MASTER THESIS Policies Against Urban Sprawl in the Changing Dutch
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MASTER THESIS Policies against urban sprawl in the changing Dutch planning context Groningen case: from a monocentric compact city policy towards a new urbanisation path between intensification and expansion By: FRANCOIS PIRART Supervisors : Dr. Justin R. Beaumont Prof.dr. Jos Arts Master in Environmental and Infrastructure Planning Faculty of Spatial Sciences University of Groningen 2008 2 i Acknowledgements Many people have influenced and helped me in this master thesis. My thanks truthfully go to all of them who shared their ideas, responded to my questions and helped me to go in the right direction. In particular, I would like to mention my supervisor Justin Beaumont who pushed me forwards throughout the year, while at the same time leaving me enough space to find my own path. My thanks also go to Gerard Tolner, Laurens Huis in 't Veld, Frans Spakman, Hero Havenga, Martin Elfrink and Hans Westra - the local planners that accepted to be interviewed and to share their knowledge with me. They not only responded honestly to my questions, but also helped me to refine the scope and the questions of this master thesis. In particular, I am grateful towards Mr Tolner that continued to send me insights and thoughts connected to my research by emails during all this year (almost weekly!). Also, this master thesis would not have been possible without the professional help of Jozef Van Genk from the municipality of Groningen. I will never forget his sympathy and his unalterable desire to help me in my research. His interest and creativity brought me a lot. Last but not least, my appreciation goes to my family and friends, who I left one year in Belgium to come study in Groningen. This year was especially hard for my mum to whom all my thoughts are presently going. My biggest thanks of all go to my mum, dad, my brother, and to my girlfriend Catherine. They always supported me in my studies, in good and bad times. François Pirart Groningen, Augustus 2008 ii Documentation page Title: Policies against urban sprawl in the changing Dutch planning context Subtitle: Groningen case: from a monocentric compact city policy towards a new urbanisation path between intensification and expansion Author: François PIRART Supervisors: Dr. Justin R. Beaumont and Prof.dr. Jos Arts Abstract: This master thesis situates itself in the wider urban sprawl debate that has recently received an increased attention from the European Union, and also in the ongoing debate concerning the changing Dutch planning context. This work builds a bridge between these two debates by examining the impacts that the major Dutch contextual changes have on the local and regional fight against urban sprawl. Moreover, it aims to increase the general understanding of the notion of compactness and to determine which local policies and strategies can be used by the Dutch municipalities to retain their compactness. To achieve these goals, this research focuses on the city of Groningen. Firstly, the research discusses the notion of ‘compact city’ by measuring the density gradient of Groningen and by evaluating ten ‘compactness’ criteria. The analysis of this study proves that Groningen should not be called a ‘compact city’ because of its population/job density figures, but rather for the combination of several other factors characterising the city. Secondly, this research analyses why Groningen has chosen to follow a new urbanisation strategy based on intensification/revitalisation on the one hand, and on diversification/extension on the other hand. This part explains why growth does not necessarily go against the principles of the compact city strategy, and highlights the risks for following a two-sided strategy. The final part of the empirical study concerns the local impacts of the changing planning contexts. It determines in which types of policies against sprawl the new region Groningen-Assen innovates, discusses of the new area-development projects and pins down the risks that they can represent for public authorities and other projects, and finally looks into the effects of land speculations in Groningen. Keywords : Urban Sprawl, Compact City, Urban Network, Density Gradient, Development Planning, Speculation, PPP, Urbanisation Strategy, Intensification iii Table of contents Acknowledgements….…..…………………………………...…………………...…………………i ______________ Document page… ………………………………………………………….…………………ii Table of contents… ………………………………………………….………………………iii List of figures and tables….……………………………………………………………………v _______ CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………1 1.1. General background.……………………………………………………………………………………...……2 ……………….. 1.2. Goal and objectives………………………………………………………………………………………………3 …….. ……………….. 1.3. Research questions………………………………………………………………………………………………3 …. 