ISOCARP · Review 09 Foreword One Foreword Two

FOREWORD ONE FOREWORD TWO Milica Bajic´-Brkovic´ John Minnery ISOCARP President 2012-2015 Chair, Local Organising Committee, ISOCARP Congress 2013

Within the very heart of the planning profession which will remain a constant part of planners’ Frontiers have always been important for plan- equality, concerns about crime and safety as well is the urge to continuously search for better and work. However, the approach will be different, ning. But in the same way that Faludi and others as vulnerability to natural hazards; but they also more responsive ways of dealing with the chal- or the planning process may change, given that drew attention to the differences between include the need to identify and protect the cher- lenges of urban development and growth. While these more sophisticated ways of doing things theory IN planning and the theory OF planning ished historical places that may be overwhelmed in the past planners were mostly concerned with are already available. The increasing variety of there are also differences between the frontiers by the onward march of change. bringing together the disconnected or dispersed planning methodologies, tools and procedures OF planning and planning AT the frontier. Seen So the frontiers at which planning works are parts into a whole, and establishing a functional is becoming a complementary part of innovative from the point of view of Brisbane, ’s complex, growing and somewhat intimidating. relationship between them, today’s professionals planning practice. ‘new world ’ where ideas from and the Faced with these challenges we need to expand are faced with much more complex tasks. This book is about a changing world and about ‘old world’ mingle with ideas from the ‘new world’ the frontiers of planning knowledge, the frontiers are recognized as multifaceted structures which changing planning practice. From eleven different in what some have called the Asian century, both in planning. Planners need still to utilise the exten- are composed of resources, processes, and the ef- countries, the list of authors comprises Ethan Selt- are important. sive body of knowledge and experience the pro- fects of these processes. At the same time, we see a zer, Wolfgang Scholz, Janepher Shedrack, Tanya The planning profession has been for a long fession has accumulated over the years but they closer relationship developing between cities and Dayaram, Peter Robinson, Nicole Wirz Schneider, time at the frontier, at the leading edge, of where also need to develop new knowledge at the fron- their environs, and between cities and regions. Juan Luis de las Rivas Sanz, Karl F. Fischer, James things are happening. In the nineteenth century tiers of innovation and creativity and even new The cities of today are challenged with issues Weirick, Laura Schatz, Awais Piracha, Dushko Bo- public concerns with health and housing led to ways of approaching old problems. The contribu- which were never present in earlier times. Climate gunovich, George Mal Horner, Dallas Rogers, Fu- the beginnings of the modern planning move- tion of an international collaborative organisation change challenges rank among the most critical long Wu, Lan Zhou and Stanley C. T. Yip. Through ISOCARPment and helped create new and more humane such as ISOCARP is critical here. Even though forces ones as their implications come across in almost the efforts of Chris Gossop and Jim Colman (who living environments in the teeming industrial cit- such as increase and urbanisation are every aspect of urban life. No less challenging is kindly agreed to serve as co-editors of this publi- ies of Europe. Today planning helps create better creating similar problems almost everywhere they the dynamic and prevailing development of ICT cation), the ideas, knowledge and experience of communities, boosts creative cities and enhances can still have quite different local manifestations. which provides planners with remarkable oppor- these writers has become exciting reading ma- urban sustainability in countries across the globe. Local conditions are important; they shape both tunities for solving different urban problems and terial for learning, discovery, and the stimulation Planners have taken a lead in preparing cities for responses and outcomes. Planning systems differ making cities better places for people, while at of engaging with a new and fascinating culture of climate change; they have helped in overcoming considerably in different countries where legisla- the same time stimulating them to grapple with planning. To all of them I would like to extend my spatial social divides. In important ways, planners tion, culture, language and history lead to dissimi- challenges not previously experienced. Improved very warm thanks: to the authors for their com- are at the frontier of human betterment. Many of lar responses to what may be global problems. communications and accessibility to information, mitment to the planning profession and gener- Resevedthe papers presented in Brisbane illustrate how Thus, by sharing local experiences international to institutions, and to people generally, have all ous sharing of their knowledge and experience this special kind of frontier mentality – planning organisations such as ISOCARP can help expand opened up new horizons for planning and deciCopyright- with us all, and to Chris and Jim for their continu- at the urban and regional frontier -- plays a critical the frontiers of planning knowledge. New ways sion making at every level. Of limited use yes- ing dedication, patience and wise guidance in role in pushing the boundaries of urban, social, of dealing with common issues can be exposed. terday, today ICT presents as an intrinsic part of working with colleagues from around the world. environmental and economic agendas. New innovations can be demonstrated. New ways professional practice, while its© powerful economic I would also like to thank Shi Nan, Vice President Planning at the frontier has to address a pleth- of addressing old problems can be explored and capacity is integral to the task of shaping develop- of ISOCARP, who so devotedly worked with the ora of emerging issues. The communications debated. ment in regions and cities worldwide. There are whole team. Last but not least, many thanks go revolution has led to massive changes to things as ISOCARP is only one of many agencies at the also remarkable advancements in many other to LucianRights Perici who was the coordinator for the diverse as the way people buy goods and services frontier of planning knowledge. It is important fields related to planning. Examples include the Review and to everyone else involved, including to patterns of social communication to the shape that we all work to expand this knowledge frontier. self-sufficient or autonomous house, the super- the copy-editor/proof-reader, Andrew Hitchen of peri-urban growth on the fringes of Indian cit- Planning plays a critical role at the frontiers of both high speed transportation systems, orAll ‘submarine’ and the designer, Ricardo Moura. The Urban Plan- ies. Planning has sought, although not always suc- global and local change; but it can continue to play buildings – all of which could significantly affect ning Society of China (UPSC), our partner in many cessfully, to cater for these changes. The scale of this important role only if all planners continue to planners’ visions and alter the perceptions of the projects, joined us once again. It was with their the frontier at which planning works is enormous; expand the frontiers of planning knowledge. urban environments which we share today. The generous help that this publication was made it is shaped by an abundance of exciting but also planning world is changing and a new culture of possible, and I gratefully thank them, especially Li concerning transformations. Emerging issues planning is emerging. Lin, production manager of the Society’s City Plan- include worldwide migration and demographic At the same time there are many urban issues ning Review. shifts, continuing urban poverty and urban in-

