2010 Space is Luxury, Aalto, July 7-10th
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Publication Open Access Selected proceedings : Space is Luxury, 24th AESOP Annual Conference, Aalto University, FInland, July 7-10 2010(AESOP, 2010) Ache, Peter; Ilmonen, MerviOn the occasion of the 24th AESOP Annual Conference, the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at Aalto University welcomed more than six hundred planning scholars and professionals from all over the world to Finland. The purpose was to discuss the manifold issues related to „space is luxury‟ and to explore the multitude of related planning issues in more than four hundred paper presentations. The rational for choosing such a title has many dimensions. In 2010, the world is clearly one that can be called „urban‟. In relative terms, more than half of the world‟s population dwells in urban settings – about one billion under „slum conditions‟ (UN Habitat, 2006). Not only in such a deprived situation, having quality space available equals commanding a „luxury‟! Planning and urban design are key factors in shaping and managing space and generate the wished for quality spaces (UN Habitat, 2009). The concept of space and concomitantly that of spatial quality includes different meanings and dimensions. Space is physical, including architecture and urban form (Borden, Kerr, Rendell, & Pivaro, 2001). Space is also socially constructed through various forms of human interventions (Massey, 2005). Space is contested and a reason for serious conflicts (Harvey, 2000). Space is presented and space represents (Lefebvre, 1991). For planning, the management of the competing uses for space requires complex interventions (Ache, 2010). The making of better places that are valued and have identity is an enduring ambition of planning (Hall, 1996). And, returning to the start of this brief reflection, the major challenge of spatial planning is to find solutions for a more sustainable urban millennium (Ministers for Urban Development, 2007).Publication Open Access Book of abstracts : Space is Luxury, 24th AESOP Annual Conference, Aalto University, FInland, July 7-10 2010(AESOP, 2010) Ilmonen, Mervi; Ache, PeterDear Participants! Tervetuloa - Välkommen – Welcome to space is luxury — the 24th AESOP Annual Conference In 2010, the world is clearly one that can be called 'urban'. In relative terms, more than half of the world's population dwells in urban settings — about one billion under 'slum conditions'. Having quality space available equals commanding a 'luxury'! Planning and urban design are key factors in shaping and managing space and generate the wished for quality spaces. The concept of space and concomitantly that of spatial quality includes different meanings and dimensions. Space is physical, including architecture and urban form. Space is also socially constructed through various forms of human interventions. Space is contested and a reason for serious conflicts. Space is presented and space represents. For planning, the management of the competing uses for space requires complex interventions. The making of better places that are valued and have identity is an enduring ambition of planning. And, returning to the start of this brief reflection, the major challenge of spatial planning is to find solutions for a more sustainable urban millennium. Space is expensive and exhaustive, a luxury we cannot afford any longer, if it means excessive use of space in terms of energy inefficiency and traffic pollution. The Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at Aalto University welcomes more than six hundred planning scholars and professionals from all over the world to Finland to discuss the manifold issues of space is luxury and to explore the multitude of related planning issues. As a participant, with this Book of Abstracts you hold one of the many elements in your hands which were produced for this conference with the help or input of a number of people. First of all, we need to mention here the Track Co-Chairs who so effectively worked together and helped us create an event that is stimulating and challenging in its scientific content. Following on to the Track Invitation Texts, the Call for Papers was issued in October 2009. Abstract submission was possible during January 2010. Track Co-Chairs provided an assessment of the abstracts until mid March 2010. LOC checked the outcome and also proposed some re-arrangements to balance out tracks in terms of paper presentations. From April onwards, notifications of acceptance were sent out to authors and we started scheduling tracks and sessions. All of this profited from the invaluable support of our international teams of Track Co-Chairs (see list on following pages).The 24th AESOP Annual Conference generated a huge interest. More than six hundred abstracts were submitted out of which more than five hundred papers were accepted — which finally translated into slightly more than four hundred and fifty abstracts presented in this book. All in all a very laborious process, for which we would like to thank especially Mikko Johansson who was the web master of the conference (and who also became a first time father during the process. Congratulations!). AESOP 2010 was also used to implement new policies towards a higher scientific quality of AESOP conferences. LOC provided for that purpose more detailed prescriptions regarding abstract submission. LOC