1.4. Outline of the master thesis…………………………………………………………………………………4 .. CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK… ………………………………………………….……5 _______ 2.1. Introduction… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………6 _______ 2.2. An overview of urban sprawl………………………………………………………………………..………6 _______ 2.2.1. General presentation of urban sprawl 2.2.2. Issue concerning the sprawl definition 2.2.3. The causes of sprawl 2.2.4. The consequences of sprawl 2.2.5. Measuring sprawl 2.3. Policies against urban sprawl…… ……………………………………………………………………….…14 _______ 2.3.1. Typology of the policies against Sprawl 2.3.2. An American perspective : Smart Growth and New Urbanism 2.4. Spatial concepts………..………………………………………………………………………………………..….…18 ….. 2.4.1. The compact city 2.4.2. The Polycentric city strategy 2.5. Concluding remarks……………………………………………………………………………………….……21 _______ CHAPTER 3 CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN THE DUTCH PLANNING CONTEXT………..………………...……22 ______________ 3.1. Introduction… …...…………………………………………………………………………………………..…23 …. 3.2. General presentation…………………………………………………………………………………………23 ….. 3.2.1. A country with a strong planning culture 3.2.2. Dutch Spatial Planning System 3.3. Main Dutch policies and evolution of spatial planning strategies… ………..………………26 ______________ 3.3.1. Principles continuity and change 3.3.2. History of the national spatial planning policy 3.4. A changing planning context…… ………………………………………………………………..…31 ______________ 3.4.1. Main changes brought by the new spatial planning strategy 3.4.2. A changing land market 3.4.3. The decentralisation and privatisation of housing 3.5. Concluding remarks……………………………………………………………………………...…38 ______________ CHAPTER 4 METHODOLOGY..…………………………………………………………….………39 _______ 4.1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………..…………40 _______ 4.2. Methodological route to answer the first research question……………………………………40 _______ 4.2.1. Fuzziness and misinterpretations iv 4.2.2. Data gathering and treatments for the study of the density gradient 4.2.3. Data for the wider density study and for the compactness criteria 4.3. Methodological route to answer the second and third research questions…………..……43 _______ 4.3.1. Secondary data gathering 4.3.2. Supporting secondary data with local knowledge CHAPTER 5 RETAINING COMPACTNESS IN A CHANGING PLANNING CONTEXT – GRONINGEN CASE..46 _______ 5.1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………..…………47 _______ 5.2. Groningen : presentation and historical figures…………………………………………….………47 _______ 5.2.1. The urban centre of the North 5.2.2. An early belief in the compact city strategy 5.2.3. Historical growth of the city 5.3. How compact is Groningen?…… ……………………………………………………………………..………53 _______ 5.3.1. Study of density 5.3.2. Evaluation of the various characteristics of the compact city 5.4. Local policies for compactness……………………………………………………………………..……58 _______ 5.4.1. The recent Structure Plans 5.4.2. High-rise buildings note (Hoogbouwnota) 5.4.3. Urban renewal 5.4.4. Living above shops (Wonen Boven Winkels) 5.4.5. The intense city and function merging concepts 5.5. Major projects on the edge of Groningen….……………………………………………………..………66 _______ 5.5.1. The need for new high quality residential neighbourhoods 5.5.2. Housing projects 5.5.3. Industrial sites projects 5.5.4. Meerstad 5.6. The changing planning context and Groningen…………..……………………………………………………72 _______ 5.6.1. The ‘New’ Regional planning and spatial concept 5.6.2. The changing land market : speculation and public private partnerships in Groningen 5.7. Concluding remarks………………………………………………………………………………………….…75 _______ CHAPTER 6 ANALYSIS OF THE FINDINGS……… ………………………………………………..……76 _______ 6.1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………..……77 _______ 6.2. Analysis of Groningen’s compactness………………………………………………………...………77 _______ 6.2.1. Comparative view and evolution of the density gradient 6.2.2. Why is Groningen a compact city? 6.3. Groningen’s strategy : between intensification and diversification………………………..…80 _______ 6.3.1. Towards a new urbanisation path 6.3.2. Causes of the ‘modernisation’ of the compact city strategy in Groningen 6.3.3. Risk incurred for betting on two horses 6.4. Implications of the changing context for the urbanisation policies and management…..…84 _____________ 6.4.1. Inter-municipal coordination 6.4.2. Discussion on the shift from passive planning towards proactive planning 6.4.3. Public-Private-Partnership as a result of land market speculation : effects on urbanisation CHAPTER 7 IN CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………….………87 _____ 7.1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ……………………………………………………..…….88 _______ 7.2. REFLECTION ON THIS RESEARCH ………………………………………………….…………………92 … 7.3. IMPLICATIONS AND HINTS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH …………………….…………….……93 _______ References…… …………………………………………………………………..……………95 _____