The ABC's of Placemaking Governance Learning from Amsterdam, Berlin and Copenhagen

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The ABC's of Placemaking Governance Learning from Amsterdam, Berlin and Copenhagen DEGREE PROJECT IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, SECOND CYCLE, 30 CREDITS STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 2021 The ABC's of Placemaking Governance Learning from Amsterdam, Berlin and Copenhagen FILEMON WOLFRAM KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT The ABC's of Placemaking Governance Rus playground in Lima, Peru. (Basurama, 2010) Filemon Wolfram Master's Thesis The ABC's of Placemaking Governance: →Learning from Amsterdam, Berlin and Copenhagen Master's Thesis by Filemon Wolfram AG212X Degree Project in Urban and Regional Planning KTH Royal Institute of Technology / School of Architecture and the Built Environment 8.2.2021 Stockholm, Sweden Supervisor: Andrew Karvonen Examiner: Tigran Haas The ABC's of Placemaking Governance Acknowledgement I have received a great deal of help and support throughout the writing of this thesis. I would like to thank the following people for their contribution to this research: I wish to thank the City of Helsinki for providing me with funding, and giving me the opportunity to conduct this research as part of their ongoing research project on place- making. I am thoroughly grateful to Salla Ahokas, Urban Planner at the City of Helsinki, for sending me continuous updates on relevant publications and projects to look into. As between theory and practice. My supervisor, Associate Professor Andrew Karvonen, provided me with invaluable su- pport in forming the academic foundation for the thesis. I am sincerely thankful to Andy for always answering my questions clearly and with impressive speed. Andy also went the extra mile when reviewing my early drafts, helping me form the structure and impro- ve the language. I also wish to thank Katja L. and Ramon M. for providing me with their professional opi- nions which helped me choose cities for the case studies, and Paula G. for giving her professional design inputs. Filemon Wolfram Stockholm, January 2021 KTH Royal Institute of Technology Filemon Wolfram 2 The ABC's of Placemaking Governance Abstract Placemaking is an approach to designing urban spaces based on their existing values and identities. It has emerged as a response to citizens wishing to have an active Placemaking often occurs from spontaneous consequences, with a diverse range of urban stakeholders involved in the process. Leading these complex processes has required local authorities to rethink their approach to urban governance. Despite mu- nicipalities being key actors in placemaking contexts, their role in the process is not well understood. Through a comparative case study of Amsterdam, Berlin and Copen- hagen, this thesis examines how local authorities have interpreted and contributed to placemaking. The cities are analysed with an analyticalframework consisting of their governance structures, spatial leadership roles, placemaking tools and facilitation of public participation. The results indicate that municipalities interpret placemaking to involve public participation in a place-bound approach. A wide range of stakeholders artists, neighbourhood associations, leisure time clubs, civic interest groups and pri- vate property developers. The roles of these actors were found to vary greatly from – the municipalities of Amsterdam, Berlin and Copenhagen generally take on a more observing, follower-dominant and bottom-linked role in the placemaking process. This more adaptive and observant role in their urban governance processes. This is espe- cially evident within the placemaking context, which embraces the idea of co-creation and collaboration. Keywords Urban planning, placemaking, urban governance, governance structure, spatial lead- ership, diy urbanism, collaborative planning, Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen KTH Royal Institute of Technology Filemon Wolfram 3 The ABC's of Placemaking Governance Sammandrag (på svenska) Placemaking är ett förhållningssätt till att planera stadsmiljöer baserat på deras ex- isterande värden och identiteter. Det har framkommit som en respons till medborgar- nas önskan att ha en aktiv roll i planprocessen och kunna påverka utvecklingen av deras omgivning. Placemaking uppstår ofta ur spontana händelser, med en mångfald av aktörer involverade i processen. Ledandet av dessa komplexa processer har lett lokala myndigheter till att omvärdera sitt förhållningssätt till förvaltning av stadsmil- jön. Trots att kommuner ofta är nyckelaktörer i placemaking sammanhang, är deras roll i processen outforskad. Genom en jämförande fallstudie av Amsterdam, Berlin och Köpenhamn, utforskar detta examensarbete hur lokala myndigheter har tolkat och bidragit till placemaking. Städerna har analyserats utifrån ett konceptuellt