also followed in part the proposal to introduce different paper categories, anchor papers (having more floor for presentation but also requiring a full draft paper) or distributed papers. This policy received a mixed echo from many sides — a good indication of the interest that the AESOP community has in such issues. Thanks for sharing your many views on the pros and cons of such a policy. It is certain, that AESOP needs to continue its discussion about quality standards in conferences. Last, we would of course like to thank all authors and presenters for their interest in the 24th AESOP Annual Conference. Without your intellectual contributions, without the research work which you do at your home institutions, without your willingness to share, present and discuss this knowledge, such a conference would have not been possible. This book of abstracts has been organized along the sixteen main tracks of the conference. In each section, at the beginning the reader will find the Track Invitation Text that was provided by Track Co-Chairs for the Call for Papers. This will be followed by an alphabetical listing of the abstracts of all those authors, who met the registration deadline of May 31st 2010. At the end of the Book of Abstracts, again an alphabetical list of all authors is provided, which the reader can use to find authors across all tracks. Finally, we would like to thank Marina Johansson, who brought together this Book of Abstracts in a very efficient way. Thank You! Sydämelliset ja Iämpimät kiitoksemme! Mervi Ilmonen & Peter Ache Local Organising CommitteeItem Open Access How to Prevent Communicative Planners from Unwittingly Serving Neo-liberalism?(AESOP, 2010) Sager, ToreCommunicative planning theory has recently been reproached for facilitating neo-liberal market practices to the disadvantage of broader social interests. The paper comments on this critique and clarifies what neo-liberalism demands from urban planning. Moreover, the paper surveys planning theorists‟ attempts to describe the connection between communicative planning theory and neo-liberalism. The critique of being at the service of neo-liberalism should be addressed in communicative planning theory by bringing procedural and substantive recommendations closer together. It must be made evident that what is required from the plan (the outcome) is grounded in substantive values that are closely associated with the values behind the process design. This is what the value approach sketched in the present paper is meant to do, and by insisting on consistency between the values of process and outcome it offers a way to address the charge that CPT facilitates the progress of neo-liberalist urban development.Item Open Access Theorizing Planning for Climate Change: Critical Reading for New York City’s Recent(AESOP, 2010) Jabareen, YosefClimate change and its resulting uncertainties challenge the concepts, procedures, and scope of conventional approaches to planning, thus creating a need to rethink and revise current planning methods and theories. The aim of this paper is twofold: to propose a new multifaceted conceptual framework for theorizing planning for climate change; and to apply this framework for critically analyzing the recent master plan for New York City: PlaNYC 2030. The proposed conceptual framework consists of eight concepts that were identified through a conceptual analysis of planning and interdisciplinary literature on sustainability and climate change. These concepts, which together constitute the theoretical framework of planning for climate change, are: Utopian Vision, Equity, Uncertainty, Natural Capital, Eco- Form, Integrative Approach, Ecological Energy, and Ecological Economics. Each concept is composed of several criteria of evaluation. Using the proposed conceptual framework to evaluate PlaNYC 2030 reveals important merits and shortcomings of the Plan. On the bright side, the Plan promotes greater compactness and density, enhanced mixed land use, sustainable transportation, greening, and renewal, and utilization of underused land. It also addresses future uncertainties related to climate change with institutional measures and recommends efficient ways of using the city‘s natural capital assets. Finally, the Plan creates mechanisms to promote its climate change goals and to create a cleaner environment for economic investment, offers an ambitious vision of reducing emissions by 30% and of a ―greener, greater New York,‖ and links this vision to the international agenda on climate change. On the down side, the assessment reveals that PlaNYC did not make a radical shift toward planning for climate change and adaptation and inadequately addresses social planning issues that are crucial to New York City. Like other cities, New York is ―socially differentiated‖ in terms of communities‘ capacity to address the uncertainties of climate change, and the Plan fails to address issues facing vulnerable communities. Moreover, the Plan calls for an integrative approach to meeting the challenges of climate change on the institutional level but fails to effectively integrate civil society, communities, and grassroots organizations into the process. Another critical shortcoming, particularly during the current age of climate change uncertainty, is the lack of a systematic procedure for public participation in the planning process throughout the city‘s neighborhoods and among different