Search results

Comprehensive urban management (CUM), with specified philosophical and technical limits, can address the negative consequences of the interrelationship between increasing urban poor population, spatial expansion of squalor and informal settlement on marginalised urban lands, overburdened and old urban infrastructure and increase in frequency and intensity of natural hazards. The research places these four concerns within the urbanisation context of the Kingston Metropolitan Region (KMR) in Jamaica, where their expressions are related to the lack of effective urban management and planning. The research uses a mixture of secondary information, from a myriad of public and private institutions and field surveys in the forms of observations and questionnaires. The cause and effects interrelationship between the factors are presented in a problem tree and analysed and discussed against known facts and theoretical posits. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The research draws from a litany of document analysis, qualitative research as well as pre-coded questionnaires, field research and expert interviews and discussions with urban managers. Information and data selected from state and quasi-state agencies also proved valuable. Additionally, other relevant materials were sourced from the published domain including publications, journal articles, newspapers, textbooks and internet (online professional group discussions), etc.

Increase in urban poor over the last ten years increase in squalor settlements on marginal urban lands. Urban infrastructure is old and overburdened. Natural hazards are on the increase and are associated with negative demographic and social dynamics. Development plan and planning is lacking in the KMR. Urban management roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined. There are gaps and overlaps in roles and legislations. CUM needs redefinition for it to be effective in solving this relationship. Limits can be set for defining comprehensive urban planning.

Space to explore more the relationship and evidences of the factor under investigation to their fullest extent.

Investments in urban infrastructure and other built environment and physical structures in important for urban resilience to hazards. Non-traditional countries and agencies are good source of financial and technical support for developing countries to improve their urban and national physical and social infrastructure. Urban land management and administration are crucial or urban spatial planning and land use.

The four factors under investigation, even though they are not novel in their individual treatment, are however original in the context of assessing their interrelationship and moreover their relationship with CUM. A redefinition of CUM is attempted to give stated criticisms of its past failures. The application to Jamaica and its potential application to other small island developing states are unique.

The paper aims to present a pedagogical model tailored to the development of key competences in the urban planning profession in post-socialist transitional countries that is based on the creation of an integrated platform for dialogue and the development of professional competences as part of the process, whereby students produce their final projects.

The pedagogical model is based on the principles of education for sustainable development and focuses on the establishment of a repeatable platform for dialogue between students and mentors, members of the mentoring team, the local community, external members of the consulting team of experts and foreign master’s degree programmes, in the process of producing students’ projects. The proposed method addresses several dimensions, including: the education of students, teachers, professionals and local experts, the establishment of a network for cooperation and collaboration and the delivery of practical and usable results.

The paper provides a comparative overview of the pedagogical model’s application in producing the final master’s degree projects of three generations of students, as well as its alignment with the needs of re-defining the role and reach of the profession of urban planner in an environment of post-socialist transition. The model was improved, enhanced and optimised through this process and then corroborated with its practical implementation.

The innovative pedagogical model comprises an instrument to enhance the professional capacities of all participants in the production of final master’s projects: academics, practitioners and future professionals/students, through discussions of topical issues, innovative modes of work and new professional responses grounded in the local context and tested by a broad range of stakeholders. It is of particular importance for countries in transition experiencing a shift in the paradigm of professional action, especially as the proposed pedagogical model establishes a problem-solving platform that surpasses academia.

In recent years, the conflict between migrant workers and urban social development has become increasingly serious, which has seriously affected the development of the city. Based on this, taking the urban integration of migrant workers as the core, starting from social capital, it was proposed that housing space, employment and public service were the mian reasons for the difficulty of migrant workers' urban integration. Taking the spatial planning of Shenzhen as an example, the spatial distribution of migrant workers in Shenzhen, the impact of three times urban plannings on the agglomeration of farmers, as well as the planning of affordable housing and its existing problems were studied. The space for migrant workers to integrate into cities was constructed. Through the construction of urbanization, urban and rural development can be integrated. This study has a certain theoretical guiding significance for the integration of migrant workers and urban planning, and can indirectly promote the rapid development of the city..

This paper aims to firstly depict the theoretical links between place branding and strategic spatial planning to provide further theoretical and conceptual foundations. Secondly, it aims to explore the roots of place branding theory and practice in Portugal, as well as how place branding has been approached (or not) in spatial development plans, strategic initiatives and policy documents by stating the territorial, spatial-economic and sectoral development trajectories for the country and its northern region.

A content analysis of 20 spatial development plans, strategies and policy documents (of 30 identified), published by Portuguese authorities, the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, mainly for the period between 2014 and 2020, has been used.

Empirical evidence shows that tourism-oriented promotion initiatives, investment-oriented marketing campaigns and communication strategies uniquely supported by visual elements and aesthetic values (e.g. logos and slogans) deserve more attention from authorities in charge of spatial planning and policy-making. Place branding is an absent term. Moreover, there is inconsistency between current research and practice on place branding and how it has been incorporated in strategic spatial planning at EU, national and regional levels.

Whilst some of the research findings are place-specific (Portugal and its northern region), this exploratory paper aims to present a better understanding of the way in which places and branding can be conceptually addressed, primarily by assigning a spatial dimension to the idea of branding places and its alignment with strategic spatial planning and spatial plan-making.

This paper critically explores the actual or potential roles of place branding as an instrument for the attainment of strategic spatial planning goals through its integration in plan and policy-making. By guiding the attention of academics, practitioners and policymakers towards a strategic spatially oriented approach to place branding, the paper brings an alternative view to the scholarly and professional debate on place branding.

