keynote presentation to periurban parks interreg project 16 september aberdeen

reluRural Economy andLand Use Programme

Wasting Space? Managing Environmental Change at the

Rural Urban Fringe


Alister ScottClaudia Carter, Mark Reed, Peter Larkham, Nicki Schiessel, Karen Leach, Nick Morton, Rachel Curzon David Jarvis, Andrew Hearle, Mark Middleton, Bob Forster, Keith Budden, Ruth Waters, David Collier, Chris Crean, Miriam Kennet, Richard Coles and Ben Stonyer


Plan 1. RUF in context 2. The RUF research

opportunity and response 3. Capturing viewpoints and

expertise – Visioning using a RUF transect – Research Team Workshops

4. Discussion: Towards realising new opportunity space for the RUF

Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain


Unpacking jargon 1 Defining the rural urban fringe

• it is the ‘fuzzy’ and dynamic space where town and countryside uses, interests, ideas converge.

• Directly adjacent to town/city or in countryside where it is dominated by urban interests



Multiple Faces of the Fringe • Innovative • Edgelands • Transitional • Fuzzy • Messy • Reactionary

• Ad-hoc • Diverse • Dynamic • Neglected • Valued• Contested



Academics on the fringe • Dominant space of 20C

(Mckenzie, 1996)• Collection of dynamic and

productive environments (Spedding 2004)

• Misunderstood space (Gallent et al 2006)

• Fringe as a ‘weed’ (Cresswell 1997)

• Battleground for urban and rural uses (Hough, 1990)

• Landscape out of order (Qvistrom 2007)



The RUF problem/opportunity • At the heart of current

planning furore in England (NPPF)

• Urban-centric space shaped by macro-economic drivers and planning policy

• Contested stakeholder views

• Environmental change agenda offers rethink



Managing Environmental Change at the rural urban fringe



The Team

• Dr Alister Scott PI• Dr Mark Reed CI• Prof Richard Coles CI• Dr Nick Morton CI• Dr Rachel Curzon CI• Claudia Carter CI• Nikki Schiessel CI

• Forest Research • David Collier NFU• David Jarvis DJA Consultants • Ruth Waters/Andrew Hearle Natural

England• Karen Leach/Chris Crean Localise

West Midlands• Miriam Kennet Green Economics

Institute • Keith Budden Birmingham

Environment Partnership • Bob Forster West Midlands Rural

Affairs Forum • Mark Middleton Worcestershire

County Council, WMRA


Managing Environmental Change at the rural urban fringe



Unpacking jargon 2 Spatial Planning Framework

EUROCITIES (2004) The Pegasus files: a practical guide to integrated area-based urban planning EUROCITIES, Brussels


“Collective place shaping efforts aimed to improve the qualities and connectivities of places into the future for the benefit of present and future publics and their potential values”

Healey 2008: 3


Unpacking jargon 3 Ecosystem approach

"the Ecosystem Approach is a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way“

(Convention on Biological Diversity, COP 7 Decision VII/11)

beyond biodiversity beyond ‘environmental’ humans inherently part

of nature


• Ecosystem Approach: Respect for and being mindful of whole system

• Ecosystem Services: Anthropocentric; economic framing common


“The ecosystem approach may represent a paradigm shift. A fundamental change in the way we manage, value and pay for our natural environment. Implemented successfully, it will mainstream the environment across all decisions”

Head of Ecosystem Approach, Natural England (2010)


SP and EA Compatibilities New ways of thinking Holistic frameworks Cross-sectoral Multi-scalar Negotiating Enabling Long term perspective

Connectivity Governance Equity goals Regulatory Market-orientated


“… we must learn to apply an adaptive ecosystem approach to ecological planning. This will allow us to deal with the thorny issues of sustainability, itself taken complexly in regional and urban planning, in novel and ultimately more realistic ways.”

Vasishth 2008: 101

Vasishth, A. (2008) ‘A scale-hierarchic ecosystem approach to integrative ecological planning’, Progress in Planning 70: 99-132.


Converging, wicked problems



Values

Protected/excluded space

recreation

health & wellbeing

barriers

accessibility, freedom to roam?

HOUSING = development

)

Transition spaceGREENSPACE – ‘natural’

low quality – lacks diversitybut good/safe for children to play?

views

Section 106: community provisions?


Time


Agri environment payments

Green Belt policy

Village envelope

Multifunctionality : food, energy , recreation


Connectivity

Habitat network

Integrated transport system (public)

Streams & rivers

HOUSING (suit range of social, economic and cultural needs) – COMMUNITY development

With Birmingham?Worcester? Warwick?

Motorways & Big Roads: barrier for some wildlife species and pedestrians but connection for many people (e.g. car owners) – Small roads & Paths: vice versa

Green Infrastructure

Views to and from

Historical and cultural heritage

Permeable surfaces

Whose operating in this space: governance and power .