social groupings and stakeholders.Item Open Access Theorizing and evaluating Vienna’s concepts and performances of quality spaces(AESOP, 2010) Hatz, GerhardIsland urbanism, resulting in a fragmented patchwork of physically disconnected unfinished parts within the urban area (Novy et. al., 2001, Oswalt, 2006). “Instead of cities being determined by pre - planned structures, they are revealed as amorphous,…indeterminant sites,…they are temporary, emergent and transitory,...an endless world made up of tightly interconnected but heterogeneous spaces.” (Wigley, 2001, p.11). “We are in the epoch of simultaneity…in the epoch of juxtaposition,…of the near and far, of the side-byside, of the dispersed” (Foucault & Miskowiec 1986, p.22). Drawing on the meanings shaping urban discourses and utopias, the paper seeks to scrutinize the situationists’ conceptualization of “New Babylon” and its enhancements by Sloterdijk’s concept of “Foam Cities” with the intent to examine physical form, social relations and the ambient qualities of urban space as the relation among sites, simultaneously re-presenting different quality spaces.Item Open Access Conceptual Apprenticeship – Heuristic Simplification in Training Planning Students in Negotiation and Argumentatio(AESOP, 2010) Törnqvist, AndersEducational experiments 2003-2009 at the Swedish School of Planning, Blekinge Institute of Technology, have tested software and other tools in training students to acquire professional skills in negotiation and argumentation. Results indicate that conceptual models, simplified, yet reflecting professional practice, facilitate learning. They do so by organising student efforts to acquire complex skills, providing immediate feedback and help to interpret teachers‟ hints and corrections. Simple models stimulate student elaboration. Complex models may need simplification and modification of target skills. In both cases improvement of learning outcomes can be observed. Software helps in externalising professional methods, visualising outcomes, and diagnosing student errors. Software also presents operating difficulties and may lead to cognitive overload for some students. Contrary to common opinion in the field, results indicate that one should assume no clear relation between features of different software and learning outcomes. Educational contexts are unavoidably different, which makes comparisons difficult. Modifying conceptual models and target skills, improving learning outcomes, should be seen rather as examples of heuristic simplification and conceptual clarification, supporting conceptual apprenticeship. This can be developed and reliably tested in a specific educational context.Item Open Access The luxury urbanity of new housing projects. Report of an Urban design and planning course in China(AESOP, 2010) Frassoldati, F.; Wang, S.; Deng, Z.'Housing' is an issue combining architecture, planning, and social matters like the role of the market and an equal access to urban resources. Housing is worldwide effectively mirroring the socio-economic changes, as measured by institutional statistics and personal income. The housing stocks supplied by the market, and the public policies correcting that supply, also materialize common or questioned ideas on urbanity. While housing in the real world is mainly considered the result in balancing these different constraints, residential areas are also one of the first applied exercises in the courses of urban planning. The Chinese University context, and particularly that of a large metropolis like Guangzhou, offers a hot spot to look at the role that planning education may - or might have - in preparing professionals for the future challenges and addressing crucial public decisions on the future urbanity.Item Open Access Luxury is…. Space to write : Using tablet pc technology to enhance learning?(AESOP, 2010) Peel, Deborah; Gunasekera, SanwaraThis project reports on the use of tablet PC technology in the classroom to enhance student learning. It is based on a literature review, action research and reflective practice through the use of peer review. Research suggests that a critical feature of understanding student interaction with in-class materials is whether lecturers/students construct the lecture experience as being based on transmission and receipt of messages or a complex activity that enhances learning through relatively more active and inter-active processes. The empirical study involved two lecturers working with different undergraduate cohorts in lecture contexts within the built environment (quantity surveying and planning). The paper locates the discussion in relation to the use of PowerPoint, presents the two case studies, describes the use of tablet pc technology to increase student engagement, comments on the benefits of peer review in providing constructive feedback, and reflects on the conference theme in terms of the luxury of having pedagogical research space.Item Open Access Cognitive skills to deal with the challenge of complexity in planning(AESOP, 2010) Hemberger, Christoph; Schoenwandt, WalterComplex problems represent a serious challenge in planning. Planners must make use of incomplete and potentially contradictory information to reach diverse, at times conflicting goals. Nobody can apprehend all of the different variables involved at a glance. Nor is it possible to predict with certainty how they are likely to change in the