Urban Development Projects Research Articles

Digital tools for stakeholder participation in urban development projects

Previous studies have paid scarce attention to engagement of various stakeholders in urban development projects. Therefore, this paper examines the possibilities of using digital tools to enhance stakeholder participation in urban development projects and how digital tools may be associated with value creation in the project planning phase. This qualitative case study builds on data we collected through 17 semistructured interviews and participation in four planning workshops in a middle-sized city in Finland. Our data analysis resulted in a categorisation consisting of six types of digital tools that can be used to engage stakeholders in urban development projects. Our results indicate that digital tools provide multiple opportunities for stakeholder participation and that each tool is associated with specific benefits and sacrifices that contribute to value creation. Furthermore, digital tools were found to positively influence project success and stakeholder satisfaction. Our study offers practical recommendations, especially regarding social media, for effectively integrating various stakeholders, including individual citizens and private actors, into urban development projects.

Rendering Affective Atmospheres: The Visual Construction of Spatial Knowledge About Urban Development Projects

Renderings are digital visualisations of urban development projects in the field of urban design that aim to create spatial knowledge about future-built urban environments, which we also refer to as imaginaries. In our contribution, we ask how visual artists design renderings, how they try to influence spatial knowledge about future urban spaces, and in which processes renderings are produced. Using the cases of the Eko Atlantic City project in Lagos (Nigeria) and the Hudson Yards project in New York City (USA) as examples, it will be shown empirically how specialized visual artists try to make urban development projects appear convincing and appealing. The analyses show that visual artists particularly use design elements such as photorealistic aesthetics and lighting to make the presentations of the planned building projects desirable. They also attempt to make them appear coherent in their built environment by digitally collaging different imaginary elements. Interestingly, only a limited number of image types are used. They can nevertheless put the imaginary space of the planned building projects in a positive light, create pleasant affective atmospheres, and appeal to a wide audience. By visually constructing imaginaries about urban development projects and thus influencing the subjective spatial knowledge of stakeholders and a broader public, renderings develop power. The constructed—and widely shared—imaginary space can guide investment and influence planning processes and the materialization of the built project.

Designing a public engagement process for long-term urban park development project.

Gathering public consensus about long-term urban open space development is more difficult than ever, even though public engagement is crucial for sustainable long-term policymaking. Routine evaluation of public awareness is important for retaining project momentum and designing appropriate public engagement processes for the future. This study focuses on the Yongsan Park Development Project, which has been in progress for more than three decades. An online survey of 2,000 respondents was conducted and analyzed to evaluate the current public awareness and ask questions about respondents’ expectations for public engagement. The results of this study reveal that 1) a hybrid methodology is needed to effectively approach different age groups; 2) an online survey can offer new insights for projects that repurpose U.S. army base and military sites into urban open spaces; 3) the survey results will enable us to design a better public participation process that is appropriate for post-pandemic society, in which virtual meetings and socially distanced communications are part of the new norm.

URBAN RECREATIONAL WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS: SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT

A waterfront development is a worldwide well-established phenomenon, and Sri Lanka has recently been involved in waterfront development projects, notably recreational waterfront development projects. Therefore, the primary aim of this study is to evaluate the sustainability of urban recreational waterfront development projects in the Colombo metropolitan area. The qualitative research methodology is used, and primary data is gathered through observations and interviews. The structured interviews were conducted using the judgmental sampling technique with nine experts involved in Urban Recreational Water front Development projects in Sri Lanka. The content analysis approach was used to analyze qualitative data. The study presented six environmental aspects, three economic aspects, and seven social features that contribute to the long-term viability of urban recreational waterfront development projects in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the study addresses a vacuum in the literature by outlining the social, economic, and environmental factors specific to urban recreational waterfront development projects in Sri Lanka for which there are no prior evidences.
 Keywords: Urban Recreation, Waterfront Development

Coupling hydrological and microclimate models to simulate evapotranspiration from urban green areas and air temperature at the district scale

Understanding and managing hydrological and microclimate conditions is needed for the adaptation of our cities to global warming. Evapotranspiration, or latent heat flux, plays a key role in heat mitigation strategies. Its modelling, as the modelling of its impact on the urban microclimate, remains a scientific challenge, especially during hot periods for which the urban vegetation is subjected to water stress. This article presents an original approach based on the coupling between a hydrological model and a microclimate model to assess the effect of urban green areas on evapotranspiration and air temperatures at the district scale. The approach is applied to a real urban development project, and under future climate conditions. The results show a complex variability of climatic and hydrological behaviour depending on the green zones considered. Results indicate that the water stress control over evapotranspiration can have a significant impact on local surface and air temperatures (respectively 3 to 6 °C and 0.6 and 1.6 °C difference as compared to ideal water availability conditions).

