GGR124 WEEK 9-10: Urban Planning and Policy

North American Urban Planning

- A lot of ideas came from the UK, and other European areas - management of urban areas and planning came from the UK. - Roots in 19th century - PROGRESSIVE INTELLECTUALS; group of like-minded people (political scientists, sociologists, economists) that recognized need of public intervention in city development - Government regulation of businesses, employment, and policing in cities - Emergence of CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT; regards the city as a work of art, beautifying the city, beyond function, has form, a lot of green space. - Development of master-plans for land-use; official plans reflecting how the city will evolve. - American Planning Institute emerges (1917); the official body that provides laws, standards; urban planning becomes a discipline.

City Beautiful Movement

- Advocated the creation of an aesthetically pleasing public city; the city would have aesthetic value, people would want to live here. - Frederick Law Olmstead - developed Central Park (1850s); designed parks in urban areas; "Parks help release workers from the drudgery of city life"; idea of putting large parks in the centre of the city, allowing a functional separation from everyday activity. - Chicago Exposition (1893); prototype city built, advocating utopian ideals, broad city streets, use of green space, white buildings, uniform height, civic art, public monuments. - Daniel Burnham (1905) Chicago Plan; series of wide streets, radial streetscape stretching out for miles.

Frank Lloyd Wright - Broadacre City

- American architect, influencing urban design. - Advanced utopian vision of the city - close to modern suburbanized city: BROADACRE CITY - Representative of North American capitalism - Utopian view of a city, doesn't actually exist, but ideas influenced urban design and role and design of the suburbs. - "Liberation people from mass agglomeration" - anti-Corbusier notion of extreme density. - Large, privately owned lots; land protecting private interest. - Dispersed settlement of people - notion of dispersion similar to Ebenezer and Corbusier's; individuals are separated. - Linked by spacious, well-landscaped highways, highway building period in post war period; much freeways built, land originally protected green space. - Large lots where people would grow food and recreate.

Bournville

- Associated with Cadbury family - At the time, the factory was in the centre of the city, a part of an industrial complex in Birmingham, poor air and water quality. - The Cadbury brothers wanted to move out the city to create the utopian idea of great living space for people working in factories. - A company town of people working together, where economic wealth and decent living conditions coexist. - Lots of green space; near canal (for trade and recreation), first attempt at an urban design approach, tries capturing industrial city not based on poor quality.

Ebenezer Howard's Garden Cities

- Based in early 1900's - Movement evolved as a way of trying to design a utopian, green space. - Combining good living space and good industrial/commercial space; the town would be self sufficient. - Would be established outside main population centres. - Based on a series of principles on what an ideal city might be.

Principles of Garden Cities

- Each Garden City would have a population of 320,000; a modest size. - City would be self-supporting; sufficient factory,commercial space, economic opportunity for all. - Diversity of activity; commercial activity, social, recreational, service, etc. would be generated in the city. - Spacious layout; building in this notion of green space. - Greenbelt around the city. - Public ownership of land; land was not held by individuals, it was held by socially cooperative movement, everyone collectively owned the land, everyone had a role; based on public interest, not individual interest.

Planning in Canada

- Emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries, like that of in the UK and America - Urban reform in the early 20th century influenced by Garden City movement; influenced inner city suburbs, redesign of cities after catastrophic events (i.e. Halifax harbour explosion, devastating port area, influenced by garden city movement). - First decade of the 20th century - planning schemes for Canadian cities; notion of the official plans in all of Canada, even in small towns. - 1920s, the emergence of zoning by-laws; key planning tool to manage the urban area, all planning follows the by-law system. - Community planning activities from the 1950s; planning as a basis on protecting communities, management tool for cities, community protection. - Planning departments established within government bureaucracy - New suburbs developed (i.e. Don Mills, drew on garden cities concept, winding streetscape, city beautiful movement, gentrification at shops at DM, village atmosphere) - Since 1960s, key characteristic of Canadian Planning is public participation; no planning takes place without public participation. - Planning under attack in the 1990s

"Modern" Urban Planning

- Powerful system evolved in the UK; bear in mind, in the industrial revolution, Great Britain was the most developed, industrialized. - Characteristic is a strong government role especially at the national level; here was a strong approach to urbanization, about social reconstruction of cities. - Urban planning as a discipline/practice emerged in the UK in the 19th century. - Belief was the state could address the worst excesses of the urban industrial system. - Represented in a reformist movement that attempted to design utopian towns; can have industrial, commercial development, great living space, etc.