future. The mental models (i.e. representations of our environment) with which planners operate are therefore prone to errors that inhere in the very process of cognition itself, which only compounds the difficulty that planners face when dealing with complexity. Drawing on foundational insights from planning theory and practice, as well as from cognitive psychology and the interdisciplinary field of complexity theory, this paper seeks to develop and define some key cognitive skills designed to make dealing with complex planning problems easier. Keywords: Cognitive Skills, Mental Models, ComplexityItem Open Access Territorial cohesion post-2013: to whomsoever it may concern(AESOP, 2010) Faludi, AndreasConceived as a motion for resolution, the paper considers territorial cohesion now being on the statute book, the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion, Barca making the case for integrated, place-based strategies, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and the future of Cohesion policy. The recommendations reaffirm that „geography matters‟, requiring integrated, place-based strategies, making territorial cohesion into an integral part of Cohesion policy. What is required is more intensive cooperation, with the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region a model. Territorial strategies must be a self-evident part of the architecture of Cohesion policy. For this there is a need for requisite provisions at all levels. None of this requires new competences, legislation or institutions. The aim is merely to improve on policy formulation and delivery through more focused attention for territory. For this the shared competence under the Lisbon Treaty and the existing institutional settings are sufficient. Note: This paper represents the author‟s unsolicited advice as a committed academic observer of policies articulating the territorial dimension of Cohesion policy. Addressed to policy makers and taking account of the constellation of forces in which they operate, the statement has two parts: A „Motion for Resolution‟, and an „Explanatory Statement‟. The author has benefited immeasurably from exchanges with Jean Peyrony. Indeed, over the past decade the author and Jean have jointly explored European planning and in particular French thinking on the matter. The interaction was so close that whole parts of this paper – in particular the Explanatory Statement – could easily come under our joint namesItem Open Access Repositioning the EU’s Northernmost Regions in a European Territorial Context(AESOP, 2010) Eskelinen, Heikki; Fritsch, MattiThe growing perception of the European Union as an increasingly single and integrated territory requires specific regions to position themselves and highlight their specifities vis-à-vis the European space. This is amplified by an apparent re-orientation of EU regional policy towards a more spatial approach that takes the territorial diversity existing into account. The Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish northernmost regions have a long tradition in collective action within the framework of Nordic co-operation. Recently, they presented themselves as the so-called Northern Sparsely Populated Areas (NSPA) and engaged in inter-regional co-operation in order to position themselves on the regional policy map of Europe. Within this setting this paper aims to investigate how actors (regional and national level, EU) attempt to position the northernmost regions within a European territorial context and to examine how European spatial policy concepts are recognized, rejected or adapted during this process. Keywords: EU regional policy, northernmost regions, territorial capitalItem Open Access Macro-regions as concept for European spatial integration? – discussing co-operation strategies in the Baltic sea regions(AESOP, 2010) Knieling, Joerg; Othengrafen, FrankThe Baltic Sea Region has a long tradition of integrated regional development. For decades economic, social, cultural and ecological concerns have been tackled in a way that serves well as basis for a sustainable future. Nevertheless, global economic competition has become a challenge for the area. Strengthening a region's global competitiveness requires stronger links as well as synchronised and coordinated action between neighbouring regions and countries (transnational arena). This links „globalisation‟ with the concept of „macro-regions‟ which recently has been introduced by the European Commission adopting the Baltic Sea Region as the first model. The macro-region approach is intended to allow both European Union and its Member States to identify common needs and to allocate available resources to strengthen economic and social development and to enable sustainable development. The paper discusses potentials and restrictions of the Baltic Sea Region as a European macro-region.Item Open Access New spaces for the new economy : New patters for the location of advanced services in post-Fordism(AESOP, 2010) Rocco, RobertoPrevious phases of capitalism produced specific spatial patterns of location and agglomeration of economic activity in different urban contexts around the world. This is particularly true for sophisticated service firms, which used to rely on specific and scarce technical and spatial advantages found almost exclusively in city centres. During the 20th century, the general, albeit uneven expansion and spread