ram- verk bestående av dess förvaltningsstrukturer, ledarskapsroller, placemaking-verktyg och främjandet av allmänhetens deltagande. Resultaten tyder på att kommuner tolkar placemaking som allmänhetens deltagande ur ett platsbundet perspektiv. En rad av intressenter, inklusive lokala myndigheter, konstnärer, grannskapssammanslutningar, fritidsföreningar, medborgerliga intressegrupper och privata fastighetsutvecklare, har utsträckning från projekt till projekt. Studien drar slutsatsen att lokala myndigheterna i Amsterdam, Berlin och Köpenhamn generellt intar en mera observerande, följar-dom- - ibilitet. Denna observation tyder på att 2000-talets städer har intagit mera adaptiva och observerande roller i sina förvaltningsprocesser. Detta är speciellt uppenbart inom placemaking-sammanhang, som omfamnar idéer om medskapande och samarbete. Yhteenveto (suomeksi) Placemaking on kaupunkitilamuotoilun lähestymistapa, jonka ajatuksena on suun- nitella tiloja niiden olemassa olevien arvojen ja identiteettien perusteella. Placemaking syntyi vastauksena kaupunkilaisten toiveelle saada aktiivisempi rooli kaupunkisuun- nittelun prosesseissa sekä oman ympäristönsä kehityksen vaikuttamiseen. Place- making-menetelmät synnyttävät usein spontaaneja suunnitteluprosesseja, joiden kehittämisessä ovat mukana useat kaupungin eri toimijat ja sidosryhmät. Koska place- making-prosessit ovat monimutkaisia, useissa kaupungeissa on jouduttu pohtimaan kaupungin roolia niiden hallinnoimisessa ja johtamisessa. Vaikka paikalliset virano- maiset ovat avaintoimijoita placemakingissa, heidän roolinsa tässä prosessissa on yhä kohtalaisen huonosti ymmärretty. Tämä tutkimus käyttää vertailevaa tapaustutkimusta Amsterdamista, Berliinistä ja Kööpenhaminasta tutkiakseen, kuinka paikalliset virano- maiset ovat tulkinneet placemakingia ja myötävaikuttaneet sen edistämiseen osana kaupungin suunnitteluprosesseja. Näiden kolmen kaupungin placemaking-prosesseja analysoidaan neljästä eri analyyttisesta näkökulmasta: hallintorakenteet, johtamis- roolit, placemaking-työkalut sekä osallisuusprosessit. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että kaupunkien mielestä olennainen osa placemaking-prosesseja on mahdollistaa monipuolisten sidosryhmien osallistuminen niihin. Placemaking-prosesseihin osallis- tui tapaustutkimuksen kohteena olleista kolmesta kaupungista laaja kirjo erilaisia si- dosryhmiä, kuten viranomaisia, taiteilijoita, asukasyhdistyksiä, paikallisia seuroja ja muita paikallisia ryhmiä. Toimijoiden roolit vaihtelivat suuresti erilaisten placemak- ing-projektien välillä. Tutkimuksesta käy ilmi, että Amsterdamin, Berliinin ja Kööpen- haminan kaupungit ovat – jonkinasteista opportunistista joustavuutta lukuun ottamatta – placemaking-prosesseissa omaksuneet tarkkailevan, sivustakatsovan roolin, joka on sidottuna ruohonjuuritason toimintaan. Tämä havainto avaa kaupunkien hallinnollisia rooleja placemaking-prosessien viitekehyksessä ja luo näkymän siihen, miten roolit ovat muuttuneet 2000-luvulla merkittävästi yhteistyöpainotteisempaan ja mahdollista- vampaan suuntaan. KTH Royal Institute of Technology Filemon Wolfram 4 The ABC's of Placemaking Governance Table of Contents 1. Introduction 6 1.1 Aim and Research Questions 6 1.2 Structure 7 2. Literature Review 8 2.1 Placemaking 8 2.2 Urban Governance and Spatial Leadership 14 2.3 Placemaking Governance 15 3. Conceptual Framework 17 4. Methodology 19 4.1 Research Methods 19 4.2 Analysis of Data 21 5. Case Study of Amsterdam 22 5.1 Amsterdam in Context 22 5.2 Urban Governance of Amsterdam 24 5.3 Placemaking in Amsterdam 26 6. Case Study of Berlin 34 6.1 Berlin in Context 34 6.2 Urban Governance of Berlin 36 6.3 Placemaking in Berlin 38 7. Case Study of Copenhagen 45 7.1 Copenhagen in Context 45 7.2 Urban Governance of Copenhagen 47 7.3 Placemaking in Copenhagen 49 8. Comparison and Analysis of Results 58 9. Conclusion 63 9.1 Discussion and Suggested Further Research 64 References 66 Figure References 75 KTH Royal Institute of Technology Filemon Wolfram 5 The ABC's of Placemaking Governance 1. Introduction Contemporary planning discourse has seen a growing focus on more democratic and people-centred methods of designing cities. This agenda is embodied by the emer- gence of placemaking. Placemaking is an approach to designing regions, cities and neighbourhoods based on their existing values and identities. Placemaking should be done in deep collaboration with those who are affected by and involved with these plac- es (Project for Public Spaces, 2007). Placemaking can be seen as a stark contrast to the 20th century modernist approach of forcing an external agenda on a place through a strongly hierarchical form of urban planning. This paradigm shift is also evident in the pursuit of alternative governance forms that seek to decentralize and democratize the management, development and planning of urban space (Kearns and
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