To be published in: New Landscapes - New Lives: New Challenges in Landscape Planning, Design and Management. Proceedings from the 20th Conference of the European Schools of Landscape Architecture. SLU, Alnarp. Nordic landscapes at the city edge: Lessons from case studies in five countries Mattias Qviström Department of Landscape Architecture, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences E-mail: Mattias.qvistrom@ltj.slu.se Ole Hjort Caspersen Department of Urban and Landscape Studies, Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning, KVL Anne-Katrine Halvoren Thorén Department of Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning, Norwegian University of Life Sciences Inger-Lise Saglie Department of Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning, Norwegian University of Life Sciences Abstract: Recent international research has demonstrated the potential for developing multifunctional landscapes at the urban fringe as a way of facilitating a sustainable society. The point of departure for such development is favourable in the Nordic countries, which are characterised by small cities with a fairly close relationship between city and country. However, a multitude of reforms regarding spatial planning, economic incentives, land development policy, etc. are needed to promote multifunctional land use. This paper presents experiences from five Nordic case studies, in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and discusses whether Nordic comparisons of landscape change and spatial planning can provide knowledge and practical experiences to foster multifunctional development of the city edge. In order to provide a thorough analysis accounting for site-specific and country-specific factors, researchers from all five Nordic countries played an active part in the project. The case studies primarily focused on conflicts and potential for cooperation between green-structure planning and agriculture and forestry. These cases were complemented with a comprehensive analysis of the planning legislation and current planning practices in each country. Against this background, some implications for spatial planning were identified. It was concluded that there is a need for place-specific strategies, use of economic tools, cross-boundary planning and new representations of the urban fringe in order to facilitate a multifunctional landscape. Key words: Comparative studies; Land use policy; Multifunctionality; Scandinavia; Spatial planning; Urban fringe 1 1. Introduction Images of a chaotic landscape at the urban fringe are readily available as an illustration of ‘new’ landscapes of the 21st century, or as a reminder of the land use conflicts of modern society. During the past century the urban fringe, if recognised at all, has been regarded as problematic, chaotic and unattractive. In short, it has been regarded as a materialisation of the dark side of modern society. However, in recent years new interpretations of the fringe have emerged that could generate a different landscape at the city edge in the near future. For instance, Gallent et al. (2006) emphasise the potential for a multifunctional landscape at the urban fringe. Multifunctionality in this instance is understood as a use of the land that allows ecological, economic, historical, socio-cultural and aesthetical functions to coexist (cf. Gulinck, 2004; Gallent et al., 2006). The city edge has also been identified as an arena where the urban population can gain an understanding of the conditions for agriculture and forestry. As a consequence, the non-conventional combinations of urban and rural activities appearing at the city edge are now regarded as an asset for future planning, at least by some researchers and planners. However, in order to utilise the urban fringe as a resource within planning, we need to go beyond stereotypical images and preconceptions about such a varied landscape – we need site-specific knowledge based on case studies. In the Nordic research project City and Country, case studies of the urban fringe were carried out in the five Nordic countries in order to gain a deeper understanding of how to facilitate multifunctional landscapes at the fringe within planning, with particular emphasis on the potential for combining agriculture and recreation in vernacular landscapes. This paper describes preliminary results from the project, which is due to be completed in early 2009. The first section of the paper discusses the Nordic context as a basis for comparative studies. In the second section, some of the results of the case studies of landscapes and spatial planning at the city edge are presented. Finally, the usefulness of these results is discussed, focusing on the implications for planning. 