Urban Planning Framework Research Articles

Urban development on the basis of autonomy: A politico‐philosophical and ethical framework for urban planning and management

Urban development on the basis of autonomy: A politico‐philosophical and ethical framework for urban planning and management

Comparison of urban governance and planning policy

Abstract Cities, and in particular historic cities, are recognised as valuable resources within the increasingly competitive and integrated European economy. This paper focuses on the experiences of two such cities, Edinburgh and Prague, contrasting different approaches in local planning and urban regeneration policy. Edinburgh, like other western European capitalist cities, has a long tradition of strategic planning and policy making, engaging with a broad range of policy stakeholders and local interest groups. In contrast, the city of Prague highlights some of the difficulties faced by post-socialist cities as they adapt to the economic forces of the European Union and globalisation. Limited attention has been given to how post-socialist cities have managed to come to terms with such forces and reconcile competing national and local trends. In the paper, key issues identified in Prague refer to the fragmentation of local government, the lengthy nature of re-establishing property ownership and procedural difficulties with the planning system. These problems have effectively hindered the formulation of a strategic framework for future urban planning, and have led to a lack of co-operation between decision makers in the city. The comparison between the experiences of east and west clearly highlights the necessity of re-focusing on the relationship between the planning system and its specific context of governance structures. Planning historic cities is a necessary factor to ensure that sustainable development is achievable, and to secure an advantageous position within the emerging European hierarchy. Post-socialist cities can do more by learning from the experience of urban Europe, as East looks West.

Evolutionary dynamics of urban land use planning and environmental sustainability in Nigeria

One of the major issues in the urban development process in the developing world, not least in Nigeria, is the implication of land use developments and planning for environmental sustainability. Land use planning has an impact on the efficiency of economic and social activities and also on the physical development of a city. However, in several developing countries, such as Nigeria, the inadequacy of urban land development and planning has led to concerns regarding the environmental sustainability of the urban centres. To understand the contemporary urban land use pattern in Nigeria and its shortcomings, it is important to examine the characteristics of past and present land use structure, the planning framework and imperatives for the future of urban development in the country. Among other things, the paper argues that the traditional urban planning framework, its administration, and the associated master planning which still dominate planning in Nigeria, have less than adequately ensured environmental sustainability. Emphasis is placed on residential land use. It is argued that the planning system, which is essentially a colonial legacy, does not adequately respond to evolving changes in cultural, economic and social developments and, hence, the spatial impact on residential land use.

Geographics for the present: Patrick Geddes, urban planning and the human sciences

I argue here for a reconsideration of the work of Patrick Geddes as providing the elements of a viable system of natation for the developmen of appropriate settings for urban goverance and policy development which draw on a wider range of human and social science disciplines and knowledge frameworks than is currently the case. Geddes' work stands, eccentrically, at the interesection of a developing tradition of multidisplinary nineteenth-century urbanism and a susequent narpower and professionalized urban planning framework which is not attetive to, or capable of providing, the 'life managemen capacities which remain fundamental to urban of goverance. It is proposed that Geddes atempts at the convergence of the displines of geography, economics and anthropology through his adaptations of Frderic Le Play's wor on the Europan family provides more adequate basis for both analysing and managing the contemporary imperatives of governance in rapidly transforming urban and civic domains. The imperatives include the understanding of urban life-style and culturl patterns; the nature of the city as an economic unit in post-industrial economics, and the need for strategic and integrated approaches to urban policy development and planning.

Lisbon: Strategic planning for a capital city

The article examines the role of central government, regional plans and city plans which comprise the institutional framework for urban planning in Portugal. Particular attention is focused upon the strategic planning process adopted for Lisbon, currently being promoted by that municipality as the Atlantic capital of Europe. A number of strategic planning issues facing Lisbon are examined within the context of European urbanization, including urban growth, transport, housing, economic development and urban conservation/regeneration. The article assesses the current attempts by the city to implement a strategic plan for the capital, and comments on its future prospects. Considerable attention is currently focused upon Lisbon given its recent role as European City of Culture in 1994, and the urban regeneration initiatives associated with Expo 1998. Expo offers the possibility of improving and integrating the eastern side of the city with its central area and waterfront. The project is also linked to the construction of the new River Tagus bridge crossing. The article concludes that Lisbon has a clear sense of purpose and direction as a major European city

Urban planning, regulation theory and institutionalism, the planner's role in the global economy after fordism

In this paper regulation theory is examined as a suitable framework for understanding urban planning. The changing role of the planner is explored in the light of the changing mode of regulation in the global organisation of capitalism. A distinction is made between the space economy and the property economy, in both of which planning interventions are made. The question arises of what can now be regulated by local political institutions. It is argued that the regulation of accumulation is conducted largely through interactions between national governments and global institutions, whereas the regulation of distribution of the social product remains influenced by the varying political traditions of nations, and the interactions between national states and local governments. It is suggested that regulation theory could benefit from a more explicit connection with institutionalist political theory. I conclude that nothing short of a reconstruction of planning ideology is now necessary to maintain, under changed conditions, the progressive directions established in the first part of this century.

Relations between central and local governments in Turkey: An historical perspective

AbstractAs organizers of urban development in the modem sense, municipalities go back to the mid‐19th century in Turkey. The main theme of this article is an analysis of the trends over roughly 150 years. Three main headings are used within this framework: (a) the political and administrative level; (b) the level of financial policies; (c) historical development of the relationship between the central and local governments with respect to the legal and institutional framework of urban planning. This relationship is fundamentally paternalistic and authoritarian. The study investigates the authenticity of the currently pronounced liberal policies and the subsequent implementation mechanisms devised by the present administration over the past 8 years. Although a change of government seems imminent, most of the policies implemented are considered to be irreversible. Emphasis is given to an assessment of the claim that liberal governments have introduced positive changes in this structural mechanism, rather than a normative evaluation of this structural relationship.

Integrated location — transportation analysis; a decomposition approach

Land use planning is generally analysed in terms of either activity location or transfortation planning. Often further reductions of mutual interrelations are made a priori. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss an integrated model framework for urban planning based on an explicit consideration of the total interdependency pattern. A principally hierarchical decomposition scheme for the expansion and use of urban infrastructure is proposed and the structure of appropriate sub-models is outlined. Tentative results from the model testing are given. In the analysis of the sub-models various interdependencies not accounted for by a strict hierarchical model structure are observed. The significance of such model interactions in relation to efficiency criteria is considered in some detail.

The Governmental Framework of Urban Planning

The Governmental Framework of Urban Planning