Shaken, Shrinking, Hot, Impoverished and Informal: Emerging Research Agendas in Planning
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Progress in Planning 72 (2009) 195–250 www.elsevier.com/locate/pplann Shaken, shrinking, hot, impoverished and informal: Emerging research agendas in planning Hilda Blanco a,1,*, Marina Alberti a,1 a Department of Urban Design and Planning, Box 355740, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-5740, USA Robert Olshansky b,2, Stephanie Chang c,2 b Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 611 Taft Drive, Champaign, IL 61829, USA c School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia, 242-1933 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada Stephen M. Wheeler d,3, John Randolph e,3, James B. London f,3 d Landscape Architecture Program, Department of Environmental Design, University of California at Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA e Department of Urban Affairs & Planning, Virginia Tech, 201-C Architecture Annex (0113), Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA f College of Architecture, Art, and Humanities, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA Justin B. Hollander g,4, Karina M. Pallagst h,4, Terry Schwarz i,4, Frank J. Popper j,4 g Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Department, Tufts University, 97 Talbot Avenue, Medford, MA 02155, USA h Center for Global Metropolitan Studies, University of California at Berkeley, 316 Wurster Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-1870 USA i Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, Kent State University, College of Architecture and Environmental Design, 820 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115 USA j Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, 33 Livingston Avenue, Room 535, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1958, USA Susan Parnell k,5, Edgar Pieterse l,5, Vanessa Watson m,5 k Environmental and Geographical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa l African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa m School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 213 821 2431; fax: +1 213 740 0373. E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (H. Blanco), [email protected] (M. Alberti), [email protected] (R. Olshansky), [email protected] (S. Chang), [email protected] (S.M.Wheeler),[email protected] (J. Randolph), [email protected] (J. B. London), [email protected] (J. B. Hollander), [email protected] (K. M. Pallagst), [email protected] (T. Schwarz), [email protected] (F. J. Popper), [email protected] (S. Parnell), [email protected] (E. Pieterse), [email protected] (V. Watson). 1 Guest Editors, authors of Chapter 1. 2 Authors of Chapter 2. 3 Authors of Chapter 3. 4 Authors of Chapter 4. 5 Authors of Chapter 5. 0305-9006/$ – see front matter # 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.progress.2009.09.001 196 H. Blanco, M. Alberti / Progress in Planning 72 (2009) 195–250 Abstract This is the second of two special issues in Progress in Planning exploring emerging research agendas in planning. It brings together scholars from diverse schools working on new areas of research and application in urban design and planning. Emergent research agendas include both novel areas of research and important shifts in the direction of a research area. The challenge for planning schools is to reflect critically on these changes and develop long-term research agendas that can better position our field in society and academia, and provide a basis from which to assess our academic programmes. The chapters in this issue display the different scales and fields of planning, including planning for: disaster recovery; climate change, especially opportunities for mitigation; shrinking cities in the First World; and rapidly urbanising informal and impoverished cities in the global South. At the same time, the chapters identify research areas that respond to major social and environmental changes. Olshansky and Chang highlight the increasing losses from catastrophic disasters, and address the need for disaster recovery planning. Wheeler, Randolph and London focus on climate change, and, noting the urgency of action now, their research agenda emphasises opportunities for planners to develop research and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Hollander, Pallagst, Schwarz and Popper look at increasing economic and population trends in many First World cities that result in city ‘shrinkage’. They present new opportunities for improving cities’ green space networks and natural features, and for research. The trebling of urban population in African cities by 2050, in conditions of poverty and informality, is the major trend driving Parnell, Pietriese and Watson’s chapter. They present an agenda for new planning theories and for supporting empirical research to address the actual conditions of African cities. # 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Disasters; Natural hazards; Recovery; Reconstruction; Urban systems; Climate change; Global warming; Greenhouse gases; Mitigation; Adaptation; Research needs; Shrinking cities; Demographics; Land use; Urban decline; Global trends; Global South; Urban Africa; Right to the city; Informality; Urban planning Contents Chapter 1. Introduction. ................................................................ 197 Chapter 2. Planning for disaster recovery: emerging research needs and challenges ...................... 200 2.1. Introduction . ................................................................ 200 2.2. Communities within the disaster cycle . ............................................... 200 2.3. Planning-related research on recovery . ............................................... 201 2.3.1. Key issues from empirical studies of recovery . ................................... 202 2.3.2. Planning and a comprehensive view of disaster recovery.............................. 203 2.4. A systems approach to urban disaster recovery . ....................................... 204 2.4.1. Modelling disaster recovery. ............................................... 204 2.4.2. Research needs and challenges. ............................................... 206 2.5. Post-disaster planning processes, institutions and management. .............................. 206 2.5.1. Issues in recovery planning and management. ................................... 206 2.5.2. Research needs and challenges. ............................................... 208 2.6. Conclusions . ................................................................ 208 Chapter 3. Planning and climate change: an emerging research agenda . .............................. 210 3.1. Introduction . ................................................................ 210 3.2. Planners’ role in mitigating climate change . ........................................... 211 3.2.1. Plan and policy development . ............................................... 212 3.2.2. Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases in particular sectors .......................... 213 3.2.3. Need for early planning action. ............................................... 216 3.3. Planners’ role in adapting to climate change . ........................................... 217 3.3.1. Vulnerability assessment . ................................................... 217 3.3.2. Valuation and prioritisation . ............................................... 218 3.3.3. A framework for adaptation. ............................................... 218 3.4. Planners’ roles in the institutions and politics of climate change .............................. 218 3.4.1. Planning processes and implementation. ....................................... 218 3.4.2. Economic barriers . ....................................................... 219 3.4.3. Political barriers. ....................................................... 219 3.4.4. Public participation and education . ........................................... 220 3.4.5. Planning education . ....................................................... 220 3.5. Conclusion . ................................................................ 221 H. Blanco, M. Alberti / Progress in Planning 72 (2009) 195–250 197 Chapter 4. Planning shrinking cities ......................................................... 223 4.1. Introduction . .................................................................. 223 4.2. The phenomenon of shrinking cities . ................................................. 224 4.3. German and other discourses on shrinking cities ......................................... 224 4.4. Emerging research questions: land use . ............................................. 227 4.5. Emerging research questions: environmental mitigation and ecological restoration . ................ 228 4.6. Emerging research questions: social equity ............................................. 229 4.7. Emerging research questions: right-sizing infrastructure .................................... 230 4.8. Emerging research questions: density ................................................. 231 4.9. Conclusion: a need for coherence. ................................................. 232 Chapter 5. Planning for cities in the global South: an African research agenda for sustainable human settlements. 233 5.1. Introduction . .................................................................. 233 5.2. The new urban context for planning: human settlements in the 21st century . .................... 233 5.3. What does the changing urban context mean for the future of planning?. .......................