UrbanPlanning–quovadis?WhatdoestheimplementationoftheNewUrbanAgendameanforurbanplanning?–ThiswasthethemeofanExpertMeetinginvolvingtheplanningbranchofUNHabitatwhichwasheldfrom14thto15thMarchandhostedbythecityofSeville,withthesupportoftheAutonomousGovernmentofAndalusiaandthecooperationagencyAACID.

IntheSpanishregionofAndalusia,overthelastdecade,theregionaldevelopmentstrategyhasgivenprioritytomitigatingthesegregationofperipheriesandruralareas.Inthistime,theregionhas invested€170millionofEuropeanUnion,nationalandregional fundstoachievethis.Intermediarycitiesandtownshaveparticularlybenefitedfromimprovementsinpublicservices,tothepointthatmanyofthemhaveevenestablishedtheirowneconomicdevelopment agencies. Today, Andalucía is considered a good example of urban-ruralintegrationandoffosteringprideinruralvalues.

Theregion’scapital,thecityofSeville,whichisimmersedinthisregionalstrategy,hasnotshown any significant population growth during this period. The city’s population iscurrentlyaround700,000,whileitsmetropolitanareahasaround1.5millioninhabitants.However, Seville has experienced a property market boom and has had to meet thedemandsofurbandevelopment,notallofwhichhavebeenrelatedtoconstruction.Withnew challenges emerging, promoting a more inclusive society and combating climatechange are also considered important objectives for urban planning. This combinationshows the value of having suitable planning instruments which have enabled multiplestakeholderstoparticipateinthedecision-makingprocess.

JuanEspada,theMayorofSeville,underlinedthefactthat“Oneimportantwaytocopewiththesenewdemands is toencourage localgovernment toplayamuchgreaterroleat theinternational level. It is necessary to create a facilitating environment in which localgovernment agencies can interactwith greater flexibility and in different governmentalspheres”.

Globaltrendsandastrategyforurbanplanning

LauraPetrella,directoroftheplanningbranchatUN-Habitat,stressedthefactthattherateoflandconsumptionisgreaterthanthatofpopulationgrowthandthatthisisanindicationthatpopulationdensityisdecreasing.Intermediarycitieshavebeenparticularlyaffectedbythis process. Another notable challenge relates to the mono-functionality of peripheraldevelopment.Inpoorincomeperipheries,populationdensitytendstogounplannedortobeinappropriatelydeveloped.Petrellacalledforimprovementsintheplanningcapacitiesof cities and for them to appropriately manage urban growth. UN Habitat is thereforepreparinginstrumentstohelpcitiesimprovetheircapacityrelatedtothefinancing,designandgovernanceofurbandevelopment,followinga3-prongedapproach.

Wherearethestartingpoints?

Fromastatisticalperspective,thehistoricalevolutionandthesocialmovementofthe“cityuser”frombeingpoortoformingpartofthemiddleclasshasbroughtwithit2additionalchallengesrelatedtoincreaseddensification:

• Fewerinhabitantsperhousehold(whichmeansmoreconstructionperperson)andmorecarsperhousehold.Thediagram,relatingtoPrague,showsthedoublingofitspercapitaarea(m2)dedicatedtohousingoverthelast20years–ithasnowreached32m2/person(sourceCzeckStatisticaloffice)

• Onemajorspatialopportunitywouldtoreversethetendencytoorganizethelayoutofcitiesinlinewiththeneedsofthecar.Forexample,incitieslikeNewYorkmorethan20%ofthespaceisdedicatedtocars.

Howcanthistrendbereversed?

SpatialAspects

Compact cities aredesirable in termsof their sustainability.This also contributes to themore sustainable use and management of goods and services. Nevertheless, all of theexamplespresentedduringthemeetingunderlinedthecurrentconflictoverthequalityofthe public space found in compact cities. A clear example of this confrontation waspresentedbyJeffreyShumaker,formerurbanplannerofthecityofNewYork.Thisrelatedto theuseofCentralParkasanopenurbanspace thathasensured thequalityof lifeofcitizenssincethemid-19thcentury.However,despiteitscrucialroleintheurbanlifeofthecity,thisparkisincurrenttimewouldbeconsideredacontemporaryutopia.Inorderto

maintainitspublicspaces,thecityauthoritieshavehadtoorganiseandprotectitthroughregulation, infillingandbyprovidingundergroundfunctions.Someofthishasbeendonewith local community involvement and has also entailed place making within localneighbourhoods.ThesemeasureshavehelpedNewYorktobeacitythatcombineslarge-scalepublicspacesandhighhousingdensities.

Anotherissuethatwasstressedduringthemeetingwastheinformaldensificationofformalsettlements.ThisphenomenonoftenoccursincitieslocatedintheSouthernHemisphere.IncitieslikeCapeTown,sometownshipswhichwereinitiallyplannedandbuiltupatthetimeofApartheidhavesincebeeninformallydensified,growinginpopulationbyupto5timesin only 25 years. Catherine Stone illustrated a case in which the originalneighbourhood/township had been designed in the 1990s for 3,000 housing units and14,000 inhabitants. Today this neighbourhood has 16,000 housing units and 66,000inhabitantsinanareaof92.8hectares.

