Revitalizing neighbourhoods.
Revitalizing neighbourhoods..................................................................................................................1
Lecture 1: Introduction course.......................................................................................................2
Neighbourhood transformation and urban planning and design. – Houterman & Hulsbergen......2
Lecture 2: Kick off assignment studentification..............................................................................4
Student impacts on urban neighbourhoods: policy approaches, discourses and dilemmas. –
Munro & Livingston........................................................................................................................4
New build studentification: A panacea for balanced communities? – Sage et al............................5
Lecture 3: What neighbourhood is and why it matters..................................................................6
On the nature of neighbourhood. – Galster...................................................................................6
The mechanism(s) of neighbourhood effects theory, evidence and policy implications. – Galster.
........................................................................................................................................................9
Lecture 4: Neighbourhood Change (+ Social Mix).........................................................................12
Do people who like diversity practice diversity in neighbourhood life? Neighbourhood use and
the social networks of ‘diversity-seekers’ in a mixed neighbourhood in the Netherlands. –
Blokland & van Eijk.......................................................................................................................12
Lecture 5: Process of gentrification..............................................................................................14
An anatomy of gentrification processes: variegating causes of neighbourhood change. –
Hochstenbach et al.......................................................................................................................14
Lecture 6: Approaches to neighbourhood revitalization..............................................................16
Integrated urban renewal in the Netherlands: a critical appraisal. – Musterd & Ostendorf........16
Changing approaches to urban planning in an ‘entrepreneurial city’: the case of Dubin. –
McGuirk & MacLaren....................................................................................................................18
Lecture 7: Liveable neighbourhoods............................................................................................21
Livability for all? Conceptual limits and practical implications. – Ruth & Franklin........................21
Lecture 8: Inclusive neighbourhoods – age friendliness...............................................................22
Rhythms, ageing and neighbourhoods. – Lager et al....................................................................22
Child-friendly urban structures: Bullerby revisited. – Broberg, Kyttä & Fagerholm......................24
Lecture 9: Anti-adaptive neighbourhoods....................................................................................25
The (anti) adaptive neighbourhoods. Embracing complexity and distribution of design control in
the ordinary built environment. – Cozzolino ,S.............................................................................25
Lecture 10: Safe neighbourhoods fighting crime and anti-social behaviour.................................27
The statistical politics of exceptional territories - Uitermark et al................................................27
,Lecture 1: Introduction course.
Neighbourhood transformation and urban planning and design. –
Houterman & Hulsbergen.
The discussion on the improvement of neighbourhoods and districts in the Netherlands is mainly
based on housing arguments. It focuses on the demands of the housing market. This chapter focuses
on demolition and new building as instruments for the sustainable transformation of
neighbourhoods and districts from an urban planning and design (urbanism) point of view, which has
been neglected in the Netherlands. Urbanism focuses on about the spatial and functional structure of
an area, which is far more complex than housing and the housing market alone.
A relevant question is which projects of demolished and rebuilt environments really contribute to
long-term spatial, social and economic urban interests. Many policy decisions are made without a full
appreciation of their spatial consequences.
Demolition from an urban planning and design perspective.
Arguments in urban planning and design supporting the demolition of post-war housing estates
usually follow two lines of reasoning. The first line says that modernist urban planning and
architecture is problematic because it causes social problems. Critics of early post-war areas have
emphasized the problems relating to the scale and size of the areas, their isolation and lack or urban
integration, the large public spaces, the internal layout of the areas and the collective structure on
the building level. A second line of reasoning is that the areas’ designs nog longer function
adequately in contemporary society.
A conclusions might be that bad planning and design aspects in specific cases certainly contribute to
the functioning and image of housing estates. However, it is no solution simply to demolish a physical
area, especially when social problems in the district hardly get any attention.
Urbanism considerations.
Sustainable development is an important subject in the discussion about demolition and
regeneration. Sustainable development in urbanism has a long term perspective and it about a
continuing adaptability of the physical organisation within the changing framework of society,
constantly responding to changing social and economic demands. We concentrate on six themes
which are essential for any neighbourhood transformation with a sustainable goal:
1. Housing is important but it is not everything: The role of housing is important but to meet
urban needs, however, housing should be part of a regeneration strategy aimed at
integration and the inclusion of residents
2. Urban structure principles: A living city exists through complexity, in an organised form to
meet the human ability to establish connections, both simple and complex. A good ‘urban
web’ is characterised by a high degree of organised complexity. An urban web consists of
overlapping networks of connections concerning different spatial scales, functions and uses.
Urban areas that fail to connect the senses and activities of pedestrians in a positive way are
at risk. Pedestrian paths are basic to the vitality of neighbourhood and city. Three axioms of
generating successful urban spaces are:
Urban space is bounded by surfaces that present unambiguous information
The spatial information field determines the connective web of paths and nodes
The core of urban space is pedestrian space protected from non-pedestrian traffic.
