Urban Planning Theory

post-1945

Dr. Kevon Rhiney Department of Geography & Geology The University of the West Indies, Mona

GG3302: Urban & Regional Planning Wednesday February 8, 2012

Outline

Introduction

Post-war planning in Britain

New Directions

Sustainable Urban Planning

New urbanism

Introduction

Lot of emphasis placed on (physical)

planning at the scale of the city/town

prior to 1945

Period leading up to WWII people were

becoming more aware of regional

planning

Post-war Planning in Britain Thrust towards regional planning during the

aftermath of the Great Depression (1929-32)

and after WWII

Older industrial areas of northern England had

become weakened due to changes to the

world economy

New industries were also emerging in other

areas of Britain (south England, west and east

Midlands)

Problem was complicated by the baby boom

years immediately after WWII

Post-war Planning in Britain Reactions by the State…

Depressed regions were designated as special

areas and appointed commissioners

1937 Royal Commission on the Geographical

Distribution of the Industrial Population/Barlow

Commission

Key findings of the Commission‟s enquiry:

(i) post-war growth of industry and population was

concentrated in south England and the Midlands

(ii)Associated the pattern of industrial growth to

the type of industries

Reactions cont’d…

Recommendations from the Barlow

Commission:

- General control on the location of new industries

- Controlling the physical expansion of cities through

garden cities/new towns

- Follow-up studies (foundation reports) on how to

achieve the Commission‟s recommendations

A series of Reports and Legislations were to follow

from 1942-1952 that set the foundations for post-

war planning system

Post-war Planning in Britain

Foundation reports (1942-1945) Scott Report (1942)

Committee on Land Utilization in Rural Areas

Preservation of agricultural lands

Promoted the „onus of proof’ principle

Abercrombie and Reith

Patrick Abercrombie‟s Greater London Plan 1944

aimed at achieving massive decentralization from

congested inner city areas of London

Proposed establishment of a greenbelt around

London and planned overspill programme

Based heavily on Howard‟s principles

Greater London Plan 1944

Foundation reports (1942-1945)

Abercrombie and Reith cont’d

The Reith report recommended the best ways of

building new towns

Recommended that new towns be built very

much as Howard had proposed

Minimum of 30,000, maximum of 60,000 people

Each town be built by a special development

corporation, answerable to but independent of

parliament

Legislations (1945-52)

The Distribution of industry Act (1945)

Provided for comprehensive government control

over distribution of industries

Main aim was to steer industry away from London

and the Midlands towards development areas

North east England, central Scotland, south

Wales

Allowed for the provision of state incentives

Produced mixed results, failed to address the

disparities in industries

Legislations (1945-52)

New Towns Act (1946)

Passed shortly after Reith‟s report

New towns were designated by the minister

responsible for planning

Minister would then set up a development

corporation

No fewer than 14 new towns were

designated in England and Wales 1946-1950

Legislations (1945-52)

Town Development Act (1952)

Geared towards promoting the planned

expansion of existing country towns

Twin purposes of developing remote rural areas

and absorbing overspill from large

cities/conurbations

Both the new Towns Act and the Town

Development Act were effective at managing

the planned decentralization of city populations

in Britain

State was heavily involved

Legislations (1945-52) Town and Country Planning Act (1947)

One of the largest and most complex pieces of

legislations passed

Ensured the effective control of land use and of

new developments

Nationalized the right to develop land

Placed plan-making and development control

under the control of a single local planning

authority in the respective regions

Facilitated and devised a formula for

compensation

New Paradigms in Planning Theory Post-war period characterized by radical shifts in

planning theory and practice

1960s signaled a radical departure from traditional

planning

- Moved from detailed land-use allocations to

broad-based policy approach

- Increasing reliance on computers

- Transportation planning and technological

change

- Economic efficacy

- Research and development

- Environmental quality issues

- Social planning

Evolution of Urban Policies in the UK

Early beginnings (1850s-1930s)

Physical development (1945-1960s)

Social-Welfare Phase (early to mid 1970s)

Competitive Phase (early 1990s)

The Third Way (late 1990s)

- Linked to the ‘Smart growth’ movement in the

US

Sustainable Urban Planning

Striking the balance between economic priorities and social and environmental

priorities.

Cities are major culprits of environmental

degradation

Sustainable Urban Development initiatives must find innovative ways of combining the

three principles of environmental integrity,

economic vitality and social well-being

New Urbanism

“A broad school of urban design that

advocates a return to traditional human-scale neighborhood development and smart

growth instead of low density car oriented

urban development”

Neo-traditionalism

„Smart growth‟

New Urbanism cont’d

Basic principles Compact Neighborhoods, pedestrian friendly

and mixed-use

Walkable communities, allowing independence to those who do not drive especially the elderly and children.

Preserve open space, farmland; take advantage of compact building design

Interconnected networks of streets to encourage walking, reduce number and length of automobile trips and conserve energy

New Urbanism cont’d

Basic principles… Broad range of housing types and price

levels to bring people of diverse ages,

races and incomes into daily interaction

Appropriate building densities and land

uses; architectural design principles that

pay attention to local history and culture

Provide a variety of transport choices

including public transportation

Prospect Town, Colorado

Seaside, Florida

Criticisms of New Urbanism

Limited to a small number of relatively small communities

Ignores consumer preference and the free

market

Dismissed for its argument that low density

developments pose a threat to farmland

preservation

New Urbanist communities are criticized as

being elitist

few signs of racial mixing

Key Readings

Hall, P. (1994) Urban & Regional Planning, 3rd

edn. London: Routledge. Chapters 4-6

Gilg, A.W. (2005) Planning in Britain:

Understanding and evaluating the post-war

system. London: SAGE.

Taylor, N. (2009) Urban Planning since 1945.

London: SAGE.