6 7 ISOCARP · Review 09 Jim Colman · Chris Gossop Editorial

Editorial Jim Colman · Chris Gossop

This issue of the ISOCARP Review coincides with is taught in most of the nation’s universities. And Each story is illustrative of a ’frontier’ of planning idea; on the other the alternative version ad- the centenary of the birth of – one of the Australian Planning Institute is an influential which is being explored – somewhere around vanced by our author which is based on a decen- the world’s youngest capital cities. And the City voice for the profession at every level. the globe- at this very moment. And beyond tralist model and the use of smaller, off- grid util- of Brisbane (host to the Society’s 49th World Such is the local context for Review 09 and these frontiers will be others whose stories are ities (Bogunovitch). Climate change is of critical Congress ) will bring planners from around the ISOCARP’s 49th World Congress. yet to be told. Each story is different. And yet importance for the planning of Tonga’s human world to visit one of the world’s youngest na- In a global context, this issue of the Review each is the same – in that people’s needs invari- settlements given the acute threat posed by sea tions. It is a fact often forgotten that barely 200 takes us into territory which carries a number ably underpin the problematique; local political level rise (Horner). And it underpins China’s eco years have passed since Australia’s continental of salutary messages for today’s urbanists. They and cultural influences are always present; solu- cities and the major demonstration programme mass was first mapped with sufficient accuracy range from the perplexing yet quietly optimis- tions demand both short and long-term visions; that is now being pursued (Yip). to enable its size and shape to be contemplated tic piece on climate change by Ethan Seltzer, and one or more ‘champions’ are needed to steer Those demonstration cities form a key part of by outsiders and to be better understood by its to the fascinating case studies from China and the project through to completion. China’s massive urbanisation. Two further papers indigenous peoples. As for Brisbane, it remained Spain, and on to the farthest reaches of Perhaps it is in the role of champion that plan- from China present contrasting approaches to a speck on the map of the country’s eastern sea- with the story of the unique Tongan project by ners can best find their professional feet in the accommodating such change. Jiangsu’s village board for several decades after the first Euro- Mal Horner. The twelve papers herein serve to ISOCARPexciting yet often turbulent world of contempor- improvement programme provides an inspiring pean settlement was established further south emphasize once again the extraordinarily wide ary practice. It is certainly reasonable to claim vision for the revival of village life as a counter in in 1788. It was not until the mid 1800s canvas against which today’s planners work – a that amongst urban professionals, planners focus for economic development (Fulong Wu, that the British colony of Queensland started to canvas which would have been beyond the im- – by training and aptitude – are best placed to Lan Zhou) and the reinvention of Shantou shows achieve global prominence, and Brisbane (as its agination of the modern profession’s founders. push for a holistic view of the situation at hand how new ‘organic’ forms of master planning can capital) moved from its very tentative childhood To a large extent, those pioneers saw planning whilst simultaneously pondering the scope for retain the physical heritage and unique culture through adolescence to its emergence today as as being little more than an amalgam or exten- exploiting to the full the benefits of bringing of this important coastal city (Wang, Dubbel- a great Pacific Rim city. sion of architecture, engineering and surveying. other experts into the game. This is not to assert ing). Both experiences are at the true frontiers of These morsels of history are presented here Today (as the papers demonstrate yet again) that leadership is the exclusive domain of the planning in this rapidly changing country. as a reminder that when one comes to consid- professional horizons are seemingly boundless. Resevedplanner. But it is to assert that, when it comes The proof of a plan’s effectiveness lies in its im- er the growth and development of cities from Today, the typical project calls for teamwork, to complex urban problems, planners are at the plementation and in the quality of its results. The a global perspective (as Lewis Mumford didCopyright in skill-sharing, and interdisciplinary collaboration frontier, taking a lead in building the intellectual lessons from past mistakes show all too clearly 1961 in his classic The City in History), Australia on an unprecedented scale. Today, the computer bridges and networks and problem-solving pro- that getting it right is important ‘frontier terri- might be seen as a relative new-comer. Yet such has replaced the slide-rule, drawing board and cesses which are pre-requisites for success. The tory’. Notable examples of truly effective ‘frontier’ impressions can be deceptive.© If one digs into T-square; and the digital revolution has brought editorial team suggest that the papers which planning can be seen in our Spanish case studies the recent history of planning in this country with it new challenges and opportunities and follow provide sound evidence in support of this which reveal the results achieved in Bilbao and there are some surprises to be found; and the possibly risks - for practitioners working at every assertion. Vitoria (JL de las Rivas). And from Africa the con- story of Canberra is undoubtedly the most ex- scale fromRights tiny village to mega-city. So which particular frontiers are covered? trasting pictures of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania citing of these. Others include early national In Brisbane, the 2013 Congress will be dealing Perhaps the first – and most daunting - is that and Durban in South Africa demonstrate the im- town planning conferences in (1917) with these new influences under the banner of of climate change to which we have already re- portance of adopting appropriate development and Brisbane (1918) and the gradualAll introduc- Frontiers for Planning - evolving and declining ferred (Seltzer). This vital new area for the plan- control policies which can not only provide new tion of state-based planning legislation over the models of city planning practice. This issue of ner poses challenges which are at the heart of a homes but also cater for peoples’ livelihoods as a ensuing decades. Today, with a national popula- the Review has been planned to complement number of our articles. fundamental part of the planning for these cities tion of around 22 million, every state and local the rich array of Congress papers on the ‘fron- Thus it underpins the planning of metropol- (Scholz et al). Yet another frontier relates to the authority has planning powers. Every state is a tier’ theme with a selection of pieces from pro- itan - ’s largest city. On difficulty of deciding how development should player in the conservation of heritage and the fessional planners working in the Old and New the one hand we have the official vision which be funded given the limits to the public purse in protection of the . Planning worlds, in China, in Australasia, and in Oceania. emphasises densification and the compact city many countries. As our Sydney example shows,