Taking Stock of What We Know About Large-Scale Urban Development Projects: A Review of Existing Theoretical Frameworks and Case Studies

Despite the wealth of academic research on large-scale urban developments, a comprehensive meta-analysis of the literature is yet to exist. On the one hand, theories on urban change and development have offered useful frameworks for explaining the processes and outcomes of large-scale developments. On the other hand, in-depth case studies have provided profound insights into specific examples. Nevertheless, how the case studies relate to the theoretical debates is unclear. In response, this article undertakes a systematic review of the theories and case studies on large-scale developments and identifies the multitude of ways in which case studies relate to theories.

Research on Cost Management of Urban Complex Development Project

Research on Cost Management of Urban Complex Development Project

The framing of urban values and qualities in inter-organisational settings: The case of ground floor planning in Gothenburg, Sweden

This article’s overall purpose is to contribute to the recent discussion between the literatures of valuation studies and urban studies. The paper aims to do this by generating knowledge on the framing of urban values and qualities in inter-organisational settings making up wider urban development projects. The paper makes use of a recent framework by Metzger and Wiberg published in 2017 in Urban Studies, although employing it in inter-organisational settings, rather than in the intra-organisational settings of those authors. It also adds a systematic focus on issues of value plurality. The paper pursues its aim by interrogating a recent case of inter-organisational ground floor planning in Gothenburg, Sweden. The article demonstrates how several organisational actors with different reasons for joining the scheme, repeatedly came to shift between different practices, scales, and devices of valuation. One implication of the paper is that the study of inter-organisational valuation allows the researcher to explore the plurality of ways in which actors with different goals evaluate development alternatives to keep the process going. Having said this, the paper also touches upon the fact that the value-agnostic sensibility of valuation studies risks making the researcher neglect power asymmetries.

Towards a LCA Database for the Planning and Design of Zero-Emissions Neighborhoods

The integration of science-based knowledge on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into practice-based neighborhood design and planning is key to inform and implement climate mitigation strategies. LCA is a method that is commonly used to provide objective and science-based information on the environmental impacts of specified systems or products. To use a LCA methodology at neighborhood scale is in turn dependent on the development of a common structure for life cycle inventory data. Such a LCA database does not operate on its own, but functions as a structured source of relevant high-quality data inputs linked to other different analytical tools. The aim of this study is to analyze the needs and requirements and provide a foundation for a LCA database at neighborhood scale that can provide users with an interface to find and access life cycle data in the users’ preferred format. The result of this study is the outline of the foundations of a user-centric LCA database for neighborhoods, including several sub-systems (buildings, infrastructure, mobility, and energy supply). Recommendations are given in the Conclusions Section to provide harmonized decision support on reducing GHG emissions at local levels in the planning and design of urban development projects at the neighborhood scale.

Assessment of the flood mitigation ecosystem service in a coastal wetland and potential impact of future urban development in Chile

A worldwide increase in flooding due to climate change and population growth in exposed areas is expected, especially in coastal areas; therefore, nature-based solutions (NBS) for risk reduction are necessary to increase the resilience of cities, particularly in developing countries, which usually lack large budgets for structural measures but have natural areas such as wetlands that can be used as NBS. The flood mitigation ecosystem service of a coastal wetland in central Chile was analyzed. Using hydrological and topo-bathymetric data, two flood hazard scenarios were modeled: (i) S1 current and (ii) S2 projected, which was established based on land-use planning instruments and urban projects developed since 1954. Flood hazard maps for different return periods were obtained and indicators related to the mitigation potential of the wetland were calculated. It was proven that urban project development has intensified since 2000, mainly in the form of real estate development, with an increase in occupation of 50%, and the wetland area is projected to be further reduced by around one third, decreasing potential flood mitigation. Thus, for an extreme return period, in this case 500 years, the water volume stored by the wetland would decrease by more than 38% and the flooded area of the wetland by 30%, increasing flooding and vulnerability of the urban area, with various repercussions for surrounding neighborhoods and infrastructure. The number of people and homes affected would increase by around 6% and 8%, respectively, such that the affected land value would reach an additional US$55 million, which would be very detrimental in a city that has seen its natural spaces encroached upon by gray infrastructure. This research reaffirms the need to support the restoration and conservation of coastal wetlands under pressure from urban development in an area with a lack of green infrastructure planning.

