completely subordinate to the economy.

In Slovenia, the practice is identical as in Czech Republic. In addition, the vulnerability studies, visual impact assessment and other relevant studies are not mandatory under the Spatial Planning Act (2017). In cases when studies were nevertheless made, the Act does not explicitly oblige to includethem within the municipal plans. This practice results in dubious and controversial content of municipal plans as one of the reasons for the irrational use of space in determining the locations of economic zones.The theory of visually disturbing elements in the landscape represents the theoretical basis in determining the effects on the appearance of the landscape, or, in this case, the rural-urban fringes. Tveit et al. (2006) note that visibly interfering elements in the landscape are often associated with anthropogenic interventions in space and landscape changes. These are interventions that are disruptive due to their size (Pachaki, 2002; Bell, 2004: 48), shapes (Bell, 2004: 105), texture (Garcia et al., 2006; Stamps, 1997), the use of material (Stamps, 1997), the number of interventions (Bell, 2004: 40) or location (Bell, 2004: 43).

Ode et al. (2008) note that the presence of disturbing elements in the landscape is inversely proportional to the spatial order of the landscape, which means that several disturbances in the landscape reduce the level of spatial order in the landscape. The theory of disturbing elements in the landscape is grounded in the theory of biofilm, which emphasizes the human primary need for a careful

Figure 1. An example of visually disturbing elements: part of a economic zone on the edge of small town Krško, eastern Slovenia

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In the case of Ljubljana, the expansion of secondary economic centers suggests spatial and functional changes (Rebernik and Jakovčić, 2006). The greenfield development of production areas in particular, and the structural transformation of so far mixed industrial-economic-shopping areas, will be continued. The current deployment of economic activities shows that it is a tendency towards devolution, with the simultaneous specialization of economic activities. The selected economic zone in Ljubljana is located on the town’s south-west edge, adjoining the Landscape Park Ljubljana moors. It has developed in the past 30 years and it was primarily an industrial zone which has restructured in the recent years by obtaining a commercial character. The Ljubljana Vič economic area of roughly 40 hectares is directly bordering the Natural park of marshlands (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3), a part of the area also overlapping with the protected area of the Landscape park including the Natura 2000 (Fig. 3).The wetlands in the Landscape park are marked by a mosaic of meadows, marshes, fields, ditches and tree hedges. At the Ljubljana moors we encounter small forest areas scattered across the entire plain. Wetland forests spread around the Ljubljana landfill near the economic zone (within the red square in Fig. 2); the most frequent species according to the site visit were the oak (Quercus robur), along with the European white elm (Ulmus laevis) and the European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) at less humid sites. According to the Decree on the Ljubljansko barje Landscape Park (2008) and its general protection regime, it is not permitted to conduct, intervene, place or perform activities in the landscape park in the extent, time and manner that could exacerbate the hydrological, geomorphological and ecological characteristics of the landscape park. However, the visual aspects apart from changing the visual image of water bodies, no special attention is given to the visual impacts on the Landscape park area.

4. RESEARCH

4.1. Study areaThe study area lies on the south-west edge of Ljubljana, which lies in the basin of alluvial origin, surrounded by wetlands with characteristic division of agricultural plots. The cultural landscape is marked by the overgrowing of agricultural land, the changing streams of watercourses and meliorations. Along the edges of the settlements, the settlement pattern is changing due to the growth and integration of settlements. The territory is also changing due to the construction of traffic infrastructure, gas pipelines, landfills, gravel pits, etc.

Figure 3. Economic area

Ljubljana Vič with a part overlapping the

protected area of Landscape park and

Natura 2000

Figure 2. Ljubljana with the

selected economic area Ljubljana Vič

(black square) and the neighbouring

landfill (red square) in the spatial context of Landscape park and Natura 2000 marked

with purple

This particular area has been selected firstly due to its location near the Landscape park and, consequently, the outstanding location according to the principle of situating the rest of Ljubljana’s economic zones, which are more integrated into the city tissue and have less direct physical contact with the surrounding landscape. Secondly, the built area is planned to be expanded and additionally equipped with corresponding infrastructure. The south-eastern part

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of the economic zone overlapping with the Landscape park protection regime is intended for the construction of residential units adjoining the plot designated to public waste management service. Between the two areas, the belt of 20m of indigenous vegetation is expected to be preserved (Municipal Spatial Plan of the City of Ljubljana, 2018). Finally, it was chosen as an example of human intervention in a very specific landscape in need of particular management, for purpose of which the visual effects of the selected economic zone will be evaluated.Since the selected study area is not homogeneous, a series of landscape types on this section of rural-urban fringe have been defined to be evaluated according to the spatial context of surrounding wetlands. The types of landscapes are defined according to current land use: 1) industrial, 2) residential, 3) commercial and 4) other.

4.2 MethodologyFor the purpose of visual impact assessment the in situ method (Cañas Guerrero, 1995) was adopted, used in several landscape evaluation studies (Cafias et al., 1998; Cañas Guerrero and Ruiz Sánchez, 2001; Pastor et al., 2007). However, the method has not been used on cases in urban-rural landscapes. The method has been therefore adapted accordingly by reducing the number of attributes and customizing them in order to correspond to the urban setting.The adapted method takes into account 4 physical attributes, each comprising of 3 variables (Table 1): 1. Vegetation (cover, diversity, quality) 2. Land use (type, intensity, range) 3. Modifying elements (structure, form, colour) 4. View (extent, distance, visibility of the area)

The selected attributes as criteria have been selected due to their direct influence on visual perception of the area. Each of the variables of different attributes was rated according to the corresponding scale (Table 1). The final score for the degree of visual degradation (weighted mean) allows the landscapes to be classified according to Table 2. The weights for attributes of vegetation, land use and modifying elements are equal (0.2), for the view attribute the assigned weight is 0.4 since it contributes directly and significantly to the visual aspect of evaluation. The weighted mean as the final score was calculated by the following equation:

Each of the landscape types, defined within the study area was evaluated by this method.

Table 1. Attributes, their variables and values for in situ method

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The assessment of the visual degradation of the study area was further supported by opinions of the public in the form of a focus group. The group consisted of 10 participants; 5 of the participants were the inhabitants of the area and 5 people who worked in the area; they were asked to participate on the location. The discussion of the focus group was taken out on 26th of June 2019. The desired result was to obtain an opinion whether the residents and the public perceive the area as a visible disturbing element in the landscape and why. The questions asked were: Do you think this area is visually disturbing for any reason? What makes it disturbing (or not)? The participants also gave detailed explanations and some proposals to mitigate the visual degradation.

4.3 Results and discussionEach of the identified types of landscapes within the economic zone Ljubljana Vič has been assessed individually in terms of attributes and variables. The landscape types were defined according to the dominant use and the corresponding infrastructure. Within the study area, the landfill as a type of landscape is the lowest rated, and the highest final score was assigned to the residential area. The estimates among landscape types differ most within attributes of vegetation and land use. The results of the assessment of visual degradation of landscape are listed in Table 3.

The estimate of the landfill was most influenced by the attributes of visibility and land use, since it is more visible than the rest of the landscape types due to its exposure on a flat terrain and little surrounding vegetation. The area acts as an enclave in the landscape and does not take into account the natural features of the site. The industrial area is separated from the residential and recreational areas by a green strip, most of the buildings have inadequate form with a linear orientation to the contact with the surrounding landscape. A smaller share of parking lots and service spaces are positioned towards the inside of the zone

away from the edges. The vegetation within the industrial area appears as smaller lawns with individual trees and shrubs, the parking lots are mostly without greenery or with rare trees that shade less than 30% of asphalt surfaces, a relatively large proportion of degraded open areas is present.The construction area has, surprisingly, a higher estimate than the industrial area due to a larger share of vegetation (however in poor shape) and smaller scale. Same applies to the commercial area, the estimate is higher due to the share of vegetation and its quality, also due to the lower intensity of land use and smaller extent. The residential area presents the least visual disturbance in the study area due to the high rating of view attribute as well as the higher quality of the modifying elements and vegetation.Especially for economic zones, it is considered that they are designed in a conventional manner without creative urban solutions. The buildings are mostly large and in simple shapes. Parking lots and service spaces are visibly exposed. From the point of view of the protection of agricultural land, the construction of economic zones in the areas of forest of lesser quality is considered as more appropriate.

Table 2. Classification of visual degradation of landscapes according to the final score of the in situ method

Table 3. Results of the assessment

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The apropriateness and visual disturbance was commented within the focus group as well. The most visually disturbant were estimated the industrial and landfill area. Some of the general (positive and negative) comments are exposed below:

• The construction of a zone degrades fertile agricultural land• The industrial area is located in the vicinity of the settlement• Buildings of the industrial area stand out from the small morphology of the settlement• The landfill is a foreign object in regard to the surrounding landscape (fields, forest) and is the cause of the destruction of forest and agricultural land• The entire area is situated next to a Natura 2000 protected site of flood plains• The area is interposed between the cultural landscape and the settlement• The area is not visually very exposed• From the major roads and settlement the area looks smaller than otherwise• The area is partially shielded with vegetation• It still acts as a part of the city

Figure 4. The evaluated types of landscapes within the study area with assigned levels of visual degradation

Participants highlighted the problem of the destruction of agricultural and other green areas and are of the opinion that there is enough degraded land in the country, where the economic zones should be placed in priority until space capacities are occupied. Some believe that spatial planning of economic areas should be in state or regional jurisdiction, since it is too irrational on the level of the municipality.The appearance of economic zones, according to some, never corresponds to the appearance of the surrounding landscape. Others assume that the economic zones for successful economic development of the municipality are necessary, but they can be significantly less disturbing by means of appropriate landscape and urban planning measures. The results of visual impact assessment of economic zones combined with focus groups such as results above can influence existing management and protection models by stating the deficiencies in terms of visual perception of economic zones and their visual impact, which is not represented in the EIA in at least Slovenia and some Eastern European countries and thus not sufficiently supporting substantive environmental protection. The scope for possible improvements to current landscape management and protection on the rural-urban fringes range from:

(1) planning phase - where within planning documents, the parameters of the visible exposure of the built structures as foreseen interventions within a certain area are taken into account. In this case, the modifying elements parameters should be further defined;(2) implementation phase or through mitigation measures for reducing visual degradation of existing economic zones and other uses at the intersection between urban and rural landscapes.

Measures for reducing visual degradation of urban-rural edges are necessary. Firstly the attention should be brought to developing and renewing existing economic zones, so-called brownfield investments instead of greenfield investments, meaning the economic areas are located in already degraded and emptied urban areas. To

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within EIA. It follows that decisions on the locations of economic zones are often doubtful and unclear, and in terms of spatial planning, they are also unargumented and unprofessional. The same goes for mitigation measures at the conceptual level. Quality concepts of outer green spaces are rarely given enough attention in the design process of economic zones. A negative attitude towards the use of vegetation prevails in economic zones due to maintenance costs and occupying space that would otherwise be intended for sale or other functional uses. Further consideration should be given to the design of economic zones. Urban planning should be based on topographical, hydrological and vegetation characteristics of the landscape. When placing economic zones in the landscape, it is preferable to maintain visually exposed and characteristic landscape views. When locating an economic zone on an urban-rural fringe, the morphology of the facilities should be smaller, while parking areas and service spaces should be less visually exposed. A better architectural design would also contribute to a greater reputation of economic zones, a less pronounced sense of generic space, and at the same time an improved net use of land. The spatial planning of economic zones should pass as soon as possible from the competences of municipal spatial planning to the competence of regional spatial planning. Due to the size of municipalities, the number of variants for placing economic zones in the municipal area is limited. The trend in Slovenia is that each of the 212 municipalities wants to have its own economic zone in order to secure jobs. This causes saturation of municipalities with economic areas, which consequently remain under-occupied.

reduce visibility of the economic zones, 80% of the boundaries of the economic zones are greened, with a part of the concealment of the vertical zone of the zone more than 50% after 5 years from the planting of the vegetation. The buildings should be smaller in dimensions, structurally sligtly diverse and transversely positioned in relation to contact with the landscape, larger objects located towards the interior of the zone. Same applies to the parking spaces and service spaces. Parking spaces are constructed out of porous material and greened with a rate of more than 50% of shading asphalt surfaces after five years of planting with greenery allowing concealment of views. Green areas within economic zones shall be allocated to at least 15% of the total area.In addition to all the above mentioned measures, greater participation of the local population is needed in terms of deciding on the location and appearance of economic zones, since the residents are most susceptible to visible changes. Local residents should be offered the possibility of direct cooperation with planners and investors. This can be achieved by setting up focus groups, conducting workshops and other forms of public discussion.

5.CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the appearance of the rural-urban fringes (notably economic zones) must become subject to more detailed and comprehensive treatment in environmental reports in order to improve existent landscape protection and management models. This not only applies to urban-rural fringes, but to any planned interventions in the landscape. In order to successfully prevent the negative impacts of economic zones and other interventions in the appearance of the landscape on rural-urban fringes, the EIAs, environmental protection policies and supporting documents should be substantively improved. When reviewing the literature, we found that the effects on the appearance of the landscape and the visible environment are likely not included in the EIA reports. The analysis of landscape features is often based on citing general protection objectives and regimes (most often protection of cultural heritage and nature conservation), which are often unusable from a practical point of view. Mitigation measures at the site selection level and urban planning solutions related to the reduction of the negative impact of economic zones on the appearance of the rural-urban edges (e.g. reduction of visible exposure, size of buildings, contact with the landscape and increase of the share of green areas) are relateively rare due to the content-related lack of environmental reports

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REFERENCES Arriaza, M., Cañas-Ortega, J. F., Cañas-Madueño, J. A. and Ruiz-Aviles, P. (2004). Assessing the visual quality of rural landscapes. Landscape and Urban Planning, 69, pp. 115–125. Bell, S. (2004). Elements of Visual Design in the Landscape. 2nd edition. New York, Spon Press: 220p. Bole, D. and Ravbar, M. 2009. Analysis of modern business, shopping and other economic centers in Ljubljana. [Analiza sodobnih poslovnih, nakupovalnih in drugih gospodarskih središč v Ljubljani]. Ljubljana: Anton Melik Geographical Institute, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts,133 p. Cafias, I., Lago, C., García, L. and Maseda, F., (1998). Comparative study of visual impact on agricultural constructions and windfarms in Spain. In: Wind Energy and Landscape: Proceedings of the international workshop WEL, Genova, Italy, 26-27 June 1997. CRC Press, 85 p. Cañas Guerrero, I. (1995). Valoración del paisaje. E.T.S.I. Agronomos de Lugo, Universidad de Santiago. Cañas Guerrero, I. and Ruiz Sánchez, M., (2001). Método de valoración del impactopaisajístico. Gestión Sostenible de Paisajes Rurales. Técnicas e ingeniería. Fundación Alfonso Martín Escudero, Madrid, España. Colsaet, A., Laurans, Y. and Levrel, H. (2018). What drives land take and urban land expansion? A systematic review. Land Use Policy, 79, pp.339-349. Čok, G. (2003). Economic zones: content and terminology definition. [Gospodarske cone: Vsebinska in terminološka opredelitev]. Urbani izziv, 14(1), pp. 55–59. Decree on the Ljubljansko barje Landscape Park (2008). [Uredba o Krajinskem parku Ljubljansko barje]. Uradni list RS, n°112/08. Doan, P., Oduro, C. Y. (2012). Patterns of population growth in peri-urban Accra, Ghana. International Journal of Urban Regional Research, 36, pp.1306–1325. Donlan, R. M. (2002). Biofilms: microbial life on surfaces. Emerging infectious diseases, 8(9), 881– 890. DOI:10.3201/eid0809.020063. Fesenmaier, D. R., Goodchild, M. F., Morrison, S. (1979). The spatial structure of the rural–urban fringe: a multivariate approach. Canadien Geographer/Le Géographe canadien. 23, pp. 255–265. Foški, M. (2018). The (non)usefulness of the Register of Existing Agricultural and Forest Land Use for monitoring the processes in urban areas. Acta geographica Slovenica, 58(1), pp. 69-82. Garb, Y. and Dybicz, T. (2006). The retail revolution in post-socialist Central Europe and its lessons. Contributions to Economics, pp.231-252. Garcia, L., Hernandez, J. and Ayuga, F. (2006). Analysis of the materials and exterior texture of agro- industrial buildings: a photo-analytical approach to landscape integration. Landscape and Urban Planning, 74, pp.110–124. Golobič, M., Cof, A., Kolarič, Š. and Radej, B. (2017). Strategic evaluation of the Spatial Planning Strategy of Slovenia, an interim report. [Strateško vrednotenje Strategije prostorskega načrtovanja Slovenije, vmesno poročilo]. Ljubljana: Biotechnical Faculty, 60 p. [online] Available at: http://www.mop.gov.si/fileadmin/mop.gov.si/pageuploads/podrocja/prostorski_razvoj/sprs_vmesno_por ocilo_strateskega_vrednotenja.pdf [Accessed 27. 6. 2019]. Haagensen, J., Hansen, S., Christensen, B., Pamp, S. and Molin, S. (2015). Development of Spatial Distribution Patterns by Biofilm Cells. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 81(18), pp.6120-6128.

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Singh, S., Srivastava, P. K., Gupta, M., Mukherjee, S. (2012). Modeling mineral phase change chemistry of groundwater in a rural–urban fringe. Water Science & Technology, 66(7), pp.1502–1510. Spatial Planning Act (2017). [Zakon o urejanju prostora (ZUreP-2)]. Uradni list RS, n°61/17. Spilková, J. and Šefrna, L. (2010). Uncoordinated new retail development and its impact on land use and soils: A pilot study on the urban fringe of Prague, Czech Republic. Landscape and Urban Planning, 94(2), pp.141-148. Srivastava, P. K., Han, D., Rico-Ramirez, M. A., Bray, M., Islam, T. (2012). Selection of classification techniques for land use/land cover change investigation. Advances in Space Research, 50, pp. 1250– 1265. Stamps, A. E. (1997). A paradigm for distinguishing significant from nonsignificant visual impacts: theory, implementation, case histories. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 17(4), pp.249–293. SURS - Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (2019). Demography and social statistics. [online]. Available at:https://pxweb.stat.si/SiStatDb/pxweb/en/10_Dem_soc/10_Dem_soc 05_prebivalstvo 10_stevilo_pr eb 20_05C40_prebivalstvo_obcine/ [Accessed 1. 7. 2019]. Šuklje Erjavec I., Miklavčič T., Rogelj A., Jerman Z. (2016). NATIONAL Urban Development Report - Habitat III. [NACIONALNO poročilo o urbanem razvoju - Habitat III]. Ljubljana: Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Spatial Planning, Construction and Housing Directorate, 90 p. Taubenböck, H., Wiesner, M., Felbier, A., Marconcini, M., Esch, T., Dech, S. (2014). New dimensions of urban landscapes: the spatio-temporal evolution from a polynuclei area to a mega-region based on remote sensing data. Applied Geography, 47, pp.137–153. Tveit M., Ode A. and Fry G. (2006). Key concepts in a framework for analysing visual landscape character. Landscape Research, 31(3), pp.229–255. Žiberna, I. (2018). Land use changes in areas of strategic importance for agriculture and food production in the period 2000-2017. [Spremembe rabe tal na območjih, ki so strateškega pomena za kmetijstvo in pridelavo hrane v obdobju 2000-2017]. Revija za geografijo – Journal for Geography, 13(1), pp. 73-94.

31

GREEN BELTS, GEOGRAPHY AND GOVERNANCE: TOWARDS A SPATIAL ‘SOLUTION’ FOR A 21ST CENTURY GREEN BELT?

Charles Edward GoodeUniversity of Birmingham C.Goode@pgr.bham.ac.uk

TITLE

author

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Goode, C.e.

Charles Goode is a Geographer/ Planner and an ESRC Doctoral Researcher in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Birmingham. His research is on the Green Belt and England’s housing crisis, especially the views of planners on Green Belt, so he has conducted over 70 interviews with practising planners, professional campaigners and planning stakeholders. The research has three main aspects: the location of new residential development, especially strategic site allocations, the governance of Green Belt and community attitudes and opposition to Green Belt. This reflects Charles’s broader research interests since he trained as a planner: strategic planning, greenspace (particularly urban farming), planning history (especially of Green Belt and regional planning) and public involvement in planning. A lot of Charles’ spare time is taken up with his Christian faith and company he attends but he also enjoys Early Modern history, walking in the countryside, exploringBritain’s maritime heritage and swimming!

biographies

GoodeCharles Edward

A sharp and distinctive divide between town/ country and rural/ urban lies at the heart of the English planning system (Gallent et al, 2006; Amati and Taylor, 2010; Scott et al., 2013). This is seen very clearly in England’s probably most longstanding and popular planning policy, Green Belts, which seek to ‘prevent urban sprawl’ at the urban edge (Longley et al., 1992; MHCLG, 2019, p. 40). However, with England’s deepening housing crisis, Green Belts have been critiqued for increasing house prices, causing unsustainable growth patterns (the ‘leapfrogging’ of development) and for often lacking public access/ environmental value (Herington, 1990; Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), 2015; Harrison and Clifford, 2016). This paper focuses on Green Belts in regional England because arguably the debate has been overly centred on London and the South East (RTPI, 2016b; Mace, 2017). Moreover, it has also been very polarised and ideological between the ‘economic’ argument, principally that Green Belts should be abolished or significantly reformed, and the ‘protectionist’ argument, that they are sacrosanct and untouchable (Mace et al., 2016). This study seeks to move the debate forward by being empirically based on the views and expertise of practising planners alongside exploring the attitudes of campaigners. In the data collection process, 71 practicing planners, planning stakeholders (politicians, journalists etc.) and campaigners have been interviewed, 2 focus groups have been held and quantitative data has been analysed from the Social Attitudes Survey. Key themes emerging include the governance of Green Belt due to the lack of strategic, regional and spatial planning in England’s largely locally led planning system. This demonstrates and reflects the political nature of Green Belt so its history is briefly explored but it is argued that the politics of Green Belt has intensified since the abolition of statutory regional planning in 2010 (Boddy and Hickman, 2013, 2018). The issues that this has created in the planning system are then examined, including the lack of strategic oversight of Green Belt, before exploring the possibilities for a more strategic, regional approach to Green Belt. The paper concludes by highlighting the need for a ‘larger-than-local’ expert body to manage the whole Green Belt for the long term and that is beyond the immediate political cycle.

ABSTRACT

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The Green Belt is one of England’s most longstanding, popular and well-known planning policies and is very influential globally as an urban growth management policy (Yokohari et al., 2000; Amati, 2007, 2008). However, due to England’s deepening housing crisis, it has been increasingly criticised with arguments for its significant reform/ abolition, often on economic grounds (Cheshire, 2014b, 2014a), whilst it is vigorously defended as sacrosanct regularly by opponents of development due to its emotional appeal (For example: Munton, 1986; Kells, 2015; London Green Belt Council, 2019). This paper seeks to move the debate beyond these two ideological extremes by being empirically based on the views of planners and campaigners (with 2 focus groups and 71 interviews). As the Green Belt debate tends to be focused on London and the South East (For example: RTPI, 2016b; Kilroy, 2017), this paper examines Green Belts in regional England, especially the West Midlands Green Belt. Its primary focus is the geography and governance of Green Belts, especially the politics of how city-regions manage urban growth on their ‘edge’. It argues that Green Belts can be seen as exemplifying planning’s inherently political nature both temporally and spatially with statecraft by politicians both locally and nationally. This has been exacerbated in recent years by the abolition of (statutory) regional planning in 2010 and the ‘localism agenda’ which has resulted in huge central-local tensions (Allmendinger and Haughton, 2011;

1. INTRODUCTION

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3. SUBJECT DESCRIPTION

3.1. Green Belt HistoryThe idea of a Green Belt or of restricting the circular growth of cities stretches back to Biblical times as well as to the European ‘ideal’ of a walled, medieval city (Breheny, 1997). Indeed, both in the reign of Elizabeth I (1580) and in the Commonwealth (1657), there were attempts to restrict the growth of London but these largely failed (Abercrombie, 1945, p. 29; Thomas, 1963, p. 14). However, it was Ebenezer Howard and other contemporaries, like Lord Meath, who were the key thinkers behind green belts, drawing on the Arts and Craft Movement and European and American ideas such as Vienna’s Ringstrasse and the City Beautiful Movement (Elson, 1986, p. 5; Manns, 2014, p. 4). Howard’s ideas largely revolved around green belts for new, garden cities whereas in the inter-war period Raymond Unwin advocated a Green Belt around London mainly for leisure and recreational purposes (Miller, 1992). Green Belt legislation was therefore introduced in the inter-war period, primarily around London and Birmingham, to allow councils to purchase land for recreation (Amati and Yokohari, 2007, p. 317; Lloyd and Peel, 2007, p. 645). These ideas were taken up by Patrick Abercrombie in his plans for post-war London which merged Howard’s and Unwin’s ideas together by calling for a 5-7 mile Green Belt around London alongside new towns to decentralise London’s population (Abercrombie, 1945, p. 111; Hall et al., 1973). The 1947 Planning Act gave councils the power to designate Green Belt, with the result that land purchase was no longer necessary, whilst the Green Belt was codified by the Housing Minister, Duncan Sands, in the 1955 ‘Sandys’ Circular, which shifted its key purpose to containment of urban areas (this remains its key objective) (Elson, 1986; Hall, 2012). Abercrombie’s plans were subsequently implemented although the Sandys Circular encouraged the Homes Counties, like Surrey and Hertfordshire, to submit plans to extend their Green Belts (these were finally approved by the Conservative Government in the early 1970s) (Munton, 1986; Cherry, 1996, p. 148; see figure 1).

Lord and Tewdwr-Jones, 2018). However, this paper argues that, rather than significantly reformed as a policy, the governance of Green Belt should move to a more strategic, regional level with long(er) term plans. Ideally, this would be a semi-independent body, like National Parks, to manage existing Green Belts, balance competing pressures and plan their future.

2. CONTEXT: THE HOUSING CRISIS AND THE GREEN BELT

England is in the midst of a deepening housing crisis (Corlett and Judge, 2017; Monbiot et al., 2019). For many years, most people in England have bought their own home (owner-occupation) but, as house prices continue to rise significantly faster than incomes, many people, especially younger people, are increasingly ‘priced-out’ of the owner-occupation market (Gallent et al., 2019). Consequently, they have to either have to rent, which is often more expensive (per month than mortgage repayments) and insecure, or live longer at home with their parents (Gallent, 2019). Housing is therefore the largest driver of inter- and intra-generational inequality in England and housing is now at the top of the domestic political agenda (Corlett and Judge, 2017; Birch, 2019). Unsurprisingly, there has been a huge amount of debate about the causes and potential solutions to the housing crisis (RTPI, 2016c). Although arguably there is no single cause or ‘silver bullet’ solution, the undersupply of housing has been highlighted as a key issue by economists (Hilber and Vermeulen, 2014). In particular, planning restrictions, especially the Green Belt, have been highlighted as the main cause of the housing crisis through restricting the supply of residential land where and when demand is highest (For example: Cheshire, 2013). The logical solution of this economic framework is therefore to abolish or significantly release land from the Green Belt (Wolf, 2015). However, the Green Belt is often fiercely protected by both national and local campaign groups, like the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), who often draw support from homeowners (Pennington, 2000; CPRE and Natural England, 2010; CPRE, 2015). These groups argue that the Green Belt protects the countryside, that it has environmental and recreation benefits and that the housing crisis is not caused by the lack of supply (often pointing to other factors such as under-occupation of existing stock and the mortgage market) (Munton, 1986; Sturzaker and Shucksmith, 2011) . Indeed, the argument is regularly made by both politicians and campaigners that the Green Belt is ‘sacrosanct’ and should very rarely, if ever, be built on (Kells, 2015; London Green Belt Council, 2019).

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3.2.2. PolicyThe primary purpose of the Green Belt, set out in the National Planning Policy Statement, is to ‘prevent urban sprawl’ and it has five main purposes (MHCLG, 2019, p. 40):

• To check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas;• To prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another;• To assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment;• To preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; and• To assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.

The result is currently a Metropolitan Green Belt much larger than expected by Abercombie at around 30-40 miles wide and interestingly, despite its rhetoric of deregulation, the Green Belt more than doubled in size from 720,000 to 1,650,000 hectares under the Thatcher and Major Governments (1979-1990) (Ward, 2005; Abbott, 2013, p. 13; Lund, 2017, p. 48; Mace, 2018, p. 2). Indeed, although there have been signification releases of Green Belt land for housing and other use under both Labour and Conservative Governments (until 1997 Conservative Governments tended to extend Green Belts whereas Labour largely maintained the status quo), as a policy it has remained intact and is one of the few policies that commands widespread political support (Mace et al., 2016; Sturzaker and Mell, 2016).

3.2. Geographical and Policy

3.1.1. Geographical Since 1997 the Green Belt has remained roughly the same size (1.6 million hectares) or around 13% of England’s land surface (DCLG, 2017, p. 1; MHCLG, 2019, p. 40). The largest Green Belt is the Metropolitan one around London at 516,000 hectares but the West Riding, Greater Manchester and West Midlands Green Belt all cover a significant area (between 225-250,000 hectares each) (CPRE and Natural England, 2010, p. 20). Green Belts also vary in their form with the Metropolitan and West Midlands Green Belt having a continuous/ blanket ‘circular’ form whereas the Greater Manchester and West Riding Green Belts are much more complex and ‘moth eaten’ (Elson, 1986, p. 36).

Figure 1. - Abercrombie’s Green Belt and the 1960s Green Belt (Forshaw and Abercrombie, 1943, p. 40; reproduced in Thomas, 1963, p. 19).

Figure 2. Map of the Green Belt in England (available

at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/

earth/greenpolitics/planning/9708387/

Interactive-map-Englands-green-belt.

html).

Goode, C.e.

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especially campaigners. A mixed-methods approach was employed but the project was mainly qualitative with 68 interviews overall with planners, planning stakeholders and campaigners and 2 focus groups with planners (it is the qualitative data that is explored in this paper). However, national statistics on the views of the public on Green Belt were also analysed and a questionnaire of planners in the West Midlands is being conducted.

4.1.4. Findings There are other many findings that could be outlined here, like the link between the Green Belt and the housing crisis and why people oppose development, but this paper focuses on an area of common concern across the different viewpoints- Green Belt’s geography and governance. Indeed, whilst many planners were concerned with the policy itself, the concern seemed to be greater with how it is managed as expressed by one local authority planner in the West Midlands:

‘My concern is not with the policy itself but how it is applied’

Firstly, this section briefly considers how the governance of the Green Belt has always been an historically contentious issue. It then explores how these governance and political issues have intensified since 2010 when statutory regional planning was abolished. Finally, it considers the future and conceptualises what governance arrangements and regional planning could look like.

