Urban Renewal Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

What do huge flocks of sheep, hundreds of rabbits, business parks, metropolitan parks, leisure parks, high-tech parks have in common with airports? These are the most frequent visitors to airports recently constructed. These are the new... more

What do huge flocks of sheep, hundreds of rabbits, business parks, metropolitan parks, leisure parks, high-tech parks have in common with airports? These are the most frequent visitors to airports recently constructed. These are the new ways of inhabiting an airport and connecting it to its context. The book presents the transformation of obsolete airfields as new productive landscapes. It explores the challenges for the conversion of abandoned, decommissioned and on-hold airports thought the exploration of their life cycles. By exploring the transitory condition, defined as “on-hold,” the book discovers strategies for the transformation of obsolete airfields.

Può la densità essere lo strumento analitico di interpretazione dei fenomeni urbani e contemporaneamente un parametro progettuale di prefigurazione dello spazio architettonico? La densità nelle sue diverse accezioni e unità di misura,... more

Può la densità essere lo strumento analitico di interpretazione dei fenomeni urbani e contemporaneamente un parametro progettuale di prefigurazione dello spazio architettonico? La densità nelle sue diverse accezioni e unità di misura, costituisce un nodo di grande rilevanza per l'interpretazione dei fenomeni urbani e degli spazi architettonici. Incoraggia una riconciliazione dello sguardo quantitativo con quello mirato alla lettura qualitativa, riavvicina discipline disgraziatamente disgiunte nell'attuale pratica, suggerisce mezzi e stili di vita che sono alla base del nostro habitat. Ciò che infatti ha da sempre caratterizzato la città non è solo la sua dimensione ed il numero degli abitanti, ma un secondo fattore fondamentale: la densità appunto, o meglio un valore di densità minimo in grado di produrre divisione del lavoro, varietà di funzioni e attività, complessità della struttura sociale. L'architettura progetta distanze oltrechè volumi, la densità ne è quindi un parametro centrale; l'urbanistica e la progettazione urbana, utilizzando il calcolo della densità come livello minimo di pianificazione, dovranno tendere a configurare in futuro le città, influenzandone gli aspetti non solo numerici, ma anche tipologici, morfologici e spaziali. Riscattato dalla computistica, il fattore densità, si trasforma allora in una variabile urbana in grado di definire la forma attuale della città, divenendone strumento di misurazione e di progetto.

Excerpt from the book: "Footbridges as new urban spaces. A cultural project for the contemporary landscape," Fabrizia Zorzenon, 2014

Footbridges as landscape design. p 214, 215 Fabrizia Zorzenon For almost thirty years now footbridge design has been acquiring the worth and importance which for a long time has been characteristic of architectural works. For most of the... more

Footbridges as landscape design. p 214, 215 Fabrizia Zorzenon For almost thirty years now footbridge design has been acquiring the worth and importance which for a long time has been characteristic of architectural works. For most of the twentieth century , the quality of a bridge was judged only on the basis of its size and length. This view gave footbridges such secondary importance that they were often reduced to simple structures with beams. However, at the turn of the new millennium, a radical change of thinking caused the footbridge to be rediscovered as a " vessel of metaphors ". Starting with authors like Calatrava, Mimram and Schlaich, at the beginning of the 1990s, an increasing number of architects and new design engineers began to see the potential behind the design of these structures so that in a short time a new generation of pedestrian bridges was born. So different from what had gone before, these structures embody the cultural revolution that in little more than twenty years has

The DUBES game aimed to support decision-making for sustainable urban development by the combined application of two techniques, a decision-support tool MEDIA and a simulation game. DUBES is an acronym for Sustainable Decision-Making (in... more

The DUBES game aimed to support decision-making for sustainable urban development by the combined application of two techniques, a decision-support tool MEDIA and a simulation game. DUBES is an acronym for Sustainable Decision-Making (in Dutch: Duurzaam Beslissen). This paper describes the promises and challenges of this combined approach and is based on our publication in Environment and Planning (Mayer et al., 2005).

