Nancy Holman & Alan Mace
LSE Geography and Environment
Handling conflict in compact city
development
Delivering high quality density in a low density
culture – planning experience in the UK
• City antipathy
• Tudor Walters
• Consumer preference?
Low density culture
•
•
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•
City fix
UTF
Multiple win-win outcomes
Significance of density
– Density minimum – now gone
Low density culture
Position-taking on density
Cheshire (2006) summarises - and takes a
position - thus:
“Higher densities are good because that is how cities
‘ought to be’ […]. Yet, on examination, the evidence for
all of these claims is inadequate. Sometimes this is
because whilst the simple fact is correct, the
complicated reality means that the price paid is higher
than the values generated.” (p. 1242-3)
Low density culture
• Planning and housing numbers
• Planning as tool to mediate density
In practice
Housing
numbers
Government
Actuary
Dept
NPPG
SA
SHMA
(Region)
SHLAA
Local Planning Authority
5-15
supply
In practice
Density
Housing
numbers
Government
Actuary
Dept
NPPG
SHMA
SA
SHLAA
Local Planning Authority
5-15
supply
In practice
Density
Government
Design
NPPG
To boost the supply of housing, local planning
authorities should...set out their own approach
to housing density to reflect local circumstance
Density
(Region)
Internal
space
Local Planning Authority
In practice
Open
space
Public
infrastructure
Private
infrastructure
Government
Design
NPPG
To boost the supply of housing, local planning
authorities should...set out their own approach
to housing density to reflect local circumstance
Open
space
Density
Public
infrastructure
Internal
space
Local Planning Authority
In practice
Private
infrastructure
Empirical work – Manchester
• City + developer interest – boosterism
– Economic context of city
– Preference for negotiation, ‘soft’ policy
• Developers – lack of LA experience handling
density
• Uncertain claims
• Cheshire (2006)mixed communities
• Neuman (2005) density/transport
City fix
• City fix in country that doesn’t like cities?
– Lowest level of internal space
– Low satisfaction with homes
• Allen & Blandy; Hebbert; Eldridge and Roberts
• Failure to fix the city?
– Depending on criteria, physical change (yes),
balanced community (no)
City fix
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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•
•
Allen, Chris, and Sarah Blandy. 2004. ‘The Future of City Living: Implications for Urban Policy’.
http://www.rmd.communities.gov.uk/project.asp?intProjectID=11638.
Cheshire, Paul, Steve Gibbons, and Ian Gordon. 2008. Policies for ‘Mixed Communities’: A Critical Evaluation. Spatial Economics
Research Centre (SERC) Policy Paper. http://www.spatialeconomics.ac.uk/textonly/SERC/publications/download/sercpp002.pdf.
Cheshire. 2006. ‘Resurgent Cities, Urban Myths and Policy Hubris: What We Need to Know’. Urban Studies 43 (8) (July): 1231–1246
Colomb, Claire. 2007. ‘Unpacking New Labour’s “Urban Renaissance” Agenda. Towards a Socially Sustainable Reurbanization of British
Cities?’ Planning Practice and Research 22 (1): 1–24.
David Harvey. 1989. ‘From Managerialism to Entrepreneurialism: The Transformation in Urban Governance in Late Capitalism’.
Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geograph 71 (1): 3–17.
Eldridge, Adam, and Marion Roberts. 2008. ‘A Comfortable Night Out? Alcohol, Drunkenness and Inclusive Town Centres’. Area 40 (3)
(September 1): 365–374. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4762.2008.00813.x.
Hebbert, Michael. 2009. ‘Manchester - “Making It Happen”’. In John Punter (ed) Urban Design and the British Urban Renaissance, 51–
67. Routledge.
Kitchen, Ted. 1997. People, Politics, Policies and Plans: The City Planning Process in Contemporary Britain. SAGE.
MCC, Manchester City Council. 2007. ‘Guide to Development in Manchester: Supplementary Planning Document and Planning
Guidance’. Manchester City Council.
Neuman, Michael. 2005. ‘The Compact City Fallacy’. Journal of Planning Education and Research 25 (1) (September 1): 11–26.
doi:10.1177/0739456X04270466.
Robson, Brian. 2002. ‘Mancunian Ways: The Politics of Regeneration’. In J. Peck & K. Ward City of Revolution: Restructuring Manchester,
34–49.
Swenarton, Mark. 2002. ‘Tudor Walters and Tudorbethan: Reassessing Britain’s Inter-war Suburbs’. Planning Perspectives 17 (3): 267–
286.
UTF, (Urban Task Force the). 1999. Towards an Urban Renaissance. 1st ed. London: Routledge.
Whitehead, Christine. 2008. The Density Debate: A Personal View. East Thames Housing Group, London.
Questions, comments
Requirement to create a plan
Consult on SA
procedure
Consultation
Consultation
Consultation
Consultation
Government
Voluntary
Private
Community
In
practice
Title
Drafting
SA review of draft
SA review of draft
SA review of draft