4.1.5. HistoryMany of the issues related to the governance of Green Belt are associated with local government in England, especially local government boundaries (Hall et al., 1973; Cherry, 1982). Many of these boundaries, especially of the ‘shires’, go back to medieval times and, although the boundaries of cities extended with urbanisation, arguably these boundaries do not reflect current social and economic geography (Hall, 1973, pp. 617–622; Wannop and Cherry,

Green Belt is a national policy designation although it has a very complex geography in terms of the spatial scale at which it is managed (Mace, 2018). Nominally Green Belts are managed by local authorities, the lowest level of local government, although in certain places there is an overall strategic body or plan, such as Greater Manchester, the West of England and Greater London and increasingly local authorities are working together on ‘joint’ plans. Local authorities also have an obligation to meet their own housing needs so this creates huge challenges in ‘Green Belt areas’, especially as land can only be released from the Green Belt in ‘very special circumstances’ (MHCLG, 2019, p. 41). However, there is a ‘Duty to Cooperate’ with neighbouring local authorities because authorities in Green Belt areas often struggle to meet their own housing needs, especially as the Green Belt containing many cities lies in neighbouring authorities (Boddy and Hickman, 2018, p. 200; MHCLG, 2019, p. 10). Nevertheless, a key finding from this research has been that this ‘Duty to Cooperate’ is ineffective hence it will consider the need for more regional, strategic planning and the form that this could take.

4. ANALYSIS / RESEARCH

4.1. Scope and Methods4.1.2. Scope

Given the very polarised nature of the current Green Belt debate, this project aims to explore the views of planners and planning stakeholders and to review the Green Belt in an evidence based rather than ideological way. It aims to try to find consensus on a way forward, with similar aims to Mace et al’s (2016) project on the Metropolitan Green Belt, but looking at the wider Green Belt. Indeed, given the dominance of London and the South East in the Green Belt debate and its distinctiveness as an economy and housing market area (Martin, 2015; RTPI, 2016c), this project focuses on Green Belts in regional England, with the West Midlands as a primary case study (Yin, 2017). It takes as its starting point the inherently political nature of planning and therefore tries to develop realistic recommendations on Green Belt rather than radical solutions like abolishing or significantly reforming Green Belt which most practitioners called ‘political suicide’.

4.1.3. Methods The project therefore has two geographical foci - the national level to frame and contextualise the study and the regional level as the main focus. At each level, the views of planners and planning stakeholders were explored as well as the public,

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was a regional, strategic vision which arguably is greatly needed today too. This point was made by a RTPI planner:

‘For most of its existence (the Green Belt), there were satisfactorily strategic mechanisms in place so it’s only since 2010 that there has been no strategic planning mechanism in place.’

4.1.6. Current IssuesThe locally led nature of the English planning system has already been outlined. The Coalition Government made much of their abolition of the (supposedly) ‘Stalinist’, regional planning (Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS)) approach of New Labour (Lord and Tewdwr-Jones, 2014, p. 5) and a national Conservative politician recently justified this locally led approach towards Green Belt to me as:

‘It was never expected to be an easy ride (Duty to Cooperate) and sometimes it is difficult (and it continues to be difficult) but I think it is the right approach because the alternative is that you automatically revert to a kind of national or a very high level of regional planning by bodies that don’t have the local knowledge

1994, p. 167). Indeed, although the post-war Labour Government introduced Green Belts, it did not also deal with the thorny issue of local government boundaries (until the Redcliffe-Maud Report of 1966-69 which was subsequently largely unimplemented/ altered by the subsequent Conservative Government with the 1972 Local Government Act introducing the current two-tier system of governance) (Elson, 1986, p. 40). As Hall (1973, p. 419) reflected in Containment of Urban England, the result of this was often large, (mainly) Labour cities with limited room to ‘grow’ within their own boundaries, surrounded by (Conservative) rural ‘shires’ in which the cities’ Green Belt was contained. Moreover, partly due to the public fondness of ‘shires’, there has been limited regional planning in England both in terms of its longevity and statutory basis. Consequently, the Green Belt has often been the focus of wider political struggles and is not just about objective urban growth management. For example, the Herbert Commission (1960, p. 186) referred to Surrey County Council seeking to extend its Green Belt with the:

‘Object of ensuring that if London’s population overlaps the Green Belt, as it’s clearly doing, the emigrants shall alight, say in Hampshire or Sussex, rather than in Surrey’!

Also, in 1958, Birmingham City Council’s proposal to build an extension to its urban area in the Green Belt at Wythall, which is outside its boundaries on the Warwickshire/ Worcestershire boarder, was refused by the national Housing Minister. The planning academic, Peter Self (1962, p. xx), reflected shortly afterwards:

‘The restrictive use of Green Belts has tended to run far ahead of measures to redistribute population…The Government warmly recommended the implementation of restrictive Green Belts but it held aloof from the complex problems of urban dispersal which must be solved if Green Belts are workable’.

However, until 2010, there were regional governance arrangements in place which permitted a ‘larger-than-local’ approach to Green Belts and planning (Allmendinger and Haughton, 2012). For example, the 1964 South East Study set out areas for growth, like South Hampshire, the Blackwater Valley and the Medway Towns, and areas of restraint like the Weald and Surrey Hills (see Figure 3; Hall, 1973, p. 470; Wannop and Cherry, 1994, p. 154; Lainton, 2014). Although it is debatable today whether this was the most sustainable vision, at least there

Figure 3. The 1964 South East

Study: (from- https://andrewlainton.

wordpress.com/2014/12/18/

londons-green-belt-has-never-had-a-

proper-plan/)

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every 5 years, there was a concern that releasing Green Belt land was becoming the ‘norm’ and being driven by short termism. Finally, campaigners were anxious about Green Belt reviews being conducted by private planning consultants which they viewed as being both ‘biased’ and ‘incorrect’ through assessing individual land parcels against the five purposes rather than viewing and considering the Green Belt as a whole ‘entity’. For example:

‘There should be a strategic review of it (the Green Belt) and not by these consultants…I don’t think you can say there are specific parts that should be removed…without this whole strategic review and we haven’t had one yet’’ (Planner A from CPRE West Midlands).

‘I wouldn’t say they (a private sector planning consultancy) are completely neutral. That is the problem because they do have a lot of developers that they also work for. So, you need to get somebody that is totally impartial’ (Retired Planner B from CPRE West Midlands).

‘I think we have always accepted that there can be exceptional circumstances to overturn the Green Belt designation of a piece of land. All we would say is that those exceptional circumstances- really government policy- now is driving a coach and horses through the definition of what are exceptional circumstances’ (Retired Planner C from CPRE West Midlands)

Although in one sense this current set up is creating plenty of business for private planning consultants (Raynesford Review, 2018; Slade, Gunn and Schoneboom, 2019), most were very concerned and frustrated with the current planning system. Their main concerns seemed to be centred on the failure of the ‘Duty to Cooperate’ to produce strategic, joint working on the Green Belt and the view that locally led planning is fuelling parochialism and reactive/ defensive behaviour among local authorities, mainly due

that LPAs have. So, I think it is the right approach and of course the Green Belt is always one of the issues of greatest contention within that’.

However, although these arguments may sound noble in theory, the reality is that planning for city-regional is inevitably ‘larger-than-local’, especially given the interconnectedness of housing markets and their commuter, sometimes rural, hinterlands (Breheny and Rookwood, 1993; Gant, Robinson and Fazal, 2011). For example, a planner in a focus group at David Lock Associates explained:

‘Regional planning should be that you make a broad decision about where the location of development should be. So the actual decision is made at a regional level (but)...it’s not as complicated as an RSS’.

The Green Belt in particular is a regional growth management policy that arguably needs to be looked at as a whole rather than in each local authority area. As the RTPI Planner put it:

‘So it’s the London Green Belt, it’s not the Brentwood Green Belt! So, yes, we would argue that, if there is a need to reconsider Green Belt boundaries, it must happen at the level of the entire Green Belt whether it’s the London one or the West Midlands one’.

Parochialism and ownership of the Green Belt by campaigners is a big issue that planners have to deal with but it seems to be compounded by the locally led nature of English planning as this local authority planner in the South East explained:

‘Every single one of the responses on our consultation, well most of them, will be on the Green Belt, and every single one of them will use the phrase, ‘we don’t want our Green Belt to be plundered. I don’t mind the next borough’s Green Belt, fine for them, it doesn’t matter, but our Green Belt will always remain untouchable’. Well it is not our Green Belt really so it is not for us, it is not for our community. It is to stop the urban sprawl and it is the Metropolitan Green Belt and so it is a regional issue.’

Indeed, the lack of a regional, strategic approach seems to be causing campaigners widespread concern because they viewed the Green Belt as being released incrementally in a piecemeal way, or, as they put it ‘nibbled away’, due to current locally led approach. Moreover, because local plans tend to be reviewed

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He then helpfully outlined that the locally led planning system had intensified this ‘dilemma’:

‘Strategic planning is something that the system needs…because inevitably when you are making big controversial decisions, you are all going to be affected to a greater or lesser extent by that decision and you are going to be lobbied by people who live in the district, it is very difficult to make difficult decisions’.

Finally, a very recent development which has ongoing and will have future implications for the Green Belt is the May 2019 Local Elections (Branson, 2019). There is now tremendous pressure on local authorities by central government to produce local plans so a number of Conservative councils have recently adopted plans with significant Green Belt release in order to be found ‘sound’ (in accordance with policy by the Planning Inspectorate) (Boddy and Hickman, 2018, p. 208). Although these were arguably politically brave decisions, the result has been a significant political backlash with the Conservatives losing overall control of councils in places like Tandridge, South Oxfordshire and Guildford primarily due to opposition to these local plans by Resident Groups and the Liberal Democrats. It remains to be seen how far the new leadership of these local authorities is able to change and reduce the amount of Green Belt development but it clearly demonstrates the very political nature of Green Belt as the same planner reflected:

‘Planning is as much about politics as it is about anything else and it is how you weigh up what is more important. Is it putting development in the most sustainable place or is it protecting the Green Belt?...You can’t protect the Green Belt and put development in the most sustainable place. Some things have got to give and that is the political choice’.

to fierce but unrepresentative opposition by campaigners, rather than local authorities proactively and positively planning for housing ‘need’ (in particular ‘attempts’ to lower housing numbers and minimise Green Belt release were highlighted) (see quotes below). The increasingly political nature of Green Belt, especially the contradictions in national government policy and national political interventions, were also highlighted although some felt that the Government deliberately avoided getting involved with/ reforming the Green Belt for political reasons with one planning academic critically reflecting on academic literature about the Government creating ‘fuzzy spaces’ (see Allmendinger and Haughton (2012, p. 94) for the paper referring to ‘fuzzy’ spaces):

‘One way of understanding the localism is…fuzzy spaces whereas the question is- is there is a conscious effort of the government to disrupt the pre-existing interest groups that were around at the time of more formal regional planning structures? I am not entirely convinced by that but I can see there is an argument in there…So what it is a very centralised form of localism and…Duty to Cooperate is a sort of way of solving some of the problems which emerge out of a system which central government want instead of a centralised localism’

‘I think that bigger than local planning in the Midlands is atrocious…there is a shortage in Birmingham of 38,000 homes and I see absolutely no evidence whatsoever of them (the local authorities) resolving the problem to be perfectly honest’ (Planner from the housebuilding industry)

There is ‘very profound NIMBYism in our planning system...to change the planning structure…(we could) remove it somewhat from local control and move it up to levels where NIMBYism is likely to be less powerful and that would involve obviously going to regional or even national levels (Financial Journalist)

Another point made was that councillors or elected members often, perhaps inevitably, make planning decisions based on political calculations rather than on evidence, planning reasons or officer recommendations. This was helpfully contextualised by a planner from Savills (giving his individual view) who outlined the ‘dilemma’ regarding Green Belt:

‘You have a political choice and which is more important protecting the Green Belt or putting development in a sustainable place?’

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• It must include representation by a wide range of interests – conservation and environmental bodies as well as developers.• It must examine the strategic purpose of the Green Belt in question besides its geographical extent, for the two things go together. • It must examine possible deletions from the Green Belt and possible additions to it on an equal footing. There must be equal potential for either change.• It must examine possible deletions from the Green Belt and possible additions to it on an equal footing. There must be equal potential for either change

Source: Letter from Jean Walters MRTPI to Andy Street, Mayor West Midlands Combined Authority (2018)- quoted with permission.

These viewpoints, especially around the longevity of Green Belt release, are reflected in a number of statements by campaigners including:

‘It is not supposed to be ossified and to last forever which is not to say you should go to the other extreme and feel you can change it at the drop of a hat, any time you choose. There is a middle way which says, let’s have a strong Green Belt policy but let’s be prepared to review the extent of the Green Belt every, I don’t like to put a figure on it, but say every thirty years or something like that. But we are so far away from that now’ (Retired Planner B working for CPRE West Midlands).

‘You do really need to do a Green Belt strategy review in a comprehensive way over the whole region and I don’t think it should be left up to individual councils to do this’. (Retired Planner C working for CPRE West Midlands).

A crucial issue therefore seems to be process alongside the actual planning outcomes on Green Belt. Indeed, a

4.2. Green Belts and Governance: Future Steps4.2.1. The Importance of Process in Planning

There seems to now be a consensus that a more strategic, larger-than-local form of planning is needed but this does not necessarily mean that planners are advocating a return to the comprehensive RSS’s of New Labour. To be fair, Richard Bacon, a Conservative MP, has recently recognised that we need a ‘larger-than-local’ planning although he said that he did not want to see a return to the ‘artificial’ scale of the RSS (Goode, 2019). Likewise, a national private sector planner interviewed said:

‘The previous regional planning system...got too big. We need simple sub regional and city wide planning statements’

A planner interviewed at the Home Builders Federation also passionately made the case for a regional blueprint or plan by referring to the history of Green Belt:

‘The positive bit was that you had growth areas outside that (Green Belt)…They split the hinterland of London into areas and they had various growth areas.The most famous one was Area 6, which was down the Thames valley, Reading, Woking and Bracknell…we wanted to provide houses for people who had to move out of London because (London) was constrained’

He continued to reflect on the future:

‘There is no regional planning and there is no discussion between all the people who are affected by what is a blanket policy, so, a strategic policy like Green Belt should surely be sorted out at a strategic level and yet we don’t have a strategic level of planning with which to do it’.

Interestingly, although often passionately disagreeing with the need for Green Belt release, campaigners acknowledged that, if Green Belt land is going to be released, they would prefer it to be as part of a longer term strategic release. For example, at the London Plan Examination in Public Green Belt session, Richard Knox-Johnston, Chairman of CPRE Kent, argued that, in the event of a Review, it should be strategic review of the whole Metropolitan Green Belt (Goode, 2019). Likewise, in the West Midlands, CPRE campaigner Jean Walters has set out criteria for a Green Belt should one take place:

• ‘It must be steered by a body without a vested interest in development;

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However, there are issues with each of these options. Where planning powers have been granted to Combined Authorities, like Greater Manchester or strategic planning bodies, like Greater London, Green Belt release has been just as controversial (Haughton, 2017) and, of course, Combined Authorities (like the West Midlands) do not necessarily cover the whole Green Belt area. Moreover, for some Combined Authority Mayors, like the West Midlands, getting planning powers would be too politically sensitive for bodies that rely upon voluntary cooperation (Bounds, 2019). Reassembling voluntary networks would probably be more straightforward and, not being statutory, some interviewees have argued that much more can be achieved, especially when relying on good will. However, if they are more straightforward to set up, it also begs the question as to why the current Government has not reassembled them. Additionally, as with the Duty to Cooperate, sometimes issues like Green Belt are so controversial that they do require statutory steer. As a Principal Planner at a private sector built environment consultancy said:

‘I think it’s for national government to make a change for the better…in terms of coming up with a structure, whatever that might be, for regionally working out what to do in the South East’.

This leaves the option of a Green Belt ‘Council’ or body. As can be seen with national parks, such a model can be effective, long-lasting and command the confidence of campaigners, developers and the general public. It also would give the unique governance possibility of covering the whole Green Belt and taking strategic decisions for the long term. Indeed, the idea of Single Joint Expert group to make decisions on the Green Belt has recently been argued for by Christopher Young, a leading planning QC, although Young envisaged that this would be led by private sector whilst this paper argues for a more mixed body (Young, 2019). As the Principal Planner also argued:

number of retired planners made the very strong point about the importance of professional forums and networks in which housing and Green Belt issues could be openly discussed. These networks were also sometimes voluntary like such as the Regional Chief Planning Officers Group, the Regional Planning Officers Group and the West Midlands Forum described by a retired planner at Worcestershire County Council (see also: Roberts, Thomas and Williams, 1999, p. 99):

‘It was a voluntary grouping, but they felt this was a way of mutually discussing the region’s planning issues at the time’

4.2.2. Moving Forward Together on Green BeltDrawing these various points together, it seems that the key criteria for a strategic approach on Green Belt involves:

4.2.3. What kind of body would this involve?There seems to be three broad answers to this (particularly in relation to the West Midlands):

1. Grant planning powers to all Combined Authorities to conduct Green Belt reviews.2. Reassemble the voluntary, professional networks like the Regional Chief Planning Officers Group, West Midlands Forum and Regional Planning Officers Group. 3. Create a new pan-Green Belt expert body or council, like the national parks, to manage the Green Belt on behalf of the local authorities. This would be composed of both local/ regional politicians alongside experts from developer, planning, campaign and legal backgrounds.

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governance arrangements. This paper has argued that this arrangement could potentially involve a new expert body and sets out some potential criteria for its purpose and operation- that it would manage the whole Green Belt for the long term and would have to command the confidence of both campaigners (and the general public) alongside developers. Ensuring that it is composed of both politicians and experts would give it democratic legitimacy and take it out of the immediate political cycle. Indeed, a key aim of this paper and indeed of planning theory, is not just be critical of the current planning system but suggest viable alternatives. Now that this has been done in this project, it is ultimately up to politicians to decide how they would like a 21st century Green Belt to be managed.

REFERENCES Abbott, L. (2013) Political Barriers to Housebuilding in Britain. Manchester: Industrial Systems Research. Abercrombie, L. P. (1945) Greater London Plan 1944. London: HMSO. Allmendinger, P. and Haughton, G. (2011) ‘Challenging Localism’, Town and Country Planning, 80(7/8), pp. 314–317. Allmendinger, P. and Haughton, G. (2012) ‘Post-political spatial planning in England: A crisis of consensus?’, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 37, pp. 89–103. Amati, M. (2007) ‘From a blanket to a patchwork: The practicalities of reforming the London green belt’, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 50(5), pp. 579–594. Amati, M. (ed.) (2008) Urban Green Belts in the Twenty-First Century. London: Ashgate. Amati, M. and Taylor, L. (2010) ‘From green belts to green infrastructure’, Planning Practice and Research, 25(2), pp. 143–155. Amati, M. and Yokohari, M. (2007) ‘The Establishment of the London Greenbelt: Reaching Consensus over Purchasing Land’, Journal of Planning History, 6(4), pp. 311–337. Birch, J. (2019) Theresa May believes in a change of direction - but will Johnson or Hunt pay any attention?, Inside Housing. Available at:https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/comment/theresa-may-believes-in-a-change-of-direction--but-will-johnson-or-hunt-pay-any-attention-62077 (Accessed: 3 July 2019). Boddy, M. and Hickman, H. (2013) ‘The demise of strategic planning? The impact of the abolition of Regional Spatial Strategy in a growth region’, Town Planning Review, 84(6), pp. 743–768.

‘There needs to be a body which reflects the area that needs to be reviewed…So, it is how you go about doing that when the Metropolitan Green Belt extends so far outside London and, I think realistically (and also to be effective), any strategic body needs to take that really broad strategic view of the whole of the area that it could encompass and the next bit’.

Likewise, a planner at a national house builder also argued:

‘So, it is basically lift it (the Green Belt) and review what you want for a longer period. Fifteen years or five years as now in local planning is not enough- not when you are imposing something of this magnitude. Do that- be really ambitious but realistic’.

Of course, such a body would not be unproblematic, especially regarding democratic legitimacy, as one public sector planner explained very bluntly when I put the idea of a Green Belt ‘council’ to him:

‘I am not sure, I don’t know. I think it is probably introducing more uncertainty. Let’s be simple, let’s go back to, whether it was the good old days or the bad old days, with the regional planning and let’s make a decision’

However, it is also clear that the current locally led planning system is not working so it is important to consider other possibilities and perhaps thinking differently and with more vision about how a 21st century Green Belt can be successfully managed.

5. CONCLUSION

Planning clearly involves balancing different interests and making difficult decisions, especially the ‘dilemma’ over meeting housing need and protecting the local environment (Short, Witt and Fleming, 1987). As the strongest protection against development, this dilemma is often most challenging regarding Green Belt and this paper has explored both the governance process and spatial scale at which Green Belt ‘dilemma’ should be resolved. Indeed, the political nature of Green Belt, which has been explored in both the past and present, constrains alternative possibilities for the Green Belt but it is clear that the current governance arrangement or largely resolving the dilemma at the local level is not working. Indeed, this justifies the necessity of conceptualising alternative feasible

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Haughton, G. (2017) Learning from the draft Greater Manchester Spatial Framework Process, Manchester Policy Blog. Available at: http://blog.policy.manchester.ac.uk/posts/2017/09/learning-from-the-draft-greater-manchester-spatial-framework-process/ (Accessed: 3 July 2019). Herbert Commission (1960) Royal Commisson on LocalGovernment in Greater London. London: Royal Commission. Herington, J. (1990) Beyond Green Belts: Managing Urban Growth in the 21st Century. Second. London: Regional Studies Association- Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Hilber, C. A. L. and Vermeulen, W. (2014) ‘The Impact of Supply Constraints on House Prices in England’, Economic Journal, 126, pp. 358–405. Kells, G. (2015) Green Belts At Threat. London. Kilroy, J. (2017) Better Planning for Housing Affordability. London. Lainton, A. (2014) London’s Green Belt has never had a Proper Plan, Decisions, Decisions, Decisions. Available at: https://andrewlainton.wordpress.com/2014/12/18/londons-green-belt-has-never-had-a-proper-plan/ (Accessed: 3 July 2019). Lloyd, M. G. and Peel, D. (2007) ‘Green belts in Scotland: Towards the modernisation of a traditional concept?’, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 50(5), pp. 639–656. London Green Belt Council (2019) Further Serious Loss of London ’ s Green Belt- ‘ Safe Under Us ?’ – Two Years On. Available at: http://londongreenbeltcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Further-serious-loss-of-LGB.pdf (Accessed: 30 January 2019). Longley, P. et al. (1992) ‘Do Green Belts Change the Shape of Urban Areas? A Preliminary Analysis of the Settlement Geography of South East England’, Regional Studies, 26(5), pp. 437–452. Lord, A. and Tewdwr-Jones, M. (2014) ‘Is Planning “Under Attack”? Chronicling the Deregulation of Urban and Environmental Planning in England’, European Planning Studies, 22(2), pp. 345–361. Lord, A. and Tewdwr-Jones, M. (2018) ‘Getting the Planners Off Our Backs: Questioning the Post-Political Nature of English Planning Policy’, Planning Practice and Research. Routledge, 34(3), pp. 1–15. Lund, B. (2017) Housing Politics in the United Kingdom. Bristol: Policy Press. Mace, A. et al. (2016) A 21st Century Metropolitan Green Belt. London. Mace, A. (2017) Beward of the new justifications for the green belt: what we need is a new approach, LSE British Politics and Policy . Available at: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/beware-new-justifications-for-green-belt-what-we-need-is-a-new-approach/ (Accessed: 15 January 2018). Mace, A. (2018) ‘The Metropolitan Green Belt: Changing An Institution’, Progress in Planning, 121, pp. 1–28. Manns, J. (2014) Green Sprawl: Our Current Affection for a Preservation Myth ? London: London Society.

Boddy, M. and Hickman, H. (2018) ‘“Between a Rock and a Hard Place”: Planning Reform, Localism and the Role of the Planning Inspectorate in England’, Planning Theory and Practice. Routledge, 19(2), pp. 198–217. Bounds, A. (2019) Heseltine Urges Greater Powers for England’s Metro Mayors, Financial Times. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/b31a726c-9c17-11e9-b8ce-8b459ed04726 (Accessed: 8 July 2019). Branson, A. (2019) What the local elections results mean for planning, Planning Resource. Available at: https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1583982/local-election-results-mean-planning (Accessed: 3 July 2019). Breheny, M. (1997) ‘Urban compaction: feasible and acceptable?’, Cities, 97(4), pp. 209–217. Breheny, M. and Rookwood, R. (1993) ‘Planning the Sustainable City Region’, in Blowers, A. (ed.) Planning for a Sustainable Environment. London: Earthscan, pp. 150–189. Cherry, G. E. (1982) Politics of Town Planning. London: Longman. Cherry, G. E. (1996) Town Planning in Britain Since 1900. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Cheshire, P. (2013) Greenbelt myth is the driving force behind the housing crisis, LSE Blogs. Available at: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/greenbelt-myth-is-the-driving-force-behind-housing-crisis/ (Accessed: 31 July 2018). Cheshire, P. (2014a) ‘Decent Housing or Rigid Greenbelts?’, in Manns, J. (ed.) Kaleidoscope City: Reflections on Planning and London. London: Colliers International and the RTPI, pp. 153–161. Cheshire, P. (2014b) Where should we build on the Greenbelt?, London School of Economics. Available at: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/building-on-greenbelt-land/ (Accessed: 15 January 2018). Corlett, A. and Judge, L. (2017) Home affront: Housing across the generations. London. CPRE (2015) Green Belt myths: CPRE’s guide to what you need to know. London . CPRE and Natural England (2010) Green Belts: a greener future A joint report by CPRE and Natural England Green Belts in England. London. DCLG (2017) Local Planning Authority Green Belt: England 2016/17. London. doi: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/642684/Green_Belt_Statistics_England_2016-17.pdf. Elson, M. (1986) Green Belts: Conflict Mediation in the Urban Fringe. London: Meinemann. Gallent, N. et al. (2019) ‘Prioritising local housing needs through land-use planning in rural areas: Political theatre or amenity protection?’, Journal of Rural Studies. Elsevier, 66(January), pp. 11–20. Gallent, N. (2019) Whose Housing Crisis?: Assets and Homes in a Changing Economy. Bristol: Policy Press. Gallent, N., Bianconi, M. and Andersson, J. (2006) ‘Planning on the edge: England’s rural - Urban fringe and the spatial-planning agenda’, Environment and Behavior B: Planning and Design, 33(3), pp. 457–476. Gant, R. L., Robinson, G. M. and Fazal, S. (2011) ‘Land-use change in the “edgelands”: Policies and pressures in London’s rural-urban fringe’, Land Use Policy, 28(1), pp. 266–279. Goode, C. E. (2019) ‘Green Belts, Geography and Governance’, InPerspective, (Summer 2019), pp. 9–10. Hall, P. et al. (1973) The Containment of Urban England Volume One. London: PEP. Hall, P. (1973) The Containment of Urban England Volume One. London: PEP. Hall, P. (2012) Urban and Regional Planning. London: Routledge. Harrison, G. and Clifford, B. (2016) ‘“The field of grain is gone; It’s now a Tesco Superstore”: representations of “urban” and “rural” within historical and contemporary discourses opposing urban expansion in England’, Planning Perspectives, 31(4), pp. 585–609.

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Martin, R. (2015) ‘Rebalancing the spatial economy: The challenge for regional theory’, Territory, Politics, Governance, 3(3), pp. 235–272. MHCLG (2019) National Planning Policy Framework. London: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Miller, M. (1992) Raymond Unwin: Garden Cities and Town Planning. Leicester: Leicester University Press. Monbiot, G. et al. (2019) Land For The Many. London: The Labour Party. Munton, R. (1986) ‘Green Belts: The end of an era?’, Geography, 71(3), pp. 206–214. Pennington, M. (2000) Planning and the Political Market: Public Choice and the Politics of Government Failure. London: Athlone Press. Raynesford Review (2018) Planning 2020: Interim Report of the Raynsford Review. London. Roberts, P., Thomas, K. and Williams, G. (eds) (1999) Metropolitan Planning in Britain: A Comparative Study. Abingdon: Routledge. Royal Town Planning Institute (2015) Building in the green belt? A report into commuting patterns in the Metropolitan green belt. London. Royal Town Planning Institute (2016a) RTPI’s 16 Ways to Address the Housing Crisis: #RTPI16Ways. Available at: http://www.rtpi.org.uk/briefing-room/news-releases/2016/november/rtpi’s-16-ways-to-address-the-housing-crisis-rtpi16ways/ (Accessed: 19 October 2017). Royal Town Planning Institute (2016b) Where should we build new homes? RTPI Policy Statement. London. Scott, A. J. et al. (2013) ‘Disintegrated development at the rural-urban fringe: Re-connecting spatial planning theory and practice’, Progress in Planning, 83, pp. 1–52. Self, P. (1962) ‘Introduction- The Green Belt Idea’, in Long, J. (ed.) The Wythall Inquiry. London: Town and Country Planning Association, pp. vii–xxi. Short, J. R., Witt, S. and Fleming, S. (1987) ‘Conflict and Compromise in the Built Environment: Housebuilding in Central Berkshire’, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 12(1), pp. 29–42. Slade, D., Gunn, S. and Schoneboom, A. (2019) Serving the Public Interest. London: Royal Town Planning Institute. Sturzaker, J. and Mell, I. C. (2016) Green Belts: Past, Present and Future. Abingdon: Routledge. Sturzaker, J. and Shucksmith, M. (2011) ‘Planning for housing in rural England: Discursive power and spatial exclusion’, Town Planning Review, 82(2), pp. 169–194.Thomas, D. (1963) ‘London’s Green Belt: The Evolution of an Idea’, The Geographical Journal, 129(1), pp. 14–24. Wannop, U. and Cherry, G. E. (1994) ‘The development of regional planning in the United Kingdom’, Planning Perspectives, 9(1), pp. 29–60. Ward, S. V. (2005) ‘Consortium Developments Ltd and the failure of “new country towns” in Mrs Thatcher’s Britain’, Planning Perspectives, 20(3), pp. 329–359. Wolf, M. (2015) The solution to England’s housing crisis lies in the green belt, Financial Times. Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f5b26d8a-ac59-11e4-9d32-00144feab7de.html#axzz3ua73wCNr (Accessed: 6 February 2018). Yin, R. K. (2017) Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Sixth. London: Sage. Yokohari, M. et al. (2000) ‘Beyond greenbelts and zoning: A new planning concept for the environment of Asian mega-cities’, Urban Ecology: An International Perspective on the Interaction Between Humans and Nature, 47, pp. 783–796. Young, C. (2019) Green Belt: Time For A Rethink, LinkedIn. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/green-belt-time-rethink-christopher-young-qc/ (Accessed: 8 July 2019).

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LONDON’S GREEN EDGE – THE EFFECT OF GREEN BELT POLICY ON LONDON

Charlotte MorphetMA (Dist), MRTPI, Principal Policy Planner, London Borough of Waltham Forestcharlotte.morphet@outlook.com

Oliver Norman MSc. Policy Planner, London Borough of Waltham Forestoliver.norman@walthamforest.gov.uk

TITLE

authors

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Morphet, C., norMan, o.

Charlotte Morphet is chartered Planner with nearly 10 years’ experience across public, private and not for profit organisations. She holds MA in Planning and Sustainability from Kingston University, and a BA in Art History from the University of Manchester. Charlotte is currently a principal policy planner for the London Borough of Waltham Forest where she is working on developing a 15-year plan for the municipality with a focus on housing and culture. Prior to this she was a Senior Consultant Knowledge and Information at planning consultant Turley where she led on policy research and analysis particularly with a focus on planning law and legislation, as well as combined authorities. Charlotte has a keen interest in developing policy and research outside of work. Recently she published “Who’s Leading Planning? How Many Women Are Working in Leadership Roles in Private Sector Planning Consultancy?” for Women in Planning, a network she co-founded. When previously chair of RTPI London, she led on the development of Mayoral Asks for the London Mayoral election in 2016. Charlotte is a member of the TCPA, sits on the RTPI General Assembly and a trustee for the Planning Officers Society, chairing its young people’s network NOVUS.