Formalinterventionstodensifyinformalsettlementsarealsobecomingmorefrequent.Anexampleof this typeof interventionhasrecentlytakenplace inMumbai.This includedaUS$1billionplantodensifyurbansettlementthatinvolvedputting20,000peopleand2,000shops,coveringasurfaceareaof16.5hectares,intoa65-storeybuilding.Densificationisnotonlyrelevantforhousing;itisalsorelevantformanycommercialactivities,includingstreetvending,whichdeservespecificattentionandnotonlyregulation.Byattending tobothissues,wecanhopefullyachievegreaterharmonybetweendensityandintensityandvibrancyinthestreets.

Chinese cities have historically been densely populated and the formal and informaldensification of neighbourhoods can be studied from different perspectives, includingstudyinginformalsettlements.Newoptionsmakeacleardifferentiationbetweendenseandcrowdedwhenitcomestoestablishingspatialstandardsinaparticularneighbourhood.

FinancialandLegalAspects

Withreferencetofinancingmechanisms,theexposureofthepublicsectortoinvestmentopportunities and access to financing mechanisms were both highlighted as relevant.Investment in urban development cannot only be left to the private sector and, morespecifically,tolarge-scaleprivateinvestors(suchascorporationsandbanks).Thefundingmechanismsareverydiverse,withverydifferentinterestratesbeingavailable,whiledebtcanalsoweaken thepublic sector.Theparticipantshighlighted the importance for localgovernment entities ofmaking an inventory that shows the strengthsof small and localinvestors. Although these may be more difficult to manage, they are important forsustainablesocialandeconomicdevelopment.

Citiesthatareexperiencingapropertyorurbandevelopmentboom,suchascitiesintheAsian context, can and should benefit enormously from learning from other cities’experiences. The case of Oregon shows that, even in a metropolitan area, differentgovernmentbodiesmaycompeteforthesamefundsandincentivepolicies.Ontopofthat,theycontinuetorelyonthevalueoftheirshareoflocalland,whichtheyconsideramajorasset.

Itwasacknowledgedduringthemeetingthatthelongtermcostofurbansprawlneedstobemadeclear,asdoeshowurbandevelopmentcouldbeconsideredafinancialasset.Thecostofurbanservices,suchashealthandeducation,inlowdensityareasisupto3timesgreaterthaninhighdensityareas.Anotherproblemisrealestatedevelopmentwhichdoesnot respond to real demands. Brazilian and Chinese cities are already experiencing the

consequencesofthefailedboomsthatpreviouslyaffectedtheeconomiesofSpanishandUScities.ThesituationinBrazilisnowdramatic:6.5millionhousingunitsareneededinBrazil,butthereare5.5millionunitsofunderutilisedpublicandprivatepropertyandalsolargeamountsofemptylandequippedforservices.Furthermore,informalurbandevelopmentremains the norm (this includes aggregated peripheries and failed satelliteneighbourhoods).

Legalprinciplesmustbefollowedwhenorganisingandadministeringdensificationpolicies,landandpropertypricesandlandstructure.EdesioFernandes,anexpertfromtheLincolnInstituteofLandPolicy,concludedthatdensificationisnotanautomaticsolutionunlessitisstructuredwithinframeworksspecificallydesignedforurbanland.

Finally,thereistheadministrativechallengeassociatedwithtaxingsmallandinformallandownerswhoinformallybenefitfromdensification.InthecaseoftheCapeTowntownship,thepropertyowner financiallybenefits fromany rent receivedwhile enjoying the samecostsforserviceslikewastecollectionandsanitation.

GovernanceandSocialAspects

Giventhechallengesposedbydensificationoutlinedabove,theimportanceofgovernanceand stakeholder involvement cannot be underestimated by planners and they need tosupportprocessesofimplementationledbylocalgovernmentagencies.Aclearmechanismforparticipationisrequired.Moreover,tenantsshouldbetreatedasequalstakeholderstopropertyholders.AshighlightedbySaraHoeflich(UCLG),differentactorsmayfavourverydifferentdynamicsandstrategies(pushorblock).AsinaTangramgame,alloftheplayersneedtosearchforasingle,sharedsolutionthatwillallowthemalltobepartoftheproject.

ThedeputymayorofDeyang,MsQui,gaveinsightsintothechallengesfacingcitiesinChina.Urban development requires a mechanism for promoting individual participation. ThePrivate Public Partnership (PPP) model is the predominant way for carrying outdevelopmentandtheremovaloflocalinhabitantsagainstthepaymentofcompensationisstillthenorm.

Finally, the crucialpointwas raised as tohowpoliticians aredealingwithplanningandplannerswithpoliticians.Urbandevelopmentandlandmanagementareimportantpublictasks that frequently come up against individual interests or speculation. Moretransparencyandmonitoringisthereforedesirable.

Theupcomingshiftintheplanningprofession:

Urbansprawltocompactness;Segregationtointegration;Congestiontoconnectivity-

Planningwillcontinuetofocuson:providingappropriatestreetnetworks;theimportanceofamixedlanduseapproachtofostersocialcohesion;theimportanceofrestrictinglargescalespecialization;and,providingaccesstopublicservices,publicspaceandhousing.

However,thesocialandstrategicdynamicsinvolvedinthisshouldnotbeunderestimated.Isbarefootplanningthewayforwardinordertogainandsecuretheenergyofstakeholdersinalongtermprocess?Also,howmuchregulationishelpfulforthistypeofprocess?

Thereisprobablynosingle,globalsolutiontowhatisaveryculturallydiverseproblem,butthere are global lessons and principles that can and should be shared. UCLG will keepeveryoneupdatedonthewayahead,workingwithUNHabitattosupportnational,regionalandlocalgovernmentsinimplementingtheurbanagenda.