8 9 ISOCARP · Review 09 Jim Colman · Chris Gossop

new public-private mechanisms are emerging Such are some of the important messages but they are not without risk (Rogers) which are revealed in Review 09. The editorial Then there is the importance of a long term team records its very sincere thanks to all the in- vision and of maintaining a commitment to that vited authors for their valued (and varied) contri- vision. We can see this in our case study of Can- butions to this latest issue. In so doing, we hope berra (Fischer and Weirick). Here – despite sev- that the results of their efforts will help to stimu- eral decades of political and economic vicissi- late fresh thinking and action as the planning tudes, and a recent phase of ‘short termism’ and profession moves across yet more new frontiers diminished planning – the magnificent initial in human settlements - across the globe. vision for the has largely survived. And we can see the effects of narrow political in- fluences in our comparative study of New South Wales and Ontario where ‘tinkering’ with the pre- vailing system and ‘the amendment syndrome’ ISOCARP run counter to a long term outlook and vision (Schatz and Piracha). In complete contrast we have the example of where three countries have pooled their planning functions to operate across national frontiers in the long term inter- ests of each of them (Wirz).

Conclusion The sub-title of our book is ‘Visionary futures for Reseved human settlements’. From the example of Can- berra we see what happens when the long viewCopyright of planning is interrupted by short term political or narrow departmental considerations. But the short term fix can often mean© ill considered, sub- optimal, developments leaving a poor legacy in social and environmental terms, and no guaran- tees that the physical improvements and eco- Rights nomic opportunities that may have been creat- ed will genuinely meet an area’s long term needs - or prevail into the future. This is anAll argument for a return to the frontier of holistic planning which balances the economic, the social and the environmental factors and applies into the long term. Given the global imperative to move to- wards a low carbon world, that implies twenty or even fifty year timescales and a vision to match.

10 © Image courtesy of Brisbane Marketing ofBrisbane courtesy © Image The BrisbaneRiver.

© All Copyright

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Reseved ISOCARP

© Image courtesy of Brisbane Marketing ISOCARP · Review 09 Karl F. Fischer · James Weirick Canberra as an Exemplar of International Orientations in City and Regional Planning

Canberra as an Exemplar of International Orientations in City and Regional Planning Karl F. Fischer · James Weirick

ISOCARP Reseved © Copyright Rights All Canberra is a city with a population of 375,000, for which the Griffin Plan was designed in 1911. composed of a network of separate, predominantly To the east of the centrally planned Figure 1: Canberra, looking Figure 2: Parliament House, Canberra, low-density “New Towns”, each with its own urban (towards the bottom left corner of the rendering) lie south – this visionary rendering looking north across the symbolic core separated by hills and green belts. At the the historic town of Queanbeyan and the privatised from 1969 captures the centre of the Australian National built reality of the city as it Capital towards the city centre; centre, on both sides of the artificial lake, lies the airport, where significant development has taken approached the millennium Parliamentary Triangle to the right “historic city”, today’s North and South Canberra, place in recent years.

80 81 ISOCARP · Review 09 Karl F. Fischer · James Weirick Canberra as an Exemplar of International Orientations in City and Regional Planning