There is an increasing need and interest in including indicators of landscape fragmentation in monitoring systems of sustainable landscape management. Landscape fragmentation due to transportation infrastructure and urban development... more

There is an increasing need and interest in including indicators of landscape fragmentation in monitoring systems of sustainable landscape management. Landscape fragmentation due to transportation infrastructure and urban development threatens human and environmental well-being by noise and pollution from traffic, reducing the size and viability of wildlife populations, facilitating the spread of invasive species, and impairing the scenic and recreational qualities of the landscape. This paper provides the rationale, method, and data for including landscape fragmentation in monitoring systems, using as an example the Swiss Monitoring System of Sustainable Development (Monet). We defined and compared four levels of fragmentation analysis, or fragmentation geometries (FGs), each based on different fragmenting elements, e.g., only anthropogenic, or combinations of anthropogenic and natural elements. As each FG has specific strengths and weaknesses, the most appropriate choice of FG depends on the context and objectives of a study. We present data on the current degree of landscape fragmentation for the five ecoregions and 26 cantons in Switzerland for all four FGs. Our results show that the degree of landscape fragmentation as quantified by the effective mesh size method is strongly supported by the postulates and indicator selection criteria of Monet, and we identify the most suitable FG focusing on the land area below 2,100 m (e.g., excluding lakes) and allowing for an equitable comparison of fragmentation degrees among regions that differ in area covered by lakes and high mountains. For a more detailed analysis of landscape fragmentation in the context of environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments, a combination of all four FGs may provide a more informative tool than any single FG.

Yemen is a least developed arid country located in the Middle East within the Arabian Peninsula’s southern end. Currently, it entirely relies almost on gas and crude oil for the country’s entire energy sources. However, Yemen has a huge... more

Yemen is a least developed arid country located in the Middle East within the Arabian Peninsula’s southern end. Currently, it entirely relies almost on gas and crude oil for the country’s entire energy sources. However, Yemen has a huge potential for the production of renewable and alternative energy sources including wind and solar energy productions as confirmed by the country’s Ministry of Electricity & Energy. This project reviews how the country can benefit from solar power production and also examines how such an alternative energy source policy might mitigate the requirement to construct new fossil fuel generating powers in the country.

This paper deals with the brownfields in the city that can have a serious impact on the direction of strategic planning for future urban development. The comparative analysis of case studies was conducted to compare industrial cities in... more

This paper deals with the brownfields in the city that can have a serious impact on the direction of strategic planning for future urban development. The comparative analysis of case studies was conducted to compare industrial cities in the developed western countries (Gothenburg) to the cities in transition countries (Niš). Brownfields are discussed as specific spaces which represent, on the one hand, an exceptional spatial resource capital, and, problematic areas, "black spots" of the city, on the other, with all the burdens that brownfields can have. Considering the prevalence and distribution, strategic planning, as an instrument for the formation of the vision of development, must inevitably examine and define the role of brownfields. The aim of this paper is to present the possibilities and possible models for brownfield renewal through the prism of strategic planning in the context of creating a sustainable vision of the cities where brownfields could play a key role in regulating and correcting the existing urban pattern.

The Renew Newcastle program has had extraordinary traction since it was launched in 2009. With over 200 proposals and 70 creative projects undertaken in empty spaces in the city of Newcastle alone, there is now a plan to take the program... more

