MOBILIZING SUSTAINABLE URBANISM: INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANTS AND THE ASSEMBLING OF A PLANNING MODEL ELIZABETH RUTH RAPOPORT Thesis submitted to University College London for the degree of Engineering Doctorate Centre for Urban Sustainability and Resilience Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering September 2014 DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I, Elizabeth Ruth Rapoport confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT Recent years have seen a growth in proposals around the globe to develop new urban areas incorporating ambitious sustainability objectives. These projects are often planned by a small, elite group of international architecture, engineering and planning consultants, the Global Intelligence Corps (GIC). This dissertation describes and conceptualizes how and why urban planning ideas travel internationally, using sustainable urbanism as a case study. The dissertation draws on qualitative research conducted between 2010 and 2012. The data is interpreted through a conceptual framework grounded in assemblage thinking, that provides a way of understanding how a model can crystallize in a particular form, but still remain dynamic and flexible. The research found that sustainable urbanism, as it is applied by the GIC, has three key objectives: the creation of “good”, high-performance and integrated urban places. The GIC have a substantial influence on international conceptions of sustainable urbanism, in part as a result of their close involvement in the development and application of some of the key devices for coordinating the model’s travels. Sustainable urbanism’s international success is linked to two factors in particular: its flexibility, which allows it to be expressed in ways that speak to the key drivers of individual urban development projects, and the ease with which the model can be deployed in an entrepreneurial climate. The GIC encourage the take-up of sustainable urbanism in new environments through the use of materials and experiences to introduce their ideas. For practitioners, these findings point to the importance of developing a broad awareness of how the objectives of sustainable urbanism can be achieved, to think critically about where their ideas come from, and to look widely for examples and inspiration. Practitioners also need to apply a pragmatic and iterative ethical frame to guide decision making in the planning process. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 10 2 THE TRAVELS OF URBAN PLANNING IDEAS: A HISTORY 41 3 CONCEPTUALISING TRAVELLING IDEAS 61 4 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 93 5 SUSTAINABLE URBANISM: DIMENSIONS OF THE MODEL 119 6 COORDINATING SUSTAINABLE URBANISM'S TRAVELS 154 7 TRANSLATING SUSTAINABLE URBANISM 183 8 INHABITING SUSTAINABLE URBANISM 212 9 CONCLUSION 235 APPENDICES 257 REFERENCES 288 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Smart city stills from promotional videos 122 Figure 2 Extract from online good practice compendium 123 Figure 3 Advertisement for study tours provided by Energy Cities 125 Figure 4 A study tour at the HafenCity Hamburg visitor centre 127 Figure 5 Rendering visualising “good” urbanism in K.A.CARE 132 Figure 6 Sustainability targets for K.A.CARE 133 Figure 7 Plan with superimposed ped sheds for Palava 138 Figure 8 Rendering of Gia Lam 138 Figure 9 The Hammarby model 148 Figure 10 Office locations of firms surveyed 159 Figure 11 Location of planning projects carried out by firms surveyed 160 Figure 12 Summary of sustainable water strategies considered for Palava 177 Figure 14 Palava’s marketing campaign: The Palava lifestyle 199 Figure 15 Palava’s marketing campaign: Great cities never stop 199 Figure 16 Multiple versions of sustainability in Gai Lam 202 Figure 17 Gia Lam: the gateway to Hanoi 203 Figure 18 Sustainable waste management options for K.A.CARE 208 Figure 19 Summary of the sustainable infrastructure strategy for Palava 217 Figure 20 Collage illustrating the characteristics of a low carbon settlement 220 Figure 21 Examples of “next generation energy centers." 