Canberra as an open air museum elsewhere could only dream. Over significant hold system; principles of water recycling; decen- Introduction of planning in the age of modernism periods of time, these resources included support tralised sewage treatment, urban forestry and from central government, a high degree of plan- urban horticulture; ideas on functional and social This year (2013), Australia’s capital, Canberra, is The major reason why it is so illuminating to look ning control on the basis of public ownership of mix; and much more. In today’s terms it could rea- celebrating its centennial. For the field of planning at Canberra lies in the cultural function the city land administered through a leasehold system, sonably be described as an example of sustaina- research in the ISOCARP context, the city, its plans has had to fulfil. Since its conception in the pre- and generous finance. In the absence of citizen bility planning par excellence. Above all, the Griffin and processes of development are of exceptional federation constitutional debates of the 1890s, representation in governance of the city (it was Plan was an inspired response to the landscape significance. A century of planned development the mission of the new city on a new, inland site not until 1988 that Canberra attained self-govern- setting in the valley of the Molonglo River. The in a situation of public land ownership in the Aus (Figure 3) was not simply to be an administrative ment) – these exceptionally favourable circum- scheme created spatial drama with axial align- tralian Capital Territory (ACT), excised from the capital of the new Commonwealth of Australia, stances enabled the planners to develop their ments focussed on the principal hills and the river state of New South Wales in 1908, has created but also to become the prestigious symbol of a visions of an ideal new town and capital. In the dammed to create an artificial lake system across something like an open air museum of modern young nation: in fact an “ideal city – the pride of heyday of the powerful National Capital Develop- the flood prone lowlands at the centre of the city and post-modern planning and urban design time” (Harrison 1995). ment Commission (NCDC) between 1957 and late site. To the south a powerful symbolic schema for (Fischer 1984, 1989). In addition to city plan- An area of 911 square miles (2368 km2) was ex- in the 1980s, Canberra was a planners’ paradise. the Government Group - a Parliamentary Triangle ning, regional planning played a role too, starting cised from the surrounding state of New South It must be noted, however, that there have - was proposed as a physical expression of demo- with the selection of the site for the new capital Wales to create the Australian Capital Territory. been other times too - times less favourable for cratic governance and the separation of powers and culminating in the 1970s in the concept of From the outset, Canberra was endowed with planning and development. The beginnings of under the Australian Constitution, culminating at a regional network of decentralised New Towns planning powers and resources (between the the city were almost stillborn by the outbreak of the apex in a pantheon to national achievement described as “an exemplar for many decentralised 1950s and 1980s especially), of which planners World War 1, but a flurry of activity in the 1920s on Capital Hill (Weirick 1998). Australian cities” (Lansdown 1971). While the as- saw Canberra established as the Seat of Govern- sociated plans for extending the urban areas of ment with a Provisional Parliament House. The Canberra beyond the borders of the Australian onset of the Great Depression then led to a per- Capital Territory were buried in the 1980s, think- iod of stagnation which persisted beyond World ing at the regional level has recently been revived, ISOCARPWar 2 into the 1950s. Following self-government with studies of the Sydney-Canberra Corridor; po- and the demise of the NCDC, urban development tential High Speed Rail connections to Sydney entered a neo-liberal phase in which planning be- and ; bushfire risk in the forests and came a “non-word” to the extent that the “P” was wilderness areas surrounding the ACT following eliminated from the acronym of the authority re- disastrous fires in 2003; water resource manage- sponsible for the national area functions. ment; and cross-border suburban development. Beginning with an international competition in An Examplar of Early Modernism: 1911 and its references to the 1910 Town Planning The “Griffin Plan” Conference in , planning for Canberra was ResevedBut let us start at the beginning: the Griffin Plan, firmly anchored within an international context. which in 2013, is at the centre of the centennial The original prize-winning scheme by the ChicaCopyright- celebrations. go architects (and former members of Frank Lloyd Presented in a superb set of drawings, the Grif- Wright’s Studio) Walter Burley Griffin and Marion fins’ competition scheme echoed principles of the Mahony Griffin (Weirick 2011)© was expanded and L’Enfant plan for Washington DC, Haussmann’s transformed by post-war British and American and Burnham’s plan for , and com- models of city planning. In the 1970s and ‘80s, the bined them - in a fascinating way - with those of “Canberra Model of Development” (NCDC 1970b) Rights the Garden City and the American parks move- was exported internationally through the se- ment. The Griffin Plan was a synthesis of amaz- condment of Canberra planning staff to Dodoma, Figure 3: The site of Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) ingly advanced ideas on town planning – both in the capital of Tanzania. And most recentlyAll at the The foundation of Canberra took place in a climate of competition terms of design features and the planning theory centennial, visions of urban renaissance and new between the colonial capitals of Sydney and Melbourne. This was of the day. reflected in different practices ranging from different railway gauges to development plans are again set within inter- traditions of liberalism vs. free trade. To prevent Canberra from becoming Features of the plan included: neighbourhood national networks ranging from the OECD (OECD an economic satellite of Sydney, the capital had to be “distant not less units (explicitly named as such in 1911) and di- 2002) to the Capitals Alliance of national capital than one hundred miles from Sydney”. On the other hand, Australia versified urban sub-centres connected by a sub- Figure 4: The “Griffin Plan”: the prize winning scheme of 1912 by was able to learn from its bitter experience with a land-speculating ‘ Walter Burley Griffin (1876-1937); the superb set of presentation planners and policy makers launched in Canberra squattocracy’ of grazers, and consequently to create a system of public urban railway; a tramway system ‘borne at public drawings by Marion Mahony Griffin (1871-1961) were inscribed in 2002 (Capitals Alliance, 2003). owner-ship of land for its capital. expense’ financed out of the revenue of the lease- on the UNESCO Memory of the World register in 2003

82 83 ISOCARP · Review 09 Karl F. Fischer · James Weirick Canberra as an Exemplar of International Orientations in City and Regional Planning