The Renew Newcastle program has had extraordinary traction since it was launched in 2009. With over 200 proposals and 70 creative projects undertaken in empty spaces in the city of Newcastle alone, there is now a plan to take the program national: Renew Australia. Franchises are already setting up in Townsville, Adelaide and the Gold Coast. Marcus Westbury author of the program is a sought after consultant to hurting retail developers and managers all over the country on the prowl for survival techniques.
The Renew Newcastle premise was blindingly simple: following decades of retreating industry; the impact of the 5.6magnitude earthquake that hit the city centre hard in 1989; and the effect of big box retailing placed outside of the city centre, Newcastle was full of empty retail and commercial buildings – this is what Westbury calls his ‘hardware’.
And then there is the software: the success of the program relies primarily on a 30 day rolling licence for the use of buildings. Sited two hours north of Sydney, Newcastle with a coastal lifestyle and low regional living expense already had a thriving arts community but one that needed more cheap places to work and spaces for artists to trade their output. Westbury, an arts festival organiser with no planning or architectural background, but who has a sophisticated multi-scalar and intuitive spatial understanding of the urban and Newcastle specifically having grown up there, set about bringing together the property owners of empty spaces with creative industry. The licenses are negotiated by Renew Newcastle between a property owner and a creative occupant and allow use over spaces – churches, shops and office space, but guarantees that rights remain for property owners to repossess on limited notice – thereby minimising risk on that side. In return, occupants of the buildings keep them clean and carry out limited maintenance. Renew Newcastle manage premises and occupants in and out, negotiate with owners, and provide a blanket Public liability insurance that covers artists on the program, thereby minimising risk for those on the other side.

... 2005; Geis 2005; Greiffenhagen and Neller 2005, for a research overview see Vetter 2007 ... a public community,'Stadtumbau Ost'cannot be afforded,”(vhw 2003: 67; own translation). ... for Urban Development... more

... 2005; Geis 2005; Greiffenhagen and Neller 2005, for a research overview see Vetter 2007 ... a public community,'Stadtumbau Ost'cannot be afforded,”(vhw 2003: 67; own translation). ... for Urban Development (Senatsverwaltung f€ ur Stadtentwicklung) and the housing corpora-tion. ...

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the photographic visualization of the Belgian city of Ghent is closely connected to its urban planning. On one hand, the city is transformed according to the logics of industrial... more

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the photographic visualization of the Belgian city of Ghent is closely connected to its urban planning. On one hand, the city is transformed according to the logics of industrial modernization with its functional and spatial zoning. On the other hand, the city's historical heritage is rediscovered and many medieval buildings were preserved and restored. The planning history of Ghent is usually described in two stages: first, the "Haussmannization" of the city, the creation of boulevards and vistas according to the model of Brussels and Paris, and second, the return to regionalism and a picturesque sensibility during the preparation of the 1913 World's Fair. The photographic representation of the city seems to mirror this evolution, exchanging the image of the city as a series of isolated monuments for a more sensory and immersive experience. However, a close look at a broad range of images produced by both foreign and local photographers allows us to nuance this assumption. Particularly, the work of Edmond Sacré, who photographed Ghent over half a century, combines a "topographical" and a "picturesque" sensibility. Gand Pittoresque In many European cities, nineteenth-century urbanization implied a dialectic of industrial modernization on one hand and a rediscovery of a medieval heritage on the other. Vast programs of demolition went hand in hand with a politics of conservation, restoration, and reconstruction of individual buildings and entire medieval cityscapes. This was also the case in the Belgian city of Ghent, which hosted the World Exhibition in 1913. The preparations for this event, which had a major impact on the Ghent historical city center, also triggered attempts at the construction of a

Although planned as the " City of Tomorrow " , the Bijlmer district in Amsterdam quickly became the quintessential symbol of urban decline. Today, even with half of the planned renewal of the Bijlmer completed, the alleged success of this... more

Although planned as the " City of Tomorrow " , the Bijlmer district in Amsterdam quickly became the quintessential symbol of urban decline. Today, even with half of the planned renewal of the Bijlmer completed, the alleged success of this urban revitalisation programme is questionable. Parts of the black middle class did not move out and some are even returning to the Bijlmer; the combination is producing a type of " black gentrification " , which forces the " undesirables " like drug users, homeless people and undocumented immigrants to leave. This revanchist renewal not only benefits the middle and lower-class population of the district, but it also serves the interests of private developers. European revanchism makes the city safe for corporate investment and aims to restore social order as well as stimulating the development of a strong middle class. This paper demonstrates how hard revanchist policies are demanded not only by private developers but also by the middle and lower classes, and they exist alongside soft " caring " policies, even for the " undesirables " .
Keywords: revanchism, urban revitalisation, gentrification, Amsterdam, black middle class, homeless people, modernist urban planning, undesirables, drug use, public space, high-rise flats