Oliver Norman is an early career Planner with nearly 2 years’ experience working in the public sector. He has an MSc in Regional and Urban Planning Studies, and a BA in Geography, both from the London School of Economics. Currently working at the London Borough of Waltham Forest as a planning policy officer, Oliver’s remit includes information and monitoring, and he has a keen interest in the application of technology to planning. He recently led a successful bid to secure funding through the GovTech Catalyst challenge fund for a project improving the monitoring ofhousing delivery.

biographies

MorphetCharlotte

NormanOliver

The Metropolitan Green Belt (MGB), has long provided a limit to the city, recognised as one of the physical edges of London, pre-dating London’s current administrative boundary. The function of the MGB has been to put a stop to the growth of the built-up urban settlement of London encroaching on the countryside to its periphery. This imposition of a boundary for development, the institution of a definitive ‘edge’ to London, has had many consequences - some intended, others less so. However, much of the legislation that came with MGB has been lost, for example New Towns –with, it could be argued, much of its original purpose. The MGB has also grown beyond Greater London, and in some areas covering much of authorities on the edge of London, such as Sevenoaks District Council. The paper will trace the impacts of the MGB - what social, economic, environmental and cultural consequences is it having. It will consider reasons for its continued existence and ‘first among equals status’ as planning policy, and its whether that meets and the effects which it can be seen to be having today – if not, why not and should it be reformed.The paper draws on the example of London Borough of Waltham Forest. Through analysis of the changing characteristics and pressures experienced in London’s outer edge, we advance a case for thinking regionally, and relationally with respect to addressing the key issues facing the city today.

ABSTRACT

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The designation of Green Belt (and in particular the originary Green Belt, the Metropolitan Green Belt) has been one of the most publicly debated policies in the history of the English planning system. It has been argued that this is in part down to its durability; for the better part of 90 years, since its institution in the 1930s and expansion through Abercrombie’s 1944 Greater London Plan, the Green Belt has had its advocates and its detractors. This paper explores whether there is space in the Green Belt debate to discuss what effect it has had on places on its edge or engulfed within in it. This paper focuses on London at its Metropolitan Green Belt which provides a physical edge to the city and the wider south east. The article is primarily a desk-based study, reviewing both academic articles and practice-based research. There have been limited interviews with academics and practitioners to supplement analysis of literature and some visits to parts of the Metropolitan Green Belt.

2. CONTEXT

England’s Green Belt is a national planning urban containment policy which is legis-lated locally by district and borough authorities through spatial strategies called local plans. England’s green belt currently makes up

1. INTRODUCTION

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by also sets parame-ters for when development may come forward in the Green Belt – known as very spe-cial circumstances – which are different from the exceptional circumstances in which Green Belt boundaries may be changed. These very special circumstances set out in the NPPF are considered when a plan-ning application is submitted for development on Green Belt land. The NPPF states that “‘Very special circumstances’ will not exist unless the potential harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm resulting from the proposal, is clearly outweighed by other considerations.” (MHCLG: 2019). There are also excep-tions to the policy and the following development is consider appropriate within the Green Belt e.g. agriculture and forestry. Other development can be considered appro-priate where it preserves the openness of the Green Belt and does not conflict with its purposes e.g. mineral extractions and engineering operations. The Green Belt policy set out in the NPPF is not easy to navigate. As Mace (2017) de-scribes it, the English planning system “is a ‘case-by-case’ system that rests heavily on the weighing of material considerations to arrive at a decision” meaning that the Eng-lish planning system is discretionary. Steele et al (2012), describes the discretionary system as being one with flexible and objective decision-making which is responsive to individual circumstances but that is decision-making is uncertain, inconsistent and arbitrary. The Mayor of London’s currently adopted London Plan and Draft London Plan also support the Green Belt policy and retaining it around the city. This double protection leads many to argue that the Green Belt is sacrosanct. In London it is joined by its sis-ter designation, Metropolitan Open Land (MOL), which is afforded the same planning policy weight within the London Plan. In some parts of London, such as the Lea Valley Regional Park – land can be designated as both MOL and MGB. However, the Mayor does not have any authority to create or review the MGB Green Belt boundaries.

approximately 12.5 per cent of its’ land area - the equivalent of 1,629,510 hectares. However, Papworth (2015) states that an official map of England’s Green Belt is not easily available from the Government. The National Planning Policy Framework (MHCLG, 2019) sets out the policy for Eng-land’s Green Belt. In the NPPF the Government’s opening gambit on green belt is ‘pro-tect…’ and attach ‘great importance to the Green Belt’ (MHCLG, 2019). Government sees the Green Belt as serving five purposes:

‘a) to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas;b) to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another;c) to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment;d) to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; ande) to assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.”

(MHCLG, 2019)

Despite the policy being set at a national level the establishment and review of Green Belt boundaries is administrated at local level, even in London where the Mayor has regional planning powers. As Mace (2017) points out “The MGB touches on 68 differ-ent planning authorities (including 18 separate London Boroughs)”.Still limited power is given at the local level and the NPPF states that “The general ex-tent of Green Belts across the country is already established” and that “New Green Belts should only be established in exceptional circumstances” in a plan-led way with full evidence and justification, with a further five criterion:

“a) demonstrate why normal planning and development management policies would not be adequate;b) set out whether any major changes in circumstances have made the adop-tion of this exceptional measure necessary;c) show what the consequences of the proposal would be for sustainable de-velopment;d) demonstrate the necessity for the Green Belt and its consistency with strate-gic policies for adjoining areas; ande) show how the Green Belt would meet the other objectives of the Framework.’

(MHCLG, 2019)

Within this policy it seems there are contradictory views – to support the Green Belt as a positive policy but not to let it grow anymore as that could have negative effects. To ensure sustainable development but only within in the confines of the Green Belt poli-cy. The NPPF, it could be argued then confuses matters further

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4. RESEARCH

Through an analysis of some of the key grounds of the stalled debates we look to a place-based approach as a possible way forward.

History The landmark moments in the evolution of the green belt can be summarised as follows.The earliest initiated green belt can be traced to Queen Elizabeth I, back in 1580 (Manns, 2014). In this version no new development was allowed within 3 miles, (later extended to 7 or 10 miles), and justified on the grounds of health. It was also roundly ignored (Evans, 1999, p.1640). The modern green belt idea begins in earnest in the 19th Century. Early proposals for the green belt could seem concerned singularly with the improvement of conditions and access to green space. Loudon’s green wedges, Lord Meath’s Park Ways, and William Bull’s ‘park belt’ all have this at their core. A number of schemes were proposed in the early 20th Century, such by as the Unwin-led plan of the Greater London Regional Planning Committee (Kim, 2012). The London County Council green belt scheme (1935) was a landmark moment, enabling authorities to acquire land to secure it against development and provide area of open space and recreation (Thomas, 1963). Abercrombie’s green belt (of the Greater London Plan) would be achieved by controlling the actions of the owners of land, with the 1947 Act appointing local planning authorities with wide ranging powers and essentially nationalising the right to develop land. Between 1954 and 1958 the counties surrounding London all had development plans approved, and thus the green belt was given more formal standing (Thomas, 1963, p.20).The green belt policy and designation as known today was set out by Minister Duncan Sandys in the 1950s. Sandys invited local planning authorities to consider establishing green belts in Circular 42/55 in 1955. This circular set

In addition, the Green Belt designations are assessed by Local Authorities via Green Belt Reviews. Green Belt Reviews are evidenced based documents which support a Local Plan approach. Typically, Green Belt Reviews assess each parcel of land within a local authorities Green Belt area against the five purposes set out in the NPPF. Land that does not meet one of these five purposes is then may be appropriate to designate the land as Green Belt, meaning that development may be allowed on it. In Local Plans there will sometimes be local policy which reaffirms the national and regional policy on Green Belt. Green Belt policy is difficult to navigate at every level of governance – national, re-gional and local. The NPPF exposes the conflict within Green Belt policy – protect the Green Belt, but no more Green Belt, and development in some circumstances – which can be hard to explain to communities, politicians and other stakeholders. What the NPPF demonstrates it that the Green Belt is the not black and white urban containment zone which it is sometimes painted as.

3. SUBJECT DESCRIPTION

Research and discussion on the Green Belt, and in particular the MGB, has been circling around some of the same issues now for over 40 years (Mace, 2017). It could be argued that assessment of the Green Belt policy is not assisted by having a highly complicated and conflicting policy framework.In addition, the challenge with such a polarised debate is the potential scale at which it is focused. On the one hand Green Belt discussion can be very macro level – considering the wider city region of Greater London and its hinterland. This is a scale that not all stakeholders may be able to grapple with or relate to. On the other hand, the discussion can be very micro. Communities can encounter Green Belt policy when planning applications are submitted for sites, which affect their immediate space at a hyper local level, leading to arguments frequently parsed as NIMBY/YIMBY. Cumulative effects of these micro-level interactions are then usually considered at a macrolevel – how many planning appeals have been allowed for development in the Green Belt across England – rather than analyses of the effects that proposed development may have on a district/ borough or a collection of nearby places. The issue this presents is lack of understanding of how places and people are directly affected in the sub regional scale, local authority level or village/ town. Since the debates have not advanced materially in the last 40 years, taking an alternative resolution on the matter may be able to provide a basis for new insights and foundation for moving the green belt debates forward.

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Contemporary DebatesPeter Hall considered in 1974 that ‘containment [through green belt policy] is a success for British post-war planning in terms of its own objectives’ (p.403). We must however expand our vision of success to incorporate more than simply the stated aims of the policy. In the next breath, Hall goes on to tell in the next breath that, ‘the most important factor... has probably been soaring land prices’, and so, ‘[containment] can hardly be regarded as an unambiguous triumph of the planning system’ (ibid.). Opening the scope of our evaluation from the stated aims of the policy, to consider the broader implications of the policy, this section considers two of the marquee topics of debate within the broader green belt discussions.

Housing (land) pricesOne of the most prominent reasons given in favour of reforming green belt policy is the impact of green belt as a constraint on supply of land. By reducing the supply of land available to be developed, there is an increase in the price of land, and concomitantly in the price of housing. This has been observed for well over 50 years, Hall (et al.) noting in 1973 that there has been an increase in the proportion of total cost of housing attributable to land, from 4-12% in 1960 to 18-38% in 1970 (Hall, 1974, p.405). Pairing this constraint with the observed fact that the price elasticity of supply is incredibly inelastic in the South East (Barker, 2004), it is not difficult to see why the housing crisis has continued to build in severity. Any system of land use planning is going to introduce some element of constraint to supply, but London’s green belt in particular is singled out as an egregious example.Quite aside from the immediate effect of increasing prices (Cheshire, et al., 2014), and ‘unnecessarily increasing density’ (Brueckner, 2000), the cost of housing is seen to be undermining London’s competitiveness, with ¾ of businesses surveyed in 2013 warning that they considered it a significant risk to continued economic growth in the capital (London First & Turner and Townsend, 2014).

out the purposes of the green belt, which have not changed much beyond the current NPPF purposes. The policy shifted away from its original environmental purposes. Mace (et al: 2016) describes that the Minister and Government did not require the land to be green or particularly attractive – the purpose was to stop urban development.Very little has changed since. There was a perceived change in policy in 1983, a draft Circular seen to indicate a more liberal approach. This was withdrawn, and an additional purpose to the green belt included in the revised Circular (14/84), adding the aim of assisting in urban regeneration to the established criteria (Elson, 1986). Since the addition of the aim of assisting in urban regeneration, the only other change to the purposes was to add a fifth, that of assisting in ‘safeguarding the countryside from encroachment’ in Planning Policy Guidance in 1995 (PPG2 Green Belt), which can now be found in a more concise form in the NPPF. Rather than an extensive historical analysis, we would like simply to note a few key points which will frame what follows. Two key figures in the development of the green belt idea, Howard and Unwin, began as rather radical figures, but in the pursuit of seeking funding and broader support for their ideas, so that they might be implemented, both modified some of the purpose and amended the scope of their visions. As much as it was a moral movement, with the key figures all expressing their distain for the edges of the modern city, an ‘irregular fringe of suburb…and half-spoiled country’ (Unwin, 1909, p.156), it was also aligned to a popular pragmatism about relieving overcrowding in a cost-effective manner. Abercrombie’s Greater London Plan, as archetypal of the kind of ‘blueprint land use plans of the early post-war years’ (Graham and Healey, 1999, p.636), exhibits strongly a managerial worldview which holds that planners are powerful agents of spatial change, to the extent that they actually control change (ibid.). The pre-war drift [in the economy] from depressed areas and other places of low prosperity to South-East England and London [would] not be permitted to continue (Robson, 1945, p.113). Hall traces a ‘lacana’ in Abercombie’s thinking back to his involvement in the Barlow Commission, where the patterns of land use are seen to be entirely controllable by planners, with some notion of a steady-state taking hold once planners’ have made their interventions, considering that, ‘he thought… planners could totally control the location of new industry, and that this alone would do the trick’ (1995, p.237). Authors often point to this shortcoming in relation to the green belt as a prima facie reason for its reform. If the authors were wrong in their suppositions which informed the plans for the green belt, then surely its continued existence is also cast into doubt.

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The mainstream view which has dominated policy discussions surrounding the effect of constraining land supply, and thus driving up house prices, is that this amounts to a transfer of income away from workers living in the region, and adds to income inequality. It also dampens migration into these regions, making access to the labour market more difficult for those especially in less skilled occupations (Storper and Rodriguez-Pose, 2019). This ‘enabling’, or ‘lifting the barriers to migration’, from regions lagging behind in terms of economic development, to those regions which are leading, is by many urban economists, seen as one of the only ways of addressing regional divergence and inequality (Glaser and Gottlieb, 2008; Hseih and Moretti, 2017; Ganong and Shoang, 2017). This view, characterised by Storper and Rodriguez-Pose (2019) as the ‘housing as opportunity’ school of thought, sees the green belt firstly as a direct constraint which is driving up prices (‘house prices in an average local planning authority in England in 2008 would be 21.5 to 38.1 per cent lower if the planning system were completely relaxed’ (Hilber and Vermeulen, 2008, p.56), and also as a barrier to increased productivity and regional convergence.Those who argue that the green belt is over-constraining London, and as such should be reformed, mainly do so resting on the aforementioned set of claims. Housing markets are however, are not like standard markets, and ‘aggregate increases in supply do not translate in.. a straightforward way to decreases in price’ (Storper and Rodriguez-Pose, 2019, p.8). Mace, 2017 notes that due to the elasticity of demand, the increased demand for housing (in space terms) associated with any increase in affordability means that the scale and pace of building required to effect a suppression in housing prices would have to well exceed immediate ‘need’. Storper and Rodriguez-Pose do not contest the implication of increased prices following from tightened supply (from regulation), but they do view that this needs to be coupled with a nuanced understanding of the ‘underlying structural causes’ of the housing crisis (p.33). Their view is that in order to effect the ‘reduction in socio-spatial segregation’ which is desired, more regulation, not less is needed. Serious policies to improve affordability ‘inevitably involve public subsidies and regulation - as well as measures to finance them’ (ibid., p.34). This injunction is, in our view, to be taken seriously when considering calls for a relaxation of green belt policy on the grounds of housing affordability in London. To think so would be to make the same kind of mistake as was made in the 1940s, but in reverse. We should not repeat the mistake today of totally believing our theories of how the world works. We need to adopt a realistic perspective which acknowledges that constraint though it may be, there are other substantial drivers of the housing crisis, and that any ‘loosening’ of the belt as it were, may not happen in an entirely expected fashion.

LeapfroggingThe enablement of more sustainable commuting patterns was a key part of Abercrombie’s plan and an implied part of the official policy of constraint. The aim of stopping the growth of the city by bounding it in a green belt is clearly to hold that the inner circumference of the belt is equivalent to the extent of the city. However, the administrative geography of the city is exceeded by the extensive web of connections and relations which constitute it, and conceptualising London as a city-region we can see that not only is it commuting which exceeds the limits of the city, but also a host of socio-economic dependencies which tie together the city-region, and without which the ‘core’ of administrative London would struggle to function (Cheshire, 1990; Rodriguez-Pose, 2008). The ‘compact city’ idea which would emerge from a preoccupation with preventing sprawl so as to limit the impact of emissions from vehicular travel (Newman and Kenworthy, 1989) aligns with the (pre)existence of the green belt. As an idea, the hypothesis goes that an increase in the density of cities is able to reduce carbon emissions by reducing the need for personal travel by locating trip destinations closer to where people live. Further, at higher densities there is a higher probability of the trip being made by more sustainable modes (i.e. not private cars), and such a form makes providing improved quality of service to facilitate this more practicable (Gordon and Whitehead, 2016). A lively debate sprung up in the early 1990s contesting the limited evidence for the former claim (Gomez-Ibanez, 1991; Breheny, 1995). Regardless of the limits to the evidence that a more compact urban form necessarily had a positive impact on emissions, London has had a policy of urban containment - promoted by the ‘compact city’ - through the green belt for over 70 years. Considering however, the effect of the green belt simply in terms of commuting patterns, there are now over 3,000,000 commuters travelling into London daily, from within, or beyond the green belt (ONS, 2018).

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Whether a denser urban form yields real benefits within the city limits or not, the extent of commuting and inflows to London from beyond its borders is of a significant magnitude, and no simple conclusion can be drawn regarding the overall effect of constraint in terms of sustainability. The message is the same as with regards to house prices, that the polarisation of the debate is not driven by robust enough evidence to support the certainty which proponents of either side put forward in service of their case.

The argument for place-based analysisBoth arguments relating to house-prices and leapfrogging leverage the idea of Greater London (and the expanded city-region) as the appropriate scale to analyse the Green Belt. At this scale, priority is given to strategic questions – what is the effect of Green Belt policy on house prices at an aggregate, regional level, and the sustainability of patterns of commuting and development? We consider that a return to place-based analysis would cast valuable light onto the debates. Considering the lack of certainty which exists surrounding some of the key claims frequently made in relation to these questions, as set out above, from both sides of the Green Belt debates, this ‘re-scaling’ would provide a better foundation for considering more deeply the multiple aspects of the effects of the policy.

How could place based analysis be undertaken in the Green BeltThere are already tools that exist to assess places based on a set of established criteria. Project for Public Spaces – What Makes A Great Place have produced a scheme for evaluating the qualities of places. (Figure 1).

The Scottish national government and NHS Scotland have also created ‘The Place Standard Tool Scotland’(Figure 2).

Most recently, the introduction of the National Design Guide by MHCLG, forming part of planning practice guidance, foregrounds the importance of place, and identifies ten characteristics of a well-designed place (Figure 3).

These tools provide a framework for assessing places. It is argued that these tools could be used to assess places in, or on the edge of the Green Belt. Project for Public Spaces may have weakness in being a tool predominantly for public spaces and cities but the ‘The Place Standard Tool Scotland’ is targeted at both urban and rural areas.

Figure 1. Project for Public

Spaces – What Makes A Great Place Diagram

Figure 2. The Place Standard

Tool

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Using these tools will not provide definitive answers but it allows consideration for the physical elements of place, alongside the social aspects. It would be a starting point to finding out how the Green Belt is affecting the way people live and if that is positive, or negative. This tactic of case-based comparison and evaluation enables the production of alternative knowledges which may disrupt the dominant regional-level arguments which dog the Green Belt debates, possibly providing a basis for more grounded arguments regarding reform.

5.CONCLUSION

Tracing the evolution of the green belt we have seen that it has experienced a change in its purpose from its pre-history through to its enactment as planning policy, which speaks to the ‘confusion’ which sometimes dogs the debates. Focussing squarely on the ‘actual’ aim of containment, through an evaluation of

Figure 3. The ten characteristics of well-designed places

two key points of contention, the imputed effect on house (and land) prices within London, and the matter of so-called leapfrogging, we can see that at the resolution of the regional scale, the lack of decisive evidence ensures that the debates are likely to continue on account of their complexity. This paper has found that there is a possible gap and space for research considering a place-based evaluation of the green belt policy. Not London or the Wider South East as a whole but those places either side of its edge or engulfed within the Green Belt, and in addition how the Green Belt affects those districts and authorities as places. This research should not be restricted to the MGB but include cases in other Green Belts in the UK and internationally to allow for comparison.

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Hornsey, R., 2008. ‘Everything is made of atoms’: the reprogramming of space and time in post-war London. Journal of Historical Geography, 34(1), pp.94-117. Hseih, C.T., and Moretti, E., 2017. Housing Constraints and Spatial Misallocation. NBER Working Paper 21154, May 18. Hughes, M. (Ed.)., 1971. The letters of Lewis Mumford and Frederic J. Osborn: A transatlantic dialogue, 1938–1970. New York:Praeger Kim, K.-H., Housing Supply: Green Belts, International Encyclopaedia of Housing and Home 2012, Pages 659-663 Mace, A., 2018. The Metropolitan Green Belt, changing an institution. Progress in Planning, 121, pp.1-28. Mace, Alan, Blanc, Fanny, Gordon, Ian R. and Scanlon, Kath., (2016), A 21st century metropolitan green belt. HEIF (5). The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK Mandelker, D.R., 1962. Green Belts and Urban Growth. Wisconsin University Press, London. Manns, J. 2014. Green sprawl – Our current affection for a preservation myth? London: the London Society. Manns, Jonathan, (2019), ‘ Revived or retired, the green belt must be rethought’, Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal, Vol. 12, 3, pp. 1–3 Matless, D., 1993. Appropriate geography: Patrick Abercrombie and the energy of the world. Journal of Design History, 6(3), pp.167-178. Matless, D., 2016. Landscape and englishness: second expanded edition. Reaktion Books. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, (2019), National Planning Policy Framework, HM Government, London Miller, M., 1989. The elusive green background: Raymond Unwin and the greater London regional plan, Planning Perspective, 4:1, 15-44, Munton, R., 1983. London’s Green Belt: Containment in Practice. Allen & Unwin, London. Papworth. T., (2015), The Green Noose - An analysis of Green Belts and proposals for reform, Adam Smith Institute, London Roberts, A. (2018) ‘London’s evolution to a “national park city”: The Green Belt, space to build and sustainable transport’, Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal, Vol. 12. No. 1, pp. 7–13 Robinson, J., 2016. Thinking cities through elsewhere: Comparative tactics for a more global urban studies. Progress in human geography, 40(1), pp.3-29. Rodríguez-Pose, A. and Storper, M., 2019. Housing, urban growth and inequalities: The limits to deregulation and upzoning in reducing economic and spatial inequality. SSRN Rodríguez-Pose, A., 2008. The rise of the “city-region” concept and its development policy implications. European planning studies, 16(8), pp.1025-1046.

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CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF FORMER YUGOSLAVIA AND MEDITERANIAN CITIES – PLANNING ON EDGES AND CROSSROADS

Aleksandra Đorđević*M.Arch., M.Urban and Regional development, Ph.D.Student, Teaching Assistant, aleksandra.dj@arh.bg.ac.rs

Mladen Pešić*M.Arch. Ph.D., Teaching Assistant,mladen.pesic@arh.bg.ac.rs

Milica Milojević*M.Arch. Ph.D., Assistant professorm.milojevic@arh.bg.ac.rs

*University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture

TITLE

authors

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ĐorĐević a., pešić M., Milojević, M.

Aleksandra Đorđević (1990) is a teaching assistant at the University of Belgrade. She is currently enrolled in Ph.D. studies at home University. In the research activity, she is interested in urban planning, post-socialist development, design regulations, urban morphology and urban form. As a member of the various author’s teams, she received numerous awards and recognitions for architecture and urban design competition projects.

Dr. Mladen Pešić (1986) is a teaching assistant at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture. His research is generally focused on visual display, spatial representation and memory. As a part of scholarship he was involved in scientific projects organized by Faculty of Architecture and Ministry of Education, Science and Technological development of Republic of Serbia.

Dr. Milica Milojević (1976) is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Urbanism at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture. She has co-authored several competition works, urban projects, urban plans and exhibitions. As a part of scholarship she was involved in scientific projects organized by the Faculty of Architecture and Ministry of Education, Science and Technological development of Republic of Serbia.

biographies

ĐorđevićAleksandra

PešićMladen

Milojević Milica

This research aims to open up a discussion about Mediterranean cities in the former Yugoslavia’s republics: Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia and Montenegro. Although located in different states, it is possible to trace historical underpins and cultural landscape that have shaped those cities for years – the tradition of a fortified city, the urban matrix, city structure, street proportions and local materials. The challenges that are set ahead planners are how to define universalities and similarities between those cities and yet to pertain authenticity and uniqueness of the very place when introducing new urban form into the urban matrix. Sensitive geopolitical situation and sociopolitical history on one side, and unique landscape and cityscape on the other, present main starting point for the research. The paper will briefly review the history of the development of several cities and consider its impact on planning and design practice. Those cities, although different in its scale and located on the edge of their own countries, are significantly closer to each other and banded by the Mediterranean sea. The focus of the project will be on researching how these various states treat its cultural heritage and on which goals and values they direct urban development. Analysis of above-stated relations could provide comprehensive insights into changes and challenges of the Mediterranean cities development’s trajectories and contradictions. This paper will argue for the value of understanding cross border understanding of cities, faced with various social and political contexts by recognizing their effects and benefits on urban development.

ABSTRACT

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This paper aims to open up a discussion about Fortified Mediterranean cities in the former Yugoslavia’s republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro. In the focus of the research are cities of Trebinje, Dubrovnik and Kotor. These cities, although different in its scale and located on the edge of three different countries, are significantly closer to each other and banded and connected by the Mediterranean sea. The goal of the research is to identify the effects of globalization on the city life in these three fortified cities that are located in different states but interconnected by historical underpins and cultural landscape that have shaped those cities for years. There are some fundamental differences between the countries, but also some similarities, as global social, political and economic processes created similar patterns of development in different countries, as the countries are adjusting differently to the crisis.The focus of the project will be on researching how these various cities treat its cultural heritage and on which goals and values they direct urban development. Analysis of above-stated relations provided comprehensive insights into changes and challenges of the Mediterranean cities development trajectories and contradictions. Along with the identified changes, the research enabled for important short, medium and long term impacts to be identified and highlighted. This research reveals that these three cities are faced with various social and political pressures that

1. INTRODUCTION

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to the Western Europe and less on the level of tourism practices in the USSR and its satellite countries. Through the 60’s and early 70’’s much of the tourist development occurring within the former Yugoslavia took place along the coastline. This coastline largely consisted of areas within the republic of Croatia. Croatia was the most successful earner of foreign currency through tourism for the former Yugoslavia. By the early and mid 1980’s Croatia’s coastline was one of the top destinations for Europeans on the same levels as sun, sand and sea destinations in Spain and Greece. For the far southern-Adriatic as defined by this report the Old Town of Dubrovnik in Croatia and Kotor in Montenegro are the major attractions for the border countries involved.

Main perspectives, challenges and opportunities for the planning and urban development of the cities are identified through three dichotomic relations: Borders / Contacts, Natural Landscapes / Cultural Landscapes and Connections / Networks.

Borders/ ContactsThe three cities that present subject areas are located in the vicinity of three borders. Trebinje is equally away from the borders of Croatia and Montenegro (21km). Kotor is located 53 km from the Croation border and 58km from border with BIH. Dubrovnik is situated only 10km from the border with BIH and 38 km from the border with Montenegro. Beside the borders, the edge between those cities is defined by the contacts that cities established over the time. Having that in mind, Dubrovnik is more oriented towards Western tourist markets due to the fact that Croatia is in EU while the Montenegro is more oriented towards attracting Eastern European, Russian and former Soviet tourist and developers. The research from three meetings and conferences held in Dubrovnik and sponsored by The EastWest Institute through 44 respondants from business enterprises, Government, NGO’s-Associations, and Tourist Boards of Croatia and Montenegro revealed the skepticism about establishing deeper relations between two countries

are mostly results of general processes of globalization, with specific expansion of tourism. After the World War II the development of the tourist industry was the biggest influence of the historic core transformation. This has been reflected on the following categories: 1. socio-demographic and 2. spatial functionality.

Data is to be presented in form of a historical narrative, told chronologically and organized thematically in order to offer a comprehensive picture of evolution of strategies and their impact on urban development. Within the historical narrative planning is seen as an extension of political-economic reality. By tracing trajectories that took place and identifying the processes in these cities, the research seeks to explain how changes in urban planning and spatial organization were caused by the pressure from tourism. The research takes an interdisciplinary approach and look into several levels of impact: local, regional and national.

2. CONTEXT

The former Yugoslavia was a multi-ethnic state in south-east Europe divided administratively between six republics: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. In geopolitical bipolar division of the, after the Second World War Yugoslavia has been on the border between East and West. Its territory and its culture have been created between global and local influences of power and experience, through juxtaposition of Eastern and Western models. Different cultural influences resulted in mix models of governance, dominant culture, economic models etc. Various territories that become part of this state were under the several dominant powers during the history. Northern parts were under the Hapsburg rule while southern parts were under the Ottoman rule. All of this resulted in different spatial patterns and urban development, as a part of opposed cultural models - Western and Eastern. Position of fortified cities from previous times is also differently treated, while they had their respective role in western and eastern parts of the territory that will in 20th century be called Yugoslavia (various state models) in eastern and south territories they lost their significance due to different cultural identities and needs. Yugoslavia developed as a major destination for western tourists seeking sun, sand and sea tourism in the early 1960’s. This development was a result of the federal government’s choice to develop and market tourism on a model similar

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and developing cross-border organization due to the lack of financial support, distrust as a result of the war, and bureaucracy (Lagiewski & Revelas, 2004).

Natural Landscapes / Cultural LandscapesMatvejevic explains that Mediterranean borders are not defined by geography, are not historical, not national, not carved in space or time as much as they are constantly being identified and erased, expanded or reduced. (Matvejevic, 2006). Due to this circumstances, landscapes, both natural and cultural remained an unifying factor of this region.

Connections / NetworksThe abolition of railway traffic in 1976 in Dubrovnik area, along with the great distance from the regional centers influences the state where a lot of the

Figure 1. Borders / Contacts Figure 2. Natural Landscapes / Cultural Landscapes

connection are accomplished by cruisers (Magaš, 2014). The distance between Dubrovnik and Trebinje is 32km, while the distance between Dubrovnik and Kotor is 91 km. Additionally, Trebinje is 81 km away from Kotor. Even though, the spatial proximity creates preconditions for functional and spatial connections and networks to be developed, they are still underdeveloped. Additionally, the insufficient capacity of borders control and visa regime complicates the development of physical connections. On the other hand, as previosly mentioned, the historical instability and distrust affect the speed and diversity of functional networks.