The Development of Canberra during Griffin’s lake system was created, giving great the 20th century: From urbanist conception distinction to the inland setting, and named after to suburban concept him as “Lake Burley Griffin”. On both sides of its Although called to Australia to supervise con- central basin, the outlines of a symbolic centre struction of the capital, Griffin met considerable were formed within the Parliamentary Triangle by hostility to his plan; to his progressive views on a series of widely separated national institutions, planning, politics and society; and to his tenacious culminating in a new and permanent Parliament personality as an idealist. After the outbreak of House, completed in 1988 as a landscape gesture World War I, the conditions for implementing his embedded within the profile of Capital Hill. And concepts changed dramatically. Griffin lost favour the city’s population increased from 39,000 (1957) with the government; his contract as Director of to 270,000 (1988), accommodated largely in a ser- Design and Construction was not renewed; and ies of New Towns. his involvement ceased in 1921. Following his de- parture, the rich semantic content of the plan was Lessons in Metropolitan Planning impoverished and changed. The essential shift in – from the 1950s to 1970s the ideal concepts involved a change from the Planning for the spatial pattern and inner struc- medium-density scheme and the clearly urban ture of the Canberra metropolitan region involved character implied by the Griffin plan to a sub- a learning process with important practical impli- urban concept. The skeleton of wide City Beauti- cations, which unfortunately seem to have fallen ful avenues was fleshed out with bungalows, and into oblivion in the 21st century. The NCDC’s first Canberra entered an adolescent stage – seven metro region plan, prepared in the early 1960s, oddly configured garden in search of a closely followed Ebenezer Howard’s famous ‘Cen- city, or, as it seemed at the time, ‘a good sheep tre and Satellite’ scheme with its radial-concentric ISOCARPstation spoilt’. configuration of self-contained cities set within a greenbelt (NCDC 1965). New Impulses after World War II But subsequent traffic modelling showed that Nevertheless, the development of the new capital traffic flows configured as freeways (emanating city gathered momentum after the cessation of from a corona of satellites and converging on World War II hostilities when the decision to con- the projected Central Business District), would centrate the national public service in Canberra have drowned the city centre in a sea of asphalt. was made. From the 1950s onwards, this resulted Two important conclusions were drawn from this in annual rates of around modelling. Reseved10% for more than 10 years. In 1957 (partially as Firstly, as long as the motor car remained the a security measure to bring together the various dominant mode of transport in the ACT, a con- Copyright defence departments, hitherto headquartered ventional CBD would suffer great traffic problems. in Sydney and Melbourne) Prime Minister Rob- The size and composition of Canberra’s city centre ert Menzies introduced federal legislation which would therefore have to differ from that of a con- © created the NCDC as an exceptionally powerful ventional CBD. It would have to focus on highly organisation whose responsibilities lay in plan- specialized services, while a large share of the re- ning and developing the capital, and channelling tail functions and office employment would have Rights its growth into functioning urban districts. Men- to be decentralised into the satellite “New Towns”. zies ensured that the NCDC would have a large, single-line budget and a high degree of planning All control based on continuation of the leasehold system. In the event, the NCDC acted as benevo- lent dictator until its New Town model was firmly on the ground. Canberra remained a city without self-government until late in 1988. Figure 5: The 1918 Plan of City and Environs - the latest official general plan of the city signed by Griffin as In the three decades between 1958 and 1988, Federal Capital Director of Design and Construction the government sector burgeoned; a version of

84 85 ISOCARP · Review 09 Karl F. Fischer · James Weirick Canberra as an Exemplar of International Orientations in City and Regional Planning

Figures 6 and 7: Planning for growth beyond the city Figure 8 :The Y Plan: the NCDC’s Strategy Plan for designed by the Griffin: The Canberra Outline Plan published Metropolitan Growth, 1969-1970, a network of large, self- in the NCDC’s “The Future Canberra” in 1965 envisaged a contained satellite towns stretched into the form of a linear radial-concentric arrangement of satellites (left) closely ISOCARPcity to accommodate a central rapid transport spine and to modeled on Howard’s Garden City diagram (right). avoid high levels of automobile congestion at the City Center

F rom radial-concentric to linear urban forms 20th century ideal concepts in all fields of planning looks very much like a diagram from a planning Secondly, the “New Towns” were stretched into – have been implemented in a similarly complete text book. It displays the built reality of the city, the form of a with “old Canberra” in the manner; ranging from a (moderately) revenue- Reseveddemonstrating that the hierarchical planning middle, connected by peripheral freeways and a producing leasehold system to a set of (mod- principles were applied with utmost precision: central reservation for a spine,Copyright erately) autonomous, “self-contained satellites” Canberra was a perfect manifestation of planners’ planned for implementation when the popu- connected to a “central city” with its green core. ideal concepts in the era of high modernism – lation reached 500,000. Dividing the city at its “the ideal Garden City ” (Fischer 2013). northern end into two branches© in the form of a Canberra as a perfectionist manifestation Y was intended to make public transport on this of ideal concepts in planning Canberra after “Modernism” spine more effective: the so-called “Y Plan” was One of the most amazing features of the city is born (NCDC 1970a). the degreeRights to which the planning concepts of Developments following self-government found problems for the city and its development. The frame of the Y Plan was fleshed out with that earlier period have been implemented. This By 1988 it was becoming obvious that the under- One problem lay in the division of land ownership housing and shopping centres, community facili- can be impressively demonstrated by comparing lying principles of governance without democrat- and planning responsibilities within the new two- ties and roads graded in perfect hierarchiesAll and the visionary artistic rendering of Canberra drawn ic representation of the local population, together level governance structure (national/municipal), pre-determined values of houses and building in the late 1960s (Figure 1), which depicts the city with wholesale financing through federal gov- whilst the other lay in the method of financing the block sizes. The product might be called “the per- in the manner of an aerial photograph as it might ernment appropriations, could not be continued ongoing process of urban development within fectionist garden city metropolis”. As such, Can- have looked at the beginning of the 21st century, indefinitely. Self-government had to come, and a the ACT. berra is not simply ‘the world’s biggest Garden with an actual aerial photograph from 2000. way of separating national capital costs from mu- City’. There is no other city in which Howard’s Gar- The two images are surprisingly similar. The nicipal costs had to be found. However, the par- Ideal concepts of neo-liberal development? den City principles – updated in the light of late city’s functional and ground plan (Fischer 1989) ticular arrangement chosen in 1989 created pro- The division of land ownership and planning re-