of urban technical networks allowed sophisticated services to locate more flexibly. In late capitalism, as Fordism gives way to Post-Fordism, the character of spatial agglomeration of economic activity is bound to change. Knowledgeintensive service industries have a different logic for agglomeration than industrial activities used to have. They still seem to need to agglomerate and cluster, but for different reasons and in completely different ways. This paper reviews current theories on the agglomeration and location of advanced services and investigates the hypothesis that the shift towards a knowledge-based economy and the emphasis on the production, trade and diffusion of knowledge by advanced producer services is triggering specific spatial-structural transformations in cities under globalization. In order to explore this hypothesis, this paper analyses empirical evidence on the location patterns of command activities in the form of advanced producer service firms and transnational firms headquarters in São Paulo, a thriving global city in a rapid growing economy. It analyses the impact of location choices in urban structural transformation; it also explores convergences and divergences in spatial development produced by place-specific conditions. Moreover, it illustrates how governments have acted to provide the spatial conditions for the location and agglomeration of command activities by carrying out large urban projects in partnership with the private sector.Item Open Access Identity Politics and Culture-Led Urban Regeneration in Hualien City, Taiwan(AESOP, 2010) Chen, Yi-lingSince the 1990s, cities in Taiwan have begun to seek urban development strategies to solve new urban problems. The strategies have produced many new urban places, including revitalization of heritage, reuse of spare space, mega urban projects. The production of these urban new places is related to political decentralization and economic transformation driven by globalization, neo-liberalism, post-Fordism, and post-industry. This research will explore urban change and the political and economic context of urban development strategies of Hualien City— a small tourist city in the east coast of Taiwan, focusing on the period of political democratization and economic liberalization after the 1990s. Localities have become an important arena to mitigate the impact of globalization. The economic base and spatial structure of most places have changed due to the rise of post-Fordism and deindustrialization. Global economic change also affects new discourses of urban development. Neo-liberalism changes previous urban polices that emphasize redistribution and even development to new principles of competitiveness, privatization, entrepreneurship, flexibility, and decentralization. Therefore, local governments play an increasingly important role. The research will explore the following issues: 1. Explore major trends of the world economy, the impacts of these trends on cities of Taiwan, the spatial relations of cities, and the ways Hualien City have responded to these changes. 2. Explore the political economic process of urban policies in Taiwan and urban development in Hualien City. 3. Examine the discourses in the production of new urban places in Hualien City, especially the arguments for and against neo-liberalism (Leitner, Peck and Sheppard, 2007).Item Open Access Public and private use of open space in a densely urbanized context(AESOP, 2010) Verbeek, Thomas; Leinfelder, Hans; Pisman, Ann; Hanegreefs, Griet; Allaert, GeorgesThe boundary between the Flemish urban and rural areas has faded in recent years and a fragmented spatial structure has emerged. The ‘open space’ is evolving from an agricultural production area to a semi-urbanized consumption area. On the one hand the public use of open space seems to be growing, particularly because of the success of recreational networks. On the other hand the open space also seems to be increasingly used in a private way, as a consequence of residential development, setting up gardens and hobby farming. An empirical case study showed that these evolutions are actual phenomena and that some determining conditions can be defined. Both evolutions tend to change the open space profoundly. Planning policy should be aiming to guide these evolutions in the best way possible, considering the limited carrying-capacity of open space. Maybe the control of accessibility of the countryside is part of the solution.Item Open Access Challenges to Rural Planning in Africa: The Case of Three Post-democratic Sub-Saharan African Countries(AESOP, 2010) Awuor-Hayangah, Rosemary; Ofosu-Kwakye, YvonneThe fundamental transformation of Africa is largely dependent on new approaches to rural planning and development; However, this remains a major challenge in most African countries. More than 60% of Africa‘s population is classified as rural yet rural planning and development seem to be paid lip-service. Alternatively, rural planning and development initiatives have either failed or lagged behind because of the urban bias of regional planning policies and strategies. The debate on rural planning and development is centered on an expanding body of evidence which supports the notion of rural-urban interdependence towards harmonious regional development outcomes. The derivation of positive outcomes is dependent on existing and emergent policies and strategies which focus on