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for the inhabitants on the site. According to Stephenson, Bauchop and Petchey, this significance does not only comes from the physical environment, but also reveals the culture, practices, traditions, the narratives and connections between man and land (Stephenson, Bauchop, & Petchey, 2004). The rules and norms, both formal and informal are fundamentally related to history, tradition, lifestyles, values, culture, global trends and as such create a unique set of preconditions for shaping and reshaping of landscape. Following the system of rules, a homogeneous group within a localized area usually produces a distinctive cultural landscape (Rapoport, 1992).The subject area, characterized by the political instability and constant changes of borders in past, has become more exposed to the market-oriented development and uncontrolled changes both in city form and city life due to the increase of tourists inflow, globalization. Thus, the places with specific values that are recognized as a cultural landscape are at the constant risk of uncontrolled urbanization, unplanned development, and market pressures. By observing cities of Dubrovnik, Trebinje and Kotor, the most evident changes can be perceived through city form, city land uses/economy and city life. Firstly, the city form in relation to cultural landscapes is concerned with city expansions, disposition of new investment zones, insertion of new buildings into the historical city cores and individual treatment during restoration and reconstruction. Secondly city land uses and economy deals with the constant changes of the uses in fortified city cores, changes in land value and living costs. Thirdly, city life is observed through the change of the population number and structure, employment trajectories, daily commuting between cross border cities and introduction of cruiser tourism along with all opportunities and threats.

3. SUBJECT DESCRIPTION

The notion of a cultural landscape which at the same time could present significant material evidence of place evolution over time, a proof of human activity in the natural environment or a testimony of religious, artistic or cultural associations of the natural elements (UNESCO, 2019) has been recognized as one of the central topics in the planning. As such it became an essential aspect of the integrated approach to the urban development that has been globally accepted. Additionally, the globalization fostered the need for tangible and intangible values revealing relations between man and the environment to be preserved. More importantly, these relations and cultural landscape has a great importance

Figure 3. Connections / Networks

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4. RESEARCH

Kotor - Changes in city form, city economy and city lifeThe natural and cultural-historical area of Kotor is located in the Bay of Kotor, a part of the Montenegrin Adriatic coast and as such is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The protection includes the most preserved part of the bay, consisting of its inner part with an area of approximately 12,000 ha, while its broather (buffer) zone has been identified in 2011 and it encompasses the entire Bay of Kotor Bay.The analysis presented in figure 4 reveals that the most intense changes of urban structure in the last three decades emerge in the bay of Kotor, especially in the western coastline and at the outskirts of the fortified city. Even though this transformation affects the narrow line of the coast due to morphological and topographical limitation, the change of landscape is more than evident. This change has been identified and addressed both by local association (Expeditio) and International (UNESCO, 2014). The UNESCO and ICOMOS Advisory Mission of 2013 identified the week links between spatial planning and conservation policies, toleration and certain encouraging of urban plans towards intensified urbanization thus leading to the endangerment of the exceptional universal value and attributes of the cultural landscape of the Area (Expeditio, 2018). The official UNESCO report states that if the explained practice of urban development continues to take place, The city of Kotor will be removed from the list of World Heritage. The Kotor is also exposed to the expansion of tourists coming by cruisers. The number of Kotor visitors coming from the sea, by cruisers and yachts, is 316,674 (2014) out of a about 550,000 tourists that visit the city per year (Pasinovic, 2015).

Dubrovnik - Changes in city form, city economy and city life Regarding city economy and city life, Dubrovnik has completely changed the way how city works. As explained by Đukić and Jerković, from 1953 to 2001 the historic core changed its function from an administrative political centre to a tourist district (Đukić & Jerković, 2008). Those changes created the state where cca 55% of economic activities and 63% of accommodation buildings are located in the historic core (ibid). Increase of tourism activities produced a situation where there are around twice as many working position that citizens (Đukić & Jerković, 2008), and thus attracted the workers from Bosnia and Hercegovina, especially Trebinje.The change of urban structure on Dubrovnik appears to be more concentrated in the western area along the coast and the bay (Figure 5). The inner area is faced with the process of identification and urban infills. The tourist coming with cruisers make 57% of all tourists that visit Dubrovnik.

Figure 5. Dubrovnik 1990-2018

Figure 4. Kotor 1990-2018

Figure 6. Trebinje 1990-2018

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Trebinje - Changes in city form, city economy and city lifeAfter the 1992 war, Trebinje population increase had an impact for the construction to occur in the southwestern and western part of the urban area thus violating the historical protection of the agricultural area near the city (Milojević, 2013). Extra profits draw workers who daily travel on the Trebinje-Dubrovnik route, because they have the opportunity to earn twice as high salaries than in Trebinje. Additionally, living costs in Republika Srpska is about 1,800 KM, while in Croatia it is significantly higher, while according to estimates, around 10% of inhabitants of Trebinje already work in the Dubrovnik area (Hercegovinapromo, 2019).

Tracing impacts on urban form, city economy and city lifeIt is evident the spatial dynamics in fortified former Yugoslavian Mediterranean cities has to be observed in synergy with other factors such as sociological, tourist and economic ones. The research of selected case studies points to several short, medium and long term impacts that can be observed in city life and city form.

Short term impacts Positive: • The increase of touristic flow positively affects both city and republic budget • Inner core regeneration and beautification of facades • Investments in façades refurbishment Negative: • Disruptions in the built environment caused by the lack of understanding of tradition and historical underpins, market orientation and violation of public interest • Land appropriation and uncontrolled development along the coastline

Medium-term impacts Positive: • The development of activities from small producers and craftsmen • The emergence of new jobs in the service sector • Fostering communication, exchange of ideas and information, stimulating cultural horizon broadening.

Negative: • Gradual landscape and built environment degradation • Transforming a fortified city core to a showcase due to the domination of service and touristic services and a large number of tourists • Increasing pressures for local residents to leave the city

Long term impacts Positive: • Increase of property values in the city core and servicing areas • Increase of tourist inflow in bordering areas • Increasing site popularity and changing the negative perception of the Balkan region Negative: • The uncontrolled development without a broader urban development vision • Devastation of the cultural landscape. • Changes in consuming habits • Increase of prices and living costs • Underdevelopment of the rest of the sectors apart tourism

Many of the abovementioned impacts on urban form, city economy and city life can be traced to most of the Mediterranean cities, as well. The problem of “overtourism” that changes the cultural landscape of cities in Mediterranean region is even highly perceivable in cities such as Barcelona – Spain (2.68 millions of tourist per year), Civitacecchi in Italy (2.34), Venice – Italy (1.6), Marseille – France (1.59), Naples in Italy (1.31), Piraeus (Greece) (Smith 2018). The historical values of the site and the coastal position are not the only preconditions for a city to be exposed to the variety of impacts that have been highlighted in this research. As witnessed by economic sources, Naples doesn’t have nor problems nor benefits from a Mediterranean

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closeness due to the low level of self-promotion, bad waste management, lack of sightseeing amenities, crime rate, social standard of citizens, interregional differences and infrastructural problems (Schmalbruch 2015).

5. CONCLUSION

The research is based on the understanding that comprehensive planning has been replaced by flexible development strategies due to path-dependant transition processes that have been taking place around the world. The main objective of this research proposal is to look into the processes of urban transformations in different institutional and cultural contexts. The research reveals that it is not sufficient to sample different types of hybrid urban formations and models of development, but to look into different typologies of urban change in relation to the transitional social, political and economic processes that are taking part across these territories. Each typology is expected to provide different features of locally-translated socio-economic trends (depending on the pre-existing situation, specific local processes, actors, values, etc.), while simultaneously exhibiting some general features of social, political and economic restructuring that is taking place across three cities that are analysed.This research views urban planning and development as politically and economically contested processes that are dramatically transforming the physical nature of cities and the social and political relations among its residents.

REFERENCES

Đukić, A., & Jerković, S. (2008). Some contemporary socio-geographic processes in The historical old city of Dubrovnik. Geoadria, 13(2), 207-225. Expeditio. (2018). Zabrinjavajuće stanje Prirodnog i kulturno-istorijskog područja Kotora, Crna Gora. World Heritage Watch, World Heritage Watch Report 2018. Hercegovinapromo. (2019, February 11). Normalizacija odnosa Trebinja i Dubrovnika: Ekonomija i obostrani interes jači od politike. http://www.hercegovinapromo.com/normalizacija-odnosa-trebinja-i-dubrovnika-ekonomija-i-obostrani-interes-jaci-od-politike/ adresinden alındı Lagiewski, R. M., & Revelas, D. A. (2004). Challenges in cross-border tourism regions. RIT Scholar Works. Rochester Institute of Technology. Magaš, D. (2014). The challenges of the modern mainland Connections with dubrovnik. Geoadria, 19(1), 27-60. Matvejevic, P. (2006). Mediteranski brevijar. Zagreb. Milojević, B. (2013). Urban Development And Influentıal Factors On Urban Form Of Towns In Bosnıa And Herzegovına In The Period Of Socialism And Transition (Case Study Of Banjaluka And Trebınje). FACTA UNIVERSITATIS Series: Architecture and Civil Engineering, 11(3), 237-249. Pasinovic, M. (2015, November 3). Da li Kotoru prijeti Venecijanski sindrom. www.skalaradio.com: https://skalaradio.com/da-li-kotoru-prijeti-venecijanski-sindrom/ Rapoport, A. (1992). On Cultural landscapes. Traditional Dwellings and Settlement Review, 3(2), 33-47. Schmalbruch, S. (2015). Why no one wants to travel to Naples. Business Insider, July 29. Smith, O. (2018). The destinations where cruise passengers outnumber locals. The Telegraph, May 8.Stephenson, J., Bauchop, H., & Petchey, P. (2004). Bannockburn heritage landscape study.Wellington. UNESCO. (2014). Decision: 38 COM 7B.29 Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor (Montenegro) (C 125).Doha: UNESCO. UNSECO. (2019, March 26). Cultural Landscapes identifying all listed cultural landscapes . Retrieved from whc.unesco.org: http://whc.unesco.org/en/culturallandscape/

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PLANNING ON THE EDGE OF EXISTENCE CASE STUDY OF VELO GRABLJE, ISLAND OF HVAR

Marijana ZlodreM.arch. APE d.o.o., Zagreb (Croatia)m.zlodre@gmail.com

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Marijana Zlodre graduated from the Faculty of Architecture, University of Zagreb, Croatia. She began gaining work experience already during her studies, working as an intern in offices in Croatia and abroad (Mexico). As a team member, she was awarded the Special Rector’s Award and the Croatian award “Artur” (Architecture and Tourism award) for the project: “Affirmation of the Zadar Peninsula, transformation of the city centre”. She is currently working as a licenced architect with an architecture office in Zagreb on both architectural and urban planning projects. These include urban and spatial development plans, as well as studies regarding the revitalization of rural areas. She is also licenced to work on the protection and preservation of cultural assets.

biographies

ZlodreMarijana

Hvar is the longest Croatian island, located in the Adriatic Sea, between the islands of Brač, Vis and Korčula. Unlike the rest of Croatia, Hvar has recorded a population growth in the last decade.But while the tourist centres such as the City of Hvar have positive impact on the population growth, villages in the inland are losing their inhabitants. Among them is Velo Grablje, which according to the 2011 census has only 7 inhabitants and is on the edge of existence.The village is facing physical limits due to its position in the middle of the island and its poor traffic connections with the coast and thus with the Croatian mainland. This has led to depopulation, which makes investing in better connections unprofitable.The village was a livestock settlement founded in the late Middle Ages and it reached its peak of development in the beginning of the 20th century, when it had nearly 500 inhabitants. Velo Grablje represents a well preserved traditional architectural complex and as such is registered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia.This paper will evaluate the existing state of the selected village on the island of Hvar and propose possible directions for its future development. The idea is to revitalize and preserve this small authentic zone and increase the standard of living not only for the inhabitants to return but also to enrich the tourism offer.The main focus will be on making Velo Grablje an attractive place, highlighting its unique features that make it distinct from other places of the island that have lost their “personality” due to overbuilding. Hopefully, the revitalization of this village will make it an attractive place to live in, to visit and to invest in.

ABSTRACT

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Hvar is one of over a thousand Croatian islands. It is located in the Adriatic Sea between the islands of Brač, Vis and Korčula. Unlike the rest of Croatia, Hvar recorded a population growth in the last decade. While the coastal towns, such as the City of Hvar mark a population growth, villages in the inland are almost losing their inhabitants. The Planning on the edge theme in this paper will not refer to the edge in a physical sense but will explore the edge of existence in the almost abandoned villages in Croatia.The main focus of the analysis will be the village of Velo Grablje, which according to the 2011 census has only 7 inhabitants. It is facing physical constraints due to its position in the middle of the island and its poor traffic

1. INTRODUCTION

Figure 1. location of the Island of Hvar

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connections with the coast and thus with the Croatian mainland. This has led to depopulation, which makes investing in better connections unprofitable.The village was a livestock settlement founded in the late Middle Ages and it reached its peak of development in the beginning of the 20th century when it had nearly 500 inhabitants. Velo Grablje has been recognized by the Republic of Croatia as a well preserved traditional architectural complex and as such is registered in the Register of Cultural Goods of Republic of Croatia.This paper will evaluate the existing state of the village and propose a possible direction for its future development. The main focus will be on making Velo Grablje an attractive place, highlighting its unique features that make it distinct from other places of the island that have lost their “personality” due to overbuilding.

2. CONTEXT

2.1. Location The island of Hvar is a part of the Split – Dalmatia County and is administratively composed of four municipalities – Hvar, Stari Grad, Jelsa and Sućuraj. It is the longest Croatian island - 68 km long and only 10 km wide at its widest point. The history of settlements on the island dates back as far as pre-historic times, with their significance increasing when the ancient Greeks colonised the island. Today, the island is one of the main centres of Croatian tourism and its coastline makes it one of the most beautiful islands in the world. According to the statistics, nearly a million and a half tourists visited the island last year, mostly the places located along its coast. One of the questions raised by this kind of development is: what will the growing development of tourism on the coast of the island do to its inland villages?

Although every settlement on the island has access to the sea within its administrative borders, many villages had historically developed in the inland. One of those villages is Velo Grablje, administratively a part of the City of Hvar, located approximately 10 km east of the city. Accurate information on the establishment of Velo Grablje have not been preserved, but some data date back to the late Middle Ages.The village was built in the 18th century when the church of St. Kuzma and Damjan was built. Although Velo Grablje has an exceptional archaeological and cultural heritage, little is included in the tourist offer. Up until now, almost no funds have been invested in the reconstruction of access roads or in the presentation and protection of these valuable cultural goods.

Figure 2. municipalities of the island

Figure 4. Percentage of

residents over 80 years of age

Figure 3. The City of Hvar

settlements

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the cultivation of vines and olive trees, and later lavender and tansy. The beginning of the 20th century, when the village had nearly 500 inhabitants, was the peak of its development. This number had halved by the middle of the same century and since then, the number of residents has been steadily declining. According to the 2011 census, today only 7, mostly older people live in the village. Some of the inhabitants, who have emigrated to Hvar and other places, occasionally reside in Velo Grablje and some of them even cultivate small parcels of agricultural land in the area, which suggests that there is an interest in the village revitalization.

2.3. LegislationHistoric settlements in Croatia, such as Velo Grablje, are part of a wider area of local government units. As a main requirement for spatial development, municipalities and cities in Croatia have the legal obligation to create spatial plans for each local government unit. These plans, depending on the type and area of coverage, also contain data from conservation bases that include guidelines for the protection of cultural goods in the area. In order to ensure the protection and preservation of cultural and historical settlements, conservators often require that urban development plans be developed for these areas. Unfortunately, due to lack of funds and the absence of a legal obligation, these plans are rarely developed. Planners also face numerous problems in cases when such plans are developed, primarily because these plans are required to be incorporated in the inflexible legal and technical frameworks. The main problem appears when the making of urban development plans starts before other development plans have been made (e.g. economic, tourist etc.). In this case, the cooperation of planners with local government units is as important as their cooperation with local population in order to achieve adequate preconditions for the revitalization of these settlements.]

2.2. (De)populationThe demographic development of any area is mostly affected by two related demographic processes - depopulation and aging. Depopulation resulting from low fertility or emigration is mainly characterized as a problem, especially for smaller territorial units that are faced with a loss of population. At the same time, demographic aging, despite often being considered a problem, is increasingly seen as a challenge and even a possibility for spatial development. Population growth is a standard in spatial planning, and depopulation is considered a negative phenomenon. Nevertheless, not much has been done on this issue. “Let’s see what’s going to happen” approach is mostly applied in these situations in Croatia. One of the most significant consequences of depopulation is the underdevelopment of social infrastructure – fewer schools will be built, many existing ones will be closed, the need for transportation services and the need to build new utility infrastructure are reduced.Demographic data show that Velo Grablje, according to the number and age structure of the population, is a place threatened with extinction. Throughout its existence, it has been a relatively small settlement, mainly associated with

Figure 5. Abandoned houses in the village

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Figure 6. Urban development plan of Velo Grablje

Figure 7. Spatial development plan of the City of Hvar – Velo Grablje section

Hvar, like other islands, was once an economic, traffic-isolated, entity with activities for everyday needs available on the island. Agriculture, cattle breeding, fishing, stone exploitation and processing were primary activities, and after the 1960s communal and other accompanying activities were included. Today, tourism is a primary activity of the island. This results in positive effects such as better valorisation of natural resources and cultural heritage, better employment rate and increased private and public standards. Negative effects are primarily the seasonal nature of such business and the increasing sales of quality land for the construction of excessive tourist accommodations. With all the resources being directed towards the development of tourism in bigger towns along the coast of the island, Velo Grablje has been systematically neglected over the past decades.This problem was recognized by the Split – Dalmatia County which has started an “ethno-eco village” development project whose goal is to revitalize 30 villages on the islands and the mainland of the County. The idea is to make villages attractive for tourism, highlighting their unique features that make them distinct from other places that have lost their “personality” due to overbuilding. Accordingly, Velo Grablje should achieve its exclusivity through the presentation of its rich history and almost intact nature of the surrounding area while offering homemade ecologically produced specialties and a limited number of accommodation facilities with all the necessary amenities, but with the utmost preservation of the historic settlement and its surroundings.

3. SUBJECT DESCRIPTION

Due to the specificity of the island, Velo Grablje must be observed as part of the island of Hvar as a whole. The population of the island is gradually stagnating due to both a decline in the natural population growth rate and to an increase in the number of older people. Because of the island’s isolation and the need for education and work in activities other than tourism, a lot of young people are moving to larger cities on the mainland (e.g. Split, Zagreb etc.) or abroad. At the same time, more and more tourism related jobs are opening on the island. Difficult living conditions on the island could be resolved with state’s investment in their development. High transportation costs, the lack of quality development programs and unilateral economic structures are and will remain development constraints. Traffic connections with the mainland are inadequate, as are connections on each island, as well as connections between islands. Good quality agricultural land, including the area around Velo Grablje, is of great importance for the island. Due to its rarity, land like this is even more valuable, and any unnecessary new construction should be prevented. For example, southern slopes of the island, with the well-known vineyards, olive groves and lavender plants should be under maximum protection.

Figure 8. „Ethno – eco

villages“ on the Island of Hvar

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Thanks to the absence of intensive tourist and economic development, today Velo Grablje is a well preserved architectural and urban complex and as such is registered in the Register of Cultural Goods of Republic of Croatia. The historic settlement was built with a uniform style and materials, without any individual exceptions. Mostly traditional materials, such as stone and lime binder, were used. Due to the proximity of the local quarry, where many inhabitants of Velo Grablje were working, stone was a logical choice for building and for paving public areas.

4.2. NatureThe whole area of the Island of Hvar is registered as a cultivated agrarian landscape. Although according to the Nature Conservation Authority data, there is no legally protected natural value at the site of Velo Grablje, numerous studies suggest some way of protecting this area – either legally or through spatial plans. This area is predominantly a karst area with parts covered in woods and others showing plain limestone rocks. Natural areas modified by human actions are characteristic for the whole island; for example, numerous slopes under vineyards, olive trees and lavender around the area of Velo Grablje. Aleppo pine forests are naturally spread on the neglected agricultural areas and near the settlements. Unfortunately, the fire in 2003 severely affected the area, with only a minor part later restored. Beautiful stone drywalls on the slopes from Velo Grablje to Malo Grablje and to the sea, have once again became visible after the fire. Due to emigration and the change in primary activities, most of the surrounding fields are abandoned and only this “net” of stone drywalls shows the enormous effort that the inhabitants have once invested in “domesticating the nature”.

4. RESEARCH

4.1. History and cultural heritageExact data on the founding of Velo Grablje is not preserved, but according to existing historical sources and local tales it was founded in the late Middle Ages as a livestock settlement. Evidence of the early population in this area is the church of St. Vid which is believed to have been built by Greek colonizers. Unfortunately, there is no written evidence supporting this and the appearance of the church was largely modified in 1875. Velo Grablje is mentioned for the first time in censuses from the 17th century when it had a total of 50 inhabitants. In the 18th century, cattle breeding was replaced by agriculture, which resulted in development and population growth. The highest number of the village inhabitants, almost 500, was recorded at the end of the 19th century when viticulture became one of the primary activities in Dalmatia. Almost all today’s buildings were built in that period. The population continued to grow until 1914, which was a breakthrough year for population decline. This year was marked by the Italian occupation and the beginning of the First World War as well as the vineyards being infected which destroyed the centuries-old effort. After that, the largest number of vineyards has never been renewed and inhabitants began more intense cultivation of other cultures, primarily aromatic herbs. With the planting of lavender, the village once again tried to resist the extinction, but the price drop in agriculture and the possibility of making more money in tourism resulted in the fact that after nearly 5 centuries, inhabitants no longer make their living from the cultivation of their fields and a large number of them have moved to Hvar.

Figure 9. Velo Grablje

Figure 10. Examples of stone

pavements

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4.3. AgricultureSince the establishment of the village, the population of Velo Grablje has been engaged in agriculture. The first estates were cultivated on the ground below the village and later they spread on the sandy soil suitable for vineyards. In the beginning, the inhabitants lived from wine growing and for their own needs they grew corn, beans and other similar crops. After a while it became unproductive to grow corn, which then led to tansy growing that was largely responsible for the prosperity of the village. In the 20th century, tansy was replaced by lavender. Since most agricultural work had to be carried out simultaneously in the summer, a lot of workers came from Dalmatian hinterland, but no permanent migration has been recorded. In the intense work periods workers would spend the night in the fields and, because of that, small houses suitable for shelter were constructed on these fields.Species of aromatic herbs in the area are numerous and mostly self-sown. Therefore, essential oils have been produced on the entire island since ancient times. The cultivation of aromatic herbs has been so developed that the village founded its “Rosemary Collective” in 1892, and in 1902 the production of essential oils started in a modern way using equipment bought through the Collective. Today, due to emigration and a series of fires, this production has almost completely disappeared. In addition, olive growing and grapevine growing have

been present in Velo Grablje since its establishment. Grapevine growing has for a long time been the main agricultural activity and the one that transformed Velo Grablje from the livestock settlement to an agricultural village. The vineyards have long been spared from diseases that plagued the French, Italian and then Dalmatian vineyards. But in spite of all efforts, phylloxera came in 1914 and destroyed all the vineyards, thus causing the disappearance of the old autochthonous grape variety. The vineyards were rebuilt until the middle of the 20th century, when production was stopped again due to the war. Once again the vineyards were restored in the second half of the 20th century, but after a series of catastrophic fires they almost completely ceased to exist.As an everyday necessity, despite the stinginess of the soil, corn, beans, barley and flax were grown in the past. Due to the advancement of traffic technology these became unprofitable and today only fruit and vegetables are grown for personal needs. Figure 11. Stone drywalls surrounding the village

Figure 12. Rosemary Collective

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4.4. InfrastructureA county road connects Velo Grablje with Hvar, and a macadam road connects it with Malo Grablje. The communal infrastructure of Velo Grablje includes an existing water, electricity and telecommunication network.

5. REVITALIZATION GUIDLINESThe potential of the revitalization of abandoned villages in Croatia is only starting to be recognized. Considering that the Croatian coast has been overbuilt for years, the reconstruction of abandoned villages in the inland is becoming more and more popular as they are recognized as real oases of peace and relaxation.

5.1. Aims of spatial planningVelo Grablje will continue to develop as a settlement within the City of Hvar. Spatial planning aims for this area should be to protect valuable nature and cultural heritage, improve infrastructure, increase contents and locations of public spaces and to create preconditions for future development based on agriculture, traditional crafts and tourism. Starting points for its development must be:

1. Protection and preservation of valuable parts of the cultural heritage in a way that cultural heritage is not considered only as an element of identity of the village but also as an instru-ment that could contribute to its development.2. Protection of existing natural values without which the settlement cannot function as a whole. Today, the landscape surrounding Velo Grablje is its own natural frame that should be mostly preserved as it is, meaning that any new unnecessary construction should be pre-vented. At the same time, the revitalization of traditional methods of agriculture should be supported, especially considering that they are the ones that shaped present-day appear-ance of the landscape.3. Provision of space and corridors for traffic, energy, water management and other com-munal infrastructure, primarily reconstruction of existing roads and construction of new park-ing areas, reconstruction of pedestrian paths and reconstruction of existing infrastructure.4. Planning the contents of public and social purpose and other public spaces according to the estimates of the current and future number of inhabitants as well as the number of visitors in the context of tourist revitalization.5. Harmonization of public interest with the needs of owners and users of buildings and construction land.

5.2. TourismThe tourist offer of Velo Grablje should be based on the rich traditional heritage with the elements of both material and intangible heritage being equally important. The

Figure 13. Aerial view of the village and the connecting roads

Figure 14. Overbuilt Croatian coast vs. reconstruction of abandonded villages

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revitalization of old forms of agri-culture, customs and food along with other elements of intangible cultural heritage on the one hand, and the preservation of the ambience of traditional construction on the other hand represent the ba-sis for potential tourist development of the village. Due to the uniqueness of the site and its content offer, while keeping in mind the spatial restriction in terms of accommodation capacities, whose construction would jeopardize the integrity of the village, excursion stay of tourists filled with presentations of traditional autochthonous content should be en-couraged. Tourists can be accommodated in the city of Hvar or other places on the island.Numerous preserved historical artefacts that speak about the life in the village should be presented at their original locations where their original way of use could also be shown (for example oil distillery, tavern etc.). The history of the village and the traditional crafts could be presented in a local museum where tourists could learn about everyday life of Velo Grablje. Another form of enriching the tourist offer is the restoration of traditional annual traditions, especially those related to feasts or the cycle of agricultural work. The same applies to the restoration of traditional agricultural skills, such as harvesting and distillation of lavender. In order to preserve the autochthone appearance, it is necessary to use authentic furniture and equipment to the fullest extent in both interior and exterior.

Albergo DiffusoOne of the possible directions for the future tourism development of the village is to adapt the albergo diffuso renovation approach. This is a concept of hospitality launched in Italy in early 1980s, and its goal is to revive small, historic villages and town centres off the usual tourist track. One of the main characteristics of this concept is that multiple owners are included and the hotel is dispersed in multiple objects meaning that rooms are distributed across multiple nearby buildings and corridors of traditional hotels are replaced by narrow roads in the village itself. The main aims of this concept are to stimulate the local economy and to promote the local culture by offering an authentic local experience to guests. This is also a sustainable approach to revitalising abandoned villages – with no new construction there is also no pressure on the environment.

5.3. ReconstructionBefore thinking about the possible extension of the tourist offer of the island to Velo Grablje it is necessary to create the basic living conditions in the village. This is primarily related to the construction of the basic infrastructure and the reconstruction of existing buildings.

Figure 15. Velo Grablje and the surrounding

landscape

Figures 16a and 16b. Sextantio Albergo

Diffuso, Santo Stefano di Sessanio

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A. InfrastructureOne of the first steps in quality revitalization of this area is to provide sufficient space to accommodate traffic and communal infrastructure corridors and to plan a new infrastructure that would raise the quality of life in the village. Traffic system should primarily solve the problem of insufficient parking space, traffic accessibility for emergency vehicles (firefighters, emergency medical aid etc.) and pedestrian roads within the densely built structure of the settlement. Velo Grablje should also be included in the system of marked pedestrian and cycling paths of the surrounding area, which should be logically connected to the planned tourist info centres within each settlement.Given the expected dynamics of development over the next period, investment in communal infrastructure will mainly focus on the necessarily broadening of the network, increasing standards and improving the level of equipment of certain utility systems. It is also important to foresee the construction of sewerage network. B. BuildingsRationality, logic and beauty characterize all the houses in the village. When reconstructing these structures, they need to be rebuilt in the spirit of the time in which they were built, which is primarily achievable through research and understanding of the construction techniques of the time. It is very important to adapt the necessary contents to the already existing form, and not the other way around, as otherwise it could lead to the creation of “tumor” formations on a, currently, unified complex. Homeowners should be primarily educated about the benefits of regular and ongoing maintenance that extends the life of a building and avoids costly and destructive interventions if their homes are left to decay by inertia. All future renovations, upgrades, etc., should be made conditional upon the use of natural and, if possible, locally available materials. Such materials may be more expensive at first, but in the long run they are certainly more cost-effective and environmentally friendly as they allow for subsequent repairs, unlike many modern, often initially cheaper materials that can only be thrown away and replaced with new ones in the event of damage. All future architectural interventions in the village must not disturb the existing image of the village, but must adjust their dimensions to the existing structure.

6. CONCLUSION

When restoring protected cultural goods, especially protected historical complex such as Velo Grablje, it is necessary to find the balance between the development and the preservation of the existing state. This is a very complex task because both are equally important and neither should be an obstacle for the other. The renovation of Velo Grablje should be based on the recognition of the authentic cultural, functional and aesthetic characteristics that are the basis for the revitalization. The priority should be the building of the communal infrastructure which is a basic requirement for a possible return of the village’s inhabitants. It is also important to educate the residents and the property owners as well as potential tourists about the importance of the protection of such cultural heritage site. Existing objects should be adapted, in accordance with conservators’ and planners’ guidelines, to meet the needs of today’s life but at the same time remain authentic. Recognizing the quality of Velo Grablje and its revitalization should also stimulate the development of tourism in the village. The tourist offer should be based primarily on the presentation and the possibility of active participation in the life of the village as it once was. The consequential economic development and the desire to make greater profits shouldn’t cause the decadence of space authenticity as is currently the case in many national and international cultural and historic complexes. The interventions that are most difficult to correct are expensive and pretentious buildings that show that the basic problem of space devastation lies in not knowing the real meaning of local construction, and not in financial constraints.

Figure 17. Positive example of a revitalized village in Croatia (Jurlinovi

dvori, Šibenik)

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One of the possibilities of preventing such outcomes may be limiting the accommodation capacity in the village itself and encouraging one-day visits by tourists located in the town of Hvar and in nearby locations with more tourist facilities. What all future investors should be guided by is that all the necessary content needs to be adapted to existing structures, not vice versa. Traditional materials and traditional construction techniques must be respected and used with true skill and knowledge.