Depuis quelques annees, un interet croissant pour les ecoquartiers se manifeste chez les elites urbaines. A travers l’analyse du projet New Islington a Manchester, cet article cherche a comprendre le role joue par la realisation de ces... more

Depuis quelques annees, un interet croissant pour les ecoquartiers se manifeste chez les elites urbaines. A travers l’analyse du projet New Islington a Manchester, cet article cherche a comprendre le role joue par la realisation de ces quartiers dans les demarches de developpement urbain. En replacant ce projet dans le contexte des politiques urbaines conduites au Royaume-Uni, l’article cherche a isoler les logiques a l’œuvre dans les usages repetes de la notion de « ville durable ». Les ecoquartiers, bien que contribuant a l’approfondissement des politiques urbaines d’environnement, apparaissent insuffisants pour repondre a l’« ideal » de la ville durable. En circonscrivant les innovations et ameliorations a des zones reduites de la ville, ils participent a l’accentuation de la differenciation du traitement des espaces urbains.

There is a long lineage in neighbourhood research that has underpinned sustained academic and policy interest in the UK centred on understanding how spatial ‘clusters’ of neighbourhood-based deprivation might be destabilised. This has... more

There is a long lineage in neighbourhood research that has underpinned sustained academic and policy interest in the UK centred on understanding how spatial ‘clusters’ of neighbourhood-based deprivation might be destabilised. This has seen the privileging of composite indices in the analysis of deprivation which have been criticised for fostering a common perception that deprived neighbourhoods are homogeneous in terms of their compositions and underlying structures. Such indices have also been criticised for being ineffective at capturing temporal change, providing only static snapshots of deprivation at particular points in time. This paper focuses on patterns of deprived neighbourhood change in the Greater Manchester city-region between 2001 and 2007. It develops a typology of neighbourhood change that is triangulated with three complementary typologies capturing the socioeconomic and demographic compositions of deprived neighbourhoods; the functional roles played by deprived neighbourhoods in redistributing population through migration; and the spatial contexts in which deprived neighbourhoods are located. The analysis reveals that an over reliance on static indices to measure deprivation has long-served to conceal complexities in the way that deprived neighbourhoods change, owing to their variable structures and contexts. It illustrates the danger that lies in treating all deprived neighbourhoods in the same way.

Taksim 360, located in the Tarlabaşı neighborhood of Istanbul, is one of the first state-led urban transformation projects in Turkey. Originally scheduled to be finished in 2014, the project is still under construction. Concordant with... more

Taksim 360, located in the Tarlabaşı neighborhood of Istanbul, is one of the first state-led urban transformation projects in Turkey. Originally scheduled to be finished in 2014, the project is still under construction. Concordant with broader discussions, Tarlabaşı's urban transformation has been largely studied through spatial lenses centered on accumulation by dispossession and displacement. These works assume that urban transformation projects necessarily follow a linear trajectory from inception to completion. Building on and diverging from this body of research, I examine the relationships between construction companies, subcontractors, and politicians involved in Taksim 360 through ethnographic fieldwork and media analysis with a critical emphasis on temporality. I argue that urban transformation in fact works through manipulations of time, which necessitates a temporal analytical lens that does not take teleologies of buildings projects for granted. It is specifically through delays that economic and political power is exerted, navigated, and negotiated within Taksim 360 using legal contracts, work stoppages, and stand-offs; conjuring of continued investment; and improvisations with labor and political capital. And so, delays emerge as modus operandi of urban transformation rather than measures of its failures.

This paper develops an analytical framework that can serve to analyse the genesis and evolution of institutions that instantiate urban policy. To this end, two theoretical approaches are integrated: the state theoretical regulation... more

This paper develops an analytical framework that can serve to analyse the genesis and evolution of institutions that instantiate urban policy. To this end, two theoretical approaches are integrated: the state theoretical regulation approach and the governmentality approach. Although these approaches depart from different ontological and epistemological starting points, the research tools that they have developed are largely complementary. Therefore, in
concrete research, a framework that combines elements from both approaches could yield important empirical insights. Urban policy in the Netherlands is analysed to illustrate some of the theoretical and methodological propositions that have been developed.