2. Why a Nordic perspective? In the Nordic countries, which are characterised by low population density, similar social structures, a welfare state society, similarities in planning legislation and relatively small cities with a fairly close relationship between city and country, the possibilities for multifunctional use of the urban fringe should be rather promising. However, there is a lack of landscape studies on the urban fringe in the Nordic countries; there is an imbalance between the discourse on such landscapes and the actual knowledge based on case studies. As a result, the current planning discourse is partly influenced by international experiences and discourses based on e.g. studies in North America and the UK, which refer to a very different context from the Nordic situation. In order to contribute to a deeper understanding 2 of Nordic landscapes at the urban fringe, this project focused on case studies at the local level. Even though the Nordic countries share certain traits, as mentioned above, it is easy to overestimate their similarities. When discussing Nordic identity, there is usually ‘a good portion of myth-making in such constructions…’ (Olwig & Jones 2008, p. xi). However, it is possible to argue the fruitfulness of Nordic comparisons without relying on myths or romantic ideas of a shared past. In a study of the shared features of the Nordic countries, Jones & Hansen (2008, p. 566) conclude that: ‘Although individual Nordic countries have chosen some divergent policies … they continue to share a high degree of political, social, cultural, and economic cooperation through the Nordic Council and related institutions. While there are marked geographical variations among the countries and considerable regional differences within them, Norden shows a higher degree of integration than most other comparable groups of countries.’ In other words, the political will during the 20th century to collaborate has created a common ground which facilitates comparative studies. This collaboration is obvious when comparing the Planning Acts in the Nordic countries, which to a large extent have been influenced by each other. As a result, the following comparison is facilitated by years of Nordic cooperation within planning. 3. Five case studies In order to carry out a thorough analysis that recognised site-specific traits and the countryspecific context, researchers from all five Nordic countries played an active part in the project. Case studies were performed in each country, focusing on conflicts and potentials for coordination between green-structure planning and agriculture and forestry within 10 km of a medium-sized city. These case studies were complemented with an analysis of the planning legislation and planning practice in each country, as well as a review of research on the urban fringe conducted in each country. Combined with a general description of the landscape studied, the case studies focused on three objectives: (1) Analysing the accessibility for recreation at the urban fringe and identifying weaknesses and strengths within the planning system as regards facilitating access to outdoor leisure at the city edge; (2) highlighting strategies for multifunctional land use at the fringe, i.e. the possibility of encouraging multifunctional land use within planning; (3) discussing the kind of parameters that need to be monitored in order for planners to be able to observe and deal with conflicts at the urban fringe. The general character of these objectives facilitated a focus on site-specific features, interests and planning strategies, 3 parameters that are of vital importance when searching for new ways of interpreting the fringe within planning. It also allowed the specific expertise of the research teams to be exploited. The case studies were selected to illustrate different conditions in the Nordic countries, although with a clear focus on open landscapes. In order to detect conflicts, we selected case study areas around relatively large towns/cities or in metropolitan areas. In an international context, however, these conurbations are small compared with the cities discussed in the discourse on the urban fringe, but they provide a ‘Nordic perspective’. The case-studies are introduced below (based on Qviström 2008), focusing on the Norwegian, Danish and Swedish cases. Sarpsborg, Norway The Norwegian case study provides a thorough analysis of the municipal planning of agricultural land in Sarpsborg, as well as a brief overview of the spatial development of the town and country area from the 1960s up till now. A strict policy on protection of agricultural land in Norway has resulted in a large-scale urban sprawl influencing natural areas close to the town, while agricultural land is left as wedges between the built-up areas (see Figure 1). The study illustrates how the heavily state-regulated agricultural sector may be hampered when opportunities for urban development are offered due to their proximity to densely populated areas. The development of the urban fringe is to a large extent influenced by policy development in other sectors, most importantly the transport sector. The aim of Norwegian transport policy is to maintain a compact city, since urban sprawl is seen as detrimental to the goal of achieving lower emissions of carbon dioxide and less energy use, particularly in the transport sector. The Norwegian goal of farmland protection in a country with only 3% arable land is important, restricting local room for manoeuvre. Thus a containment policy is followed, particularly in the zone closest to the city, while rural-driven incremental changes are allowed in zones further from the city. Another important theme concerning Norwegian agricultural policy is the price regulation system that restricts free pricing on farm land, which means that market mechanisms do not influence spatial planning and development as much as in the other Nordic countries. 