place-making and place-keeping of open spaces – mp4 harry smith – heriot-watt university...
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Place-making and place-keeping of open spaces – MP4 Harry Smith – Heriot-Watt University
Edinburgh Knowledge Environment Partnership21 June 2012
MP4 Project Aims (2008-2012) Funded by EU – Interreg IVB North Sea Region
– Demonstrate how positive socio-economic impacts of open space improvements can be maintained in long term
– Provide solutions for maintenance & management needs– Mainstream best practice in place-keeping across North Sea
Region– Embed place-keeping innovations into policy– Develop shared agenda for long-term open space improvement
Temalekplats playground, MalmöFirth Park, Sheffield HafenCity, Hamburg
Place-making
• Creation of high-quality places that people want to visit, experience and enjoy
• Implies a people-centred approach– Health and wellbeing– Sense of belonging and attachment– Welcoming and inclusive places
HafenCity, Hamburg; River Don, Sheffield; Hailes Quarry Park, Edinburgh.
Place-keeping
• What happens ‘after’ high quality places have been created– Retaining, maintaining and enhancing
the qualities and benefits through LTM
• Long-term management of places – to ensure that the social, environmental
and economic quality and benefits can be enjoyed by future generations
• E.g. trees in park growing to maturity (increased biodiversity/ aesthetic value/ interest)
Woesten, West Flanders; Leuven, Flemish Brabant; Manor & Castle, Sheffield.
Place-making and place-keeping
a. A process leading to a product?
b. A process influenced by the type of product required?
c. A two-way relationship between process and product
where place-keeping is considered at the beginning?
MP4 Activites
1. Assessment of current practice• Case studies• Literature review
2. Demonstration – pilot projects• Assess partnership and agreements• Evaluate process and product• Identify ways to improve, share good practice
3. Information sharing, influencing• Outputs – knowledge transfer• Changing practice and policy
Grassmarket, Edinburgh, Scotland; Bürgerpark, Bremen, Germany; Aarhus, Denmark.
Policy
• Widespread area-based policy initiatives are based on place-keeping ideas
• Place-keeping often included in policy guidance, but not in statutory legislation– some aspects may be covered by policy (e.g. health+safety)
• Rules/ regulations may influence use + behaviour– e.g. through signage– aims to support long-term positive use of and behaviour
Policy Gothenburg Strategic Park Programme5 strategies for the landscape of
Göteborg:• 1. Identify and enhance the
characteristics• 2. Make sure that green areas
are accessible and within reach• 3. Make sure every place is
taken care of (=place keeping)• 4. Make places and spaces
available for the residents to use
• 5. Create diversified environments
Governance & engagement
• The processes of interaction between public, private, third sector and community partners involved in place-keeping
• Government does not work in isolation, but through the above relations with a range of stakeholders
• Participatory model of decision-making: – is underpinned by democracy– puts emphasis on consensus
Governance & engagement Shared space in Barger-Compascuum, NL
Town Council
Residents(Comm. Group)
Reflection group
(centre group)Project team Project group
Communication
DesignImplementation
Partnerships
• Agreed shared responsibility for place-keeping
• Partnerships are effective in achieving place-keeping, especially:– a combination of public-private-third
sector– where the local community is involved
+ engaged
Emmen, the Netherlands; Steilshoop, Hamburg; Woesten, Belgium.
PartnershipsRipples in the Pond, Firth Park, Sheffield
• Joint partnership project between Friends of Firth Park and Parks & Countryside Service
• Friends Group – highly involved in consultation, securing funding, design development, tendering
• Ownership/Empowerment• Identity – local identity & site history
fed into design• Design – innovative and adventurous,
bespoke to the site• Sustainability – ongoing maintenance
and community use
Funding/ finance
• Funding is crucial for place-keeping but limited– ideally in place from the outset/ place-making stage
• Funding easier to access for place-making– place-keeping costs often not considered
• Tends to come from the public sector– the funding of place-keeping is not statutory– place-keeping is particularly at risk when budgets are cut
Funding/ financeFrom BIDs to NIDs, Hamburg• Business Improvement
Districts– Joint financing of public realm
improvements via obligatory levy – Additional to public provision– Landowners in Germany; businesses
in UK
• Neighbourhood (Housing) Improvement Districts– Legislated for in Hamburg in 2007– Pilot project in Steilshoop
Evaluation
• Wide range of existing tools: e.g. awards, competitions, user counts, surveys but…– not a statutory obligation & not carried out regularly
• Evaluation often not a priority– it can be costly and time-intensive– but can lead to secure funding for place-keeping (e.g. Green Flag (UK))
• Can everything be measured?– e.g. quality/ aesthetic value…?– increasing attempts to give landscape/ green space a monetary value
EvaluationSociotope mapping, Gothenburg• Lövgärdet and Eriksbo:
two deprived 1960s/70s housing estates with under-used adjacent nature areas
• Identified high priority areas through sociotope map and park plan
Challenges
• Policy: How can we improve the current policy framework for place-keeping?
• Governance: What can and should the role of government, business and communities be in the place-keeping of open space?
• Partnerships: How can long-lasting partnerships be formed that ensure access to resources and deliver place-keeping that meets the needs of different stakeholders?
• Funding/finance: How can the economic benefits of open spaces be harnessed to secure funding of place-keeping?
• Evaluation: How can barriers be overcome to ensure more widespread evaluation of open space that contributes to it its long-term management?
• Design: How can open space be designed to facilitate long-term management?
http://mp4-interreg.eu
Temalekplats playground, Malmö