Figure 18. Velo Grablje

REFERENCES

Čipin I., Akrap A., Knego J., Međimurec P., Đurđević K., (2014), Stručna podloga za izradu Strategije prostornog razvoja Republike Hrvatske: Demografski scenariji i migracije (A technical study for the development of the Spatial Development Strategy of the Republic of Croatia: demographic scenarios and migrations) Živković Z., (2013), Croatian traditional architecture, Zagreb, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia Miličić, M. (1955), Nepoznata Dalmacija: studija o seoskoj arhitekturi (Unknown Dalmatia: A Study of Rural Architecture), Zagreb, Arhitekt Novak, G. (1972), Hvar kroz stoljeća (Hvar through Centuries), Zagreb, Izdavački zavod JAZU Petrić, K. (2006), Velo Grablje u 20. stoljeću: s rječnikom grabaljskog govora (Velo Grablje in the 20th Century: with a dictionary of the Grablje dialect), Zagreb, self-published The Tourist Board of the Split-Dalmatia County, (2018), The statistical analysis of tourist flows in 2017. Belamarić J., Buble S., Gamulin A., Krstulović – Opara A., Nikšić G., Pjejič J., Šverko A. (2007), Pouke baštine za izgradnju u hrvatskome priobalju (Lessons from the heritage for building on the Croatian Adriatic coast), Zagreb, Croatian chamber of economy Prostorni plan uređenja grada Hvara (Spatial development plan of the City of Hvar) (Official Bulletin of the City of Hvar 5/16) Urbanistički plan uređenja Velo Grablje (Urban development plan of Velo Grablje) (Official Bulletin of the City of Hvar 8/14) Zakon o zaštiti i očuvanju kulturnih dobara (Act on the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Assets) (Official Gazette 69/99, 151/03, 157/03, 100/04, 87/09, 88/10, 61/11, 25/12, 136/12, 157/13, 152/14, 98/15, 44/17, 90/18) Zakon o prostornom uređenju (Physical Planning Act) (Official Gazette 153/13, 65/17, 114/18, 39/19) 2nd International conference – Revitalisation of historical small towns and their hinterland, Mošćenice (Croatia) 2009

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MIRACLE OR DISASTER: HOW REGIONAL PLANNING OUTSIDE THE BORDER CAN INFLUENCE LOCAL PLANNING INSIDE THE BORDER? GUANGZHOU-SHENZHEN-HONG KONG EXPRESS RAIL LINK (XRL) AND HONG KONG-ZHUHAI-MACAO BRIDGE (HZMB)

Vivian KOPlanning Officer at the West Berkshire Councilwingwaiko@gmail.com

Jeffrey NGPlanning Officer at the West Berkshire Councilngtszlok@gmail.com

TITLE

authors

120 121

Hong Kong, which was a colonial city, is located at the Pearl River Delta (PRD) Region. Although the physical border remains after the handover in 1997, Hong Kong is attempting to have a more active role in the PRD development and “dissolve” the border between the City and the Region, by commencing more cross-border infrastructures to create a “one-hour intercity circle” in the Region. Being the only territorial development strategy of the City, Hong Kong 2030+: Towards a Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030 (Hong Kong 2030+) has identified the importance of the close relationship between Hong Kong and the PRD Region.Nevertheless, there is still a discussion on whether the regional development will influence the planning of Hong Kong as it only focuses on land use zoning. In 2018, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) and the Hong Kong- Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB), which are considered as important national mega- infrastructures to connect Hong Kong and the Region were opened. They also fundamentally have an impact on the local communities and the planning of Hong Kong.There is a general assumption that the contradiction between top-down regional policies and local planning is one of the major challenges for local governments (Tang & Jin, 2018). Using XRL and HZMB as case studies, this research aims to have an interesting discussion on the opportunities and challenges of having a “border- less” regional planning development of a city. It also argues that how the planning policies “outside” the border can influence the planning system “inside” the border of a city.

ABSTRACT

Mrs Vivian Ko is a Planning Officer at the West Berkshire Council. She has experiences in conducting qualitative and quantitative researches related to different policy areas. She used to work at the Hong Kong Consumer Council for conducting in-depth studies related to sustainable consumption and consumer protection. She is currently working in planning policy team and is responsible for the preparation of the Local Plan and other planning policy works of West Berkshire Council.

Mr Jeffrey Ng is a Planning Officer at the West Berkshire Council, Master of Science in Urban Planning at the University of Hong Kong. He has experiences in working within the public sector, which include public housing development and district planning in Hong Kong and development management in both county and district planning in the United Kingdom. He is currently working in development control and is responsible for determining planning applications of West Berkshire. Jeffrey is also the RTPI South East Young Planner of the Year 2018 and a member of the Regional Area Committee of the RTPI South East.

biographies

KOVivian

NGJeffrey

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A good regional planning is to ensure planning authorities to have adequate capacity to coordinate different interests at different levels beyond the geographical and spatial context of the administrative areas (Chung, 2015). However, it would be one of the major challenges for local planning authorities if there is a differentiation between a regional planning policy and a local planning policy (Tang & Jin, 2018).While both Beijing Government and Hong Kong Government are attempting to develop the Pearl River Delta (PRD) Region by improving the cross-border infrastructures, people of Hong Kong have raised concerns whether local planning issues have been considered when commencing these regional projects. In 2018, Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), which is a high-speed railway line that connects Hong Kong and Chinese high-speed railway network, and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB), which is the longest sea crossing and the

1. INTRODUCTION

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longest open-sea fixed link and it connects Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao, were commenced under the controversy.This paper aims to examine the dynamic relationship between regional planning “outside” the border and local planning “inside” the border. This paper also is also seeking to discuss how local planning authorities can strike a balance between regional and local planning policies by using two mega-infrastructures as case studies.

2. CONTEXT

Hong Kong is formed by Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories. During the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong was part of the District of Sam On. After the first and second Opium War, Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula were ceded to the British Government in 1842 and 1860 under the Treaty of Nanjing and the Treaty of Peking respectively. In 1898, the New Territories including Lantau Island were also leased to the British Government for 99 years rent-free under the Second Convention of Peking.

2.1 Planning System in Hong KongTown Planning Ordinance, which was firstly enacted in 1939 during the colonial period, is the main ordinance to regulate the planning system in Hong Kong. In 1997, Hong Kong becomes one of a Special Administrative Regions of China after the handover. Under the principle of “One Country, Two Systems”, Hong Kong

remains as a market-oriented capitalist economy. The Basic Law, which is the constitution of Hong Kong, also confirms that the laws previously in force during the British colonial period in Hong Kong shall be maintained, except for any that contravene the Basic Law and subject to any amendment by the legislature of the Hong Kong, including the Town Planning Ordinance.According to the Town Planning Ordinance, planning system in Hong Kong comprises development strategies at the territorial level and various types of statutory and departmental plans at the local level (Planning Department, Hong Kong Government, 2019) The Town Planning Board (TPB), which is the principal body responsible for statutory planning in Hong Kong and is formed under the Town Planning Ordinance. However, all of its members are all appointed by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

2.2 Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta RegionHong Kong is within the Pearl River Delta (PRD) Region. However, there was very limited regional planning or development in the Region as Hong Kong was a British colony and China was politically unrest. The PRD Region was changing after the announcement of the Open Door Policy in 1978 and it restructured the economy of Hong Kong from an industrial centre to an international financial and services centre as a lot of factories in Hong Kong were relocated to the PRD Region due to its low land and labour cost. The increasing economic cooperation between the

Figure 3 (left). Pearl River Delta

Region (Hong Kong Trade Development

Council, 2019)

Figure 4 (right) Outline

Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao

Greater Bay Area

Figure 1. Territory of Hong Kong (BBC, 2018) Figure 2. District of Sam On, Qing Dynasty (1866)

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two places also supported the cross-border passenger and freight traffic.Although Hong Kong becomes a Special Administrative Region of China in 1997, the border has been retained. Both Hong Kong and Chinese residents require special travelling documents to cross the border. For instance, Hong Kong residents require a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents for travelling to and from China, while Chinese residents require an Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao and could only visit to Hong Kong and Macao on business visas or in group tours.The performance of the economy of Hong Kong was very poor after the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998 and the breakout of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003. In order to rescue the economy of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Government was seeking to ask for the support from Beijing Government. In 2003, Beijing Government agreed to implement the Individual Visit Scheme and to sign the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) with Hong Kong Government. CEPA is a free trade agreement to allow qualified products, companies and residents of Hong Kong to enjoy preferential access to the Chinese market, while the Individual Visit Scheme is to allow visitors from Mainland China to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis.Since 2003, visitors from Mainland China have dominated the tourist market and become the most important support to the tourism development in Hong Kong, while tourism is one of the major pillars of the economy of Hong Kong. On the other hand, Beijing Government has also attempted to play a proactive role in enhancing the competitiveness of the PRD Region, by using Hong Kong’s unique advantages. Cities within the PRD Region are also keen to boost their economies and compete with Hong Kong. For instance, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have built their own international airports and container terminals so as to support the trade and economic growth in the PRD Region.In 2017, Beijing Government firstly announced the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) under the National 13th Five-Year Plan in order to develop the PRD Region into one of the most economically vibrant regions in China during the 19th National Congress of the

Communist Party of China. Greater Bay Area comprises Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing in Guangdong Province, covering a total area of 56 000 square kilometres of the Region (Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, Hong Kong Government, 2018). The Greater Bay Area is also identified to become an important role in the Belt and Road Initiative and sets an example of closer cooperation between Hong Kong and Macao and China.

3. SUBJECT DESCRIPTION

The development of the Greater Bay Area is a nationally planning policy. In order to respond to the national and regional planning, Hong Kong Government is seeking to improve cross-border transport infrastructures in order to support the ever increasing economic cooperation between the two places. One of the key strategies to expediting infrastructural connectivity of the Area is to build a rapid transport network in the Greater Bay Area (Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, Hong Kong Government, 2018). The commencement of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) are two key infrastructures in the Greater Bay Area, which are fully supported by Beijing Government.

3.1 Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB)In 2001, the pro-establishment Legislative Council of Hong Kong passed a motion urging Hong Kong Government to

Table 1 Chinese Visitors Arrival vs Total Visitors Arrival ( Hong Kong Tourism Board, 2018)

Figure 5. Hong Kong-Zhuhai-

Macao Bridge (Transport and

Housing Bureau, Hong Kong

Government, 2019)

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develop the logistics industry including the construction of a bridge connecting Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao. In 2003, a cross-government Advance Work Coordination Group of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) was then set up to coordinate the project such as landing points and alignments of the bridge, operation of the Border Crossing Facilities, and project financing. Hong Kong Government believe that the HZMB can help support both passenger and cargo transport services within the PRD Region. The HZMB also links three major cities Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao, which are geographically close but separated by water. With the bridge in place, travelling time between Zhuhai and Hong Kong would cut down from about four hours to thirty minutes on the road. The Hong Kong border control point is located on the artificial island next to the Hong Kong International Airport. Both Beijing Government and Hong Kong Government are very confident that the HZMB can create a so-called “bridgehead economy” and enhance the connectivity of the western part of the PRD Region.

However, the development was also heavily criticised as Hong Kong people found out many inconsistencies with the government plan and finally went out to oppose the HZMB as a whole, including:

• The high cost of the HZMB• Causing environmental issues to Chinese White Dolphins; and• Doubts on the official projections and estimated volume of traffic.

While ports in Hong Kong are not the only option in the Region as there are a number of new ports and links in the Region, including Yantian in Shenzhen and Nansha in Guangzhou. Drivers also have to obtain a special permit and a separate insurance from each city to use the HZMB. Vehicles from the HZMB are even not allowed to enter the urban area in Macao.

3.2 Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL)Hong Kong Government firstly gazetted the Scheme for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Hong Kong Section) (XRL) to collect public views in 2008. Although the Scheme requires land resumption of Choi Yuen Village, which is a small village consisting of about 500 people in Shek Kong, no meetings or discussions were arranged between residents of Choi Yuen Village and the Government. In November 2008, residents of Choi Yuen Village even received a warning note that they must vacate the village by November 2010 because of the commencement of the construction works.

Figure 6. Map of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (TravelChinaGuide.com, 2019)

Figure 7 (left). Map of Major Ports and Airports in the

Pearl River Delta Region (Hong Kong Trade Development

Council, 2019)

Figure 8 (right) Map of proposed

Shenzhen Zhongshan Link

and Shenzhen Zhuhai Link (South

China Morning Post Publishers Ltd.,

2019)

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The Scheme was also heavily criticised and became an Anti-XRL movement as Hong Kong people found out many inconsistencies with the government plan and finally went out to oppose the rail link as a whole, including:

• The high cost of the rail link• Causing environmental issues to residents along the rail link;• Doubts on the official projections and estimated returns; and• Sacrificing local interests by dismantling Choi Yuen Village.

Although concerns have been raised regarding the development of the XRL, Hong Kong Government considered that the development of the XRL is a nationally supported infrastructure to connect Hong Kong and China. There is also a huge economic return for the development of the XRL to become part of the “four vertical and four horizontal” passengers lines of the Chinese national high-speed railway network. The funding of the Scheme was finally approved by the pro-establishment lawmakers who form a majority in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in 2010.

4. ANALYSIS / RESEARCH

It is always a challenge for a local government to strike a balance between regional and local planning when a regional planning policy is nationally supported. Although Hong Kong has itsVown government and planning system, Hong Kong has still found to be trapped in an economic-minded planning dilemma, in which benefits of national and regional planning policies and economic development always prioritise first.National or regional planning policies can provide a wider planning framework to make sure that development can be enhanced by collaborations instead of competitions among cities. On the other hand, local governments are responsible for formulating local planning policies and more importantly representing local communities. However, it will lead to a planning issue when local governments are not elected by the people.Hong Kong can have its own government under the Basic Law. However, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Government is elected from a restricted pool of candidates supportive of Beijing Government by a 1200-member Election Committee and appointed by Beijing Government. While members of the Town Planning Board are appointed by the Chief Executive, it expects that the pro-establishment Town Planning Board always back the Chief Executive. When there are national and regional planning policies proposed by Beijing Government, the pro-Beijing Hong Kong Government and its Town Planning Board consider that

these policies are nationally important. The main reason is that they are all appointed by Beijing Government, rather than elected by the people of Hong Kong. In short, there is no responsibility for them to address the local planning issues and concerns.

4.1 Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB)Hong Kong Government considered that the development of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) is strategically

Figure 10.People assemble

at an open square (South China Morning Post

Publishers Ltd., 2018)

Figure 11.People queue up for buses to the

HZMB (South China Morning Post

Publishers Ltd., 2018)

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important as it will help Hong Kong links the western part of the Pearl River Delta, which are geographically close but separated by water. Beijing Government also fully supported the development as Hong Kong will also become one of the key Links in the Greater Bay Area.While public has already raised question about the environmental impacts and the economic benefits of the HZMB prior to the commencement of the development, Hong Kong Government, however, still consider that the HZMB can create a so-called “bridgehead economy” and enhance the connectivity of the western part of the Pearl River Delta as the principle of development of the HZMB is one of the important infrastructures under the development of the Greater Bay Area. As a result, the construction of the Hong Kong section of the HZMB was delay due to a legal challenge regarding the environmental impact of the HZMB. Public still question whether there are any environmental and social benefits on the development of the HZMB.

4.2 Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail LinkEqually, Hong Kong Government considered that the development of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link is strategically important as it will help Hong Kong become part of the “four vertical and four horizontal” passengers lines of the Chinese national high-speed railway network. On the other hand, Beijing Government also fully supported the development as Hong Kong will also become one of the key national high-speed railway stations in the Greater Bay Area.

Although the proposed railway line will pass through Choi Yuen Village, residents of the village are considered to have no stacks in the development of the XRL. As such, Hong Kong Government did not attempt to engage the residents or to make any amendments on the proposal as the principle of development of the XRL is already nationally supported. Indeed, the residents were only informed by a warning note to vacate the village by November 2010. As a result, the development of the XRL leads to a large scale anti-high speed rail link social movement.Figure 12. Development of the XRL (South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd., 2014)

Figure 13.A slogan showing “Supporting Choi

Yuen Village”

Figure 14.Anti-Hong Kong

Express Rail Link movement

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5. WAY FORWARD

After the handover in 1997, Hong Kong becomes a Special Administrative Region of China. Although Hong Kong can have its own government under the Basic Law and the principle of “One Country, Two Systems”, national and regional planning policies play an important role in planning the city. Since 2003, the economy of Hong Kong has become dependent on China; it appears that Hong Kong has been trapped in an economic-minded planning dilemma, in which benefits of national policies and economic development always prioritise first. This section summarised the experiences learnt from the development of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB).

5.1 Local Engagement in Regional PlanningHong Kong is a key stakeholder in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. However, it appears that local communities have no stakes in formulating regional planning as both the Town Planning Board and the Chief Executive of Hong Kong are not elected by the people. While this paper is not attempting to discuss the political system in Hong Kong, it appears that Hong Kong Government still has to identify the local needs when implementing a regional planning policy. The case study of HZMB implies that local communities can only raise their concerns through legal challenge, while the case study of XRL sets out that the failure of addressing local concerns would lead to distrust between locals and governments. Hong Kong Government, unfortunately, both missed the earliest opportunity to engage local communities when implementing the projects.

5.2 Miracle or Disaster?Regional planning is somehow a two-edged sword for local planning. There is really no golden rule on how to strike a balance between regional and local planning policies. Both of the case studies demonstrate that Hong Kong Government, in fact, has a responsibility to consider the sustainability of the proposals; even these projects are regionally planned or nationally supported.

REFERENCES

Hong Kong Tourism Board, 2018. Research & Statistics. [Online] Available at: https://securepartnernet.hktb.com/en/research_statistics/tourism_statistics_database/index.html [Accessed 01 September 2019]. BBC, 2018. Hong Kong territory profile. [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-16517764 [Accessed 11 May 2018]. Chung, H., 2015. Unequal Regionalism: Regional Planning in China and England. Planning Practice and Research, 5(30), pp. 570-586. Civil Aviation Department, Hong Kong Government, 2008. Kai Tak Development. [Online] Available at: http://www.ktd.gov.hk/eng/ [Accessed 27 March 2018]. Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, Hong Kong Government, 2018. Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong: Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, Hong Kong Government. Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong Government, 2005. Regional Collaboration. [Online] Available at: https://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/water/hkwqrc/regional/prdwaterqualitystudies.html [Accessed 21 April 2019]. Haselsberger, B., 2014. Decoding borders. Appreciating border impacts on space and people. Planning Theory and Practice, 15(4), pp. 505-526. Hong Kong Trade Development Council, 2019. Market Profiles on Chinese Cities and Provinces. [Online] Available at: http://info.hktdc.com/mktprof/china/prd.htm [Accessed 01 September 2019]. MTR Corporation Limited, 2019. High Speed Rail. [Online] Available at: https://www.highspeed.mtr.com.hk/en/about/hsr-intro.html [Accessed 15 July 2019]. Planning Department, Hong Kong Government, 2019. Hong Kong: The Fact, Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government. Routley, N., 2018. Megacity 2020: The Pearl River Delta’s Astonishing Growth. [Online] Available at: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/pearl-river-delta-megacity-2020/ [Accessed 21 April 2019]. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd., 2014. A rough ride on train of frustration. [Online] Available at: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1497901/rough-ride-train-frustration [Accessed 15 July 2019]. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd., 2018. Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge traffic continues to rise, but efforts to reduce weekend day trippers pay off. [Online] Available at: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2179456/hong-kong-mega-bridge-traffic-continues-rise [Accessed 15 July 2019].

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South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd., 2019. Zhuhai’s proposal for new bridge linking it with Shenzhen means Hong Kong should rethink its relationship with mainland neighbours, lawmaker says. [Online] Available at: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/2185581/zhuhais-proposal-new-bridge-linking-it-shenzhen-means-hong [Accessed 01 September 2019]. Tang, W. & Jin, Z., 2018. Conflict and compromise in planning decision-making: How does a Chinese local government negotiate its construction land quota with higher-level governments?. Environment and Urbanization, 30(1), pp. 155-174. Transport and Housing Bureau, Hong Kong Government, 2019. MAin Bridge. [Online] Available at: https://www.hzmb.gov.hk/en/info/photo-main-bridge.html [Accessed 15 July 2019]. TravelChinaGuide.com, 2019. Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. [Online] Available at: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/hongkong/zhuhai-macau-bridge.htm [Accessed 01 September 2019].

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PLANNING ON THE EDGE OF A SECONDARY CITY: THE LEGACY OF THE PAST AND THE NEED FOR A PROSPECTIVE URBAN PLANNING.THE CASE OF TOURS (FRANCE)

Christophe Demaziere*Professor in Urban and Regional Planning at the Departement Amenagementchristophe.demaziere@univ-tours.fr

Alaa Hasanen*Architect and Master studentah@alaahasanen.com

Emilia Kopeć*Architect and Master student emiliakopec2305@gmail.com

*Ecole Polytechnique de l’universite de Tours, France

TITLE

authors

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Present since 1915 and occupying 300 hectares in the north of the agglomeration of Tours (300,000 inhabitants in the Loire Valley region), an infrastructure - the local airport - has helped to contain the urbanization in the last decades. It constituted a clear break with the surrounding wine-growing areas and market gardens. The announcement in 2017 of the departure of the military hunting school, planned for 2020, leads the local actors to strategic reflections. It is about finding a vocation for the hundred hectares and the real estate inherited from the army. It is also necessary to think about the joint development of the airport zone and the urban and agricultural spaces that surround it. These reflections come at a time of institutional and political change and of fiscal austerity. On the basis of fieldwork, academic workshop and the meeting of many actors, the paper will first develop a diagnosis of the urban development of the city of Tours, putting, in particular, the cut-off effect generated by certain infrastructures, including the airport. While there is a disjunction between the development of the airport and the city, it is assumed here that in the future any urban project and airport development (or reconversion) should aim at coevolution. With this in mind, this paper will analyse three developmental scenarios which are developed for the next 20 years: growth, diversification, and reconversion.

ABSTRACT

Christophe DEMAZIERE is Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Tours (France). He runs the International Master Planning and Sustainability. He carried out research on strategic spatial planning in England and France, small and medium-sized towns in Europe and the knowledge economy in major French cities. He is currently involved in a comparative analysis of the reform of metropolitan governments in Europe. He coedited, with Abdelillah Hamdouch, Torill Nyseth and José Serrano, Creative Approaches to Planning and Local Development. Insights from Small and Medium-Sized Towns (Routledge, 2017) and, with Chris Silver and Robert Freestone, The Right to the City. Dialogues in Urban and Regional Planning (Routledge, 2018).

Alla Hasanen is an Architect and Urban Designer with a demonstrated history of working on many significant projects varying from architecture and interior designs to urban planning and sustainability. He studied architectural engineering at Yarmouk University, obtaining a first-class honours degree in 2015 before gaining a Master’s degree in Sustainability and Planning from the Polytech School in France. Reflecting this education, he also oversees the Hasanen Architects design and planning team and recently joined the teaching board as a teacher assistant at the University of Tours. Over the last five years, he has established a sustainable approach to the design of the built environment. As a member of the Project Management Institute, he led an extraordinary creative team of architects to deliver a wide range of award-winning projects in the United States, China, and France.

Emilia Kopeć is a young urban planner who is building the conceptual work about translocation in the suburban zone of the city of Wrocław in western Poland, what is her hometown, where she has been doing her degree in Spatial Planning at an architectural department in University of Science and Technology. In 2018 she started her adventure on international planning area where she realized master’s program in Polytech- University Francais Rabelais of Tours in France, what gave her an opportunity to belong to ECTP-Young Urban Planners association with her first official paper. Her educational background gives her an opportunity to be engaged in many planning fields, as a real estate management in local governance or to solve the problems with a spatial disorder with CARDO Science Club which she is a part of. She especially enjoys preparing analysis in social aspects by providing the best place to live as suburban zones in a face of urban sprawl, what she may improve in her academic works.

biographies

DemaziereChristophe

HasanenAlaa

KopećEmilia

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An urban edge is defined by the border between a city or suburb and its surrounding environment. It is usually described by the boundary of urban infrastructures, such as sewers, or by a sharp contrast in density or the built environment. “A boundary is not that at which something stops, but as the Greek recognized, the boundary is that, from which something beginnings it presenting” (Heidegger, 1974). In this paper, we take the city of Tours (France) as a case study, due to the fact that its airport plays an important role in shaping the urban edge. Through its historical development, the transport infrastructure prevented the spatial expansion of the city. Today, the city is facing a serious challenge especially in its eastern side, where the airport is located and played a significant role in densifying the western part and unbalanced the expansions that were happening and mainly concentrated it in the west, though the area is combined with mainly a mix of industrial, commercial and residential uses, the area on the North-East side, because of the airport and the main roads is mainly dominated by greenfield sites letting this area to be not well connected by public transport and enforcing the lacking development and residential areas. Moreover, the airport causes a low density in the immediate area around it. This is, of course, a consequence of the difficulties in building housing close to an airport.This paper aims at analyzing how this airport-caused urban edge can be used for innovative planning of the North-

1. INTRODUCTION

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East area of Tours. It is based on a workshop carried out during three months (September to December 2018), by five professors and 30 students in urban planning. The workshop involved fieldwork, the meeting of many stakeholders (local councilors, business, and NGOs). It developed three long term scenarios for the future of the area. While there is a disjunction between the development of the airport and the city, we argue that in the future any urban project and airport development (or re-conversion) should aim at coevolution.

2. CONTEXT

The location of Tours city in central-west France on the lower reaches of the Loire, between Orleans and the Atlantic coast, has not stood in the way of its historic expansion. Until the 20th century, there was a development in the northern part of Tours City. However, the focus was majorly seen as growing towards the north side gradually through phases of expansion in the industrial, commercial, and residential development. During all these phases, many people kept on moving towards the north side of the city as it grew and moving away from the city center. Today, most of the density is concentrated in the western part. This is due to the fact that the airport, along with the main roads and agricultural land, acted as an urban edge that unbalanced the expansions that took place. The airport which created in 1915 as a military base and it took over agricultural land and occupied 300 hectares, constituted a clear break between the growing city and the surrounding famous wine areas and market gardens. In 2017, the national government decided the departure of the military hunting school in 2021. This has led local actors to strategic reflections. A first challenge is to keep the civil airport if possible, but its costs will grow because both the air control and the maintenance were operated by the army. A second and linked challenge is to find a vocation for some hundred hectares and the real estate inherited from the army (the army keeps the rest). For planners, it is necessary to develop a long-term view about the joint development of the civil airport zone and the urban and agricultural spaces that surround it. These reflections come at a time of institutional and political change, and austerity of local public finances is expected.The urban edge of the city was not the birthplace of a moment or as a result of geological and natural factors, but it was as a result of the city’s urban development throughout its history. This started by the early establishment of national infrastructure road which drew the first lines of the city’s edge, while

later the airport worked on shaping and strengthening the urban edge of the city. Today, the airport alongside with the big roads and high car accessibility which is prioritized over other traffic, especially walking and cycling, fragmenting the area and led to vacant lands that hard to develop in a coordinated way and increase the feeling of non-coherence in the area. However, a redevelopment project could change the face of the airport city as an urban island, improving the dynamics around and benefiting the surrounding community. A workshop carried out in September 2018 and involved five professors and 30 Master students in urban planning identified five different development zones. The first area (Area for Future Development) shows the areas that are considered to have the potential for further densification. Location and current population density support those areas as “residential focus zones”.

Figure 1.The Urban Edge of

the City of Tours

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The second area shows an urban district (Quartier Europe); that has already reached its saturation point of population density. Thirdly, a residential area is located like an island in the industrial zone. This area is also not the focus of residential development, as the location is non-comfortable in terms of livability. Lastly, two additional areas are identified, but under restrictions. Both areas are in the sphere of influence of noise pollution by the airport. Therefore, further, development is dependent on the future trajectories of the airport. Besides these areas of possible densification, certain brownfields are identified. Most of them are located in the close vicinity of the airport and may have some restriction concerning residential development. However, the outcomes of the workshop results in three development scenarios are developed for the next 20 years: growth, diversification, and reconversion.

3. \ANALYSIS / RESEARCH

3.1. The formation of an urban edge: connecting and separating the city through transport infrastructures.In this section, we argue that the formation of an urban edge is a long-term phenomenon. In the case of Tours, three episodes have transformed a rural plateau dominating the river Loire and the historical center of the city (Demazière and Leducq, 2019). These episodes are the establishment of a bridge and a major road in the 18th century, the creation of an airbase in the early 20th century, and the fast urbanization of the area, following functionalist planning, in the 1960s and 1970s.

3.1.1. Connecting while separating: the “Great breakthrough” and its effects on the urbanization of ToursTours was founded by the Romans on a hill by the river Loire. This site was chosen so as to prevent any flooding. The Romans built temples, a Roman bath, and a huge amphitheater which was able to host 34,000 people. Thanks to its location by the Loire, Tours developed rapidly as a center for trade. The city wall built in the 4th century safeguarded Tours during the Wisigoth attack in the 6th century and the Viking invasion in the 9th century.In 1450, Tours became the capital of France after King Louis XI settled there. Until 1550, due to the almost permanent presence of the king, Tours becomes a competitor of Paris and receives a very important industrial and artistic activity: goldsmiths, embroiderers, gunsmiths, stonecutters, etc. (Chevalier, 1985). With the presence of the Royal Court in Tours, many castles are built in the Loire Valley

region. During the second half of the 16th century and the 17th century, the departure of the king and the court to Paris caused a decline of the city. This period sees the construction of an enclosure protecting the city of Tours from the floods of the Loire. According to historians, the morphology of the city did not change much until the 18th century (figure 1). At the beginning of the 18th century, the political and economic links between France and Spain gain considerable strength, giving a new impetus to the route from Paris to Bordeaux to Spain, which passes through Tours. The network of royal roads is completely redesigned by the engineers of the Bridges and Roads. To connect cities, the aim is to draw large radial roads as straight as possible, and many structures were built, bridges for the most part. The width of the royal roads is standardized to sixty feet wide, nearly twenty meters, ditches are dug, and new trees are planted along the roadway.

Figure 2.Tours on the

Cassini map (Mid 18th century)

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In this context, the route from Paris to Bordeaux to Spain had its route modified in depth. In Tours, this involved developing a new road from north to south, 7 kilometers long. Called the “Great breakthrough”, the work last from 1757 to 1779 (Chevalier, 1985). Firstly, a new bridge over the Loire was built in stone between 1765 and 1778 (figure 2). Second, a new majestic way was traced within Tours, in the middle of the urban fabric of the Middle Ages. These major projects were to guide the urban development of Tours along this North-South axis. South of the existing urban core, urbanization took place in the 19th century, with the arrival of the railway and the demolition of the ramparts which gave way to large tree-lined boulevards where private mansions or commercial galleries were built. In this process, the royal road becomes urbanized.The situation was totally different on the right bank of the Loire. The creation of the royal road caused the leveling of the hill; the road at this point – a portion 1 kilometer long – is still called today ‘the Trench’ (figure 3). Then, the royal road turns North-East in the direction of Paris. Until the 1960s, although crossed by the royal road, this region remained largely agricultural. In spite of the proximity to Tours, urbanization was scarce and took place in the two villages of Saint-Symphorien and Sainte-Radegonde. The whole area constitutes the Northern urban edge of Tours, characterized by traffic on a large road in the middle of fields. This status of urban edge last two centuries, from the mid 18th century to the 1960s or 1970s. Until the end of the construction of the Paris-Bordeaux motorway in the late 1970s, the Trench Avenue in Tours was the holiday route for

Parisians going to Spain and that of foreign trucks making the round trip between the North and South of Europe.

3.1.2. The airbase as reinforcing the urban edgeIn 1915, at the beginning of the Second World War, the French government decided to set up a military aviation school at Tours, in the Parçay-Meslay and Saint-Symphorien communes. The field served as a field of maneuvering the 66th Infantry Regiment before it joined the front of the East of France in August 1914.

