European Union
European Regional Development Fund
MP4
Making Places Profitable: Public
& Private Open Spaces
experiences from open space
regeneration in Scotland
Marilyn Higgins, Alicia Montarzino, Marcia Pereira & Harry Smith
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Edinbrugh 30 September 2010
Structure
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MP4 project
Theoretical basis
Analytical framework
Case studies in Scotland:
– Craigmillar
– Grassmarket
– Hailes Quarry Park
• Conclusions
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010
MP4 Project
“Making Places Profitable – Public and Private
open spaces”
AIM: to demonstrate how open space improvements offer
positive socio-economic benefits, and how the benefits
offered to key communities can be maintained in the long
run (‘place-keeping’).
• supported by Interreg IVB North Sea Region European funding
• four local authorities/public bodies (Emmen, Flemish Land
Agency, Gothenburg, Sheffield)
• one charitable foundation (Lawaetz Foundation DE)
• four universities (HCU, HWU, UoC, UoS)
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010
MP4 Project
MP4 Project Objectives
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Assess existing transnational experiences with
place-keeping – literature review & case studies
Produce model agreements for sustainable
partnerships and develop innovations in placekeeping
Implement, promote and test place-keeping
models transnationally
Monitor and evaluate socio-economic impacts
Develop place-keeping policies and ‘mainstream’
best practice
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010
Theoretical Basis
shift from government to governance & from a providing state to a
enabling estate: acknowledgement of wider range of stakeholders in
urban management
new institutionalism: importance of understanding mental models in
order to understand organisational arrangements
this helps see urban development as a socio-spatial process rather
than simple implementation of a “product”
open space: growing body of research into qualities, perception & impact
on well being, but less on long-term management & maintenance
our approach: to understand wider stakeholder involvement processes
in long-term management of public space based on institutionalist
approaches - using case studies in Scotland as examples.
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010
Analytical Framework
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type of urban public space
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stakeholders involved in “place-making” & “place-keeping”
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resources available to stakeholders and their deployment
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ideas & mental models related to urban public space &
stakeholders
process of physical, organisational & mental “requalification”
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Istanbul 14 October 2009
UK Context
• 19th Century: private sector provided public space as part of housing &
municipalities provided parks & green spaces
• 20th Century: public sector predominant provider of public space - publicprivate partnership regeneration in latter part of the century
• firmly established mental model of local authority having responsibility for
“place-keeping”
• recent attempts to draw in private sector participation in “place-keeping”
• strong civil society & mental model of voluntary participation, expressed in
trusts & “friends of “ societies
• current experimentation with new models of private sector & civil society’s
relationship with public space.
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Istanbul 14 October 2009
Craigmillar
Location: Mostly residential suburban area – mainly social rented
housing – South-eastern side of Edinburgh
History: Decline & regeneration
Partnerships:
URC model & PARC
CEC decentralisation policy – East Neighbourhood Team
Local communities organisation – The Neigbourhood Alliance
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Istanbul 14 October 2009
Craigmillar
Place-Keeping
Design-stage consideration
PARC strategy: capture income from
private development to contribute to
funding of public and amenity projects
& community involvement
Still conventional, but new initiatives
are being explored mainly due to
community involvement.
Community Trust
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010
Craigmillar
Evaluation: formal & informal
Scottish Government commissioned study of URCs
Neighbourhood Alliance – informal monitoring
Awards for the quality of development, policies & processes.
Transferable aspects
Policies – decentralisation
URC model
Community engagement & support
Flexibility
Sensitiveness to socio-political context
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Istanbul 14 October 2009
Grassmarket
Context
 In the Old Town of Edinburgh,
valley to the South of Edinburgh
Castle.
 Simple paved area with trees
and benches, surrounded by a
lively mixture of uses, including
housing, shops, pubs,
restaurants and hotels.
 2007/08: £5 million improvement
project
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010
Grassmarket
Partnership
Funding: local economic
development agency &
Government’s Cities Growth fund
allocation to the local council.
Consultative stakeholder group
Community engagement events
Place-Keeping
From design stage
Management & maintenance:
Grassmarket Forum & Council
officers.
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010
Grassmarket
Evaluation
Contentious: good for local business, unhappy residents.
Baseline study carried out & definition of evaluation indicators for later
comparison.
Transferable Lessons
Effective engagement
Clarity about remit & aims of a project – expectations management.
Consultation, participation & compromising
Need for in-built evaluation in place-making & place-keeping
Need for a strong and committed client-team – openness to new ideas.
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010
Hailes Quarry Park
Context
Location: Large open space in the
south west of Edinburgh -15ha surrounded by low-income residential
areas.
History:
Old quarry &
previous use
as landfill
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010
Hailes Quarry Park
Partnerships
Involvement of public, private and voluntary sectors
Greenspace Scotland (GS) & Strategic Greenspace Partnerships
(SGPs) + Project for Public Spaces (PPS)
The Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust
The Scottish Executive + Sustrans + WREN + local associations
Community engagement
Place-Keeping
Implicit place-keeping: five-year plan
+10 years partial maintenance
agreement
Building-up community involvement
& ownership
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010
Hailes Quarry Park
Evaluation
No formal evaluation
Events used as means to steer
apathetic community towards
space ownership
Small scale infrastructure
investments to increase use by
pedestrians, cyclists, women &
older people.
Transferable Lessons
Multiple-inter sectorial partnerships
Attitudes (problem when prevalent at
wider level)
Scale (small)
Flexibility (tailored interventions with
rapid response)
Steering Group
Aims & expectations –
displacement (who does what)
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010
Conclusions
• wide range of types of stakeholder and forms of organisation, with shift from
government to governance
• shift from state-financing of open space regeneration and management to
diversification of funding sources
• in all cases, central role of more direct relationship between stakeholders
and open space through some form of responsibility
• potential political & social issues: re-definition of the role of the state & of
other stakeholders, ownership of open space, social responsibility.
• scope to learn more through wider and more in-depth research on impact of
these practices on the wider community, via a longitudinal study.
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Thank You
MP4 HWU Team:
Dr Harry Smith h.c.smith@sbe.hw.ac.uk - Principal Investigator
Dr Marcia Pereira m.pereira@hw.ac.uk - Research Associate
Prof Glen Bramley
Dr Caroline Brown
Dr Scott Fernie
Marilyn Higgins
Dr Alicia Montarzino
Urban Studies Seminar Series