Urban renewal and inner city regeneration have become critical efforts for the South African government, which has invested in several structures to stem the tide of decline in its nine major cities. Commitment to the alleviation of... more

Urban renewal and inner city regeneration have become critical efforts for the South African government, which has invested in several structures to stem the tide of decline in its nine major cities. Commitment to the alleviation of poverty is a focal point of the renewal and regeneration agenda and will remain so in the future. This effort is motivated by the fact that around 24% of the South African population currently lives on less than USD 1.00 per day, below the poverty line defined by the World Bank. The Central Government has made numerous public commitments to development, a part of which concerns extensive infrastructure investment and service delivery. Communities are expected to participate fully in the planning and implementation of these urban renewal projects. To this aim, participation is a process through which stakeholders influence and share control over development initiatives and the decisions and resources which affect them. Community participation should be aimed at empowering people by ensuring the development of skills and the creation of employment opportunities. This paper first explores the concept of community participation, and will then look at relevant past experiences in relation to community participation in urban renewal projects. Furthermore, the paper outlines the challenges and problems of community participation in urban renewal projects in Johannesburg, and finally, close with recommendations for the future.

The centrally located Ostend district in Frankfurt am Main had provided space for the lower-rent housing segment in particular since the 1950s and was therefore characterised by below-average rent price and real-estate value trends.... more

The centrally located Ostend district in Frankfurt am Main had provided space for the lower-rent housing segment in particular since the 1950s and was therefore characterised by below-average rent price and real-estate value trends. Because these trends have reversed starting
in the mid-2000s, this paper analyses at first the extent to which the Ostend district is impacted by gentrification. Secondary statistical sources show an exclusionary process of displacement in this former working class neighbourhood, which had led, during the last fifteen years, to a slow but clearly distinguishable change in the social structure favouring higher income groups. In a second step we analyse how the City of Frankfurt was able to upgrade the Ostend district – something that many had considered impossible. Through an analysis of municipal documents and publications we argue that municipal decision makers have used various tools for enabling and supporting the gentrification of this district since the 1980s. The subsequent displacement processes were accelerated by the 2002 decision to relocate the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) to the Ostend district. Using discourse analysis we show that the relocation decision has led to a distinctive symbolic valorization of the district.

Professional standpoint states that the social disposition of the succeeding generations can be considerably predisposed, shaped or curbed through sheer creation of place. In itself, urban planning does not confine to the simple,... more

Professional standpoint states that the social disposition of the succeeding generations can be considerably predisposed, shaped or curbed through sheer creation of place. In itself, urban planning does not confine to the simple, methodical crafting of space, but leans a concise configuration to deliberately influence social equity and ecological conservation; preservation of culture and a positive contribution to the economy.

Over the past 25 years, the Brussels neighbourhoods confronted with the greatest difficulties have benefited from substantial public funds intended to renovate and revitalise them: 550 interventions on the built environment, 1730 housing... more

Over the past 25 years, the Brussels neighbourhoods confronted with the greatest difficulties have benefited from substantial public funds intended to renovate and revitalise them: 550 interventions on the built environment, 1730 housing units created, 130 elements of local infrastructure built, 850 socio-economic actions carried out and a large number of roadways and squares redesigned. Created in 1993, the “Neighbourhood Contract” rapidly became an emblematic tool of the Brussels public action and imposed itself as a structural and structuring policy. Beyond the many projects and actions implemented, there is also an entire social world that took shape around this project and that is composed of political actors, administrative agents, experts, associations and citizens. This publication traces the deployment of the Neighbourhood Contracts in Brussels over the past 25 years by means of an immersion in the discourse, imagination, steering, execution and administration of a long-term public action, recorded at different moments in its lifetime. The 14 situations that have been selected compose the sociological chronicle of an urban policy, from its birth to its current state of development, which today raises important questions. The text that concludes the work is the occasion for the author to question the “time perspectives” of the advocates and detractors of the Neighbourhood Contract, and to stir a public debate about the continuation or transformation of urban policymaking in Brussels.