86 87 ISOCARP · Review 09 Dushko Bogunovich AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND 2040: A RESILIENT, LINEAR CITY-REGION

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND 2040: A RESILIENT, LINEAR CITY-REGION Dushko Bogunovich

Introduction

Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city, and is Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city. It is a con- being managed and planned by a single local urbation rather than a single city, created over a authority covering the entire metropolitan region. period of about 150 years from more than twenty A newly-elected council has produced the “Auck- constituent cities and towns. However, New land Plan” which presents the official response to Zealanders refer to Auckland as one city, espe- recent growth projections. This plan postulates cially since 2010 when what had been commonly a future urban form designed to curtail ‘sprawl’ known as ‘greater Auckland’ was put under a sin- and encourage compact, densified development gle local government – the Auckland Council. The within the existing urban boundaries. Underlying seven - four city councils and three the plan are assumptions related to resource rural districts - that used to comprise the Auck- consumption, climate change, the need to protect land region were merged into a single metropol- ISOCARPrural lands on the fringe, the perceived loss of itan region with a total population of about mil- ‘unspoiled’ landscape, and other plan elements. lion and a half. The paper acknowledges the importance of these In 2011 the newly elected Auckland Council matters but argues for a different approach, dem- undertook to produce a long-term strategic vi- onstrating that a landscape-based methodology sion for the ‘super-city’. The document was sim- for ‘ecological urbanism’ can produce a radically ply named the ‘Auckland Plan’ 1 and its aim was new and arguably more sustainable urban form. to be comprehensive rather than sectoral (i.e. Under this alternative model, the future Auckland without particular emphasis on various aspects could be a low-rise, regionally polycentric city of the city’s future – economic, physical, social or Resevedsupported by green, grey, and smart environmental). with varying degrees of independence from the Despite its aim to be comprehensive, it could Copyright supply grids. The model was developed by Dushko be argued that the plan’s central feature was the Bogunovich and Matthew Bradbury and tested spatial strategy - a vision for the future physical by the students of the DoLA at Unitec Institute form of the . The extra attention © of Technology, Auckland, under the academic to the issue of urban form was understandable: leadership of the authors. not only had the city been growing fast through- out the 20th century but recent demographic Rights projections were showing that it would continue to grow at a fast pace. The growth is generated from both inside (natural birth rates) and from All outside (migration from the rest of the country and from overseas). It is now generally accepted that Auckland is likely to gain another million in- habitants in the next 30 years, reaching between 2.5 and 3 million between 2040 and 2050. While there were some disagreements over Source: Auckland Council demographic scenarios, the real issue was never

110 111 ISOCARP · Review 09 Dushko Bogunovich AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND 2040: A RESILIENT, LINEAR CITY-REGION

Figure 1: Auckland’s Vision 2040. Source: The Auckland Plan http://theplan.theaucklandplan.govt.nz/ ISOCARP the size of the population. Rather, the main de- document, the Unitary Plan). The main differ- bate (since 2011) has been about the future ences are about development density and the physical or urban form of Auckland - a continua- future urban form. The position of the authors2 tion of an earlier discussion which went on for the of the strategy is that the link between density better part of the second half of the 20th century. and sustainability is much weaker than is gener- This discussion was about ‘’: the ten- ally assumed, and that the low-density develop- dency for the city to grow horizontally rather than ment scenario - often rejected because of high vertically. Like in most countries, this debate has servicing costs - is not necessarily as inefficient been dominated by advocates of the ‘compact as is commonly depicted. These positions have Reseved city’ idea. The prevalent low-density suburban been argued in the literature for some time now, model that shaped post-WWII Auckland had beenCopyright whether as a direct critique of the ‘compact city’ blamed for a host of environmental, social and (Neuman 2005), or as calls for a new paradigm of economic ills. From the outset, the council plan- urban sustainability (Bogunovich 2009). ning team took the position© that ‘urban sprawl’ We also anticipate – as well advocate – a ma- must be contained. To that end, the draft Auck- jor transformation of urban infrastructure over land Plan stated that 70% of future growth had the next few decades. We see the typology and to be accommodated within the existing bound- technologyRights of urban infrastructure changing pro- aries of the built-up area of the city, while only foundly in the near future. There are several forces 30% would be allowed outside it, in the form of pulling in this direction, with climate change be- new, greenfield suburbs by the urbanAll boundary ing the key driver. Important aspects of these an- and around a limited number of existing satellite ticipated transformations are decentralization and settlements inside the region. smaller scale and off-the-grid utilities operation. This paper outlines an alternative growth strat- These will reinforce the already powerful centri- egy for Auckland. This strategy differs significantly fugal forces in the shaping of metropolitan form. from the official ‘compact city’ vision (which now, This position runs counter to the predictions put Figure 2: The Auckland Plan: The Spatial Development Strategy. in 2013, is being translated into a new, statutory forward by commentators who argue that ‘peak Source: http://theplan.theaucklandplan.govt.nz/