4 Figure 1: Sarpsborg, in southern Norway. Due to farmland preservation policies, the town is sprawling. (Photo: Sarpsborg municipality, used with permission). To conclude, current policies restrain farmers and land use at the city edge, making it difficult to go beyond traditional farming and develop multifunctional landscapes. On the other hand, there are several possibilities in the financial support system that could be used more effectively to reach such goals if applied in a more coordinated way. Coordination between rather influential planning for recreation and the planning incentives for facilitating a ’living countryside’ could also be beneficial, as illustrated by the case of Sarpsborg. Hillerød, Denmark The Danish planning reform in 2007 and its rather substantial consequences for spatial planning at the urban fringe is illustrated in the Danish case study. Until 2007, municipal planning in Denmark was restricted to urban areas, whereas rural areas were dealt with in regional planning. In addition, a zoning system divides the countryside into a rural and an urban zone, which is why the Danish countryside in general is not characterised by urban sprawl. The case area chosen for the Danish study was the urban area of Hillerød, with 46 000 inhabitants, of which the majority (30 000) live in the city itself. The surrounding countryside is characterised by agriculture, with a distinct divide between urban and rural 5 areas: urban sprawl is a rather limited phenomenon in the area. However, the study reveals that hobby farmers and ‘horsiculture’ dominate the countryside. The farms are relatively small and traditional full-time farmers constitute only a minor proportion of the population. The price of farm land is relatively high, and due to the constant demand for structural rationalisation in the agricultural sector, most full-time farmers are being forced out of the region. As the price of farm land illustrates, the region is characterised by hidden urbanisation: even though the land use has not changed significantly, the functions that relate to this landscape have changed from a traditional monofunctional use towards a multifunctional use in which both buildings and landscape serve purposes other than the solely agricultural (Præstholm & Kristensen, 2007). Leisure, recreation and small private enterprises are important functions in this multifunctional landscape. Prior to the 2007 Danish planning reform, no efficient tools or planning measures were available to cope with this transformation and the increasing multifunctionality developed more or less spontaneously. The new planning reform underlines the demand for sustainable development and transfers the responsibility for planning to the local municipal level. This reform facilitates a holistic planning and management process that includes the specific transition of the urban fringe. However, these holistic planning measures have yet to be adopted by the municipalities and the case study reveals that there is a high demand for regulation of the continuous trend towards increased multifunctionality. Greater Malmö, Sweden The Danish study provides a historical overview regarding planning and landscape change at the urban fringe, a theme even more accentuated in the Swedish case study. The case illustrates land use conflicts in south-west Scania between the most productive farmland in the country and one of the most expansive metropolitan regions in Sweden. The case study area, on the border between three municipalities, has in recent decades been in a transitory phase between rural and urban activities (see Figures 2 and 3). Even though this area has a long ‘suburban’ history, its character and structures are being redefined in recent processes. Based on several years of field studies, the case study offers detailed notions on this process of transformation and argues that we need to recognise the transitory landscapes as a resource when discussing the urban fringe. As in the other Nordic countries, the rural/urban divide is prominent within Swedish planning. In general, only densely built areas can be incorporated into the legally binding and detailed plans, leaving the countryside and the urban fringe with strategic and advisory plans without any legal power to affect land use changes. The rural/urban divide is mirrored in the administrative structure on local, regional and national levels, whose decisions materialise in the landscape. The urban fringe of Malmö clearly illustrates this divide. In order to examine 6 Figure 2: Bernstorp, at the urban fringe of Malmö (in the municipality of Burlöv), in August 2005. (Photo: Mattias Qviström). Figure 3: Bernstorp in October 2008. The farmland, which is considered to be the most productive in the country, has been used for developing a shopping centre. (Photo: Mattias Qviström) 7 the divide in further detail, Swedish land policy was studied, in particular the leasing of land owned by the municipalities. In Sweden, municipal purchasing of land in the 1960s and 1970s was a political act that had a major influence on landscape development at the urban fringe. Vast areas of agricultural land once purchased for city development are still owned by the municipal authorities. In Malmö, almost 50% of the surrounding agricultural land is owned by the municipality and although this is an extreme case, other municipalities also own significant parts of the urban fringe. Although the original