Session 7: Urban Containment Flashcards
What is presented in Bae’s (2007) article?
An overview of instruments intended to control urban sprawl and pursue compact development. This article puts focus on the North American system, which has almost no national land use policies, has many local variants, and is focused on stimulating initiatives instead of restricting through regulation
What are the two principles underlying Bae’s article?
1) compact development must be pursued in any case
2) this justifies spatial planning interventions, becuase: car dependency, energy consumption, community spirit and social capital, inequality and segregation, urban center regeneration
What are the 3 different forms of planning approaches to achieve compact development?
1) urban containment by means of green belts and urban growth boundaries
2) growth management thru zoning
3) smart growth
What is the history of urban containment
Super old, from Old Testament, Muhammad also did it, and London in the 16th/17th centuries
What is zoning and land use planning?
traditional method of growth management. Mostly done through regional and local zoning plans. They set min/max densities through regulation, and determine what sorts of activities can happen in each land parcel.
What is smart growth?
Smart growth is less focused on regulation and more focused on creating partnerships between public and private sectors. This often happens in greenfield developments.
What are the 8 types of policy measured based on the three planning approaches?
1) urban growth boundaries/demarcation of urban areas
2) farmland preservation ordinances/demarcation of the agricultural structure
3) purchase and/or transfer of development rights
4) ballots prior to the approval of large-scale development projects
5) new urbanism principles/regulations for compact development
6) designation of priority growth areas
7) critical area protection measures/demarcation of natural and open spaces
8) urban core revitalization strategies
What is an urban growth boundary?
It is a policy to achieve more compact development, usually accompanied by one or many other policies. It is closely related to the green belt concept. Essentially, drawing a line inside of which development can happen and outside of which development cannot happen.
What are farmland preservation ordinances?
It is a ‘mirror’ of the urban growth boundary. It attempts to maintain protection of the most valuable agricultural areas from development. However, even the basic question of how much farmland is necessary is difficult to answer
How does a purchase/transfer of development rights work?
Essentially, this is an exchange of operation. An owner will refrain from developing in a ‘bad’ location, and in return receives development rights for a ‘good’ location. This is only feasible if there is an existing development right that is being revised, and is actually quite uncommon. The selling of air rights is a similar scheme, dealing with how high you can build
Using referendum for approval of large-scale development projects
This is a form of direct democracy, organized at the municipal level. It requires organizational capacity. In Belgium, if you collect 10% of signatures of the total population you can put a referendum on the ballot.
What is new urbanism/regulations for compact development?
These are combinations of high density, community development with traditional urban design aesthetics. Popular among American progressives. Not necessarily less car dependent. Some new urbanism projects due exist in Belgium, but compact development was more popular before NU anyway
Designation of priority growth areas
Coordinated investment into a designated area. Happens in cooperation with public sector and developers. Can be in the form of PPP, but also in the form of local deregulation or a tax regime. In FL, investors can receive legal/admin/financial benefits to make some projects feasible using the “brownfield covenant”. In BXL: there are areas designated for support of companies that settle in deprived nbhds where revitalization is desired. Also in BXL, there are benefits for office developments locating near PT nodes connected with the urban fabric
Critical area protection measures/demarcation of natural and open spaces
Exist in various degrees, from national parks, to special protection areas to flood plains, etc…
Urban core revitalization strategies/demarcation of areas for urban revitalization
Urban sprawl and inner city decay are associated with each other. Activities that leave city centers have effect on urban areas altogether. But, revitalization urban cores does not necessarily slow down urban sprawl