112 113 ISOCARP · Review 09 Dushko Bogunovich AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND 2040: A RESILIENT, LINEAR CITY-REGION oil’ is imminent and the higher price of fuel will natural and climate change-related hazards, and Although it is not the capital, Auckland is New (MULs) by previous councils, and have now been trigger a re-concentration of population and pos- a policy of encouraging higher density develop- Zealand’s largest city, its most important commer- renamed as the ‘rural-urban boundaries’ (RUBs). sibly even a ‘shrinking’ of metropolitan regions. In ment appears wilfully ignorant of its contribution cial centre and home to an estimated 1.5 million Growth outside these boundaries would be per- our view, urban decentralization and dispersion to overall vulnerability. people - about a third of the country’s total popu- mitted too but limited to a number of selected sat- are irreversible, and will not be significantly affect- lation. Auckland’s economy is unrivalled by other ellite locations, such as Warkworth and Pukekohe. ed by the rise in cost of personal mobility. The Auckland Plan New Zealand centres. The city is a hub of trans- High quality urban design and the preservation of Based on such assumptions, we argue for an port infrastructure with airports, ports, freight sta- rural land are key aspirations of this plan. alternative split between development inside The strategic exercise called the ‘Auckland Plan’ tions. Auckland is the gateway to the rest of this The compact city model proposed in The Auck- and outside the urban boundary, to that which took place during a major reshaping of the urban trade-dependent nation. Because of Auckland’s land Plan is loosely based on New Urbanist think- is proposed by the Auckland Plan. We postulate planning agenda worldwide. Population growth, economic importance and its role as a trade cen- ing and a number of overseas case studies. They that instead of the rigid ‘70% inside the urban global economic competition, advancing climate tre, the wellbeing of the entire country is closely all suggest that increasing density is the solu- area/30% outside the urban area’ policy being ac- change and looming resource shortages are intertwined with the city’s success or failure. tion to creating both a sustainable and a liveable tually implemented, it is more likely that exactly high on the agendas of all big cities. ‘Liveability’, The Plan also recognizes Auckland’s unique city. The compact city model is seen as offering a the opposite will happen: about 30% of all new ‘sustainability’, ‘competitiveness’ and ‘resilience’ physical character – the presence of natural land- chance to limit and contain the much-maligned development will take place inside the urban are now global buzzwords. Most cities are striv- scape features in the city, its mild climate and urban sprawl that is seen to be taking over Auck- boundary, while 70% will go outside it, one way ing to reconcile these diverse objectives, rather the low-density residential environment which land region. Increased densities will support a or another. This does not necessarily mean more than setting them against each other and seeking is well-suited to an outdoor lifestyle. Indeed, the more efficient use of public transport, will reduce urban sprawl; the 70% could be distributed in a trade-offs. Plan has adopted Mayor Len Brown’s political energy consumption, and will create a better so- planned manner between the new suburbs, satel- The Auckland Plan recognises these trends. platform that the overall aim for Auckland should cial mix and stronger sense of community. lite towns and villages, and other urban centres The document acknowledges that in a world of be to become ‘the most liveable city in the world’.3 The Auckland Plan offers several principles of the North Island outside the Auckland region. 9 or 10 billion people – with 5 or 6 billion dwell- This is not an unrealistic objective. Auckland which are seen as essential if the aim is to con- We also argue that the ‘urban-rural’ split is an ing in cities – it will be difficult to maintain the already commands a high rank on the leading centrate urban growth within a defined geo- unduly crude categorization, and that such a current levels of resource consumption and tol- world indexes of quality of life: graphical limit and achieve a well-designed ‘black and white’ view of the metropolitan land- erate the present levels of waste generation. It ISOCARPcompact city. The overall aim is to put “quality” scape – “city” versus “country” - is no longer a use- also acknowledges that in a decade or two the ∙∙ The Mercer ranked Auckland the 3rd in 2012; first by moving through a phase of generational ful urban planning concept. A model that better effects of climate change will be severe and that ∙∙ The Economist Intelligence Unit Livability change and transition to a compact urban form: reflects the contemporary metropolitan region is this is likely to cause population shifts for reasons Ranking declared Auckland 12th in 2012; by encouraging growth primarily within existing one that acknowledges that the ‘urban boundary’ of safety and comfort. It believes, however, that ∙∙ The Most Livable Cities Index ranked urban areas, by defining a rural-urban boundary is blurred. Instead of two categories – urban and New Zealand is less likely to be affected by this Auckland the 10th in 2013.4 with staged release of greenfield sites and by rural – this model operates with four categories of scenario, and that rather than having to deal with implementing a decade-by-decade program to regional landscape - urban, suburban, peri-urban purely domestic problems, it is more likely it will The economic rationale for creating the world’s augment housing supply. and ex-urban. In the case of Auckland and the be under external pressure to take refugees and most liveable city is not difficult to understand. Approximately 80% of the city’s landmass is vexing question of where to accommodate the migrants from less fortunate countries. ResevedThe aim is clear: to attract and retain the skilled currently in rural use, and the Plan proposes to future growth, a roughly even split between the The Plan puts a strong emphasis on the con- and talented people and capital investment continue to keep these areas rural and productive four categories - about 25% in each – seemsCopyright the cept of ‘liveability’. In future, cities will compete to needed for a strong, high value-added economy. by limiting urban development. A high priority is best policy. attract skilled workers primarily by being liveable But this must be balanced with other objectives. placed on protecting rural land in Auckland. It is Our proposition also stems from the recogni- and by forging strong links between the educa- And indeed, The Plan recognizes that good life- recognised that there needs to be a ‘sustainable tion that, in the face of climate© change and prob- tion and business sectors. style and a growing economy are not enough: balance’ between production, protection and able future resource shortages, Auckland will have there also needs to be a more equitable wealth all activities associated with rural character. This neither time nor money to rapidly and/or radically “Liveable cities need a competitive business cli- distribution and sustainable economy. A green will be achieved by generating greater econom- transform its predominantly suburban form. Con- mate andRights tax levels, a business-friendly culture, Auckland with an emphasis on sustainability, fair- ic growth whilst making better use of existing sequently, a realistic and pragmatic approach and excellent connectivity. To be recognised as in- ness, safety and health would encourage pros- infrastructure. Greater social and cultural vitality would be to retrofit the present built form with a novation centres, cities will need to support educa- perity and opportunity for all Aucklanders. And throughout the region, rural character and pro- range of features, which would makeAll the existing tion in the sciences and engineering; support the when it comes to a spatial development strategy, ductivity will be maintained, while adverse en- fabric more efficient and self-reliant regardless of creation of leading research centres; foster closer the Auckland Plan envisages that all these goals vironmental impacts will be reduced. density. links between those research centres and business; will be attained by pursuing the ‘quality compact Overall, it is fair to say that the Plan takes a We actually question the wisdom of encour- and foster collaboration between complementary city’ vision. somewhat reverential position with regard to the aging high population densities anywhere in New sectors to encourage the development of new The ‘quality compact city’ will be achieved by ‘rural’ and ‘natural character’ of the land which is Zealand, not just in Auckland, on safety grounds. products and solutions to pressing issues.” (Auck- increasing density within the urban boundaries. inside the new region, but at the same time also The whole country is vulnerable to a variety of land Plan, 2010, p. 23) They were called ‘metropolitan urban boundaries’ outside the visible city. The underlying assump-