Methods

• Visioning

• Workshops



• Hampton (Peterborough) 18th July 12 participants (5600 houses)

• Worcestershire 19th July 16 participants (landscape scale)

• To experience/assess the different ‘personalities’ within the RUF

• To share knowledge, experience and expertise looking at the RUF past, present and future

Field based Visioning exercises



The RUF transect (Expert-led) • Idea of a transition and

gradient thru RUF• Environmental character areas • Data led (GIS) via

Worcestershire GIP• Transect maximised number

of environmental character areas

• 3 Area selected for exercise



Worcester Transect


Viewpoint 1 Viewpoint 2

Viewpoint 3


Workshops

• Used networks of the research team

• Developed by the network to address their key concerns/expertise

• Low tech interactive approach

• Discussions recorded • Further iteration through

report response Building interdisciplinarity across the

rural domain


Workshops 11/10-4/11 1. West Midlands Rural Affairs Forum Improving decision making for

the sustainable management of the rural-urban fringe; 25 participants

2. Green Economics Institute Long Termism/ Values in the Built Environment: Rural Urban Fringe & Land Use; 65 participants

3. Birmingham Environmental Partnership Bridging the rural urban divide through green economic opportunities; 88 participants

4. Localise West Midlands Meeting Local needs with local resources in the rural urban fringe; 15 participants

5. BCU Learning the lessons from Strategic planning: resurrecting institutional memories;14 participants

6. Forest Research Values and Decision making; 8 participants


Results: Visioning

Set within our themesFlavour only Emerging • Long Termism • Values and Decision

Making • Connectivity



“Seems to be a local authority that has restricted itself by greenbelt designation in how we can develop and build” (Viewpoint 1)

“Look at environmental boundaries, (and) make them more fluid” (Viewpoint 1 (3))

“(Farming) and for the long term people are going to have to pay to keep that landscape looking as it is” (Viewpoint 2)

Long Termism 1



“... whether to have more compact high density development versus more spread out development “(Viewpoint 1).

“..develop along our linear routes and have corridors of development reflecting a more sustainable finger approach (Viewpoint 3)

“look at recreational development using canal, countryside (prow) & M42” (Viewpoint 2)

“ ..This place had a personality when Longbridge was there, .(now) ambiguous...” (Viewpoint 3)

Long Termism 2



“(Not Redditch per se) its more about looking towards Birmingham and (its) influence on North Worcestershire.” (Viewpoint1)

“lot of traffic (M42).. making use of the ruf around the city... Planning has provided connections to get people where they want to be (Viewpoint 2)

“The canal/footpaths used for leisure … so you got a lot things happening in the same space” (Viewpoint 2)

Connectivity 1



“(That green space) owned by BVT and NT and …Cadbury it would have run together and coalesced with Bromsgrove and Redditch

“I like my green space with houses and life and people, all the trees” (Viewpoints 3 (1))

(Redditch) has been commuter land especially with train (cheapest area in Worcestershire to live)

“That’s Birmingham's water, comes 72 miles from Elan valley in Wales” (Viewpoint 3)

Connectivity 2



“Redditch built to be accessible by public transport; hence prioritisation of bus routes /pedestrian underpasses” (Viewpoint 1)

“Why do you always need growth” (Viewpoint 2)“This is what the transition groups are setting up

across the UK..where farmers let strips of land for local food production” (Viewpoint 2)

“For me its sense of community. We help each other volunteering for the community” (Viewpoint 2)

Values 1



“We have been here 18 years in that time we have seen not a lot of changes which is wonderful” (viewpoint 2)

“Wind, solar, methane as part of a new mix..for economic development” (viewpoint 2)

“reducing urban heat island by planting trees is going to become so much more important (Viewpoint 3)

Values 2



Results : Workshops



Key Messages: Time

• We lack planning visions • We rarely think or value

the long term • We ignore past lessons

and institutional memory

• Need to move beyond just spatial solutions and invest in skills


Key messages: Connectivity • We readily call for integration but rarely seem

able to deliver it• Identifying connections and interdependencies

based on needs of the RUF not other places/interests

• Need improved evidence unpacking ‘needs’ and ‘priorities’ to join up responses

• Need better partnerships but in response to clear problems and opportunities


Key Messages: Values

• Economic System(s) is fundamentally flawed

• Values need changing but inertia and power

• Need better ways to assess value to realise new opportunities

• Green Belt values is part of the RUF problem not the answer


• Challenge conventional planning policies green belts

• Avoid environmental, economic or social silos: work collaboratively across the divides

• Look back and learn and revisit in order to plan for the future

So what : key challenges



Opportunities 1 Concept Plans

Risk MappingContingency

Planning

Future Proofing

Key Partners

Climate Risk

Water

Green Infrastructure

Health & Well Being

Biodiversity

The LEP

Community

Resilience

Transport & Infrastructure

The 9 piece jigsaw – GIA Partnership

Opportunities 2


And finally ….

• Embedding – innovative ways of research and working: Research – Policy – Practice

• Interdisciplinary working with complexity requires experimentation and adaptation

• SP and EA not separate add-ons, but fundamental change required: mind-set – policies – institutions – governance – adaptive management


• http://www.bcu.ac.uk/research/-centres-of-excellence/centre-for-environment-and-society/projects/relu

• http://twitter.com/#!/reluruf

• Alister Scott [email protected]

Questions ?


keynote presentation to periurban parks interreg project 16 september aberdeen

Technology