Post on 26-Mar-2015
MP4Making 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
European UnionEuropean Regional Development Fund
Structure
Urban Studies Seminar Series Edinburgh, 30 September 2010
• MP4 project • Theoretical basis• Analytical framework• Case studies in Scotland:
– Craigmillar– Grassmarket– Hailes Quarry Park
• Conclusions
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 ProjectMP4 Project Objectives
• Assess existing transnational experiences with place-keeping – literature review & case studies
• Produce model agreements for sustainable partnerships and develop innovations in place-keeping
• Implement, promote and test place-keeping models transnationally
• Monitor and evaluate socio-economic impacts
• Develop place-keeping policies and ‘mainstream’ best practiceUrban 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.
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010Urban Studies Seminar Series
Analytical Framework
Istanbul 14 October 2009
type of urban public space
stakeholders involved in “place-making” & “place-keeping”
resources available to stakeholders and their deployment
ideas & mental models related to urban public space & stakeholders
process of physical, organisational & mental “requalification”
Urban Studies Seminar Series
UK Context
Istanbul 14 October 2009
• 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 - public-private 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
Craigmillar
Istanbul 14 October 2009Urban Studies Seminar Series
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
Craigmillar
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010Urban Studies Seminar Series
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
Craigmillar
Istanbul 14 October 2009
Evaluation: formal & informal
Scottish Government commissioned study of URCs
Neighbourhood Alliance – informal monitoring
Awards for the quality of development, policies & processes.
Urban Studies Seminar Series
Transferable aspects
Policies – decentralisation
URC model
Community engagement & support
Flexibility
Sensitiveness to socio-political context
Grassmarket
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010Urban Studies Seminar Series
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
Grassmarket
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010Urban Studies Seminar Series
PartnershipFunding: local economic development agency & Government’s Cities Growth fund allocation to the local council.Consultative stakeholder groupCommunity engagement events
Place-KeepingFrom design stageManagement & maintenance: Grassmarket Forum & Council officers.
Grassmarket
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010Urban Studies Seminar Series
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.
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010Urban Studies Seminar Series
Context
Location: Large open space in the south west of Edinburgh -15ha - surrounded by low-income residential areas.
Hailes Quarry Park
History: Old quarry & previous use as landfill
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010Urban Studies Seminar Series
Place-Keeping
Implicit place-keeping: five-year plan +10 years partial maintenance agreement
Building-up community involvement & ownership
Hailes Quarry Park
Partnerships
Involvement of public, private and voluntary sectorsGreenspace Scotland (GS) & Strategic Greenspace Partnerships (SGPs) + Project for Public Spaces (PPS)The Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust
The Scottish Executive + Sustrans + WREN + local associationsCommunity engagement
Edinburgh, 30 September 2010Urban Studies Seminar Series
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.
Steering Group
Aims & expectations – displacement (who does what)
Hailes Quarry Park
Transferable LessonsMultiple-inter sectorial partnershipsAttitudes (problem when prevalent at wider level)Scale (small)Flexibility (tailored interventions with rapid response)
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