114 115 ISOCARP · Review 09 Dushko Bogunovich AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND 2040: A RESILIENT, LINEAR CITY-REGION tion appears to be that further suburban develop- land’s famous lifestyle possible. Rather than trying ment would ruin the visual character of the green to become a sustainable compact city, and start open space, which is perceived as ‘unspoiled’. It an uphill battle to beat and on their is however well known that neither the remnant terms, New Zealand’s largest metropolis should natural ecosystems/landscapes in Auckland re- play the global competition game on its own gion are really ‘untouched’, nor does the ‘rural terms. Auckland should strive to become a super- character’ concept fittingly describe the new, liveable, resilient urban region, at the core of which quasi-industrial and lifestyle-residential character is a low-density city that settles comfortably into its of the peri-urban belt. extraordinary landscape and operates its metabol- ism in harmony with the local ecosystem. An Alternative Spatial Strategy The above proposition has economic ramifica- tions beyond trying to attract overseas capital and The authors of this paper take a more tolerant talent. In the process of implementing a strategy view of the existing environment of suburbia. The for growth based on low-density sustainability, suburbia of the 20th century may be an ecologic- followed by a raft of innovative industries focused al sink and aesthetic eyesore in its present state, on green decentralised technology, many Auck- but this could change in the near future, as indi- land industries could embark on a voyage into cated in recent literature (Dunham-Jones 2008). the ‘green knowledge economy’. This is a type of Already, many Auckland suburbs are not visually knowledge economy which many believe will be offensive, and many are peppered with design, the key driver of the economy in the 21st century.6 technology and innovation initiatives which are Projects undertaken under our direction by beginning to make them more sustainable – such students in the Department of Landscape Archi- as the growing Transition Towns movement.5 tecture at Unitec Institute of Technology in the We believe that a cleaner, greener suburbia first semester of 2012 have demonstrated that ISOCARP for Auckland is possible, and is to some degree there are many possible ways (a range of settle- - albeit by very small steps – already happening. ment morphologies, housing typologies and so It follows that a different take on urban sprawl on) of implementing our strategy. Common to all is possible. A more tolerant view of the present these master planning experiments is that there suburbia would open our eyes to fresh, and per- are models of horizontal growth that protect New haps even radical possibilities. For example, we Zealand’s natural and cultural heritage and avoid could re-imagine Auckland by 2030 or 2040 as a the ‘endless sprawl’ scenario. This assures us that metropolitan region of 3 million people where a continuation of a growth policy for Auckland most of the urban fabric is operating as a giant based on a centric, compact layout, supported by Reseved ‘farm’ - a sprawling artificial landscape that har- traditional, expensive and vulnerable infrastruc- vests clean energy, food and rainwater, and treatsCopyright ture and fenced off from one of the most desirable and recycles its waste locally. Recent research residential landscapes in the world - would be an shows that there is an enormous potential in the environmental, cultural and economic mistake. suburbs of Auckland to generate© solar power and We argue for a different approach requiring a not only support the suburbs but also power the more tolerant attitude towards further horizontal inner city (Byrd 2013). growth, instead of embarking on an aggressive We look favourably on the proposition that Rights Auckland could or should become ‘the most live- able city in the world’. But we question the rushed conclusion that ‘liveability’ necessarilyAll means the same things as in European cities – excellent public Figure 3: The diagram representing transport, pedestrianized streets and packed side- the‘Alternative Plan’for Auckland: the walk cafes. Our view is that if Auckland is to retain linear city acting as the urban spine its status as one of the most liveable cities in the of the metropolitan area, and the rest as an amorphous, partly self-sufficient world, it has to exploit its low-density urban form. suburbia and periurbia, oriented Low density is the very factor which makes Auck- towards the natural landscape

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