plans and the planning ideology nurturing these plans are out of date, their presence is still apparent in the short-term nature of farmers’ tenancy agreements, where they contribute to maintaining the status quo when it comes to investments and innovative use of the urban fringe. The ideological divide between city and country is manifested in these tenancy agreements, which are drawn up by the management division of the municipal authority. Furthermore, the study of the land policy illustrates the divide between municipal management and planning divisions, which produce contradictory planning documents for the urban fringe. Vasa, Finland The case study of Vasa focuses primarily on inter-municipal conflicts on the urban fringe, caused by weak regional planning. In Finland a ‘landscape plan’ is produced by the regional authorities, in order to facilitate regional development. However, regional planning is intrinsically weak; the plan can only be constructed based on close collaboration with the local authorities, which opens the way for parochial tendencies or ‘NIMBY’ planning. In addition, the structure in Finland, with a vast amount of small municipalities, hampers regional coordination. Due to the country’s relatively short urban history, urban residents in Finland usually have personal bonds to rural areas, e.g. relatives living in the countryside, or they own properties in the countryside. The Vasa case study illustrates the importance of seasonal changes for recreation and leisure, a feature common to all the Nordic countries. In winter, cross-country skiing and walking along snow-ploughed roads are the main activities. In spring and summer, walking, running, cycling and horseback riding along small roads and footpaths and picnics in parks and at beaches are common activities, while in autumn many people pick berries and mushrooms in the forest. All mans right, which applies in all the Nordic countries except Denmark, facilitates such public use of the landscape. Reykavik, Iceland The case study in Iceland describes urban development and its closely related planning history. Countryside planning was only introduced in Iceland a decade ago, although 8 conflicts between e.g. nature conservation and transport infrastructure are evident in the Reykavik region of today. A recent plan for a green belt, or ‘green scarf’ has been presented. The case study in Reykavik is important due to the fact that it so clearly illustrates the different landscapes in the Nordic countries. 4. Discussion It has been argued that ‘the case story is itself the result’ and that the ambition to reduce a complex case study into a few conclusions is questionable (Flyvbjerg 2006, p. 238). In view of this claim, distilling five case studies and a 200-page report into a few pages inevitably eradicates the very character of the research. The imposing variety of landscape morphology and land use at the urban fringe observed in the five case studies of different Nordic cities emphasises the danger of generalisations regarding the character of the Nordic urban fringe – whereas some cities are situated on the edge of the archipelago, others are embedded in forests, surrounded by open fields, or even (as in the case of Hafnafjordur in the Reykavik metropolitan area) surrounded by lava fields (Johannesson, submitted manuscript). In Sarpsborg, Norway, the urban area is concentrated along forested ridges, with arable land in between, whereas Malmö is situated on a plain, leaving only two options: densification of the city or exploitation of the most productive arable land in Sweden. A short-list of Nordic recommendations for future planning could cause a standardisation of the urban fringe, an approach scarcely in accordance with the aim of fostering multifunctionality. However, the process of national normalisation is already underway, since the planning legislation is the same whatever the kind of landscape. The importance of landscape morphology for the character of the urban fringe needs to be emphasised within planning – highlighting regional differences could be an important part of implementation of the European Landscape Convention. According to Burman (2007, p. 270), ‘… researching locales-in-flux forces an interpretive open-endedness to match that of cityscapes themselves’. The open-ended case studies presented highlight different themes depending on the expertise of the researchers performing the study, the site-specific conditions and the national context. However, the themes discussed in each case are also important in the other Nordic countries. Hence, the cases are complementary; in combination, they unfold a very complex, or rich, description of the urban fringe and identify several themes in need of further research. Two themes found to be crucial when discussing the future of spatial planning at the urban fringe are described below. 