Uncontrolled and unsustainable urban development has a significant impact on the overall quality of the environment. Contemporary spatial management does not take into account the non-economic conditions of ecosystem functions and their biophysical limits, which results in a deterioration of the environment. Furthermore, urban development continues all over the world, which is associated with a projected population increase, particularly in cities. Therefore, there is need to include analyses in the field of environmental carrying capacity (ECC) for more sustainable spatial management and development. The ECC concept is a tool for sustainable development of human settlements. It could be defined as threshold level of anthropopressure, which the environment is able to balance and withstand without serious degradation and irreversible changes. The use of ECC assessment will help ensure the needs of the city’s residents, which are conditioned by the environment. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

This review study presents an overview of the ECC concept and its potential for use in spatial management at local level, especially for cities. The content analysis introduces definitions of spatial management and others main actions of spatial economy as well as the definitions of ECC. The overview of existing ECC models is a part of presented review.

The paper shows the ECC approach from global to local level on Poland as an example country.

The literature review identified that the idea of ECC could be a useful concept and tool for sustainable spatial development and management. This concept allows for verification of the resources and environmental state of given territory unit. Therefore, the assessment of ECC allows to verify if development of given area, for instance country, region or even city, is conducted within the framework of sustainable principles. Despite this, the assessment of ECC is not taken into account when future spatial management is defined. Thus, this circumstance could be a reason for this research area development.

In the contemporary period of an abundance and diversity of offers in cultural tourism globally, the need for new values, such as creativity, has become unavoidable. As well as creativity being the essence of every cultural practice, it is also becoming a tool with which to link and modernize cultural treasures for tourist consumption today. Its inclusion is also useful in territorial plans, whose strategic role is a driving force for local economies. Creativity can support particularly those sectors that have rich foundations but that suffer from general underdevelopment. Cultural tourism in the town of Golubac and its surroundings in eastern Serbia is a prime example. Although Golubac is situated on the Danube and has one of the best preserved old fortresses in the region, it has not been identified as an important site of cultural tourism. The aim of this chapter is to describe recent efforts to facilitate this branch of tourism through the application of creative tools in local planning documents by means of a multi-criteria analysis of crucial territorial plans for Golubac. In establishing these criteria, the theoretical knowledge that links creativity, cultural tourism and territorial planning will be studied. Implementation of this interlinked knowledge in the analysis will provide the backbone to a proposal for improvements in territorial planning which can profoundly facilitate creativity in cultural tourism globally.

The “renaturing” of cities through an increased emphasis on the use of nature-based solutions (NBS) potentially offers urban areas the opportunity to deliver multiple environmental and socioeconomic benefits. In particular, approaches linked to NBS can limit the degree of climate exposure and vulnerability impacting upon urban infrastructures. The success of NBS in addressing climate change pressures will require an improved understanding of the characteristics of environmental risk and the ability to evaluate alternate adaptive pathways. In response, this chapter explores those components which are central to effective urban infrastructure assessment and considers how they may assist in the formulation of infrastructure strategies.

We stress the need for an approach which is both scenario-focused and fully integrated within existing spatial planning frameworks. Here, we draw specific attention to the utility of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in both embedding environmental evaluation within mainstream spatial planning and providing the basis for the comparative evaluation of alternatives. We also argue for an approach which recognizes areas of complementary interaction between “gray infrastructure” (whether existing or proposed) and approaches linked to NBS. In order to highlight examples of potential development responses, we draw on best-practice case study examples from the European Union (EU)–funded GROWGREEN project.

This paper interrogates the impact of spatial transformations on urban life. It explores the level of individual and group satisfaction and sense of well-being within the urban public realm; this is undertaken by reporting on the outcomes of an assessment study of three key public open spaces in Belgrade, developed from a quality of urban life (QoUL) perspective.

A systematic multilevel assessment method is utilised, with the aim of determining the material and immaterial elements that can contribute to an individual's sense of comfort within a public space. The study places emphasis on the functional, social and perceptual attributes as they relate to the physical characteristics of three assessed spaces.

The assessment study resulted in a systematic overview of the different attributes of the three assessed spaces. With various performance levels within each set of attributes, the study identifies key challenges and problems that could lead towards determining possible opportunities for future local urban interventions and developmental actions.

With the shifts in policies and the associated governance process that redefined the outlook of previously enforced development and urban growth in the last two decades, the capital of Serbia, Belgrade, has undergone significant spatial changes. This has resulted in a certain level of fragmentation in the urban fabric, leading to a number of challenges concerning public health, well-being, safety, accessibility, comfort and urban mobility, to name a few, that need to be better addressed and understood within the local context.

The practice of ‘city-making’ – a civic-led form of urban development – is currently gaining attention from urban professionals and scholars across Europe. Whereas scholars have so far focused mostly on the conditions that make such civic-led urban development possible, little research has been dedicated to the skills and capacities of city-makers. This challenge is taken up in this chapter. Interviews with city-makers across Europe reveal that whereas knowledge of socio-spatial processes and process competences are important, city-makers also deploy a third set of skills, including the ability to act in the moment, adapt to contingencies and connect personal drivers to city-wide processes. This third set of skills is further conceptualised, by drawing out an analogy with Deleuzian-Guattarian lines of flight and modern dance improvisation techniques. Four dance improvisation techniques are discussed more in detail and compared with the practices described by the city-makers interviewed for this study. The concluding section of this chapter speculates on how the notion of improvisation could be adopted within wider practices of spatial planning and urban governance as well.