Le Corbusier - City of Towers

- French architect - Significant influence in designing cities with significant height involved - i.e. condo development. - Utopian idea of extreme density with spaciousness; essentially a city of towers with significant green space separating the towers. TALL BUILDINGS, EXTREME DENSITY, GREEN SPACE TO SEPARATE BUILDINGS. - Two models: Contemporary City and Radiant City (neither were built but ideas were influential) - Like Ebenezer Howard and held in common; made in public good instead of maximized personal interest, European influence of building for the social group. - Extreme functional separation (green space); function should be on top of one another, separated by green spaces. - Ideal city pop'n of 3 million people, clusters of building linked by road/trail.

Ebbsfleet

- George Osborne's plan of a new garden city (2014) - Notion of garden city still being used in contemporary sense.

Community Development

- Good planning practice is there to protect and preserve communities and their identities. - Can build or work against communities.

Urban Planning & Policy

- Influences urban development - Examples include: zoning, location of various facilities, community development. - Planners are concerned with the management of urban change, often seen as mediators between social purpose and the city form.

Modernity and Defence

- Issue of defence influence cities especially 1950's - Cold War Period = paranoia - Influenced, neighbourhoods weren't cut off for one of another the need to move people; car was an important form of transportation.

Zoning

- Land is zoned for a series of different functions - The planning mechanism protects the zoning - The formal set of regulations, by-laws that protect particular uses of land

Brasilia (1950's)

- Moving capital of Brazil into the centre - Built on idea of extreme spaciousness and density - Monumental buildings, public art beautifying the city - Attempting to be a "modern" city

Trans-historical Issues

- NIMBYs, LULUs, and BANANAs; NIMBY approach: opposition from building, impeding the structural order of the neighbourhood. - Planning has always been about "reform, reproduction or revolution?" - Efficacy of planning; is planning an effective way of managing the urban area? In a market-driven economy, do we leave it to markets to manage the land? But citizenry and protection of the land must be considered. - Planning of whom? For developers? Citizens? Government?

Context for Urban Planning in Canada

- Nothing is organic, happens because of human intervention. - Legal (laws and regulations at national, provincial and municipal level) - Political (contentious bc planning has legal requirements, planning issues and elections, developers and politicians) - Economic (land use, economic development) - Social (cultural influences, social structure of urban areas) - Organizational (structure of local government)

Corbusier and Public Housing

- Notion of tall buildings, extreme density and extreme spaciousness all in one. - Concentrate populations by building upwards.

St. James Town (Toronto)

- One of densest public housing projects in North America - close to 250 different languages and dialects spoken - Juxtaposition of St. James Town as a public housing project and Cabbage Town as a settled, higher income neighbourhood create an interesting dynamic.

Regent Park Plan

- One of the oldest public housing communities in Canada. - 69 acres bordered by Parliament, Shuter, Gerrard, and River streets - Strong community but "cut-off" from the rest of Toronto - Rapid deterioration of buildings...and to some degree social fabric - Revitalization well under way (was planned for 12 years) - Existing 2087 RGI units to be rebuilt in phases - Addition of 2500 market units (500 affordable ownership) - Creation of a mixed-income, mixed-use neighbourhood - Shop, community services, economic development activity

Location of Various Facilities

- Planning process would influence locations of facilities, i.e. industrial land use influences transportation location, sewage, factories, etc. - Influences whether you can put a garage in backyard, or extra storey in house, pave front grass, etc.

Baron Haussmann's Paris

- Post-revolutionary Paris - About opening up public spaces, radiating road patterns. - reaction against destruction of revolution - restoring social pride, new city. - New wide streetscapes make it hard to build barricades; a protection mechanism for the state and government.

Welwyn Garden City (England)

- Successful idea, influenced urban areas in Canada and the USA. - After WWII, the UK went through a long process of new town development. - Notion of building on green space.

Contemporary Planning Issues

- Urban dispersion and car dominance - Loss of sense of place - Loss of environment - Functional and social segregation - Tension and social segregation - Tension between planners and developers - Public participation - Mistrust of government

Characteristics and Criticisms

Characteristics: - Sense of place or individual neighbourhoods - Emphasis on public spaces - Re-integration of uses, land and social Criticisms: - Disconnect between theory and execution - Sprawl will still exist at edges of urban area - "Faking" a previous era - Modification required to design for regulatory reasons

Addressing the Planning Issues

New City Form: - "New" models of urban design - Called New Urbanism or Neo Traditionalism - Associated with Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plaer-Zyberk - Argues that it is really dealing with the "loss of sense of place" - Summer up as seeking a return to "traditional" forms of urban design.

Addressing the Planning Issues (Continued)

New models of public participation - Must be well structure - not just lip service - All views need to be incorporated - Planning requires public participation on complex issues - Community Councils in Toronto Use of new computer technology - Computer technology can assist with public participation - Information generation and management - Virtual neighbourhoods Use of regulations and funding sources - Decline in government funding - Taxation principle means that raising revenue requires innovation - Move away from "one-size-fits-all" regulation