A Comparison of Extracted Dominant Colours of Twelve Cosmopolitan Cities

Abstract: Metropolitan cities are large multi-cultural urban areas. Their colour schemes, which contribute to their unique identities, are influenced by factors, such as when the city was established, climate, city ordinances, and cultural heritage. City colours also evolve overtime due to new construction materials, innovative building designs, and urban development. The objective of this study is to determine if there are similarities in dominant colours for twelve metropolitan cities spanning six continents. They include Cairo, Cape Town, Singapore, Tokyo, Perth, Sydney, London, Madrid, Mexico City, New York City, Buenos Aires, and Lima. The Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) colour extraction technique was used to extract five dominant colours from images of these twelve cities. The extracted dominant colours were outputted as hexadecimal codes with their corresponding names obtained from the color-name.com website. Results show that some of these cities have similar dominant colours. Two colours, cobalt blue and sonic silver, are found in 25% of the cities. Furthermore, ten colours are present in pairs of cities. Most notably, some cities share two of the five dominant colours. Mexico City and New York City both have eerie black and platinum in their colour schemes, while Singapore and Lima share Charleston Green and Gainsboro. Cape Town and Perth both have light cobalt blue and sonic silver in their colour patterns, while Madrid and Buenos Aires share khaki and shadow colours. Dominant colours identified as a result of this investigation could be used to produce colour palettes for these cities. Since colour is an important component of urban development and preservation projects, the ones that incorporate aspects of existing colours would create buildings that are harmonious with the cultural heritage as well as the overall colour scheme of this city. Keywords: Colour extraction, Fuzzy c-means (FCM), soft clustering, unsupervised learning, machine learning, cosmopolitan cities, dominant colours, city colour palettes

Evaluation of the Nairobi-Thika Road Improvement Project in the Context of Inclusive Development

This paper converts the six reasons for inclusive development proposed by Gupta into a heuristic device for evaluation of inclusive development in road infrastructure projects in Nairobi. The Gupta Rationale entails six key evaluative elements of, that is, whether the project has achieved: Welfare of the poor and marginalized, Human rights, Economic Sustainability, Human security and livelihood support, Inclusive decision-making and Non production of poverty. This study subjected the Nairobi-Thika Road Improvement Project to this evaluative criterion as case study. The results of the evaluation are that the project mainly focused on enhancing the comfort of the private motorist, no serious violations except on few occasions when structures used by informal SMEs were demolished without offers of viable alternatives, the project led to improved infrastructure with significant economic benefits, densification and crowding occasioned by high land prices has led to overstretched infrastructural services thereby threatening the human security in the neighbourhoods along the corridor, the project was not inclusive in terms of decision-making but was a top-down outfit that did little to incorporate local governments and communities, and that it caused production of poverty by destroying livelihoods of petty traders and employees of SMEs that were operating along the corridor. The paper demonstrates that the Gupta Rationale can clearly assess the extent of inclusive development in a project and help to reach the conclusion as to whether a particular project’s processes and outcomes engender inclusive development. In the case of Nairobi, for instance, the device has helped reach a rational decision that development is not inclusive. Recommendation is made that the Gupta Rationale should be used in the ex-ante and ex-post evaluation of road improvement projects or any other urban development project for that matter. This would help mainstream inclusive urban development.

Roles and Responsibilities of Urban Planners to Address the Issues of Built-up areas in Pakistan

Town planning is defined as the art and science of ordering the use of land and the character and siting of buildings and communication routes so as to secure the maximum practicable degree of economy,convenience, health and beauty. So is the role of urban planners to manage and maintain this for the sustainability of the cities. They look for the present conditions of their surroundings and work to improve them and add new additions if required. But Unfortunately, lately, Pakistan lack planners in their said roles and responsibilities. The planners are not consulted before most of the urban development projects, thereby ignoring and not coordinating with various planning departments, the decisions of the government will become nothing but a blot on the future of already blighted cities. Hence there is a dire need to empower the planning profession in order to improve the urban contexts of our country. Sharing the field knowledge via hands-on workshops is a solution to better engage planners and help policymakers to internalize the findings. The Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of Management and Technology have gathered planners from all over Pakistan and asked for major planning issues and their subsequent suggestions to resolve these issues. Highlighted in the workshop, most of the core problems are related to housing, transportation, and sustainable development. The paper is basically to channel the findings of a workshop aiming at fostering discussions on urban issues among the professionals who're the ultimate stakeholders. Focusing on a multidimensional urban phenomenon, the paper aims to deepen the understanding of contemporary urban issues in Pakistan, leading toward the solutions to be adopted by government officials to advance progress and sustainability ultimately