, 3. Network approach: The urban environment can be described and analysed in terms of
networks. In the Network City approach a network is viewed as a material and/or virtual set
of connections which produces physical-spatial, social-economic, social-technical and social-
cultural relations in space and time, also in relation to sustainable ecological-spatial
networks. The Network City implies a design approach which is strongly connected to
societal urban processes and the accommodation of these processes in space. Demolition
should contribute to the improvement of these networks.
4. Urban design principles: To improve the urban conditions it is important to improve the
conditions for multi-functional, complex and dynamic use of space. Central design questions
concern the relationship between the public and the private domain, typology in relation to
use, interweaving of different types of networks of public spaces, and the connections in the
design of the whole network of public space. Networks of public space are vital for the
creation of the urban feel and are important for social sense.
5. Vulnerability and deprivation: Vulnerability and deprivation are crucial concepts for
understanding urban problems, and for attaining insight into the social costs of spatial
urban interventions. Vulnerable means that the system that creates the changes cannot be
used to improve one’s own situation. Deprivation is about the form and uses of available
space which create the material conditions for either facilitating or restricting one’s life.
Demolition and rebuilding should be evaluated with their impacts on decreasing
vulnerability and deprivation.
6. Actors and process: How can it be assured that all relevant aspects, such as urban planning
and design matters, are being sufficiently considered within the transformation process And
how can the involvement of all relevant actors, including residents, be assured?
Conclusions.
Six conclusions can be proposed for implementation in the process of regeneration and
transformation.
1. Include urban matters in district transformation: when considering the demolition of any
built-environment, there should always be a discussion about the impact of demolition on
various spatial scales.
2. Demolition and rebuilding are strategic instruments: Demolition and rebuilding should
always be implemented in clear relation to other interventions.
3. Urbanism is a frontline discipline: Aspects of urban planning and design should be included
in the problem definition. Demolition is only effective for the construction of a sustainable
urban living environment if it is combined with improvements in the urban structure and
with the addition of new qualities.
4. Priority to needs, including vulnerable and deprived residents and users: Any socially
equitable transformation of a district should include all residents and users, and should
openly include the most vulnerable and deprived residents.
5. Focus on available space for building, before demolition: The existing available and
transferable space should be used before restoring to the demolition of existing structures.
6. Look at the districts, one at a time: no two neighbourhoods or districts are the same.
Revitalizing neighbourhoods..................................................................................................................1
Lecture 1: Introduction course.......................................................................................................2
Neighbourhood transformation and urban planning and design. – Houterman & Hulsbergen......2
Lecture 2: Kick off assignment studentification..............................................................................4
Student impacts on urban neighbourhoods: policy approaches, discourses and dilemmas. –
Munro & Livingston........................................................................................................................4
New build studentification: A panacea for balanced communities? – Sage et al............................5
Lecture 3: What neighbourhood is and why it matters..................................................................6
On the nature of neighbourhood. – Galster...................................................................................6
The mechanism(s) of neighbourhood effects theory, evidence and policy implications. – Galster.
........................................................................................................................................................9
Lecture 4: Neighbourhood Change (+ Social Mix).........................................................................12
Do people who like diversity practice diversity in neighbourhood life? Neighbourhood use and
the social networks of ‘diversity-seekers’ in a mixed neighbourhood in the Netherlands. –
Blokland & van Eijk.......................................................................................................................12
Lecture 5: Process of gentrification..............................................................................................14
An anatomy of gentrification processes: variegating causes of neighbourhood change. –
Hochstenbach et al.......................................................................................................................14
Lecture 6: Approaches to neighbourhood revitalization..............................................................16
Integrated urban renewal in the Netherlands: a critical appraisal. – Musterd & Ostendorf........16
Changing approaches to urban planning in an ‘entrepreneurial city’: the case of Dubin. –
McGuirk & MacLaren....................................................................................................................18
Lecture 7: Liveable neighbourhoods............................................................................................21
Livability for all? Conceptual limits and practical implications. – Ruth & Franklin........................21
Lecture 8: Inclusive neighbourhoods – age friendliness...............................................................22
Rhythms, ageing and neighbourhoods. – Lager et al....................................................................22
Child-friendly urban structures: Bullerby revisited. – Broberg, Kyttä & Fagerholm......................24
Lecture 9: Anti-adaptive neighbourhoods....................................................................................25
The (anti) adaptive neighbourhoods. Embracing complexity and distribution of design control in
the ordinary built environment. – Cozzolino ,S.............................................................................25
Lecture 10: Safe neighbourhoods fighting crime and anti-social behaviour.................................27
The statistical politics of exceptional territories - Uitermark et al................................................27
,Lecture 1: Introduction course.
