If planning is everything...

maybe that’s the problem?

Reflections on efforts to protect agricultural land in Australia’s

peri-urban regions

Peter Houston

“Beyond the Edge”

La Trobe University

October 2013

Key messages...

• The failure of planning to support

agriculture in peri-urban regions

– the contradiction between traditional planning

thought and contemporary planning practice

– the role of rural land in metropolitan areas:

insights from theory and research

• The success of “double protection” in

Barcelona (where planning isn’t everything)

• Conclusions and directions

1. Traditional planning thought, the views of

planners and espoused policy

– tenets of modern town & country planning

– planning education and professional norms

– public opinion

– planning documents (what they say)

1. Traditional planning thought, the views of

planners and espoused policy

2. Contemporary planning practice, priorities

and paradigms

– managerialism and planning system trends

– COAG criteria for capital city planning

– “Red tape reduction”, “One stop shop”,

“Performance indicators” etc

– metropolitan strategic plans (what they do)

– the case of the Virginia horticultural district

Virginia horticulture district

– Major horticulture ‘cluster’ based on favourable climatic, soil and water conditions

– Greenhouse, high tech hydroponic and field production systems

– $95 million (3%) of total SA agricultural value (2003)

– $73.5 million (15%) of total SA horticultural value

– 22% of total SA horticulture processing value

– Major public and private infrastructure investment

– Largest concentration of greenhouse structures in Australia (700 ha+) and major site of recycled water use

– Access to a major market and freight routes

– ‘Drought-proof’ horticulture

Metropolitan Adelaide Planning Strategy, 1998.

Land zoned for Horticulture in the City of Playford, 2005

Late 2004: Inter-modal freight facility and mixed use proposal

Late 2005: Northern Expressway and alternative inter-modal site

2006: Buckland Park Country Township proposal

2007: Edinburgh Parks employment lands proposal

Early 2008: Expansion of Buckland Park proposal

Mid 2008: Urban Growth Boundary shifted west to Expressway route

Early 2009: Draft 30 Year Plan nominates growth new urban areas Buckland Park South, Virginia South and Angle Vale

Late 2009: Final 30 Year Plan adds further growth areas Virginia North and Angle Vale South

Early 2011: Minister adds land between Angle Vale and Expressway

Mid 2013: Playford Structure Plan adds further urban growth areas

Playford Growth Area Structure Plan, May 2013

– 50% reduction in land zoned for primary production without:

– discussion/justification of the case for departing from the 1998 strategy;

– consideration of the significance of the Virginia horticultural district; or

– acknowledgment of the significance of horticulture sector to northern Adelaide

– Still ear-marked for protection and nominated as “an important feature of Adelaide's food-bowl”

– But no detail about how that will happen

1. Traditional planning thought, the views of

planners and espoused policy

2. Contemporary planning practice, priorities

and paradigms

3. An emerging critique: the role of rural land

in metropolitan regions (Bunce 1991) – “… the inherent conflict between preservational

objectives and the municipal planning mandate.”

– “… agricultural designations tend to be used as holding

categories for future development, while urban-rural

boundaries appear to be devices for phasing

development rather than protecting rural land.”

1. Traditional planning thought, the views of

planners and espoused policy

2. Contemporary planning practice, priorities

and paradigms

3. An emerging critique: insights from Policy

Network Analysis (Bell & Wanna 1992) – Framework for explaining the fortunes of

- industry sectors (automotive, textiles, tourism, wool) and

- policy agendas (deregulation, trade, industrial relations)

– “Strong” and “weak” policy networks

– Peri-urban regions as a stage for competing sectoral

policy networks...

·

·

·

·

·

·

·

·

Urban development

policy network Agriculture policy

network • State planning agencies

• Urban land authorities,

Housing and Infrastructure

agencies

• Local government

• Government-industry

coordination committees

• Industry lobby groups

(HIA, UDIA, PCA, REIA)

• Professional bodies (PIA)

• R&D forums

(AHURI, SOAC)

• Commonwealth/State

primary industries agencies

• ABARES/ABS/CSIRO

• Industry lobby groups

(NFF, State Federations,

Producer groups, AFI)

• Industry R&D bodies

(GRDC, Horticulture

Australia, RIRDC)

• Agribusiness

Peri-urban

regions

Peri-urban

land

Principal focus:

Metro/urban development

Principal focus:

Major commodity groups/

broadacre industries

?

?

?

?

? ?

?

1. Traditional planning thought, the views of

planners and espoused policy

2. Contemporary planning practice, priorities

and paradigms

3. An emerging critique

4. Insights from Barcelona: “double protection”

as an antidote to captured planning (Paül &

Haslam-McKenzie, 2013)

Parc Agrari del Baix Llobregat

– Situated in the Barcelona metropolitan region (5 mill.)

– Approx 3,500 ha including 2,000 ha of farmland

– 621 farms/1,200 farmers (80% f/t, 20% pt) producing field vegetables, tree crops, livestock, greenhouses

– No EU subsidies!

– Consortium of 4 levels of government (Catalan, Provincial Council, District Council, 14 municipalities) and the farmers’ union

– Land use plan (2004) AND a Management Plan (2002)

Parc Agrari del Baix Llobregat

– BLAP Management Plan – Infrastructure and services

for farmlands

– Production and marketing systems that generate higher farm incomes

– Farm modernisation and services to increase viability

– A quality space integrated with the surrounding natural environment

– Raise awareness of the natural and cultural heritage of the PABL

– Sold almost entirely into Barcelona’s fresh food markets and alternative food networks

– Farmers benefiting from consumer interest in locally grown food

1. Traditional planning thought, the views of

planners and espoused policy

2. Contemporary planning practice, priorities

and paradigms

3. An emerging critique

4. Insights from Barcelona: “double protection”

as an antidote to captured planning (Paül &

Haslam-McKenzie, 2013) – “local commitment to ... governance initiatives are as

important and perhaps more effective than adherence to

narrow government policies and regulations. Land-use

tools are needed, but they are not enough by themselves”

1. Traditional planning thought, the views of

planners and espoused policy

2. Contemporary planning practice, priorities

and paradigms

3. An emerging critique

4. Insights from Barcelona

5. Conclusions and future directions

References:

Bell, S. and Wanna, J. (eds) 1992. Business-Government

Relations in Australia, Harcourt Brace, Sydney.

Bunce, M. 1991. Local planning and the role of rural land

in metropolitan regions: the example of the Toronto area.

in van Oort et al. (eds) Limits to rural land use.

Proceedings of an international IGU conference, 21-25

August 1989. Pudoc, Wageningen.

Paül, V. & Haslam-McKenzie, F. 2013. Peri-urban

farmland conservation and development of alternative food

networks: Insights from a case-study area in metropolitan

Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). Land Use Policy vol. 30, pp.

94–105.