planned interventions to strengthen rural societies and reduce their vulnerability. Ultimately, these policies must be holistic, going beyond ad hoc service and infrastructure provision, and must encompass a series of short, medium and long-term strategies which can aid in the creation of positive and progressive rural spaces and places. This paper will examine the challenges of rural planning in three post-democratic African countries namely, South Africa, Botswana and Kenya with emphasis to spatial planning and evaluate the extent to which their existing polices and strategies have been successful. It concludes by outlining the importance and new approaches to rural planning in Africa. This paper argues that challenges to rural planning in Africa can be overcome through the formulation of holistic policies and strategies which are focused, innovative and have the tendency to produce balanced outcomes.Item Open Access Sparsity as Luxury? An analysis of rural politicians’ views on building rights for low density areas in Finland(AESOP, 2010) Sireni, MaaritDue to the need to curb climate change, increasing attention is paid to land-use planning in Finland. A key question in this debate is to what extent the construction should be concentrated in existing (densely built) settlements and whether the tradition of granting building permissions for sparsely populated areas should be constrained. This paper reports on an empirical investigation concerning the views of local policy-makers on the abovementioned issues. The data is based on an internet-based survey conducted by a regional newspaper in western Finland before municipal elections in 2008. The analysis utilizes deductive content analysis. A majority of these electoral candidates challenge the need to constrain traditional building rights. This is an indication that the political debate on environmental issues and climate change is conditioned by domestic policy traditions and locality-specific issues.Item Open Access Beetham Beetham Beetham: Banal Luxury and ‘Quality Places’(AESOP, 2010) Jefferies, TomThe UK has seen the longest period of boom in the construction industry since WW2, with continuous growth between 1993 and 2007, a context that dramatically and radically changed following the global financial crisis of 2008-09. The boom was characterised by a revived focus on the city centre as a space where regeneration of post-industrial cities could be catalysed in an environment that saw overt competition between cities to be the best. The boom also coincided with the raising in public consciousness of design as a qualitative and desirable commodity through exposure in popular media and encapsulation of ‘quality’ in political and policy objectives. This in turn has led to the introduction of new areas of built environment focussed policy and guidance aiming to ensure design ‘quality’ that embodies the values of ‘place’ in both urban space and built form. Place intersects the uniqueness of location with culture. This raises the question ‘If each city is different why are new places all so similar?’Item Open Access “Landscape is luxury”: Searching for Images of Sustainability(AESOP, 2010) Cassatella, ClaudiaLandscape can give an expressive form to ecological processes, give a vision for “green” policies and plans, and allow the public at large to understand what is at stake. Because most territorial changes are planned on the basis of various forms of representations and rendering, the power of images has grown more and more. What images of change are planners and designers putting forward? Are these images able to represent innovative scenarios of sustainability? The paper presents some case studies. The landscape is close to the way in which people perceive their own living environment, so it can be a powerful visioning tool for participatory democracy. It is proposed that the landscape debate should be reoriented, from the prevailing attention paid to the identity, as an heritage of the past, to a stronger focus on the “aspirations of the public” (European Landscape Convention) and to the creation of new landscape identities.Item Open Access The luxury of silence, cemeteries as places of ‘aposiopesis’ in the city(AESOP, 2010) Zavraka, Despoina D.; Tellios, Anastasios D.‘Aposiopesis’ derives from the Greek word ‘αποσιώπησις’ meaning becoming silent or maintaining silence. It is when a statement or address is broken off, left unfinished, only to be completed in the imagination. Bearing in mind that ‘place’ has been defined as ‘the concrete manifestation of man’s dwelling’, it becomes a paradox that cemeteries are probably the only ‘places’ manifesting very little about their ‘dwellers’. Therefore, they appear as remote urban spaces in aposiopesis of their content and habitation. Someone would be more precise describing contemporary cemeteries as ‘uninhabited’, but yet not ‘empty’, urban places. Viewed as places of expression of our ‘being-in-the-world’, they transcend every aspect of functionality. Therefore the current discussion on the formation of contemporary ‘gravescapes’ as urban territories arise multiple quests about their content and identity in the city. The research will be based on emerging theories and contemporary examples of cemetery design. The central argument concentrates on the present relation between the city and cemetery formation through social, cultural and aesthetical aspects.