“Selling TIF: Positioning Hudson Yards as a project that pays for itself”

This research examines how tax increment financing (TIF)’s theoretical ability to pay for itself can be used to camouflage development risks and facilitate project approval, even in a municipality with effective and accountable land use and taxing authorities. The analysis uses a case study of the United States' largest TIF-type project, New York City's Hudson Yards redevelopment project. When proposed, the $3.5 billion public investment in Hudson Yards was sold as self-financing by supporters and elected officials and passed the City Council in 2005 with widespread support. Yet, by documenting the projected and actual costs of implementation over Hudson Yards' first 14 years, the project's first phase cost the city an additional $2.2 billion due to the city's decisions to shift risk from developers onto taxpayers. In light of policy mobility studies' documentation of TIF's global expansion and the use of Hudson Yards as a global model for urban development projects, this viewpoint illustrates the need for transparent risk assignation before project implementation, especially in cities with less robust economies or less formal institutions.

Planning behind Closed Doors: Unlocking Large-Scale Urban Development Projects Using the Stakeholder Approach on Tenerife, Spain

Santa Cruz Verde 2030 is an inner-city megaproject that will transform the local oil refinery into an urban neighborhood in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. The project is expected to reconfigure Santa Cruz’s tourism model significantly, while applying rather undemocratic planning practices. This paper explores Santa Cruz Verde 2030, focusing on the perception of local stakeholders. My research builds on 18 qualitative interviews with planning authorities, the city’s mayor, political parties, experts from the real estate sector and residents. I identify a large perception gap among the interviewees. While the project’s initiators praise the participatory process, other stakeholders feel neither informed nor integrated. In particular, the “behind closed doors” planning approach has provoked resentment among citizens. In contrast, the possible impact on tourism of the project has given rise to less discussion. This contributes to the “stealthy” touristification strategy that has already transformed large areas of Santa Cruz’s waterfront in past decades. Hence, this paper adds to the ongoing discussion on how to design megaprojects in a more sustainable way, for example, by ensuring political consensus and learning from former megaprojects.

A Study on the Tasks for the Improvement of Urban Development Methodologies and Direction for the Amendment of Current Urban Development Projects

도시개발은 신도시 개발과 같이 새로운 개발을 통해서만 성취되는 것이 아니라 기존 도시의 노후된 기반시설의 정비와 생활편익시설의 공급을 포함하는 정비사업을 통하여 실천된다. 도시개발법에 근거한 도시개발사업은 민간의 참여를 통하여 도시개발사업의 자금을 확보함으로써 보다 창의적인 도시개발을 추진하고자 하는 입법취지의 실현을 위하여 다양한 사업방식과 사업시행 주체를 규정하고 있다. 그러나 도시개발법 제정 이후 수도권을 제외한 지방도시들에 있어서 도시개발사업 추진실적은 기대에 못 미치고 있다. 현재 개발이익환수에 관한 법률에서의 개발부담금은 토지에서 발생하는 개발이익을 환수하는 근거가 되지만, 건물에서 발생한 개발이익을 환수하는 근거가 되지 못한다. 또한 도시개발법에는 민간사업자가 도시개발을 통해 얻은 이익을 환수할 수 있는 근거 규정이 존재하지 않는다. 이러한 도시개발방식의 개선을 위하여 최근 국회가 제안한 도시개발법 일부개정법률안들이 제시하는 도시개발사업의 민간참여자에 대한 수익률 제한 규정(안)들의 타당성이 일부 인정된다. 그러나 이들 개정법률(안)들이 제시하는 바와 같이 도시개발사업의 민간참여자에 대한 수익률을 일률적으로 제한하게 되면 소규모 도시개발사업의 경우에는 기대수익률이 적어 민간사업자 참여가 줄어들고 대규모 도시개발사업에 있어서만 민간사업자 참여가 이루어질 가능성이 크다는 점에서 문제가 예상된다. 또한 도시개발법 일부개정법률(안)들은 총사업비를 기준으로 이윤율을 추정하면서도, 총사업비의 산정기준 시점 및 산정 방식 등에 관하여서는 구체적인 내용을 제시하지 않고 있어서, 개정법률(안)의 행정실효성 확보에 한계가 예상된다. 따라서 이와 관련한 상세 규정이 마련되어야 한다. 이상의 연구결과를 통하여 본 연구는 도시개발사업의 제도적 보완사항에 관한 정비와는 별개로 도시개발사업 추진에 필요한 인·허가 등 일련의 행정 과정에 관한 감독관청의 재량권 행사에 있어서 보다 적극적인 공익성 확보 노력에 관한 사항을 구체적으로 규정하는 것이 필요함을 제시하였다.

