WorkPackage 3

Urban/Industrial Regeneration, Land Use planning and Creative Design

Typology: RTD Leader: Karen Foley

Timeline

This shows the workload for workpackage 3 in the course of the 5 years of the project.

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

What’s new in WP3?

Key high-level findings and conclusions of WP3 are summarised as follows:
• Urban resilience precipitates a paradigm shift from command and control processes to adaptive and flexible approaches that recognise that change is the only constant and respects that citizens have knowledge of systems and their own actions.
• Urban resilience is not a new or abstract idea. There are examples of urban resilience in practice existing within the TURAS partner cities and regions, although the language of resilience thinking may not be referenced.
• Urban resilience promotes the use of systems thinking in relation to cities, highlighting that all systems are interconnected and interdependent, and emphasising the import of a synoptic view and layering of datasets in GIS in order to make connections and identify opportunities and vulnerabilities.
• Urban resilience requires the active engagement of citizens with their place and one another in order to build awareness and participation in effecting change.
• Urban resilience is operationalised through a continuous process of learning, adapting and adjusting generally referred to as adaptive co-management.
WP3 adds to the contemporary discourse on urban resilience by presenting a unique perspective that has been developed collaboratively between academic, municipality and SME partners, with a focus on urban communities. To date, WP3 has consisted of a research and analysis phase with interim results contributing to an Integrated Planning Model, from which tools for building urban resilience emerged. WP3 is an example of emergent design research where the principal strategies were case study research and action research.
WP3 is now in a demonstration phase where these tools are being trialled on pilot sites in order to explore new adaptive and flexible approaches in urban and industrial regeneration, multifunctional land-use planning, and creative design.
Looking further into the future WP3 aims to contribute to a sustainable legacy of the TURAS project by putting forward a number of ‘sweets’ or practices for development in WP7 that it is hoped will be adopted by municipalities within the partners cities and regions, and further afield, going forward.
WP3 proposes a process of adaptive co-management and design, inferring the need to actively solve problems collaboratively by exercising imagination and creativity. This process is broken down into 11 key aspects that are put forward as a basis for the operationalisation of urban resilience. The 11 key aspects are the conclusion of WP3 research as to what urban resilience means in practice, and set out radical new spatial scenarios for urban neighbourhoods.
• Understanding the system;
Facilitate active observation:
Make information accessible:
Identify drivers of change:
Adopt broader value systems:
• Operating within the system;
Adopt less hierarchical approaches:
Collaborate and support:
Work across disciplines and departments:
• Adaptive and flexible approaches;
Adopt experimental approaches:
Build community capital:
• Efficient use of resources.
Design for change:
Use what exists optimally.

Objectives

Overall objective:

To examine innovative solutions for engaging in urban regeneration, multi-functional land use planning and holistic and creative design by examining emerging themes in urban development and design. For example, the use of organic materials and green processes that are inspired by nature (i.e. biomimicry), the exploitation of dormant or disused development sites, existing poor quality or under-used public parks and spaces left over after planning (SLOAP) and explore potential for creative design using collaborative processes.

Sub-objectives:

  • Examine the potential for alternative resilient solutions for food and energy production, community engagement and urban planning / SME liaisons through development of co-ordinated system of land use planning
  • Research mechanisms and strategies (such as biomimicry and creative design) that will unlock the potential of abandoned, deserted, vacant or contaminated urban sites at various levels and spatial scales.
  • Carry out a full inventory of local authority sites with the potential for drawing on community capital to enhance social resilience structures.
  • Assess the sustainable re-use (temporary or permanent) use of buildings on vacant sites by examining the cost of clearing sites compared with the re-use of derelict or half built buildings for community gain, ecosystem services, health and welfare and the stimulation and support of small industries or artistic projects.
  • Assess and expand upon the novel concept of ‘urban comfort zones’ and develop strategies for their incorporation into planning processes.
  • Develop a mechanism and working framework for engaging in collaborative planning processes and community-driven actions to address land use issues, health and welfare concerns and ecosystem services.
  • Identify mechanisms for creating new and imaginative funding; for example the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
  • Pilot test combined strategies in selected neighbourhoods in Dublin, Stuttgart, Nottingham and London.
  • Measure impact and results of pilot actions in the participating case study areas and to use this data to develop visions, feasible strategies, spatial scenarios and guidance tools that would enable adaptive governance, collaborative decision-making, and behavioural change in urban regeneration and land use planning throughout the TURaS project network and in a wider European context.

Description of work and role of partners

Overall WP Leader: Dr. Karen Foley / Dr. Marcus Collier, UCD

T3.1 Workpackage kick-off meeting
Lead Partner: UCD (ALCE / GPEP). Other Partners: All WP participants

  • Initial meeting to discuss, plan and develop the various sub-tasks of the workpackage.

T3.2 Examine the potential for alternative resilient solutions through development of co-ordinated system of land use planning
Lead Partners: U STUTT (SI/ILPE) Other Partners: UCD (ALCE / GPEP), IFS,LjubU'

  • Review European urban land use planning approaches with respect to sustainable practices and urban regeneration
  • Establish a policy platform for introducing a new paradigm in European planning and land-use
  • Identify existing strengths and shortcomings in the sphere of sustainability and resilience thinking within the urban planning and management arenas
  • Identify current and emerging research tools aimed at promoting integration between the design and the ecological realms
  • Identify case study neighbourhoods / city sub-sections that may be suitable for trial and/or demonstration sites
  • Design a model (hypothesis / typology) for co-ordinated land-use / regeneration

T3.3 Research mechanisms and strategies to unlock the potential of abandoned, deserted, vacant or contaminated urban sites at various levels and spatial scales
Lead Partners: Dermot Foley Landscape Architects Ltd. Other Partners: Robert Emmett Community Development Project / UCD (ALCE), HELIX, IFS,LjubU