Neighbourhood transformation and urban planning and design. –
Houterman & Hulsbergen.
The discussion on the improvement of neighbourhoods and districts in the Netherlands is mainly
based on housing arguments. It focuses on the demands of the housing market. This chapter focuses
on demolition and new building as instruments for the sustainable transformation of
neighbourhoods and districts from an urban planning and design (urbanism) point of view, which has
been neglected in the Netherlands. Urbanism focuses on about the spatial and functional structure of
an area, which is far more complex than housing and the housing market alone.
A relevant question is which projects of demolished and rebuilt environments really contribute to
long-term spatial, social and economic urban interests. Many policy decisions are made without a full
appreciation of their spatial consequences.
Demolition from an urban planning and design perspective.
Arguments in urban planning and design supporting the demolition of post-war housing estates
usually follow two lines of reasoning. The first line says that modernist urban planning and
architecture is problematic because it causes social problems. Critics of early post-war areas have
emphasized the problems relating to the scale and size of the areas, their isolation and lack or urban
integration, the large public spaces, the internal layout of the areas and the collective structure on
the building level. A second line of reasoning is that the areas’ designs nog longer function
adequately in contemporary society.
A conclusions might be that bad planning and design aspects in specific cases certainly contribute to
the functioning and image of housing estates. However, it is no solution simply to demolish a physical
area, especially when social problems in the district hardly get any attention.
Urbanism considerations.
Sustainable development is an important subject in the discussion about demolition and
regeneration. Sustainable development in urbanism has a long term perspective and it about a
continuing adaptability of the physical organisation within the changing framework of society,
constantly responding to changing social and economic demands. We concentrate on six themes
which are essential for any neighbourhood transformation with a sustainable goal:
1. Housing is important but it is not everything: The role of housing is important but to meet
urban needs, however, housing should be part of a regeneration strategy aimed at
integration and the inclusion of residents
2. Urban structure principles: A living city exists through complexity, in an organised form to
meet the human ability to establish connections, both simple and complex. A good ‘urban
web’ is characterised by a high degree of organised complexity. An urban web consists of
overlapping networks of connections concerning different spatial scales, functions and uses.
Urban areas that fail to connect the senses and activities of pedestrians in a positive way are
at risk. Pedestrian paths are basic to the vitality of neighbourhood and city. Three axioms of
generating successful urban spaces are:
Urban space is bounded by surfaces that present unambiguous information
The spatial information field determines the connective web of paths and nodes
The core of urban space is pedestrian space protected from non-pedestrian traffic.
, 3. Network approach: The urban environment can be described and analysed in terms of
networks. In the Network City approach a network is viewed as a material and/or virtual set
of connections which produces physical-spatial, social-economic, social-technical and social-
cultural relations in space and time, also in relation to sustainable ecological-spatial
networks. The Network City implies a design approach which is strongly connected to
societal urban processes and the accommodation of these processes in space. Demolition
should contribute to the improvement of these networks.
4. Urban design principles: To improve the urban conditions it is important to improve the
conditions for multi-functional, complex and dynamic use of space. Central design questions
concern the relationship between the public and the private domain, typology in relation to
use, interweaving of different types of networks of public spaces, and the connections in the
design of the whole network of public space. Networks of public space are vital for the
creation of the urban feel and are important for social sense.
5. Vulnerability and deprivation: Vulnerability and deprivation are crucial concepts for
understanding urban problems, and for attaining insight into the social costs of spatial
urban interventions. Vulnerable means that the system that creates the changes cannot be
used to improve one’s own situation. Deprivation is about the form and uses of available
space which create the material conditions for either facilitating or restricting one’s life.
Demolition and rebuilding should be evaluated with their impacts on decreasing
vulnerability and deprivation.
6. Actors and process: How can it be assured that all relevant aspects, such as urban planning
and design matters, are being sufficiently considered within the transformation process And
how can the involvement of all relevant actors, including residents, be assured?
Conclusions.
Six conclusions can be proposed for implementation in the process of regeneration and
transformation.
1. Include urban matters in district transformation: when considering the demolition of any
built-environment, there should always be a discussion about the impact of demolition on
various spatial scales.
2. Demolition and rebuilding are strategic instruments: Demolition and rebuilding should
always be implemented in clear relation to other interventions.
3. Urbanism is a frontline discipline: Aspects of urban planning and design should be included
in the problem definition. Demolition is only effective for the construction of a sustainable
urban living environment if it is combined with improvements in the urban structure and
with the addition of new qualities.
4. Priority to needs, including vulnerable and deprived residents and users: Any socially
equitable transformation of a district should include all residents and users, and should
openly include the most vulnerable and deprived residents.
5. Focus on available space for building, before demolition: The existing available and
transferable space should be used before restoring to the demolition of existing structures.
6. Look at the districts, one at a time: no two neighbourhoods or districts are the same.