Learning from urban projects: why and how we should unlock the learning potential of urban development projects and programmes

ABSTRACT Urban projects are developed partly to solve local problems but often have wider aims to influence policy and practise. However, there is very little long-term evaluation carried out, and few systematic efforts to link the experience gained in project development and implementation to wider learning and capacity building. I have written this opinion piece based on my experience both in practise in the public and private sectors and in teaching and research. The paper is divided into three parts. First, why urban projects and programmes are important for learning and capacity building. Second, how we learn from projects and the opportunities and barriers to learning. Third, how we could increase learning by explicitly including learning objectives in project planning and evaluation, strengthening links between practice and learning, and improving long-term access to project materials with learning potential.

Overpromising Technocracy’s Potential: The American-Yugoslav Project, Urban Planning, and Cold War Cultural Diplomacy

From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, the Ford Foundation funded an urban planning exchange between American academics and Yugoslav urban planners as something of a test case in transferring American planning technology to the socialist world. The American-Yugoslav Project was one of several international urban development projects the Ford Foundation pursued at mid-century as part of its Cold War-era cultural diplomacy efforts. The largely unsuccessful technology transfer at the center of the American-Yugoslav Project was a contributing factor to the Foundation’s retreat from international urban development and provides a case study in how one-size-fits-all development models falter when challenged by real-world conditions.

Deal-making, elite networks and public–private hybridisation: More-than-neoliberal urban governance

In this commentary, we argue that augmented concepts and research methods are needed to comprehend hybrid urban governance reconfigurations that benefit market actors but eschew competition in favour of deal-making between elite state and private actors. Fuelled by financialisation and in response to planning conflict are regulatory reforms that legitimise opaque alliances in service of infrastructure and urban development projects. From a specific city (Sydney, Australia) we draw upon one such reform – Unsolicited Proposals – to point to a broader landscape of hybrid urban governance, its reconfigurations of power and potential effect on cities. Whereas neoliberal governance promotes competition and views the state and private sectors as distinct, hybrid urban governance leverages state monopoly power and abjures market competition, instead endorsing high-level public–private coordination, technical and financial expertise and confidential deal-making over major urban projects. We scrutinise how Unsolicited Proposals normalise this approach. Commercial-in-confidence protection and absent tender processes authorise a narrow constellation of influential private and public actors to preconfigure outcomes without oversight. Such reforms, we argue, consolidate elite socio-spatial power, jeopardise city function and amplify corruption vulnerabilities. To theorise hybrid urban governance at the intersection of neoliberalism and Asia-Pacific state-capitalism, we offer the concepts of coercive monopoly (where market entry is closed, without opportunity to compete) and de jure collusion (where regulation reforms codify informal alliances among elites connected across government and corporate and consultancy worlds). We call for urban scholarship to pay closer attention to public–private hybridisation in governance, scrutinising regulatory mechanisms that consecrate deal-making and undermine the public interest.

Beyond variegation: The territorialisation of states, communities and developers in large-scale developments in Johannesburg, Shanghai and London

Large-scale urban development projects are a significant format of urban expansion and renewal across the globe. As generators of governance innovation and indicators of the future city in each urban context, large-scale development projects have been interpreted within frameworks of ‘variegations’ of wider circulating processes, such as neoliberalisation or financialisation. However, such projects often entail significant state support and investment, are strongly linked to a wide variety of transnational investors and developers and are frequently highly contested in their local environments. Thus, each project comes to fruition in a distinctive regulatory context, often as an exception to the norm, and each emerges through complex interactions over a long period of time amongst an array of actors. We therefore seek to broaden the discussion from an analytical focus on variegated globalised processes to consider three large-scale urban development projects (in Shanghai, Johannesburg and London) as distinctive (transcalar) territorialisations. Using an innovative comparative approach, we outline the grounds for a systematic analytical conversation across mega-urban development projects in very different contexts. Initially, comparability rests on the shared features of large-scale developments – that they are multi-jurisdictional, involve long time scales and bring significant financing challenges. Comparing three development projects, we are able to interrogate, rather than take for granted, how a range of wider processes, circulating practices, transcalar actors and territorial regulatory formations composed specific urban outcomes in each case. Thinking across these diverse cases provides grounds for rebuilding understandings of urban development politics.