9 Multifunctional fringes and the rural/urban divide Today, there are owners, interests and activities at the urban fringe that go beyond a rural/urban divide and this calls for a revision of the planning legislation and planning practices at the fringe. However, the divide is deeply embedded in the structure of administrative institutions, in law and policy documents, in statistics and landscape information, and in planning conventions. The case studies illustrate different aspects of this divide but in combination they reflect the complexity of the divide. For instance, Nordic land use policy is closely related to a traditional farming landscape, to the production of goods, and to a clear-cut divide between town and country. Even though current planning aims to maintain a division between rural and urban area, these ideas are often set aside in a strongly market-driven planning practice when attractive offers for investments in suburban shopping or business facilities are made to the municipal authority. For an investor there is much to be gained in transforming rural areas into urban, while the local municipal authority might gain important investments to boost the local economy. The question is how multifunctionality can be promoted when this means changing the traditional view of the rural landscape and (most likely) questioning the boundary between city and country, and whether the rural/urban divide can be questioned without threatening agriculture at the city edge with being replaced by urban development. In order to facilitate multifunctional landscapes, we need to reveal the importance of the hidden ideals of Rural and Urban within planning. On the one hand, multifunctional landscapes are regarded as a solution, while on the other hand, traditional (i.e. monofunctional) landscapes are regarded as the ideal, and any kind of combination of rural and urban is considered a blight (cf. Gulnick, 2004). We need to employ case studies to discuss the actual character of the present day landscape, in order to question the prevailing ideals and in order to offer new representations of the urban fringe. In addition to revised planning instruments, new ways of representing or charting the urban fringe are needed if we are to promote a multifunctional landscape. For instance, Swedish agricultural land is graded on a scale of 1 to 10, and such an extreme reduction of the open landscape to its value for production of food hinders a discussion about multifunctionality. Nevertheless, it seems inexpedient to let go of the rural/urban divide within planning before we have a clear idea of how to define the value of the urban fringe and how to describe the assets of a multifunctional fringe. 10 Figure 4: A landscape of infrastructures at the edge of Malmö. The urban fringe is a complex landscape, where intense conflicts on land can be reflected in derelict land or ’left-overs’ only a few metres away. The potential for recreation in such landscapes has been little explored within planning, let alone the potential for multifunctional use of the land. (Photo: Mattias Qviström) Economic tools and cross-boundary planning Strong regional planning and participatory planning have been proposed as solutions for how to deal with the urban fringe. However, it should be mentioned that these require (strong) regional planning in order to deal with the urban fringe and that this has been a recurring theme for the last 70 years in Sweden, with no success. In Norway, regional planning has always been very weak. The new planning law offers stronger instruments, but it remains to be seen whether it will be effective. It could be argued, therefore, that we need a wider approach to planning, instead of only arguing for regional planning. We probably need to acknowledge unconventional land uses, unexpected users and unconventional means of planning in order to cope with the present day character of the urban fringe (cf. Figure 4). We need to look for alternative tools, such as the certification of goods within agriculture, to broaden the repertoire within landscape planning. A very wide definition of ‘planning’ at the fringe is needed, and the lack of coordination between the different ‘planners’ needs to be studied. For instance, land use policy, e.g. the price of agricultural land (and who is allowed to buy the land and why) and the design of tenancy agreements are very important. It is well known that land ownership structure is a major factor in the potential for land use planning at the fringe, but the same goes for economic subsidies for agriculture and new life-style trends (and trends within marketing), resulting in certification of agricultural products, for instance in organic farming. In Norway in particular, national agricultural subsidies and price 11 regulations concerning farm land play a significant role at the urban fringe. Environmental policies and subsidies are equally important to planning tools. Even though far from easy to compose, an overview of the ‘planning tools’ (in the widest sense) affecting the urban fringe would be a good start for cross-boundary planning at the fringe. 5. Conclusions This paper discusses five case studies at the urban fringe in the Nordic countries and provides an analysis of Nordic planning legislation with regard to the urban fringe. A few themes are presented in the discussion and these need further research in order to facilitate multifunctional landscapes at the city edge. The paper illustrates the fruitfulness of openended comparative studies, revealing the chaotic assemblages of planning tools merging at the fringe, as well as the jumble of activities occurring at the edge of the city. Acknowledgements The paper is a result of the research project Stad och Land (project no 05-1), funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. 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