Figure 3.Tours after the “Great breakthrough”: Panoramic view of Tours as painted by Demachy (1787)

Figure 4.View of the Trench

from the stone bridge, early 20th

century. The gates mark the limit

between Tours and the municipality of Saint-Symphorien

Figure 5.The Paris-Bordeaux

road passing through the airfield

(Collection Didier Dubant)

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This airbase is located at the top of the plateau overlooking the south Loire and the city of Tours (Figure 6, left). It is located along the Paris-Bordeaux road created in the 18th century. Until the 1930s, the airbase doubled its grip and reached more than 300 hectares (Dubant, 2014). In the east, it will include very good agricultural land for the extension of its tracks and its aeronautical facilities. Towards the west, the base will span the Paris-Bordeaux highway (figure 6, right). It is to build barracks, the quarters of the officers, the infirmary, the penitentiary premises. Referred Tulasne district, this set of magnitude is a military district, not a district of town. It constitutes an isolate within the periphery (‘urban edge’) of the North of Tours (figure 7). After the armistice of June 1940, the base was occupied by several units of the Luftwaffe who proceeded to the extension of the tracks (Fillet, 2015). In 1944, an aerial photograph shows that the military installations and the tracks were bombarded intensely (figure 8). It also shows us that the airbase still stands at this time, away from the city. It is along the west by the Paris-Bordeaux road, which is still the only structuring element of this northern part of Tours.In 1945, the aerodrome returned to the French army. It has built barracks for housing troops. In 1953, the aerodrome was mainly assigned to the Air Force for the Air Personnel School and on a secondary basis to air transport and light and sport aviation. It is on this basis that commercial passenger transport will

develop. In 1959, a new Terminal, called “La Caravelle” was inaugurated. Today, Tours Airport serves five destinations in France, Ireland, United Kingdom, Portugal, and Morocco and is used for business flights, as well as by Tours Hospital.

Figure 6. Saint-Symphorien airbase in 1931 (source: Aeronautical Atlas of the Ministry of Air)

Figure 7.View of the western

part of Tours Air Base (Didier Dubant

Collection)

Figure 8.The air base in the

middle of the fields, after the

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In addition, the increase in road traffic and the need for expansion of the military camp force the authorities to deviate the national road to the west of the camp. Carried out in the early 1980s, this diversion increases road traffic and, by demanding a high-capacity road network in the North of Tours, creates multiple urban cuts. To the south, the Mirabeau bridge, commissioned in 1972, crosses the Loire east of the stone bridge. This infrastructure is designed for motor traffic: it has four lanes of traffic, a half-air exchanger for a national road along the Loire and is extended north by a semi-covered trench which leads north a broad boulevard serving the north of Tours before joining the Paris-Bordeaux road. Still further east, along the airbase, the Paris-Bordeaux motorway was set up in the 1970s. This infrastructure, one of the busiest in France, contributes, like the airport, to contain the urbanization to the east, which it isolates from the rest of Tours.

3.1.3. Historical Short-Term impacts: Functionalist Urban Planning in the 1960s and 1970sBetween 1950 and 1980, the population of Tours almost doubled (from 80 to 140 000 inhabitants). This growth is realized especially under the impulse of Jean Royer, mayor from 1959 to 1995. In 1964, this one obtained from the State that the communes of the right bank of the Loire, Sainte-Radegonde, and Saint-Symphorien, merge with Tours. (Figure 9) Shows that at this date, urbanization is very limited and that it was carried out along non-linear old roads. In two decades, the almost complete urbanization of Tours Nord will be realized. From 1966 to 1972, a large neighborhood of social housing, the Quartier de l’Europe, was built. In its immediate vicinity, is the industrial area of Douets, the largest industrial area of the Center-Val de Loire region by the area and the number of jobs. In the surroundings, many other industrial, tertiary or logistic zones will be realized until today, generating high car traffic for commuting. The tram linking Tours Nord to the historic city center was only inaugurated in 2013 and, if it passes through the district of Europe, it does not serve the poles of employment or the airport. In 1969, the sector also saw the opening of a shopping center (at the time the largest in the region), also generating traffic.

3.1.4. Mid-Term Impacts: The urban edge of Tours todayFrom the 1960s, the northern part of Tours City has experienced phases of expansion in the industrial, commercial, and residential development. The satellite images (Figure 10) show that most of the urban development is concentrated in the western part. This is due to the fact that the airport, along with the Paris-Bordeaux motorway and the agricultural land, acted as an urban edge

Figure 9.Evolution of the

building stock on the north bank of Tours from 1900

to 2012 (Workshop DA5, 2015)

Figure 10.Satellite images

illustrate the urban development of

Tours City. Source: Google Earth

that unbalanced the expansions that took place. Urban development mainly concentrated it in the west while the eastern side was limited to some villages between the agricultural lands with a low density.In a further analysis for the city’s activities and land use

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map, figure 11 shows the different land use (mainly commercial, industrial, and residential) in the area. There is a high concentration of industrial activities in the vicinity of the airport. However, these are not connected to the airport as well. Good connections to the motorway are for them the major location factor.Though the residential area in the North of Tours is connected by the tram line and public transport, cars dominate most of the areas around the city. The main roads and military base in the area hinder the accessibility and the connection between the airport and the surrounding area. Moreover, the main roads create weak connectivity to the commercial zones for the people depending on public transport. The facilities in the commercial areas are at long distance for the pedestrians.

3.2. Long term Impact: The City’s Future ScenariosIn 2017, the national government decided the departure of the military hunting school by 2021, since then, local actors with urban planners started to put proposals in an attempt to prevent any further impact of the urban edge on the urban city development. As part of its role on the Territorial Coherence Scheme, the Tours Métropole Val de Loire Development Council identified in 2018 the north-east of the Metropolis (Notre-Dame-d’Oé, Parçay-Meslay, Rochecorbon, Tours North) as one of the sectors at stake for future urban development. The departure of the military school in 2021 and the projects of the Metropolis lead to reflect on the future of the Airport of Tours Val de Loire in the long term. As a response, an innovative pedagogical workshop was set up within Polytech Tours, around a project in planning and urbanism: “City - Airport: the case of Tours.” This project, which ran from September to December 2018, involved 15 engineering students from the Urban Planning and International Territorial Engineering and 17 students in the International Master 2 “Planning and Sustainability” from 13 countries and supervised by 5 teachers of the Polytechnic School of the University of Tours and researchers in spatial planning and urban planning at UMR CNRS CITERES. The research methods of the workshop were based on interviews, field visits, satellite imagery, and master plan analysis and targeted the airport area including the surrounded main roads, the backlog of housing and industrial areas, and also the mobility and connectivity challenges with the surrounded areas. The closure of the Military- Base will leave a lot of lands open for development and give the chance to reduce any future impact by the urban edge on the city. Moreover, this will support rebalancing the urban development in the area and attract other kinds of activity which creates economical revenues. The workshop resulted in three developmental scenarios which are developed for the next 20 years: growth, diversification, and reconversion.

Figure 11.Activity and Land

Use Map of the City of Tours Source:

Author

3.2.1. Diversification as a Scenario of DevelopmentThe scenario considered the needs of the community by providing an accessible airport city in a multi-scale approach: within the neighborhood, with the rest of the city and at a regional scale. Tours will be connected with other cities and countries within the Multimodal Platform installed in the airport grounds. This new platform connects spaces for work and leisure, commerce and diverse activities; the diversification scenario will ensure sustainable growth by thinking of the sustainability of the neighborhood in all aspects: ecological, economic, cultural and social. Moreover, the multimodal platform and the airport economic diversity will bring new development opportunities: The platform will be located at the north entrance of the city of Tours (within the airport). According to the proposal, “It will promote the idea that the airport can be designed as a welcoming space.” The multimodal platform will be the location for a new bus stop (currently located at parking des peupliers) that supports long-

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distance destinations to other European cities. It provides a complimentary service of what already exists and diversifies the destinations with the bus lines from the ones provided by the airport such as the tramway and the train station. The pilot school, the cargo addition, and the business-private schools will support financially the leave of the army. The implementation of walking paths, bike lanes, and open spaces within the new mobility corridors, will increase accessibility to green spaces and improve connectivity at a neighborhood scale. The proposed corridors will provide multiple benefits for the population through spaces for relaxation, recreation, and exercise. Moreover, mobility corridors create brand new axes to connect the northern area to the center and at the neighborhood level from the East to the West and promote alternative mobility by offering the inhabitants’ multiple choices of transportation. Bike mobility enhancement will complement the “Loire à vélo” program. The current fragmented green spaces weaken the existing green corridor in the northern area of the airport. To reinforce the functionality and benefits of this corridor the proposal suggested: create ecological reserves, reconnect the green elements along the corridor and reforest degraded lands. As a result, the green corridors will provide two important benefits: Halt urban sprawl, leading to denser urbanism and create a buffer between agricultural lands and urbanized areas. In order to set up new dynamics in the neighborhood, the scenario suggests to create a space with recreational and cultural activities, and connect these spaces with the active life of city center, conceiving places to practice sports or study such as a multimedia library and sports fields, and for the night, an evening entertainment center with night clubs, pubs and restaurants. Both focuses can make this area active 24/7.

3.2.2. Tours as an “Ecomixcity”This reconversion scenario’s vision is to fully close the airport and creating Tours North a nature-friendly and coherent neighborhood, that relies on local producers and renewable energy. In this scenario, the community will actively participate in creating their way of living, enhancing environmental consciousness and generating a high quality of life in the city where agriculture and urbanism are no longer contradicting each other, instead of complementing each other interdependently. This will result in economic revenues and will benefit the entire metropole - but this is not the main focus in this reconversion. With a focus solely on economic growth, it would make more sense to let the airport stay or to develop car-industries, shopping malls, and exclusive and high consuming hotels. However, this reconversion scenario built upon other values than economic growth; this scenario combines the three pillars of sustainability environmental, social, and economic. The belief is that in the long run, economic

Figure 12.Diversification

Scenario’s Master Plan

sustainability cannot function without an environment and a community that is well functioning as well. The transformation of the airport site into a low-carbon district will bring economic benefits in employment, skills development, and it will reduce energy costs. The biomass plant will use the waste from agriculture to produce energy for the neighborhood and industry. Windmills, located in the industrial area, will create renewable electrical generation. Solar panels combined with agriculture will raise productivity. All buildings and infrastructure will be in line with ‘Zero emissions buildings’ schemes. According to the reconversion scenario, agriculture will be a central and common dimension that will create coherence through

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a green network linking all the functions together. Agriculture might be spread out over community gardens in the residential area, the recreational area, the eco-park, and also through vertical farming over a part of the military fence. It will help to maximize the degree of self-efficiency by supplying food and energy. The old control-tower will be reconverted into a restaurant depending on local and organic products. Workshops will be organized between the population and local farmers. Food will no longer be perceived as something that is bought in supermarkets, which might end in developing a more responsible way to consume food. Complementary to the density, a mix of functions and housing will create an area less dependent on the use of the car. Also, branches from the green park will intervene all of the built structure, creating connectivity and opportunity to engage in urban growing at all times, everywhere.

3.2.3. Growth ScenarioSince the Army will leave the air-base of Tours, the growth scenario uses the area to be utilized for further Airport development and activities by turning the urban edge of the city into an international gate. It considers that flights can be diverted from Paris airports to Tours by 2025 in order to reduce the air-traffic congestion. Tours might be a potential site for handling flight diversions as well as offering

Figure 14. The Reconversion Scenario’s Master Plan

Figure 13. Relocation of Recycling facilities

connections to new destinations. It might enhance intra and inter-regional connectivity, and as mentioned before, It is also a potential site for industrial and commercial development because of the site availability and current density as well as its current economic niche. The Airport infrastructure might be developed accordingly to the increase of passengers. “Loire Valley” is an attraction for Tourists from all over the world. Tours can be a node of connection for the touristic places around it. The airport might be designed so as to have optimum facilities to handle the diverted flights from Paris. A better and bigger infrastructure will be developed in this scenario to facilitate the incoming and outgoing crowd.Moreover, the airport corridor is an essential place for development to support: private investors, businesses and services and for the commuters traveling from this airport. It will also have a transport hub for other modes of transport. The existing parking spaces will be designed and developed. The development will contribute to sustainable development by improving green spaces and energy-efficient technologies.As for the scenario’s potential master plan, the north of Tours will consist of a new design of the airport, industrial and commercial development, Transport connectivity, and Tourism services. More green spaces will be created for further sustainable development. The air terminal will be extended to increase the passenger handling capacity. The airport will also contain leisure facilities, restaurants, lounge inside the terminal and better parking spaces, transport hub with bus platforms, tram station and taxi drop-off points outside the terminal. Transport connectivity will have a connection to the city center, peri-urban area, north industrial and residential area, Gare Saint Pierre-des-Corps. The possible future densification of the existing industrial area will be developed within the available area around 36 hectares. Commercial shops, corporate offices, residential land uses will be developed as mix use in approximately 101 hectares. The logistics industries will be developed in the north within the area around 110 hectares.

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High-tech industries ( ICT ) will be developed in the north within an area around 35 hectares. All of this aims to turn the city’s urban edge into an international gate and densify the study area and make its parts more connected with each other and with the cities around the world.

4. CONCLUSION

The shaping of the urban edge of a city cannot be confined to a single historical period. In the case of Tours, it was as a result of strategic urban developmental plans and visions started by the attempts to connect major cities in France and Spain, and continued with the needs of using it as a military base in the second world war. In recent decades, urban planners have a strong responsibility in the face of the area. Clearly, the motorway and highway network became the main driver of the city’s urban edge. Also, keeping and partially re-functioning the existed airport for commercial use without any sustainable and developmental plans for the surrounding areas plaid a significant role. The complete area was planned in favor of the car as the primary mode of transport with wide streets and enormous parking space. Many areas are mainly accessible by individual motorized transport. However, this car-friendly planning is not contemporary anymore. Any modern metropolitan area shall uphold values like environmental protection and livability. There is a need to change the current situation, as the city lacks safety measures for pedestrians and bikes as a result of the city’s fragmented zones. Additionally, public transport operates in a non-rationalized way in rather random and not intuitive patterns. Although the tramway that connects the city-center has big potential, it does not serve the main facilities of all the district like the industrial, commercial and residential zones. Also, public transport does not serve the last mile for the residential zones. The lack of possibilities to switch to other modes of transport

Figure 15. Gowth Scenario’s Economic Development Phases

Figure 16. Growth Scenario’s Master Plan

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reinforces the already dominate car use in most parts of the district which are sparsely populated. All this led to the strengthening of the urban edge in the city. Today, despite proposals made after the announcement of the departure of the military hunting school, planned for 2020, the future development of the city will depend on the local actors with their new vision, which will depend on the results of the institutional and political change, especially after the local councilors lobbied successfully to the national government to reach the status of ‘Métropole’. However, that all also will depend on the financial incentives from the state in the time of austerity of local public finances is expected.

REFERENCES Chevalier B.(ed.) (1985), Histoire de Tours, Toulouse, Privat, 423 p. Demazière C., Leducq D. (2019), Repenser la ville-aéroport dans le contexte de l’émergence d’une gouvernance métropolitaine : le cas de Tours, paper presented at Rencontres internationales en urbanisme APERAU, Strasbourg, 17-21 June. Dubant D. (2014), L’histoire du Second Aviation Instruction Center, l’école d’aviation américaine à Tours (Indre-et-Loire) de 1917 à 1919 (première partie). Bulletin de la Société Archéologique de Touraine. Tome LX, p. 395-423. Fillet C. (2015), Du champ d’aviation à la base aérienne 705, une grande histoire ! http://www.parcay-meslay.fr/sites/parcay-meslay/files/u120/histoire_de_la_ba_705.pdf Heidegger (1974) , The Will to Power as Art, ‘Nietzsche’, Vol. 1, 209 p. Pisman A., Allaert G., Lombaerde P. (2011), Urban and suburban lifestyles and residential preferences in a highly urbanized society, Belgeo- Revue belge de geographie (1-2), p. 89-104.

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IMPROVING FRANCE AND SPAIN CROSS-BORDER LINKS: THE URBAN DEVELOPMENTPLAN FOR THE RECOVERY OF CANFRANC INTERNATIONAL RAILWAY STATION

Beatriz Santos technical advisor at Urban Planning Department, Aragon’sGovernmentbss2430@hotmail.com

Raquel Aragonretail designerr.aragonblazquez@gmail.com

TITLE

authors

162 163

The International Railway Station complex is based in a deep valley placed to the north of Canfranc village just seven kilometers from the border between France and Spain. This is an area surrounded by Spanish territory but is part of an international tranche where joint activities are carried out with the region of Aquitaine.

This valley, called Aragon valley, has a critical strength, that no other place have in the Pyrenees, the railway. From Canfranc Station, ski slopes can be connected with the valley villages, link with the high-speed Saragossa-Madrid/ Barcelona rail line and with the border towns and villages in France. In this context, there is the question of upgrading the existing line between Pau and Saragossa via Canfranc in order to improve passage through the Pyrenees, not at the western or eastern extremes, but at the most central part, in the sorter term.

The Urban Development Plan for the recovery of Canfranc International Railway Station and its environment is a revitalizing tool recently approved for urban and spatial planning that aims to revitalize the area, to ensure rail services and connections, to recover the existing buildings, to protect the collective memory of the place, to improve the quality of life in this rural area with different land uses that enable citizen’s enjoyment, as well as the integration with the landscape in the territorial context and the cultural and natural heritage promotion.

The purpose of the paper is to analyse the potential of development of this area, its connectivity with Europe and the relationship with its natural environment: the Pyrenees, as the transition from natural to rural and urban areas.

ABSTRACT

Architect by the Technical University of Madrid (ETSAM, 2008). Master degree in Spatial and Environmental Planning (UNIZAR, 2012). Ph.D. Candidate with a research on the topic “Urban Renewal and Sustainability”, she has experience working within public sector in Urban and Spatial Planning. She is currently working in projects related with information and communication technology (ICT) enforced to urban planning as well as in strategic planning projects. Her interests include GIS and has been responsible for territorial studies such us evolution of land uses, productive areas or infrastructures in Aragon’s Government.

Architect by San Jorge University (ETSA USJ, 2018). Expert in workflows with BIM (ETSA USJ, 2017) and in Advanced Revit (ETSA USJ, 2018). Internship at Planning Administration Head Office of Aragon’s Government where she participated in the International Railway Station complex Planning. At present, she works in retail designing specific features for a big retailer and coordinating a team in the transition to BIM working method applied in this sector. She is interested in applying BIM to Urban Planning and architecture photography.

biographies

SantosBeatriz

AragonRaquel

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Canfranc Estación is located in the northern Spanish region of Jacetania, in the deep valley of the Aragon River, just seven kilometers from the border between Spain and France. Because of this position, at the beginning of the20th century, this place was chosen for building the International Railway Complex. Despite the area is surrounded by Spanish territory, it is considered as international tranche where joint activities are carried out with the French region of Aquitaine.

This is a border area away from the Spanish urban system and from European’s major routes with bad connections to France because the Pyrenees constitutes a natural barrier, which separates Aragón from the rest of the continent. It is, therefore, a small area “on the edge” that could play an important role as a spatial axis with the renewal of the International Station marked by an extraordinary impression.

This paper aims to analyze the Urban Development Plan for the recovery of Canfranc International Railway Station and how it will improve the links between Spain and France. The study examines the location, uses, and design of the whole intervention area, regarding green areas, pubic spaces, and old significant buildings, finding the significant impact this Plan is thought to have in the local economy and in the struggle to stop depopulation.

1. INTRODUCTION

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2. CONTEXT

The municipality of Canfranc has two small urban areas, the original in the south and 4,5km to the north the second that was created with to the Station. Nowadays, it has a population of around 530 people and the proximity of bigger towns like Jaca, with 12.000 inhabitants and situated only 20 minutes driving, makes possible keep living in Canfranc while working in a different place.Close to the northern town, a road tunnel was opened in 2003, which connected the valleys of Aragón and Aspe. The modern tunnel, along with the quality of the Spanish road that goes there, was supposed to make important progress for improving the connection. However, the bad condition of the roads on the French side, make this route worthless for drivers.

Figure 1. Canfranc Station emplacement. Ortophoto

Figure 2,3. Canfranc Station. “Edge” space between France and Spain in the Pyrenees

Figure 4.Road and rail

connections between France

and Spain scheme

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The location has been a key factor in its growth. Nevertheless, it also played an important role in the abandon process it suffered in the last decades. During the last century, the migration from remote areas to the cities looking for the opportunities the countryside lacked, affected severely the Pyrenees, like many other places in Spain. Canfranc International Railway Complex was an important spot of activity, which helped to slow down this tendency in the zone.However, when the international line was closed and consequently the decline of the Station started, strong depopulation trends and low population density were produced in the area.The economy of the mountain regions is based on tourism; in winter, many ski fields offer a unique opportunity for practicing such a cold needed sport for a southern country, and vacation resorts and trekking routes are the perfect destiny for spending time in nature.

Historical Background: living in a borderThe natural crossing of Somport, which name comes from Latin ‘Sommus Portus’, historically had played an important role in the development of the valley, thanks to the important flow of people and goods through the border. The name of Canfranc is also original from Roman time, when this place was known as ‘Campo Franco’ because of its situation between two countries.The first settlements known, dated from the 11th century, consisted of small group of houses, an accommodation for the pilgrims of Camino de Santiago, a mil and an exchange office. In the 15th century, their residents were given the royal right of ‘Rota and Porta’, which allowed them to collect an exemption for the goods, horses and cattle that crossed the border. After the Industrial Revolution, the steam engine contributed/favored the change of the transport model by the creation of railway networks which connected the main cities in Europe. Among other routes for planning the line between Madrid, the centre of Spanish radial network design, and Paris, the option for breaking through the Pyrenees by Canfranc was the chosen one. Cross-border connections led the origin and historical evolution and development of the valley: Somport is the least abrupt and busiest border crossing if the central Pyrenees.The complicated orography in the north of the Pyrenees, in French territory, made impossible to build the station there, so the best option was Villanúa, a small town further insider in Spanish lands than Canfranc. However, it wasn’t the right place for politics and military, who expressed their concerns about share sovereignty between Spain and France so deep in their country. Finally, they selected the longitudinal/lengthwise open space in the valley closest to France they found.

The excavation of the tunnel of 7.875 m started in both sides at the same time. Whereas the 3.8 km dug by Spaniards between 1908 and 1914 cost around 55.000€ of that time, the outgo of the French part was very much higher. The material extracted from the tunnel was used for constructing a more than one kilometer long platform over which build the railway station complex.In 1970, an accident in Estanget Bridge, in France, caused the closure of the line permanently. Since then, it has been driven a lot of initiatives for reopening the line, however none of then have achieved their goal and the international connection is still closed. Despite of this, Canfranc Station is open with one train a day arriving from Saragossa.What seemed a disaster in many ways came out to be a tremendous opportunity for the Nuclear Physic Researching team of the University of Saragossa. They built a Subway Laboratory in the Spanish section of the tunnel with a main gallery of 120m2 and two more of 18m2. The following years, the Laboratory grew till the 850m2 that it has nowadays and after the CERN in Geneva, this is the largest subway laboratory in Europe. An old and by then useless infrastructure was thought for a new uncommon and unexpected use.

Figure 5.Canfranc Railway

Station. General view. Mid 40s

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3. CANFRANC INTERNATIONAL STATION COMPLEX

The base of the valley is divided by Aragón River; the town where the workers who built the infrastructures lived is on the left side, meanwhile, the Station Complex is on the other side over the platform constructed for that purpose. In the north, at the end of the open space created by the mountain topography is situated the tunnel that connected with France.The relationship between both sides is made just by four bridges that cross the river; two pedestrians in the south, one of them it’s a subway connection direct to the middle of the complex, the main bridge in front the principal building and the railway bridge in the north. Despite those bridges, during the time the Station was on service there wasn’t a real bond between them. The uses and functions of each other were different and their daily activities ran in parallel.

The station buildingThe complex was designed for operating two different wide railways, European size for the trains coming from France on the east and Spanish size on the west side. The Station main building was in the middle, acting as a customs office, where passengers must have passed trough for reaching the other train, as well as checked their documents and luggage.The singularity of this building comes from its French style, academic composition and symmetry, with a large central dome and two smaller on the sides. It was destined for public and official uses on the ground floor, a hotel in upper floors and apartments for custom office workers and their families under the roof.

Figure 6. Railway platform and River course

Figure 7,8.International

Station building

Figure 10 and 11.Curved warehouse and Postal Pavilion

Figure 9.Curved

warehouseand Postal Pavilion

The postal pavilion and curved warehouseThe platform around the station was not enough for the number of people, so besides this building, two more were built aligned with industrial style according to the rest of the complex and their function.Postal Pavilion, the closest to the Station, was for passengers; therefore, it had an opening gaps rhythm in the facade, which made possible crossing through it and a wider platform nearby where they could wait for the train. Following this building, the curved warehouse was used for moving goods from one train to another.In spite of the steel structure, which will be conserved and restored, the roof and facades will be dismantled. The old trusses are planned for remaining in the new residential buildings.

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Train shedAn industrial unit of 168 m long and just 9 m width was used as a hangar for repairing the trains. It has two railways with two different accesses; in the north for international width railway and in the south for Spanish measure. This building is also planned for residential uses and together with the Postal Pavilion and Curved Warehouse these three constructions constitute the main residential area of the Plan.

French residenceTwo small buildings north of the Station were the dormitories for French engine drivers. Because of its location in the complex and size of this single store construction, future use of the southern building in the Plan is an Interpretation Centre of Camino de Santiago in Aragón.

HangarIn front of the Station, there are two long parallel hangars, which have two railways and a platform in the middle inside each one. The future railway space will be on the east part of the complex, recovering one of the hangars for a platform and the other will hold the new station. A pedestrian connection between both buildings will be built. Commercial uses and services complete the building.

Locomotive warehouse and Spanish residenceThe locomotive warehouse is a circular shape construction of 25 meters of interior diameter and 46 meters outer diameter. This special shape is due to its function, since the locomotives rotate about a circular platform placed in the central sector for entering them into the railway tracks. This is an industrial rail typology typical of that period which can be seen in other railway complexes.The Plan proposes turn this building into a Railway Museum, in which carriages from different periods and various types of locomotives will be exhibited. Moreover, a specific area inside the museum will be set aside for maintenance and restoration of the industrial heritage located there.

Figure 12. Restoration scheme

Figure 13 (on the left)Train shed Figure 14

(on the right)French residence

Figure 15 Hangar. Future

image

Figure 16 Locomotive warehouse

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4. ANALYSIS

4.1. Previous planningIn the 90s a process for recovery the area of the International Railway Station started with the sign of an agreement between local government and RENFE (Spanish railway administration) whereby they abandon any intention of using the whole complex for railway activities for being oversized for the present needs.

An Urban Development Plan was presented in 1994 by four local architects, Ezequiel Usón, José María Valero, Felix Arranz y Juan Carlos Pardo, in which proposed to demolish all of the buildings. In this line of thought, José Antonio Lorente, another local architect, designed a Plan in 2001 for recovering of the principal building and the demolition of the rest, keeping the railways in the east. None of those plans were approved so the Government of Aragón announced an international competition for a new Plan. Among the participants were Arata Isozaki, Dominique Perrault, Cruz y Ortiz, Martinez Calzón and the winners MBM Arquitectos, who once again made a proposal of removing all the buildings unless the Station and locomotive warehouse ones. Besides those plans, the aim of reconstructing the area was still alive.

Figure 17. Competition winner proposal of MBM Arquitectos

4.2. The Urban Development Plan of Canfranc International Railway StationThe aim of the partial management plan is the detailed planning of this land for development (International Station Area), in accordance with the provisions of the General Urban Planning Scheme of Canfranc (land uses, densities, protections and rest of determinations). In addition to include the urban regeneration and building renovation, the recovery of all the area will also preserve the collective memory of this space by integrating in the urban landscape different railway moving elements such us railroad tracks, needle exchanges, luminaires, overhead cranes or signalling components. The pronounced lengthwise shape of the planning development is due to the nature of the valley and the needs of a space for railway uses.

ObjectivesThe aims and approaches of the proposal are to provide the adequate conditions for the regeneration of that urban space, which although originally artificial, it is now fully integrated as part of the natural landscape and therefore:

• To ensure railway services, including the international train line through the Somport Tunnel.• To preserve and refurbish all the existing buildings of the area, under the conditions specified in the heritage inventory sheets of the General Urban Plan.• To enable urban land uses such as housing, trade, hotel and restaurant, leisure and services in order to encourage the revitalization of that space, in any case, under conditions limited to the capacity of the existing constructions which building envelope must be respected.• To prevent the appearance of new buildings, unconnected to the history of the site, except for the ones which are essential and necessary for the normal functioning of the whole complex (electric substation or analogous).• To preserve the collective memory of this space by integrating in the urban landscape different railway

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moving elements such as railroad tracks, needle exchanges, luminaries, overhead cranes or signaling components. With the same purpose, the locomotive depot is expected to be converted in a railway museum.• To design routes for the road traffic compatible with pedestrian routes, in such a way not to hinder or impede citizens from walking around the area and acknowledge the site.• To turn the piazza space into a real main square bounded by the historic station and the hangar along to the station with almost 750 meters in length, direction north-south.

4.3. Cultural heritage and a perfect opportunity for sustainable tourismThe promotion of industrial heritage, its greater understanding an the enhancement of this cultural resource not only helps to recover the historical memory of this area, but also to constitute an effective strategy for the rehabilitation and landscape regeneration of this exceptional complex.The Camino de Santiago (Route of Santiago de Compostela) was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO because of its value as pilgrimage route, dissemination channel as well as cross-cultural encounter. The so-called Aragonese route starts from Somport, the main entry for European pilgrims to the Iberian Peninsula, and cuts fifteen towns with a truly rich heritage, which included Canfranc.The Government of Aragon adopted a decision in which it approved the Guideline for the “Camino de Santiago through Aragon” Spatial Management by defining the basic principles to ensure the sustainable and socially balanced development of the territory, structured by the axis of the Route, throughout the regeneration of urban and territorial structures and the economic revitalization

Figure 18. Development Plan: new uses of existing buildings proposal

RESIDENTIAL HOTEL

COMMERCIAL SERVICES

Figure 19 Camino de

Santiago. Route through Aragon

Figure 20 French Residence’s

main façade.

of the municipalities, while respecting the environment and landscape and following strategies for sustainable development and the rational use of natural resources. This Guideline refers to the development of proposals for intervention in elements and buildings which have been classified (protection inventory) and need restoration or major rehabilitation works in order to enable facilities, hotel or leisure spaces.In accordance to this, the Development Plan aims to rehabilitate one of the buildings, the so-called French Residence, preserving its structure and refurbishing the interior space in order to create an appropriate place to satisfy the pilgrims’ and tourists needs: information point, reading and consultation area, exhibition space and audiovisual room.

