Compact city development: High ideals and emerging practices

Compact city development has, over the last 20 years or so, emerged as the preferred response to the goal of sustainable development. As such, it is pertinent to examine planning practices to see whether the traditional economic bias in planning is now balanced by aims and practices in support of environmental and social sustainability. In this light the social, environmental, and economic goals linked to densification and mixed use development will be the main focus of this article. In addition, the article assesses whether distinct institutional practices support the balancing of these goals. The empirical basis is formed by urban plans in four Scandinavian cities in combination with qualitative interview data. The article concludes that on a discursive level, social, environmental and economic goals are represented in compact city strategies. Institutionalised practices, however, show that economic goals remain at the core of planning. Environmental and social aims still play second fiddle, but new measures are in development that may gradually strengthen their influence over urban development practices

Compact city development: High ideals and emerging practices

Compact city development has, over the last 20 years or so, emerged as the preferred response to the goal of sustainable development. As such, it is pertinent to examine planning practices to see whether the traditional economic bias in planning is now balanced by aims and practices in support of environmental and social sustainability. In this light the social, environmental, and economic goals linked to densification and mixed use development will be the main focus of this article. In addition, the article assesses whether distinct institutional practices support the balancing of these goals. The empirical basis is formed by urban plans in four Scandinavian cities in combination with qualitative interview data. The article concludes that on a discursive level, social, environmental and economic goals are represented in compact city strategies. Institutionalised practices, however, show that economic goals remain at the core of planning. Environmental and social aims still play second fiddle, but new measures are in development that may gradually strengthen their influence over urban development practices

Rural response to urban-biased land use policy - New bottom-up planning strategies in Norway

Many rural councils are in favour of dispersed low density housing as it takes advantage of a country location. They are likely however to increasingly come into conflict with the planning system and with governmental planning policies which favour a planned and dense development. We discuss the degree to which six rural councils on the urban edge have developed dispersed housing as a strategy and how this is addressed in their planning. Five of them have strategies for dispersed housing and used local planning as a means of realizing this goal. Nevertheless, only two had proactive plans to address this strategy. Despite governmental policy to ban dispersed housing, such areas are identified in negotiations between local and regional authorities who then subvert institutional barriers. We conclude that while central planning policy does not seem to constrain dispersed housing, local planning does. Local authorities do however set limits on dispersed housing through sector interests

Rural response to urban-biased land use policy - New bottom-up planning strategies in Norway

Many rural councils are in favour of dispersed low density housing as it takes advantage of a country location. They are likely however to increasingly come into conflict with the planning system and with governmental planning policies which favour a planned and dense development. We discuss the degree to which six rural councils on the urban edge have developed dispersed housing as a strategy and how this is addressed in their planning. Five of them have strategies for dispersed housing and used local planning as a means of realizing this goal. Nevertheless, only two had proactive plans to address this strategy. Despite governmental policy to ban dispersed housing, such areas are identified in negotiations between local and regional authorities who then subvert institutional barriers. We conclude that while central planning policy does not seem to constrain dispersed housing, local planning does. Local authorities do however set limits on dispersed housing through sector interests

The role of goal-setting in urban climate governance

This article argues that goal-setting is an important, albeit understudied, part of urban climate governance scholarship. By using goal-setting theory, the article introduces concepts and perspectives capable of shedding new light on the political aspect of cities' climate strategic work. Climate goal-setting is studied within a wider urban governance context, as a way to activate a multitude of internal and external actors for shared goals and purposes. The article analyses levels of ambiguities of urban climate goals, and in light of different politico-institutional settings it explores possible contextual implications for cities’ climate governance. Through a comparative analysis of four cities – Copenhagen, Cape Town, Oslo and Gothenburg, the article identifies two distinct approaches. An inclusive approach containing ambiguous all-encompassing climate goals, consensus-oriented political decision-making, a broad administrative entity with weak mandate and close and long-term stakeholder collaboration. An efficiency-oriented approach including clear and problem focused climate goals, instrumental political decision-making, a special-purpose administrative entity with a wide and clear mandate and targeted and temporary stakeholder collaboration. The article concludes by posing some key questions that should guide further research on the exact relationship between these variables

Drivkrefter i lokal Agenda 21-arbeidet : case- studie av Ål og Liers lokal Agenda 21 arbeid

Siktemålet med denne oppgaven er å finne fram til faktorer som bidrar til en bærekraftig utvikling. Dette gjøres ved å se nærmere på drivkreftene i LA21- arbeidet slik de uttrykkes i de to case- kommunene Lier og Ål. Begge kommunene er deltakere i Stiftelsen Idébankens foregangskommuneprosjekt og dataene er samlet inn gjennom intervjuer med setrale aktører i prosessen og gjennom dokumentstudier. Fordi undersøklsen inngår som en del av norsk institutt for by- og regionforsknins (NIBR) LA21- prosjekt har jeg i tillegg til egne data hatt tilgang til en survey med 100 kommuner som har erklært at de vil satse på LA21 og til tre andre case- studier. Det er derfor gode muligheter til å analysere undersøklsens generaliseringspotensial. Lier og Åls LA21- arbeid analyseres ved hjelp av et rasjonalistisk og et historisk- institusjonelt perspektiv. I tillegg analyseres "møtet" mellom formelementet LA21 og kommuneorganisasjonen med utgangspunkt i tre hypoteser: en dekopling av LA21 og kommunens kjerneaktiviteter, en tilpasning av LA21 til kommunens øvrige arbeid eller en nyorientering av arbeidet, LA21 får dermed innflytelse på kommunens øvrige arbeid. På bakgrunn av disse teoretiske forutsetningene og de to nevnte kommuners LA21- innsats identifiseres fire drivkrefter: 1. Å ha "LA21- kompetanse" 2. Å ha høye intensjoner 3. Å benytte medvirkningsinstrumentet 4. Å være i en presset situasjon der LA21 blir en form for "overlevelsesstrategi". I møtet med de andre "NIBR- casene" blir drivkrefter som kompetanse og drivkrefter som overlevelsesstrategi styrket, mens høye intensjoner ikke fant støtte i de tre andre casene. For medvirkningsinstrumentet sin del ble viktigheten av å ha et langsiktig perspektiv understreket