  • Establish state of the art in relation unique approaches to resilience planning, such as biomimicry and creative design within urban neighbourhoods
  • Identify (with WP1) urban areas that have the potential to convert abandoned, deserted, vacant or contaminated sites to productive use (temporary, semi-permanent or permanent)
  • Carry out a full inventory of local authority sites with the potential for drawing on community capital to enhance social resilience structures
  • Establish case study areas where new strategies may be tested and/or demonstrated
  • Based on modelling outcome of WP1, develop a neighbourhood model (i.e. baseline) that facilitates analysis in terms of both space and time to account for ecological processes in the planning sphere, and society’s manipulation of the site towards specific short and long term goals (e.g. contaminated sites)

T3.4 Inventory of sites with the potential for drawing on community capital to enhance social resilience structures
Lead Partners: UCD (GPEP). Other Partners: All local authority partners

  • Carry out a socio-economic profile of case study neighbourhoods
  • Establish commonalities between European neighbourhoods of similar characteristics – natural hazards, social capital networks, age profiles etc.
  • Examine community attitudes to sustainability through the use of qualitative assessments such as focus groups, ethnographic research, etc
  • Ascertain the barriers to mainstreaming sustainable actions, such as land-use multifunctionality, and the relevant policy instruments necessary to address this

T3.5 Assess the sustainable re-use use of buildings on vacant sites
Lead Partners: UCD (ALCE). Other Partner: London Borough of Barking and Dagenham

  • Examine the socio-economic implications of clearing sites compared with the re-use of derelict or half built buildings for community gain
  • Identify the various ecosystem services that re-used sites may have
  • Examine health and welfare issues and compare with the economic arguments necessary for sustainable re-use of unused sites (e.g. by SMEs or cultural / environmental projects)
  • Examine the possibility of re-using (temporarily or permanent) abandoned buildings on vacant sites
  • Identify indicators and commonalities across Europe

T3.6 Establish mechanisms for engaging in collaborative planning processes and community-driven actions
Lead Partners: Nottingham Development Enterprise (NDE). Other Partners: London Borough of Barking and Dagenham / Dublin City Council / UCD (GPEP)

Undertake a baseline study and identify the resilience potential of each neighbourhood in terms of:

  • physical resources
  • economic resources,
  • social and organisational resources,
  • biological, cultural and aesthetic resources
  • determine the geospatial distribution of resources in these communities and ascertain if they can be connected to existing planning strategy
  • develop mechanisms and working framework for engaging in collaborative planning processes and community-driven actions to address land use issues, health and welfare concerns and ecosystem services

T3.7 Identify mechanisms for creating new and innovative funding
Lead Partner: Nottingham Development Enterprise (NDE)

  • Carry out socio-economic analysis of funding opportunities
  • Examine other international funding models and assess their relevance to the proposed neighbourhood pilot interventions
  • Assess the scope for devising new public-private sector investment delivery vehicles
  • Devise sustainable and manageable mechanisms for sourcing funding in the short- to long-term

T3.8 Assess and expand upon the novel concept of ‘urban comfort zones’ and develop strategies for their incorporation into existing planning processes
Lead Partners: U STUTT (SI/ILPE). Other Partners: All local authorities / HELIX

  • Develop a detailed concept for urban comfort zones in cooperation with local authority
  • Identify the potential for novel concepts on Greenfield sites, Brownfield sites and spaces left over after planning (SLOAP)
  • Create an action plan for urban comfort zones and select pilot areas
  • Test the use of green walls (living plant constructions) on selected sites and measure their impacts on urban climate, pollution reduction, carbon capture and human health

T3.9 Pilot test combined strategies in selected neighbourhoods
Lead Partners: DCC Other partners: Local authorities in Dublin, Nottingham, London, Stuttgart

  • Pilot test combined strategies in selected neighbourhoods in Dublin, Stuttgart, Nottingham and London
  • Devise and develop demonstration neighbourhoods

T3.10 Measure impact and results of pilot actions and contribute to development of integrated transition strategy for non participating cities
Lead Partner: U STUTT

  • Measure impact and results of pilot actions in the participating case study areas
  • use these data to create a transition strategy and develop visions and guidance tools to enable adaptive governance, collaborative decision-making, and behavioural change in urban regeneration and land use planning.

Milestones

Id Urban/Industrial Regeneration, Land Use planning and Creative Design
M3.15 Interdisciplinary policy analysis, literature review, methodology assessment, and holistic vision of transition strategies for the ‘mainstreaming’ of resilience thinking into urban planning and socio-economic development
Literature analysis
Expected by: M18
M3.16 Completion of an integrated model for the re-use of unused buildings, Greenfield and Brownfield sites, and SLOAPs that are creatively designed to be used for community gain and for transitioning towards resilient scenarios
Model operational and in use by local authorities
Expected by: M24
M3.17 Completion of a planning and management toolkit that builds upon citizen-led / collaborative planning processes and provides a mechanism for the integration and innovative approach to building resilience into urban neighbourhoods
Publication of toolkit
Expected by: M36
M3.18 Establishing several demonstration sites within urban neighbourhoods where transition strategies will be trialled and assessed. These will then be available for use in disseminating resilient strategies to the wider community at local, national and international levels
Inventory complete
Expected by: M46

Deliverables

Id Urban/Industrial Regeneration, Land Use planning and Creative Design
D3.4 Production of spatial scenarios for urban neighbourhoods that incorporate models for collaborative and citizen-led planning, a guidance toolkit for planners and feasibility strategies for the novel funding of transitioning towards urban resilience
Expected by: M36