4.4. Natural resources, landscape and leisure activitiesCanfranc surrounding landscape is impressive and characterized by magnificent views of the high mountain,

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forests, beautiful grain fields and river banks. A few meters up the station we find Izas Valley where impressive gorges, beautiful pine forests, mountain lakes and a vast variety of fauna could be observed creating a visually striking landscape. The location of this municipality makes it a perfect place for hiking, walking, bicycling and also sports trials and competitions that take place every year attracting large number of tourists. For instance, the race Canfranc-Canfranc, consists of 5 different trail competitions and take place in September. In 2018, 700 participants up to fifteen nationalities participated, rising by almost 40 per cent over the previous year.Furthermore, three resorts are very close to Canfranc; two for alpine skiing: Candanchú and Astún with one hundred kilometres of slopes, and one for cross-country skiing: Somport. Candanchu was the first Spanish ski resort opened in 1928 whereas Astún opened in 1977 with 43.895 forfaits in that season reaching up to 320.000 forfaits in the last season which shows the large influx of skiers in this area of the Pyrenees. Candanchú- Le Somport Nordic Ski Resort has several slopes for ski and snow rackets between France and Spain and also activities in

Figure 21. Connections and walks. Source UNIZAR

summer: cross-skating, mountain bike routes, karting for children…The protection and conservation of natural heritage contributes to sustainable development. One of the key objectives of the Development Plan and the urbanization project currently underway is the landscape integration into their surrounding geographical context. For that purpose, a pedestrian bridge is planned in the north and topography works in the south in order to connect the central public space with the “Melancholic walk”, a natural pathway highly appreciated by hikers and local people. In the south area an environmental quality sports park have been designed through a terraced space that enables the connexion with the locomotive warehouse at the time it complies with urban standards according to public facilities.

5. CONCLUSION

The Urban Development Plan for the recovery of Canfranc International Railway Station and its environment is a tool for urban planning that aims to ensure rail services, to recover the existing buildings, to protect the collective memory of the place, to revitalize the area with different land uses that enable citizen’s enjoyment, as well as the integration with the landscape in the territorial context and the cultural and natural heritage promotion.This is an ambitious project with a high local impact but also regional impact and, taking into account the location of this place almost on the border with France and the recently open question of upgrading the existing line between Pau and Saragosse via Canfranc in order to improve passage through Pyrennes, international impact could be added.The project provides a new residential area with wide leisure and public spaces not only for the people of Canfranc but also for all visitors, tourists and pilgrims in

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their way to Santiago. The different uses specified in the plan promote the variety of public and potential users. Furthermore, it would strength the local economy based on services mainly linked to tourism as it places value on industrial heritage of the station complex and the natural environment where is located.If we analyzed the rising tourism rates of this area, it is reasonable to believe that they will necessary improve further in the future with the development of this project due to a long-needed major investment that the region needed and finally has come.This kind of activities, far from large population centres, are a good tool to combat depopulation of mountain regions that particularly affects to remote and high areas of Pyrenees.

REFERENCES

Caballú Albiac, M. (2009). Canfranc Estación Internacional. Delsal, Zaragoza. Campo, Ramón J. (2016). Canfranc: El oro y los Nazis, Mira Editores, S.A., Zaragoza. Monclús J., López-Mesa B., De la Cal, P. (2014). Repensar Canfranc: taller de rehabilitación urbana y paisaje 2012. Institución Fernando el Católico, Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza.Recuperado de http://ifc.dpz.es/recursos/publicaciones/32/92/_ebook.pdf Morcate Escuer, A. (2015). La estación de Canfranc: situación actual y propuesta para su uso como centro cultural (Trabajo Fin de Grado), Escuela de Turismo Universitaria de Zaragoza. Parra, S., Barrère, B., Brenot, J., Sabio, A., Pérez Latorre J.M, (2008). Canfranc: el mito. Jaca: Pirieum. Peraita Cabrera A., Anibarro García J., Aragón Carrera C., Claraco G., Claraco R., Hernández Barreta J.R., Llorente Galeán J.M., López Mateos M., Pérez Fernández R., Rojo Moreno M., Sanz-Pecharromán C., Serrano González O., Togores Torres C. (2009). Posibilidades y viabilidad para la reapertura del Canfranc. Zaragoza: Consejo Económico y Social de Aragón. Pérez Latorre, J.M. (2006). “La remodelación de la estación de Canfranc”. Aragón Turístico y Monumental, 360, pp. 53-60. Usón Guardiola, E. (2004). La Estación Internacional de Canfranc. Barcelona: Àmbit.

ANEX

Buildings scheme.urban development plan area

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RESILIENT PLANNING FOR URBAN RIVERS: BETWEEN RISK PROTECTION AND CITIES REGENERATIONMESSINA’S TERRITORIAL STRATEGY

Marta Ducci Architect and Urban Planner mducci.archplan@gmail.com

Giulia MaroniArchitect and Urban Planner GEAprogetti sasg.maroni.91@gmail.com

TITLE

authors

184 185

Historically, many towns were born along rivers, appreciated by citizens as a source of life and wealth. However, over the centuries this relationship between inhabitants and rivers has drastically changed becoming conflicting. Indeed, cities have expanded their limits and they have lost the balance achieved with the wild side of rivers, floods included. More and more efforts have been made to govern the rivers’ flow in urban areas, creating embankments and other protective measures, such as drainings or detours. From preferential view and city’s value, the river has become a dangerous border, a place of social and cultural discrimination.This condition is particularly clear in Italy, where the hydrogeological risk in the cities is highly extended (23.4% of the cities are exposed to different ranges of risk) and only a few cities have tried to recover the relationship with the shores. Moreover, nowadays, due to climate change, cities are more and more frequently exposed to extreme risk occurrences linked to natural events.This paper is going to explore the use of rivers border as resilient greeninfrastructures, how and where they can deliver climate adaptation services in urban contexts and considering the benefits of taking an ecosystems services approach to development. Selected examples are going to be used to demonstrate how rivers can be resiliently designed and reintegrated in the city, turning from edges to vibrant and lively public spaces.The theme is going to be analysed from different design scales: from the territorial (e.g. Strategic Resilient Masterplans) to urban scales (e.g. Municipal Plans) up to the local (e.g. punctual interventions). This review aims to shed light on the river’s shores uses in urban areas and how these spaces could offer new spaces for the citizens within resilience function.

ABSTRACT

Marta graduated in Architecture at Ferrara University on March 2016, with a thesis in Urban Planning, where she addressed issues of urban regeneration of the empty and abandoned areas in the periurban edge, and their reconnection to the city center by green infrastructures and a sustainable mobility network, focusing also on the re-functionalization of the area.After University she began practicing the profession and continued her training with a Postgraduate Master that she obtained in 2018. In particular, there, she started approaching urban and territorial planning, addressing issues related to risks protection, to local and sustainable development, to the enhancement of the cultural and natural heritage, working toward slow mobility and sustainable tourism. She participated also to several national and international workshops, conferences and few publications related to these topics. Now, she obtained a Ph.D. at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam where she is starting research about the integration of planning in changing environments, at the regional and local levels. Deeply interested to continue studying and researching about urban, environmental and social issues, keen on sustainable mobility and urban regeneration in the perspective of urban resilience and climate change adaptation.

Giulia holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from the University of Ferrara in March 2016 and she is now a registered Architect. She developed a thesis in Urban and Landscape Planning focused on the resilient regeneration of the Besos riverside in Barcelona. She is now attending a second level master in Sustainable and integrated mobility in urban regions at the University of Bologna.After the University she worked for two years in a landscape design firm focused on sustainable mobility and landscape design in Cesena (Italy), developing various intermobility plans, cycling path masterplans, and landscape projects all around Italy. She is currently working as an urban mobility planner for the Metropolitan City of Bologna. She is strongly motivated to continue studying and working on sustainable mobility and urban regeneration standing up for more sustainable cities.

biographies

DuuciMarta

MaroniGiulia

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Historically, many towns were born along rivers, appreciated by citizens as a source of life and wealth. However, over the centuries this relationship between inhabitants and rivers has drastically changed becoming conflicting. Indeed, cities have expanded their limits and they have lost the balance achieved with the wild side of rivers. More and more efforts have been made to govern the rivers’ flow in urban areas, creating embankments and other protective measures, such as drainings or detours. From preferential view and city’s value, the river has become a dangerous border, and too often a place of social and cultural discrimination.This condition is particularly clear in Italy, where the hydrogeological risk in the cities is highly extended (23.4% of the cities are exposed to different ranges of risk) and only a few cities have tried to recover the relationship with the shores. Moreover, nowadays, due to climate change, cities are more frequently exposed to extreme risk occurrences linked to natural events.This paper is going to explore the use of rivers border as resilient green infrastructures, how and where they can deliver climate change adaptation, heat, and air pollution reduction and services in urban contexts and considering the benefits of taking an ecosystem services approach to development.The case of Messina’s strategic masterplan is going to be used to demonstrate how rivers can be resiliently designed and re-integrated in the city, turning from edges to vibrant

1. INTRODUCTION

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and lively public spaces. The theme is going to be analyzed from different design scales: from the territorial to urban scales, up to the local.

2. CONTEXT

2.1. Definition of edgeWhich meaning for the word edge?From the dictionary, edge means: “line built naturally or artificially to delimit the extension of a territory or property or the sovereignty of a state”.This delimitation is the expression of the most profound and primordial necessity of the human being to have a barrier around him that delimits the space that has occupied, that separates and protects from something that is “other”, “different”.One of the first natural consequences of a border is the expulsion from the ambit of what is considered external; thus transforming the border into a synonym of protection.For each of us, a border can be the symbol of closure and opening, the inclusion or the exclusion from a particular area.

Natural edgesIn the nineteenth century, the theory of natural boundaries was born according to which the “nature” itself could provide men with the limits and directions in which to move and develop.However, the natural barriers can be violated and this theory evolved understanding that those play their role of limit until they remain an obstacle, an impediment. As soon as someone, overcoming fear, introduces himself to it and reveals its gaps, crosses them and traces paths, practices and establishes them, they are transformed into places of encounter, commerce, universes with particular characteristics, intermediate zones. And that is what the rivers were for the newborn cities.

2.2. The evolution between the cities and the rivers Since the beginning, rivers have been fundamental for urban birth and growth. The first settlements of the most ancient civilizations were erected on the banks of the rivers, adapting to their morphology (Figure 1). But the conditions set by the watercourses for the formation of the cities were at the same time favorable (water availability, the possibility of defense, use of water energy, etc.) and dangerous (floods, diseases deriving from the stagnation of water, erosive phenomena, etc.).

Figure 1 The most ancient civilizations near

rivers

The intervention of man has progressively modeled the original features, adapting them to the many settlement needs concerning the installation of work, residential, safety and mobility needs. By the time, the developing along the banks of landing, harbors, stores, and depots represented the main nodes of the exchange of raw materials and services, while the military garrisons were the indispensable structures for the government of the territory. These waterways represented real infrastructures for the transport of goods and people.During the centuries man worked to tame the natural state of the rivers to facilitate the conditions of settlement and life. Europe presents some famous cases, that we could define extreme, in which human culture and technique have succeeded in artificialising deeply unstable territories such as the Netherlands or the delta of the Neva river where, in the XVIII century, the city of San Petersburg rises by real will (Figure 2 and Figure 3).

Particularly, in the nineteenth century many river cities started the construction of quay and high walls, and roads along the urban stretches of waterways: a process also linked to the construction of new bridges, necessary to face the intensification of urban circulation. At the same time, the processes of urban reorganization lead to the relocation

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of port and industrial activities. Large industrial areas were organized on the banks of rivers.The river becomes progressively an industrial area, a highway, an infrastructure and an area for the marginal residential settlement. Where the term “marginal” indicated both the location on the margins of the formal city and the social marginality that spread among the poor fringes of the population that resides there.The important mutations of use of watercourses, which occurred during these decades, have been so significant that they generate a major problem for water cities. Today, a new sensibility and consciousness have born and started a mechanism to rediscover the importance of rivers or canals has been put into action, giving impetus to projects, policies and actions that have made the relationship between city and river very rich and articulated.

Figure 21. Artificialization of the Neva river and the birth of the city of St. Petersburg

Figure 3Paris,

Artificialization of the river Seine

2.3. Italian Hydrogeological contextOverview of Italian hydrogeological risk and climate change effectsIn the Italian context, the processes of development of the relationship between rivers and cities have been similar to the same historical transition we have seen above. However, due to its geomorphological conformation, Italy

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Figure 4. Hydrographic Italian Network, ISPRA gis-data source re-elaboration

Figure 5. Milano, Seveso river that flows below the city and Figure 6 Rimini, 24 June 2013, 120 mm rainfall in 30 minutes

is particularly exposed to hydrogeological risk. It has a capillary river network, characterized by waterways for the most part small and medium-sized, but with a mainly torrential character. Indeed, Italian rivers are predominantly irregular with a flow rate that can vary greatly during the year, particularly the Apennine rivers. Then, there are those coming down from the Alps are fed by the melting of the glaciers, they have instead a more regular regime. For example, the Po river has a more constant flow of water all year round because it is fed by tributaries. (Figure 4).However, if we analyze the Italian cities today, this widespread presence of waterways in urban areas is not so evident. This is because most of the rivers, that in ancient times had given rise to the cities, also the smallest ones, have been culverted (because of this, above them there are now often roads or other infrastructures, houses and public spaces), diverted or channelled. (Figure 5).In these cases, hydraulic engineering solutions have been calculated with maximum flow rates for exceptional events with return times of 100 or 200 years.

However, with the increase of evident manifestations of the climate changes, these exceptional events have become increasingly frequent, extreme and unpredictable. One of the many examples is the case of Rimini, a small Italian municipality, where on 24 June 2013 120 mm of water fell in 30 minutes, while 670 mm is the average annual rainfall in this area. (Figure 6)Obviously, events like this undermine the water disposal system, and they can have disastrous effects in areas exposed to the risk of hydrogeological instability (Figure 7).

Figure 7 (on the left)Different Landslide and Hydraulic Risk

scale, Figure 8 (on the right)

Population at risk residing in areas

with high P3 and very high P4 landslide

danger - PAI (n. inh.) on a regional basis -

processing 2018 source ISPRA Report

2018

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Figure 9. Population at risk residing in areas with average P2 water hazard on a regional basis - processing 2018, source ISPRA Report 2018

The risk (R) indeed is directly related to exposure (E), vulnerability (V) and danger (D): (R) = (E) x (V) x (D)

where the factors are: - Exposition (E): “the probability that a potentially destructive phenomenon of a certain intensity manifests itself in a certain period and in a certain area” (Varnes 1984);

- Vulnerability (V): the propensity of persons, assets or activities to suffer damage upon the occurrence of an event;

- Dangerousness (D): the function of the number of people involved and the total amount of economic assets and social fixed assets present in the risky area.

Looking at the ISPRA (Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research) data, an Italian reference institution in the field of environmental research, we can see how vulnerable is the Italian landscape (Figures 7,8,9,10). The comparing data are concerning hydraulic and landslide dangerousness, analyzing the distribution of the population, businesses and buildings, that are subjected to these risks, dividing them by level of risk, from low (P1) to high ( P3) for the hydraulic one, from areas of attention (AA) at very high risk (P4) for the landslide one.

Looking at these data, it is clear that immediate actions are necessary to stem these problems and it is important to rethink the system of environmental resilience, which is also closely linked to the social system of our cities equipment.In different parts of Europe, cities are facing climate changes and they are combating pollution by making the urban environment more resilient.The blue and green infrastructures principle, and nature-based solutions, have become increasingly widespread in order to contain islands of heat and improve the precipitation absorption. In conformity with the Sustainable Urban Agendas and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, in particular with the Goal 11 ‘Sustainable Cities and communities’ which aims to “make cities more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.In northern Europe and in the Mediterranean area, climate adaptation plans and experimental projects for the creation of sustainable eco-neighbourhoods, responding to air

Figure 10| c) Density (n.

Ab./km2) of total buildings (Data

source: Population and Housing

Census, ISTAT2011); d) Density of local business

units (Data source: Census of industry

and services, ISTAT 2011), source

ISPRA Report 2018

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pollution, intense rain and heat waves, have been adopted or are being drafted.More and more Italian cities, in particular the bigger ones like Milan, Bologna, Turin, etc., are turning in this direction developing resilience projects.But what can be done to make this a widespread action even in smaller cities or locally?The most effective actions, able to make the urban environment reacting to intense meteorological phenomena and pollution and to reduce energy consumption, concern nature and public space, in particular solutions for urban green spaces, the soil permeability, the water storm management and sustainable mobility.For this reason, “urban rivers” may have a strategic function, from the macro-territorial scale up to the urban and micro-local scale.

3. SUBJECT DESCRIPTION:

3.1. From river borders to resilient infrastructures Today the rediscovery of water courses is providing an opportunity for many cities to redevelop, and often rivers and streams are becoming territorial identity factors and new “cultural landscapes”.After having forgotten their rivers, having reduced them to sewers or open-air dumps, subjecting them to violence through brutal channeling processes, today many cities are launching again them as active factors of their identity, conferring historical and patrimonial value, placing them at the center of actions general ecological-environmental remediation, entrusting them with a structuring role in urban redevelopment projects, through their transformation into public spaces and urban places with articulated functions.The economic changes that have taken place in recent decades have led to the relocation of numerous rivers’ harbours and the cities have thus rediscovered very central spaces which, over time, and by virtue of their progressive specialization, had become separate enclaves respect to the city.In particular, for many of these cities, the theme of the river has often meant the reappropriation of identity for spaces that were long foreign to the urban organization.The key words of these policies, both economic, urban and cultural, have been: identity, mixed-used, complexity, requalification, accessibility, security, participation, communication, management, internationalization, etc. and have resulted in actions that have led to the transformation of banks and docks into accessible public spaces. Virtuous examples of these transformations are multiple and widespread all over the world.

Llobregat river, BarcelonaAmong the major European river renovation projects we can find examples such as the Llobregat river in Barcelona, 175 km length, that once it was the most industrialized river in Spain. The regeneration project involved the terminal stretch of the river involving 16 municipalities, for a total of 30 km. The intervention focused on connectivity along its course and accessibility from the various municipalities that surround it with a view to promoting its social use for leisure activities. In this way the river is now a living, changing entity, full of life and natural space, with its own dynamic and functioning. It is a place that residents can enjoy while appreciating the environment in which it is set.

Seine river, Paris and Rhone France is plenty of river renovation examples. The most famous are surely the transformation of the Seine river banks inParis and Rhone river redevelopment project in Lyon.The Seine river banks became an automobile corridor in the ‘60s when its right banks became exclusively reserved for cars. Only in 2001 the city authorities decided to introduce a temporary way to bring back Parisians to the river where in the past activities flourished and people lived with the river.The initiative was called “Paris plages” and consisted of closing sections of the lanes running along the river and transformed them into vital public spaces for a month. The success of this annually recurring project made the city closed large parts of the dedicated to cars banks and transformed them into permanent public spaces that are changingthe relationship of Parisians to their river and increasing the value of this world heritage site.

Hudson river, New York

Figure 11Barcelona,

Llobregat.river restoration

Figure 12.Paris, France, Seine

river restoration

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Today river regeneration projects necessarily addresses the issue of urban resilience. The most famous example it is certainly the design of the Hudson river estuary in New York.The reason for New York’s need to rethink the relationship with the Hudson River estuary isn’t only the need for public spaces and proximity to the water but the climate change effects that were severely felt due to Hurricane Sandy. BIG’s design team won the 2014 international competition in search of a resilient solution to protect New York from the rising risks of floods due to climate change. The solution incorporates a 12km “social infrastructure” to create space for activities and public spaces close to the river which is designed to double as a flood protection wall for future disasters. It wraps Manhattan in a series of linked landscaped interventions acting as a natural absorbent of eventual high waters while the rest of the time providing a completely new experience surrounded by nature and water.

Figure 13New York, USA,

resilient Hudson river project

In the grey boxes there are just a few examples of cities revealing diverse approaches to how cities should interact with their rivers. They clearly show the need to integrate rivers carefully into their future vision in order to provide the necessary and more demanded public spaces close to nature in our urban reality. Looking for creative solutions to reinvent the functions of the rivers, naturalize them or give them the necessary space and value is a step towards a sustainable and resilient future.

Environmental sustainabilityIn a river redevelopment view, we should recognize to watercourses these values: urban, cultural, landscape and environmental. This leads to the promotion of actions aimed at the redevelopment of the banks and rivers, the realization of cycle-pedestrian paths; the recovery of urban river areas and fronts; the enhancement of rural landscapes linked to the river and the promoting of sustainable navigability.This is essentially a question of seizing the opportunities given by a synergistic action, able to act simultaneously on environmental criticalities, on the enhancement of the historical-landscape heritage and opportunities that we can detect in urban regeneration operations.One possibility is to consider the waterway as an ecological, cultural, urban corridor through which we can re-establish contacts and relationships between the different situations we encounter in a territory. Several kinds of research have focused on this aspect, considering the rivers as components of a system of green/blue structures, able to establish a new relationship between nature and city, articulated in a grid of open spaces firmly anchored to the settlement structures of a territory.

Social sustainabilityThe redevelopment of an urban river context has positive implications both for environmental naturalistic and social aspects.A healthy environment is known to improve quality of life. Restoring rivers helps to provide quality environments and puts people in closer contact with nature. In urban environments this is particularly relevant, as restoring rivers can provide people with much needed green space, to offer people a place away from stresses and strains often associated with cities with a higher density of people, poor air quality due to vehicle emissions, heat islands and lack of green space.

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River restoration counters these pressures through a wide range of social benefits:

• Physical and Mental well-beingMany river restoration schemes on public parks have increased park usage and an increase in sports and games. Research shows that regular physical activity helps reduce the risk of developing a range of serious diseases and improves overall quality of life.

• RecreationRiver corridors can provide opportunities for recreation as part of daily life allowing stress relief and enjoyment as well as activities such as fishing, cycling and watching wildlife.

• Social cohesionRivers can play a vital role in the community by encouraging social interaction and bonding. Restoring a river between two estates can enable two separated communities to mix. Voluntary groups centred on protecting their river corridor bring communities together in positive action to look after their local area fostering a community spirit, pride in the environment and a sense of belonging.

• AestheticRiver restoration improves the aesthetics of the environment by restoring natural landscape features and benefiting the associated flora and fauna, creating nicer surroundings. People wish to experience wildness yet feel safe in urban areas.

• EducationRestoration schemes provide huge learning potential about our natural world helping to demonstrate how humankind depends on water and the need to reduce our collective impact on the environment. Studies have shown schoolchildren learning about wildlife and natural habitats were motivated to do something different in their everyday life to help the environment.

• CulturalRivers have always been part of our culture with human settlements located adjacent to rivers. Restoring our cultural links to rivers is a long term goal and an important part of all drivers raised above.

4. ANALYSIS/RESEARCH4.1. The case of Messina A virtuous example of a project for a resilient city, which seeks to recover its territorial identity and the social functions of its urban spaces, rediscovering and renewing the forgotten relationship between the city and its hydrogeological system, it is that of the city of Messina.The reasoning used in the Territorial Plan of this Municipality, located in the north-eastern tip of Sicily (Figure 14), with an extension almost of 233 square kilometres and a population of 233.000 inha., could be considered a model, applicable to many other Italian cities that are in the same situation of exposure to hydrogeological risk, with the need to recover their identity, the ancient and close relationship with its geomorphology and hydrography, and with a great need for public spaces and urban quality.

Figure 14.Sicily and Messina

framework

Figure 15. Messina Strait

overview, source C. Gasparrini

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The city of MessinaMessina is an Italian town of 232,712 inhabitants, capital of the homonymous metropolitan city in Sicily, as well as thirteenth Italian municipality and third non-capital city of the most populous region of Italy.Surface 213,75 km²Inhabitants 232 712 (in 2018) Density 1 088,71 ab./km²

It rises near the extreme northeastern tip of Sicily (Capo Peloro) on the Strait that bears its name (Figure 15). It has a very ancient history, born as first Sicilian Greek colony, founded with the name of Zancle and then Messana, Messina reached the apex of its greatness between the late Middle Ages and the mid-seventeenth century, when it disputed in Palermo the role of Sicilian capital.Set on fire in 1678 after a historic anti-Spanish revolt that led to the annihilation of its ruling class, it was seriously damaged by an earthquake in 1783. It was besieged in 1848, during the Sicilian revolution of 1848 against Ferdinand II of Bourbon, suffering serious damage. In 1908 a disastrous earthquake destroyed the city almost entirely, causing the death of about half of the population.Rebuilt starting from 1912, but in particular after the bombings of the Second World War, the nucleus of the modern city is presented with an orderly and regular mesh with wide and straight streets in a north-south direction (Figure 16).

Figure 16. | Messina city centre

Figure 17. Messina’s

overview from the sea, source C.

Gasparrini

Figure 18. Messina’s

geomorphology, source Prof. C.

Gasparrini’s team elaborationCompared with the other examples, the city of Messina is not characterized

by the presence of a single large river running through it, but rather by its relationship with the sea and by its geomorphology: with the Peloritani mountains behind it, and one series of secondary rivers, streams and fiumare (a particular type of steams typical of the south of Italy, characterized for their irregular flow rate and pebble bottom) distributed in comb, which defined the birth and settlement of small historical nuclei along the ridges, distributed orthogonally to the sea (Figure 17,18,19,20).

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Figure 20. Messina’s today, the relationship between the city, orography and hydrography, source Prof. C.Gasparrini’s team elaboration

Figure 19. Messina’s Municipality historic nucleuses, source Prof. C. Gasparrini’s team elaboration

Messina and the multi-risk exposure: earthquakes, floods, landslidesThis particular territorial conformation, linked to its birth, however, exposes the city to multiple risks including, in particular, the seismic and the hydrogeological ones. Even more, today, being a highly urbanized and densely populated territory, the area is exposed to a particular pressure (Figure 21).

“The city of Messina is a city-paradigm in which the coexistence and intersection of all those risks, it solicits in depth plans, programs and policies, but also lifestyles, forms of production and social interaction, in order to build strategies and adaptive tactics capable of outlining a specific resilient city identity” (Carlo Gasparrini, Ancona 2017)

An example of this has been the flood of October 2009, which struck the city of Messina, in particular, the southern area (Figure 22). The terrible flood has had dramatic consequences: hundreds of buildings badly damaged or destroyed, major damage to infrastructure (roads, bridges, railways) and a heavy toll of human lives: 37 dead, almost 100 wounded and 6 missings.

4.2. Messina’s Masterplan: For a resilient, anti-fragile and of identity cityFor these reasons, the Municipality of Messina in the

Figure 21. Sample of landslide in the density of the city

suburbs Figure 22.

Hydrogeological disaster effect

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development of its General Town Plan (PRG) has decided to focus particularly on a sustainable urban dimension for a city to regenerate without consuming new soil, thus avoiding to increase even more the risk and territorial pressure to which the area is subjected (Figures 23,24).

For the development of the Project, the Municipality has entrusted the consultancy of the University Federico II of Naples, together they have developed a project based on the principles of urban recycling and regeneration, open spaces and public city, social cohesion and circular economy.

The Plan has been decided to be focused on the existing, on what the city already has but that is not exploited or enhancement, and on the safety of the most exposed risk areas. For this reason, following an in-depth analysis, the project was based on three guidelines (Figure 25):

- the creation of the great Peloritani metropolitan park within the city: which brings together the issue of safety and risk prevention with that of blue and green infrastructures, with the aim of creating an ecological network of spaces and paths, for the community and for environmental mitigation, in particular, for extreme events due to climate change;

- the sequence of coastal landscapes and excellences on the two seas: which aims instead at the enhancement of the landscape and functional environmental diversities, to characterize the centrality of urban and local scale characterizing each landscape, start projects of differentiated beach nourishment, provide a cycle-pedestrian network and continuous public transport as a framework for usability and widespread accessibility;

- the recycling of the disused railway, the slow mobility as an infrastructure of urban regeneration: which foresees the recovery of the old disused railway and a widespread network of slow and sustainable mobility for the enhancement of the landscapes of Messina and the tourist-cultural attractiveness.

For this reason, it is worth to say that the Plan is a very complex set of synergistic elements and actions, but among these three guidelines, the one that most closely concerns the theme of this paper and which we will analyze in detail in the following paragraphs, is the first one: “the great metropolitan park of the Peloritani inside the city” (Figure 26).

Figure 23.Water network and risk factors, source

Prof. C. Gasparrini’s team elaboration

Figure 24.Water network

and risk factors in relation with

the urban pattern, source Prof. C.

Gasparrini’s team elaboration

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Figure 25. The three Masterplan’s Guidelines, source Prof. C. Gasparrini’s team elaboration

Figure 26. The great Peloritani metropolitan park inside the city, source Prof. C. Gasparrini’s team elaboration

Figure 27. Fiumare as blue and green infrastructure, source Prof. C. Gasparrini’s team elaboration

The great Peloritani metropolitan park inside the city“This project represents the necessary occasion to equip the metropolitan city with a park adapted to the real urban dimension and to the environmental regeneration of existing fabrics, which works on their board areas consolidating compatible agricultural and equipped uses and infiltrating them through the fiumare weakened by the building pressure, secured from a hydrogeological point of view together with the fabrics themselves, enhanced from the landscape and historical-environmental point of view, qualified in the equipment and services: a comb of green wedges on the two sides so both as doors entry to the Peloritans both as blue and green environmental infrastructures able to determine adequate balance of coexistence between the city, the waters and the quality of the soils and their uses.” (Carlo Gasparrini, Ancona 2017)

The objectives outlined by the plan and this guideline, which have been then translated into specific actions, are:

- enhance the geomorphology of the mountain and its forest and agricultural landscape right into the city;- mitigate the risks connected to water and produce adaptive solutions connected to the reduction of soil consumption and hydrogeological vulnerability;- transfer building volumes from hilly areas at risk to already built secure valley areas, encouraging urban regeneration and densification of existing fabrics;- to strengthen and qualify the environmental and landscape framework of the blue and green infrastructures in order to respond to a wider condition of risk connected to climate change;- developing a circular economy linked to the recycling of the existing and the enhancement of common goods.

To do all this, the plan provides for a series of specific interventions, classifying the waterways that cross the city and the territory one by one, and identifying its particular vocation, which will later be used in local design choices:

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Figure 28. Landscape of Peloritani’s Park, kinds of fiumare and their vocations in relation to the city development, source Prof. C. Gasparrini’s team elaboration

Figure 29. Blue and green infrastructures’ frame project, source Prof. C.Gasparrini’s team elaboration

- the fiumare of connection between the historic centres and the coast;- the fiumare of contemporary expansion for subdivisions and production areas;- the fiumare linked to the extractive cycle;- the naturalistic fiumare of penetration towards rural centres.

These are some examples of classification that will differentiate subsequent interventions in the studied sections.Being part of a single frame, also connected transversely, so as to have a green and blue mesh that allows us to think in an ecosystemic manner and take real advantages from this whole operation

4.3. From the territorial to local scale: Punctual interventions and criteriaThe local interventions identified to achieve the objectives outlined above are divided into two macro-categories:

- interventions in which the fiumare have remained natural waterways (Figure 29);- interventions in which the fiumare have been culverted (Figure 30).

Based on these two different situations, scenarios and recovery and redevelopment projects are proposed in an ecological and sustainable key, with particular attention to environmental quality and the socio-cultural recovery of these spaces.In the first case, water purification interventions, projects for the revitalization and use of the banks as a public space, creation of a continuous network of green spaces connected to pedestrian and bicycle mobility and the creation of spaces for physical activity and free time. These are just some of the interventions designed to enhance these spaces. (Figure 29)In the second case, interventions are planned for

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redesigning the urban sections, in some cases by adapting the road substructure of drains and sewers to today’s needs, in other cases, re-naturalizing the banked watercourses. Encouraging all those projects that will contribute to the absorption and reuse of rainwater and the reduction of heat islands, through nature-based solutions, the use and the systemization of green and permeable spaces, even the most minimal and interstitial ones.(Figure 30)A fundamental point of the plan is the elimination of the building forecasts from the hydrogeological risk areas, which is the necessary beginning of a wider urban resilience strategy that foresees:- the environmental requalification of the rivers as a frame for the city’s blue and green infrastructures;- the regeneration of existing fabrics through widespread actions to adapt performance to structural, energy and plant applications.