221 Figure 22 Visual summary of sustainable design features in Vancouver 222 Figure 23 An urban plaza in Panama Government City 223 Figure 24 Landscape concept diagram featuring indicative images 225 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Summary of interviewees 104 Table 2 Overview of key features of masterplans analysed 112 Table 3 Some design interventions associated with sustainable urbanism 129 Table 4 Selection of interviewees’ descriptions of sustainable urbanism 137 Table 5 Descriptions of sustainable urban projects designed by GIC firms 143 Table 6 Headquarters and number of offices of GIC firms surveyed 157 Table 7 Locations of planning projects carried out by the GIC by region 162 Table 8 Summary of sustainable urbanism’s translation for three projects 204 LIST OF ACRONYMS 1MDB 1Malaysia Development Berhad ANT Actor network theory BREEAM Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology BRT Bus rapid transit CR Corporate responsibility GFA Gross floor area GIC Global intelligence corps HU Hermeneutic unit K.A.CARE King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy KPF Kohn Pedersen Fox LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED ND Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighbourhood Development POV Point of view PPP Public-private partnership PRT Personal rapid transit SOM Skidmore Owings & Merrill TRX Tun Razak Exchange USGBC United States Green Building Council VIDIFI Vietnam Infrastructure Development and Finance Investment Joint Stock Company nb - Many design firms discussed in this dissertation (e.g. HOK, AECOM) are known purely by acronyms and are therefore not included in this list. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation and the research project that underpins it would not have been possible without the support of many people to whom I am extremely grateful. My supervisors, Dr Adriana Allen and Dr Yvonne Rydin at UCL, and Lawrie Robertson at Happold Consulting were generous in providing everything from intellectual guidance to logistical support over the last five years. I would also like to thank everyone who gave their time to be interviewed and observed for this research project. These people remain anonymous throughout the dissertation but without them this work could not have been written. In addition, this research project would not have been possible without the participation of Happold Consulting and Buro Happold. I am indebted to everyone at the company for their contributions. At the UCL Centre for Urban Sustainability and Resilience, Dr Marek Ziebart believed in my project enough to invite me to apply for a studentship. Jane Doogan was always available to answer questions and resolve issues, no matter how big or small. The UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council not only funded this research, but provided additional support for the extra time and specialist equipment. The UCL Disabled Students office, and Michele Farmer, Disability IT Support Officer, provided help and support with unforeseen challenges. My parents, Roger Rapoport and Margot Lind instilled me with a love for learning, and, I like to think, passed down to me some their considerable skill with words. They also graciously responded to last minute requests for support with proofreading, as did Sarah Ichioka and Lizzie Gilbert. Tse-Hui Teh and Ine Steenmans both provided substantial support, advice and commiseration along the way. Kewen Yang was an excellent and highly efficient research assistant. Michele Acuto read and commented on draft chapters and was understanding about this project taking longer than anticipated to complete. I have left until last the one person who gave me the most support of all: my husband, Peter Airey. His love, patience, generosity and never-ending capacity to help me find ways to overcome whatever obstacles I encounter are the bedrock upon which this piece of work was constructed. He and our daughter Anabelle, who listened to me dictate much of this dissertation in utero, gave me the balance and perspective I needed to craft the story told in the ensuing pages. I made up my mind… That I would never try to reform man – that is much too difficult. What I would do was try to modify the environment in such a way as to get man moving in preferred directions. Buckminster Fuller 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Setting the scene In the first decade of 21st century, amidst growing concerns about the environmental impact of the world’s urban transition, a spate of proposals for sustainable, “eco-“, and low carbon urban projects emerged. Among them was Dongtan Eco-City, designed in 2005 by the British engineering firm Arup for a site near Shanghai in China, and billed as “a global template for sustainability in urban planning” (Bullivant 2007: 127). While the plans for Dongtan languished, the Tangshan Caofeidian International Eco-City, planned with the input of the Swedish engineering firm Sweco, is currently under construction (Joss and Molella 2013). This trend is not limited to China. In 2001, developers appointed by the local government commissioned the New York architecture firm of Kohn Pederson Fox to develop a masterplan for Songdo City, Korea, now being promoted as an “ubiquitous eco-city” (Shwayri 2013). In India, along the new expressway between Mumbai and Pune the privately developed sustainable city of Lavasa, master-planned by the American