Compensatory equalizationA compensatory equalizing action is therefore proposed (Figures 31,32), and interventions on existing buildings in particular with incentives for regeneration interventions from the point of view of water disposal and of the energy functioning of buildings (Figure 33).By shifting the building rights of the buildings more exposed to hydrogeological

Figure 29. Scenarios ofre-naturalization of natural fiumare, source Prof. C. Gasparrini’s team elaboration

Figure 30.Scenarios of re-naturalization of

culverted fiumare, source Prof. C.

Gasparrini’s team elaboration

Figure 31.Compensatory

equalizing system in relation to risk

areas, source Prof. C. Gasparrini’s

team elaboration

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risk, and redistributing them in safe areas, according to a densification logic, and avoiding the consumption of other soil, the Messina Plan defines three phases for this process:- identification of built-up areas exposed to hydrogeological risk;- volumetric transfer identifying possible landing areas: free public areas, public areas with obsolete buildings, degraded private areas, abandoned buildings, disused military areas;- intervention through differentiated tax breaks.In this way, with a collaboration between public and private, it is possible to encourage the process of relocation and securing of the areas most exposed to risk, for which, however, it is also necessary to find funds to facilitate the activation.

River contracts as implementation toolIn this regard, in terms of implementation and financial instruments, these actions could be implemented through the use of River Contracts, thus also involving the population in this process of transformation, enhancement and revitalization.This tool was introduced in Italy and throughout Europe following the second World Water Forum (held in Den Haag in 2000, and organized by the World Water Council), as a strategic planning tool and negotiated on a voluntary basis, designed with the will to pursue the protection, the correct management of water resources and the enhancement of river territories together with protection from hydraulic risks, thus contributing to local development.With the River Contracts, State and Regional funding can be provided, in addition to the Community funds related to the environment and risk prevention, which can thus help the Municipalities, in the realization of these interventions.The River Contracts, in fact, contribute to the pursuit of the objectives set by the current legislation, with particular reference to the directives 2000/60/EC (water framework directive) -and to the regulatory instruments that derive from it-, 2007/60/EC (Floods Directive), 42/93/EEC (Habitat Directive) and 2008/56/EC (Marine Strategy Framework Directive), thus becoming a useful tool aimed at preventing and reducing pollution, at sustainable use of water, to environmental protection and aquatic ecosystems, to reduce the risk of floods and droughts.The river contracts are particularly suitable because they can be identified as negotiated and participatory planning processes aimed at containing the eco-landscape degradation, the containment of the risk and the redevelopment of the areas of the hydrographic basins/sub-basins. These processes are differentiated in different administrative and geographical contexts in line with

Figure 32.Compensatory

equalizing system in relation to risk

areas detail, source Prof. C. Gasparrini

team elaboration

Figure 33.Interventions on

existing buildings in particular with

incentives for regeneratioan of

water disposal and of the energy

functioning of buildings, source

Prof. C. Gasparrini team elaboration

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the different regulatory systems, in harmony with the peculiarities of the basins, in correlation with the needs of the territories, in response to the needs and expectations of citizenship.

5. CONCLUSION

This paper aims to shed light on the river’s shores uses in urban areas and how these spaces could offer new spaces for the citizens within resilience function. We are living in an era in which for the first time since the industrial revolution we are witnessing a complete shift in the way the relationship between the city and nature is represented in our cities. Architects, planners, landscape designers, artist, politicians and society are getting together to find ways to reintegrate nature into the cities through their often forgotten rivers. Some are pushing away infrastructure or rediscovering abandoned industrial areas and riverside heritage to reintroduce nature and increase the quality of life of the surrounding areas. Other are taking it to a completely new level, thinking of a resilient future relationship with their rivers due to the present climate change impact and hydrogeological risk condition, drastically increased because of this.

In support of this claim, we have presented the case of Messina. In fact, it is an emblematic e complex case that studies the river regeneration, to demonstrate how rivers can be resiliently designed and reintegrated in the city, turning from edges to vibrant and lively public spaces.The theme has been analyzed from different design scales: from the territorial, with a Strategic Resilient Masterplan, to urban and local scales, with examples of punctual interventions in the city.

The recognition of Messina can, therefore, constitute an opportunity to develop methods, tools, guidelines and procedures that can also be used in other cities of the country through appropriate adaptations to different contexts, starting from the following priority contents:

- the drafting of integrated risk maps aimed to define the different conditions of susceptibility and the definition of the Minimal Urban Structure (SUM) within the new municipal urban plans;- the verification of the compatibility of municipality urban prevision with the various conditions of risk susceptibility updated with the new climate conditions, extreme events and disasters probability;

- the identification of a budget fund dedicated to strategic regeneration of environmental infrastructures (blue and green) and to protection of risk areas, together with the identification of an integrated repertoire of incentive tools for the owners to reduce the vulnerability of the building heritage and its overall regeneration;- the definition of adequate forms of multilevel inter-institutional cooperation (Municipality, Civil Protection, Regional, National, etc.) for construction of forms of participation and communication, for the development of the local projects, the permanent monitoring of risk conditions and the constant updating of integrated risk maps.

In conclusion, with this paper we aim to investigate experiences and practices, with implemented or planned projects, which, by reconsidering the rivers for their original value, they integrate the theme of climate change adaptation in the redesign and enhancement of their banks, together with the social and identity value that this natural element has for cities.The case of Messina adds to this the issue of safety and risk prevention, going to study a strategy at the territorial level, adapted to the conformation of the city, which would allow having a widespread quality thanks to the regeneration of its fiumare, creating new green and public spaces.In all this, the creation of a green network system and the involvement of the population in the design process are outlined as fundamental elements, which would contribute to creating a change both physical and perceptive of these spaces, truly transforming these edges from a border of division to a new vibrant public space for the cities.

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A WARDIAN CASE OF PLANNING: THE EDGE AS A PRESERVATION MECHANISM

Karla Santos ZambranoArchitecture, Design and Planning Professionalsantos.tx@gmail.com

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author

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The Wardian case, invented in 1829 by Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, is a tightly-sealed glass terraria which allowed for the successful shipping and preservation of living specimens of exotic plants between countries and continents, often for journeys that lasted several years. Ward’s creation changed the world: scientists were now able to study specimens from all over the globe without traveling too far and it facilitated plant migration across continents. The ecological impacts associated with the case can be transposed to the way the edge of a city has interacted with its other side over time. Places, spaces, cities are influenced by their contextual situation and should seek to enhance their distinctive character, all the while responding to current-day needs, impending societal changes and cultural diversity.

Using the Wardian case as inspiration, it is worth reviewing the different scenarios surrounding cities which are affected by fluvial processes and the imminent human reaction in attempting to alleviate or to stop possible impacts without the benefit of working with the environment. ‘Wardian cases’ and ideas can be simple in design and origin and quite easily adapted by each city. A compression of time and space has led to a wide network of human interaction and integration on a global scale, and a case study approach would summarise best possible scenarios when dealing with a fluvial edge. In a time where climate change is constantly a topic of discussion, two questions are identified within this paper: how can the edge of a city act as a preservation mechanism and what is prioritised for preservation?

This research aims to offer a unique contribution to the field of planning and to position the importance of planning into contemporary discussions about preservation and climate change, particularly as new and existing urban forms should be capable of adaptation over time.

ABSTRACT

Karla Santos Zambrano is a Consultant Planner and Urban Designer currently working for a planning consultancy in Dublin, Ireland. Originally from Venezuela, Karla holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Universidad Central de Venezuela (Caracas, Venezuela) and a master’s degree in Planning and Sustainable Development (MPLAN) from University College Cork (Cork, Ireland). Her professional background is set within the realms of architecture, construction, planning and urban design, in both public and private sectors. Her interest in research, conservation, and the future of planning, has been the main driver of this research paper. Karla has also authored a previous research paper for the ECTP-CEU Young Planners Workshop in 2018 as part of her thesis work ‘The Edge of an Airport City’, relating to planning issues and sustainable development within and around airports.

biographies

Santos ZambranoKarla

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An intrinsic part of this research involves the dissection of the Wardian case and what it represents, it is Keogh (2018) the one who describes this object as both simple and complex, and one which carried major ecological impacts. This case is a simple scientific experiment with complex philanthropic aims. Its creation dates back to 1829 when Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward was influenced by a fern and a grass seedling growing in an airtight jar to build a glass case to grow more ferns. The Wardian case was made of glass and wood (accessible materials at the time) with an airtight characteristic that permitted the movement of plants and the ability to withstand change in environmental conditions thus enabling the specimens to survive for much longer periods.

As early as the eighteenth century the form of the Wardian case was known, but not its combination of glass and use as an enclosed micro-system.

(Keogh 2018, p.1)

The introduction of the word ‘micro-system’ instinctively resonates with living habitats, territories, cities, also with the boundaries which can often define the footprint of a city and their idiosyncrasy. Needless to say, the use of the Wardian case as an analogy brings forth the matter of the edge as a preservation mechanism for any given territory.

1. INTRODUCTION

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As with any edge, a fluvial edge represents many challenges and encompasses a plethora of choices within the realm of heritage and preservation of the built environment bordering the water, this is enhanced by climate change occurrences and urban development. The recent trends in waterside regeneration highlight the issues of the approach taken by the Office of Public Works (OPW) involving a flood-defence scheme for the city of Cork, Ireland. The scheme has been criticised by several stakeholders and has led to the foundation of a ‘Save Cork City’ organisation which has been successful in its campaign to communicate the main challenges present in the proposed scheme. The ‘Save Cork City’ campaign has widened the spectrum of available options to preserve the city and its fluvial edge with less intrusive proposals.As with the Wardian case, which was adapted depending on the user’s needs, flood schemes rely heavily on the particularity of the place. It is possible that by identifying elements which made other schemes successful via a review of case studies, certain aspects of said schemes could assist in finding a sustainable solution fit for the city by means of adaptation. If ‘preservation’ seeks to maintain the existing state of a place and ‘adaptation’ means changing a place to suit the current-day needs of its inhabitants: is it possible to use both adaptation and preservation and refer to the edge as the city’s own preservation mechanism? Based on this, the paper aims to answer two questions, the first one: how can the edge act as a preservation mechanism, and the second: what elements are being prioritised for preservation?All things considered, it might seem like the city would need to become one with the edge, at a breaking point of merging with it. Albeit a highly utopic view, the latter could be the answer the city is looking for—an edge which is a place of action dividing different conditions in an apparently immaterial space while attempting to preserve the character of the city.

2. CONTEXTOf Wardian cases and Inevitable changes

The Wardian case is an analogy for a city enclosed by its river— the main sustenance of its people, health, and economic development. In this way, the case becomes much more than an object, which makes its significance and comparable attributes of great consequence within all fields. Previously, it acted as the key which brought the successful movement of living environments to light, and also as an important artefact within a period of acute environmental change.

[T]he global flows of migrants, commodities, and ideas surged through circuitry that, generally, became denser—but at different speeds and with various effects.

(Rosenberg 2012, p.7)

While the above mainly relates to history and transportation between the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this is even more usual and highly common nowadays, particularly with the increased global interconnectivity. Therefore, interactions carry more impact and integration is even deeper, more pronounced, especially when the subject is the city.In terms of environmental history, the Wardian case is seen as a new contribution because “it occupies a ‘space in between’ […] it is not a migrant; it is a mover” (Keogh 2018, p.4). In terms of planning, this can be translated to ideas and concepts that could travel elsewhere and be adapted as deemed fit. There is a clear intentional human intervention in global ecological systems from all perspectives, both with the Wardian case and any project or development involving the built environment.Perhaps the success of some projects is their ability to be adapted to many locations and be able to contribute to the sustainable development of said place. However, it is questionable—of planning authorities, and of those

Figure 1. (on the left)

Illustration of the Wardian case.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Figure 2 (on the right)

Illustration of a city inside a Wardian

case. (Author’s work)

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involved—when a project is rebuilt or permitted in different locations even though it has proven to be previously unsuccessful or unfit for purpose.Notwithstanding this, variety in design could be applied to the same concept, much like a Wardian case or flood relief schemes. The variations would aim to answer to the current needs of users and society, and we are no strangers to the changes perpetuating our environment.

For many historians the Anthropocene has become wildly accepted as a versatile concept. In short, the concept suggests that the impact of humanity upon the planet has become so great that we are now creating our own geological age.

(Keogh 2018, p. 21)

It goes without saying that climate change poses a threat to our natural world and it is obvious that significant works may need to be carried out in order to preserve our habitats and built environment, or to find a different way of allowing nature and man-made structures to coexist in a manner that is sustainable for both.

3. SUBJECT DESCRIPTIONAn Edge with a Purpose: Between the City and the River Lee

People and society will always have strong associations with their home and the encompassing elements of it. The same applies for Cork, its people, and in this case the river and its quays. This connection should not be broken if we aim to preserve the character of the city for future generations. Recent developments within the city of Cork aim to ready the city for future growth, however there is an existing connection to community and landscape, to the past and to lived experiences, to the River Lee in particular, which is the main character of the city and should be preserved. The history of the River Lee carries a strong cultural significance, and even more so its relevance as an economic driver for the city and surrounding area.

3.1 The Office of Public Works Flood Relief SchemeThe Office of Public Works (OPW) presented a highly criticised flood-defence scheme in order to provide flood relief to the areas identified at risk of flooding from the River Lee downstream of the Inniscarra Dam—including Cork City, which

has been subject to flooding in the past. The proposed outcome of the scheme is to permit greater discharges from the Inniscarra Dam without causing flooding of affected properties, and to provide protection along the Lower Lee and through Cork City against residual fluvial flooding and also flooding from tidal sources, which affect the area.When confronted with a fluvial edge, urban development must be carefully considered, particularly when the threat of climate change is imminent and the existing built environment might be compromised. As discussed within the Burra Charter (2013), places of cultural significance are historical records that are important expressions of identity and experience which reflect the diversity of the community. In the city of Cork, this cultural significance relates to the relationship of the city and its river.

Figure 3..Map showing the length of impact

of the scheme. (Source: OPW)

Figure 4.– Study Area Map for the Lower Lee

(Cork City) FRS. (Source: OPW)

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The OPW flood-defence scheme for the Lower Lee, popularly known as ‘the Walls scheme’, has been criticised due to the foreseen severe impact on the visual amenity of the city, i.e. the River Lee, as well as representing a real physical edge. As proposed, the approach taken by the OPW does not seem appropriate nor sensible given the significance of this highly-regarded edge. It is a fact that at certain times development exceptions would need to be permitted as there is an on-going risk of flooding which has not been addressed, however there are other examples that prove to be better solutions without adversely affecting the area with such a significant intervention.Other flood relief schemes by the OPW (The Office of Public Works 2013) have included the construction of new walls, construction of earthen embankments, replacement of old culverts and construction of new culverts, etc; some of which have a questionable success.At the time this research was conducted, the Morrison’s Island scheme was at Stage 3 and due for decision by An Bord Pleanála. The process and timeline for the proposed OPW Flood Relief Scheme can be seen below (Fig. 6).

Figure 5. Part of the OPW scheme, Morrison’s Island. (Source: OPW)

Figure 6. Different stages of the scheme, currently at Stage 3. (Prepared by the author using data provided by the OPW)

3.2. Community Engagement and a Three Point Plan

As a result of the notion that the proposed works appear to negatively affect the character of the city centre’s edge and its special interest, the ‘Save Cork City’ organisation was founded by professionals of the pertaining fields and members of the public. The organisation has engaged with the public and provided a comprehensive quantum of information in relation to the flood-defence scheme and also carried out a Design Competition that showcased the diverse uses (Fig. 7) which can be given to the edge and surrounding area.The ‘Save Cork City’ campaign proposed a Three Point Plan consisting of (1) control of flooding using a downstream tidal barrier, (2) restoration of the historic quay walls, and (3) a combination of upstream catchment management measures. This is considered to be the most appropriate and less intrusive solution for preserving the edge in a sustainable way—in contrast to the scheme proposed by the OPW.A successful aspect of the campaign has been the ability to gain and retain an active and strong support from the community—the people, the ones who use these edges and make up the real fabric of the city. This brings forth a question: isn’t the sense of community what ought to be preserved as well? All aspects which contributed to the foundation of the city and its character ought to be protected—as is the case of the Cork quays which are appreciated by all given the amount of public support for this campaign.

Figure 7. Design competition CGIs. (Source: Save

Cork City)

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4. PLANNING ON THE EDGE AND THE WARDIAN CASE: AN ANALOGY

As previously stated, the Wardian case was a simple box which had major ecological impacts and represents a comparable analogy to flood-defence schemes taking up the edge of a city. The edge of the Wardian case was meant to avoid any interaction with the outside environment—thus it was passive. It can be considered that the edge of a city ought to do the opposite—it should be active. In the case of a fluvial edge, not to let the water flood the city is imperative but closing up the city to one of its main amenities could cause more problems in the long term.When speaking of preservation and conservation, it is important to identify the actual elements we are seeking to preserve. Is it the man-made structures that physically sustain a city, or is there a more intangible element requiring our attention? As planners, the answer to this question is vital in order to find the right solution—or at least the more sustainable and fitting solution—to this query.The proposals and designs vary depending on the current needs, much like the Wardian case varies in design to fit its purpose. ‘No one solution’ fits all, so we will look at a couple case studies which have succeeded in the past. 4.1 The Case Studies: From Amsterdam to Belfast4.1.1 The Dutch ApproachGiven the geographical location of the Netherlands, and the geological characteristic which surrounds its history, there is only one option for survival and hence water-related schemes have become their expertise. The Netherlands recognise the need for innovation in their approach and have learned from

Figure 10.Illustration

depicting the Amsterdam canals.

(Author’s work)

Figure 8. Windmills of Kinderdijk, the Netherlands. (Source: Wikipedia)

Figure 9. Surfboard event, Amsterdam canals. (Source: Google Images)

experience what works best for a diversity of water fronts.It is common knowledge that the country is vulnerable to flooding, hence why flood control is vital for survival. Many flood-defence schemes comprise the approach taken by the Dutch, such as natural sand dunes and constructed dykes, dams, and floodgates against sea storm surges; and river dykes to prevent a fluvial flood, with all associated and complex drainage system consisting of ditches, canals, and pumping stations—i.e. renowned windmills (Fig. 8).

4.1.1.1 A Brief HistoryAt first, dykes were low embankments of only a meter in height which surrounded fields to protect the crops against occasional flooding. These water control structures were first built by those benefiting from them—i.e. farmers, who were also in charge of maintenance. However, the structures got more extensive and complex and thus water boards began to emerge. The Rijkswaterstaat (Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management) was formed in 1798 with the purpose of keeping water control in the hands of a central government instead of a wide array of water boards, however both worked alongside each other for a period of time.The materials or elements comprising a current dyke vary slightly. Some are made with sand and later covered by a thick layer of clay—for waterproofing and erosion resistance. The ones without a foreland have a layer of crushed rock below the waterline—this slows wave action. Usually, the last layer is covered by grass and maintained

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Figure 11. Zuiderzee Works. (Source: Wikipedia)

Figure 12. Oosterscheldekering during a storm, 1990. (Source: Wikipedia)

by grazing sheep.Several projects are included as part of the flood defences in the Netherlands which involve a system of dams and storm surge barriers, thus resembling a Wardian case as they are essentially a physical man-made barrier. The Zuiderzee Works (Zuiderzeewerken) (Fig. 11) are a system of dams, land reclamation, and water drainage works. The Delta Works involves sea defences and the construction of the Oosterscheldekering (Fig. 12), a storm surge barrier which is only closed during storms. Again, acting as a Wardian case for extreme weather events.

4.1.1.2 Room for the RiverClimate change has introduced the possibility of a rise in sea level which could overwhelm the established measures taken by the Netherlands, and the Room for the River project allows for periods of flooding of designated lands. This project includes the widening of certain rivers.According to experts, the predicted sea level rise is reason enough to pursue the strengthening of current sea defences, even if they remain stronger than ever as of today. Innovation and technology are introduced by this programme, constantly seeking for alternate or better solutions and relying on knowledge being shared across all platforms, thus enhancing flood protection techniques and approaches across the globe. The ‘Flood Resilient City’ (FRC) project allows the sharing of information between cities such as Dublin, Nijmegen and Paris.The Room for the River approach of widening the rivers might only be suitable

for certain places, and thus it is not possible to replicate in all areas, but the vision of staying away from higher dykes (i.e. higher walls) denotes that the solution is elsewhere as dykes would eventually need to get higher due to a rising sea level and climate change, thus proving not to be a sustainable long term solution.When considering river or waterside activities which might provide an active use of the existing place, the programme encourages those where spatial quality is enhanced, such as nature, recreation and community. This proves that the Wardian case principle applies if we think of the edge as an active and accessible space. 4.1.2 Laganside and the Lagan Weir4.1.2.1 The Belfast Tidal Flood Relief SchemeThe Lagan Weir across the River Lagan is a tidal flood relief scheme completed in 1994 and located in the city of Belfast. The scheme comprises a ‘Lookout’ which houses the control and surveillance system for the weir, as well as a Visitor’s Centre with the aim to inform all visitors about the project and the history of the River Lagan.The Lagan Weir (Fig. 13) consists of five weir gates and four intermediate gatehouses which contain the weir gate

Figure 13.Lagan Weir gate.

(Source: Wikipedia)

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motors. Each of these gates can be operated independently and are raised when the tide retreats with the purpose of keeping the river at a specific impoundment level, otherwise the river would be subject to tidal fluctuations from the harbour. In the event of a high tide, the weir gates can function as a barrage, thus ensuring the river levels remain lower than the harbour levels while protecting the city from tidal flooding.Essentially, the Lagan Weir is an operational Wardian case assisting in the preservation of a balanced ecosystem under appropriate conditions.

4.1.2.2 Riverside Development and Pedestrian Footbridge The re-establishment of the River Lagan as a focal point for the city of Belfast has had many benefits throughout the years, with the associated environmental improvements to the water quality and biodiversity as one of the main benefits. Furthermore, the riverside has been subject to social development which led to the construction of new residences, commercial and retail blocks, restaurants,

Figure 14. Riverside improved public realm. (Author’s photograph)

Figure 15. Lagan Weir pedestrian bridge. (Source: Wikipedia)

Figure 16. Illustration of the Lagan Weir pedestrian bridge. (Author’s work)

and an improved public realm (Fig. 14).There is also a pedestrian footbridge connecting Donegall Quay with Queen’s Quay and was constructed over the weir. This bridge provides access for both cyclists and pedestrians (Fig. 15), thus also encouraging more sustainable modes of transport and connectivity throughout the city’s riverside.

4.2 Waterside Regeneration: A Series of SuccessesClimate change, sustainability, biodiversity. These are issues which are closely linked to water and are becoming more pressing matters. Not only is waterside regeneration becoming a must but development in urban waterways has increasingly become more attractive and recent research is proving that they can help create successful places. One of the reasons behind this is that waterways provide a commercially and socially attractive opportunity for restoration and regeneration—and this is particularly true for the city of Cork, where historically the streets used to be waterways continuously used for trade and transport.In addition to the above, the only downside to urban waterways development can be accounted on development which is detrimental to the area and fails to integrate with the existing character of the place—particularly those who are enriched by historical landmarks and social attachments.The rich and multi-faceted built environment found in Cork and across other cities in Europe incorporates cultural, social and economic values. When it comes to heritage sites, societal evolution has often led to the disuse and loss of a site’s original built purpose. However, the site still embodies cultural, historic, spatial and economic values and can be adapted to our current needs while preserving the pertaining valuable elements and making the place suitable for new uses and activities.The above carries multiple benefits for our built heritage and our cities, thus allowing this adaptability to create more resilient and sustainable cities. The following graphic (Fig. 17) shows several benefits in relation to waterside regeneration.

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If done in the right way, places filled with rich heritage can find new, mixed or extended uses, this will increase its economic value and enhance its cultural significance. The same was done by the Wardian case for the research and environmental fields with the contrasting use of certain elements. The new social dynamics that can be created can further contribute to urban regeneration as well.There are those who argue that the planning and building regulations can sometimes prevent innovative and creative solutions due to a form of inflexibility, and that the economic aspect can heavily influence a decision. Innovation allowed the Wardian case and other artefacts of significant value to be created. Consequently, flexibility needs to be ingrained within the planning field. 4.3 Preservation of the FittestThe identification of the Wardian case as an artefact for the purpose of preserving any given micro- system allows for an analogy of a similar ‘case’ acting as the edge of the city. It is clear to assume that the latter would act as a preservation mechanism as well, however it is important to note the different variables attached to the Wardian case and a fluvial edge—or any edge for that matter.In terms of preservation, “[it] means maintaining a place in its existing state and

Figure 17. The range of benefits associated with waterside and waterways development and regeneration. (Prepared by the author using research data)

retarding deterioration,” (The Burra Carter 2013, p. 2) and “is appropriate where the existing fabric or its condition constitutes evidence of cultural significance, or where insufficient evidence is available to allow other conservation processes to be carried out.” (The Burra Charter 2013, p. 6) On a different note, “[a]daptation means changing a place to suit the existing use or a proposed use.” (The Burra Charter 2013, p. 2) and “is acceptable only where the adaptation has minimal impact on the cultural significance of the place.” (The Burra Charter 2013, p. 7)In relation to Cork, the approach required for the renovation and/or regeneration of the quays should be cautious and should have respect to the existing built fabric of the area, alongside its use, associations and meanings. Thus “[...] do as much as necessary to care for the place and to make it usable, but otherwise change it as little as possible so that its cultural significance is retain ed” (The Burra Charter 2013, p.1). Therefore, it could be argued that adaptation more than preservation should be the solution for the city.

4.4 The Edge as a Preservation Mechanism: Active vs PassiveArt presents a simple answer to the query regarding the edge. An interesting approach in art techniques and methods used by Jackson Pollock, which involved the dripping and splashing of paint, aided the development and improvement of one of Pollock’s most revolutionary achievements: a kind of sensed but not yet materialised line, a result of transitional works where line no longer indicated the edge of a plane but a sort of optically imprecise ‘place’. This imprecise place would refer to the edge, which can vary depending on the use and activities given to it.Of course, the artistic approach taken by Pollock related to the dissolution of lines and the ability to create a succession of elements which would eventually create this ‘edge’ in the mind of the beholder. It appears simple, but the boundaries of an edge can be rather complex—especially when the built environment is involved. The creation of this imprecise place can be seen in the following illustrations which aim to distinguish a physical tangible edge from another physical yet intangible one.

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Given the case studies approached within this research, it is vital to emphasise the difference between them. In acknowledging Amsterdam’s approach, we also acknowledge that their success could be due to the uses given to the river and canals and the seemingly invitation of the open space towards the river. This active use of the canals by the people and the city’s openness to it has led to the significant and constant work towards maintaining and preserving this status.

Meanwhile, Belfast provides this activity around the river and over bridges, even providing an exhibition about the Weir within the same structure that maintains the river levels from rising. The city of Belfast has acknowledged the river in a different and yet successful way, making the most of their waterside history.

While this was not always the case, Cork has done the opposite in the past by turning its back to the river, with several developments turning a blind eye on it and not incorporating the waterside element at all. This was due to pollution and water contamination affecting the waterways. The rehabilitation of the River Lee has led to different approaches, one that is more in keeping with current research and relates to the re-connection of the river to the city—more so than it ever was.

Figure 18. Illustrations of different edges, Inside/Outside. (Author’s work)5. CONCLUSION

A comparative review of different schemes and the responses of other cities to living alongside a fluvial edge has led to a conclusion with regard to the use of this edge as a preservation mechanism with inclinations to adaptability. Adaptation, perhaps, is the most important feature of any object or scheme. Preservation will only maintain the physical and organic features—as with the living organism traveling within a Wardian case—but adaptation with a focus on conservation will allow the organism, i.e. the city, to grow sustainably and its community to thrive.The constant restoration and maintenance of river walls and embankments, mitigation of flood risk and provision of green infrastructure corridors or habitats would prevent the need for other schemes which have the potential to negatively impact a city’s development.As an emphasis on a past research, “an active, collaborative process among public and private stakeholders is necessary—in all aspects of planning—for development to be successful” (Santos Zambrano 2018, p.174), this cannot be any more relevant than a project with such a massive impact on the city’s inhabitants and the surrounding environs.

Figure 19.(on the left)

The Lee Swim.(Author’s

photograph)

Figure 20. (on the right)

Example of active use of the River

Lee.(Author’s

photograph)

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The ‘active and collaborative process’ previously mentioned includes contribution and accessibility of knowledge for all. The Room for the River project presented by the Netherlands has proven to heavily rely on collaborative efforts supporting a “mutual sharing of knowledge” (Room for the River 2019). As the Room for the River (2019) cooperative states, the main outcome of this programme is “to help other countries to cope with flooding” and this could only be achieved if knowledge and experience is available to them and to all of us.As for the Wardian case, the same principle that applies to it can be applied to a city’s edge, although not in the same enclosed conditions as it would not work. A city is not an isolated system as we know and thus it is vital for the edge to be in constant interaction with all its parts. A simple wall might be the answer to prevent the inevitable for a short period of time, but in the long term the active use of this edge can prove to be a more sustainable solution. It is important that this is recognised particularly in a time of rapid environmental and societal changes.Integration of the edge while incorporating new elements that enable interaction might be a solution for certain places. In order to use the edge—i.e. the glass of the terraria in the Wardian case—for preservation of a city’s character is through an active edge, not through walls to keep the elements out, but in the creation of a continuous interaction between the parts with an active edge capable of adaptation as life goes on.The role of the Wardian case as an analogy in this research has allowed for several fields to come together with the ambition of finding a sustainable solution to planning on the edge. The many aspects that revolve around and that encompass the planning industry are intricate and extremely varied, which makes reaching a final solution all the more complex. Using the Wardian case to analyse planning challenges involving an edge can be very useful, particularly those relating to the natural world but also the built environment, as both are equally important and form part of the ecosystem we inhabit.In terms of a fluvial edge, and as a result of this research, it can be concluded that the use of the Wardian case principle with an active edge is the more sustainable preservation mechanism and thus can help achieve the balance between nature, people and the built environment.

REFERENCES

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© Authors (Planners from ECTP-CEU Young Planners Workshop 2019) Planning on the Edge

ECTP-CEU Young Planners workshopISBN: 978-2-9601363-6-4EAN: 9782960136364First edition, 2019

ECTP-CEUEditor: ECTP-CEUCoordinator: Vladan DjokićGraphic designer: Aleksandra Djordjević, Mladen Pešić

ECTP-CEU (aisbl)European Council of Spatial PlannersConseil Européen des UrbanistesArchitects’ House21 rue Ernest Allard 1000 Bruxelles /Ernest Allardstraat 21 1000 Brusselssecretariat@ectp-ceu.euwww.ectp-ceu.eu+32 (0) 470 350 432