Economic transformation has led to tremendous change in the role, scale and meaning of major urban airports worldwide. The major gateway airports are attracting spatial concentrations of commercial activities, leading to transport induced growth (aerotropolis). In Australia, airports are becoming major business centers and are being leased off to private companies by the government. The airports are no longer public goods but profit oriented ventures. As a result of development of these airports by these private companies, complications arise which relate to land use, environmental impacts and implications, infrastructural transport and stakeholder relationship. The impacts of airports are a challenge to the airport operators and the surrounding environment. A number of challenges are being face in Australia. Environmental challenges are related to space, noise, emissions and resource use. Infrastructural changes relate to inadequate inequitable provision. In terms of land use, the challenges are as a result of competition of airports and the surrounding areas. The transportation challenges include congestion and the isolation of planning strategies. Governance has not been spared either as there are the challenges of poor coordination among agencies, inert decision making and conflict between jurisdictions.
The Airport Act of 1996 governs airports in terms of development, regulation and ownership. However, it does not the private companies to regard the local planning regulations, which has often led to conflicts. The planning challenge is to affect land uses at the airport to be developed in line with the regional/local planning strategies. There is the need of collaboration, coordination and cooperation between the federal government and state/local governments with regards to airport development to ensure the realization of the full potential of airports. There is also the need for continuous research, comment and debate as a means of informing development of innovative policy for all stakeholders in airport development. All these efforts would lead to the moving away from the inert and isolated decision making process to the engagement of airport stakeholders in decision and policy making. The article by Nick Stevens provides an insight to the challenges that arise from the development of airports. It’s an eye opener for the planners and decision makers to collaborate at national and local levels, and include the communities in the airport planning process.
Needs in Public Space, Carr et al. (1992)
The understanding of the role public spaces play in people’s lives is critical in the effective design and management of these spaces. For a long time the human perspective has been ignored and mostly designers have only factored in their goals and those of the clients or space managers. It is important to note that people go to public spaces for different reasons such as to have lunch, relaxation, retreat, to escape the urban noise and to connect with others among many more others. The main reasons as to why people go to public spaces include: for comfort, relaxation, passive or active engagement with the environment and for discovery. The public spaces that do not meet one of these needs would be unsuccessful or underused.
Comfort is a basic human need. All the other needs such as eating or resting can all be achieved if a person is comfortable, safe and secure. Relief from the sun or access to the sun should also be a key factor in the planning of public spaces. Relaxation is having the mind and body at ease. Public spaces are viewed as places of relaxation. The natural features such as trees and water offer a relaxing atmosphere. People also go to places to passively engage with environment through observation of activities, features, public art and vegetation among others. Active engagement is the direct experience with the place and people in the public space and this could be through socialization, games and ceremonies. Discovery is the finding out of new pleasurable experiences. Exploration is a human need and hence public spaces should stimulate people’s sense of discovery. In short, public spaces need to cover all the aspects of human functioning for them to be successful. The article provides a rationale for which local planners can use in the design of public spaces. The local planners have to factor in human needs in the design of public spaces so as to ensure their effective management and functioning.
Planning as Collaboration, by Margerum (2000)
According to Margerum, the core principle of planning is that it is a collaborative process between the planning agency and the public. This is the interactive and communicative nature of planning. Collaboration in planning can offer the exploration of differences in search of solutions and a common ground. The process of collaborative planning entails a debate process, deliberations and consensus building among the parties with either a direct or an indirect interest in the planning outcomes. Collaboration should be done in the preparations of legislations, policies and plans, regulatory principles and the means of implementation. The stakeholders to be involved should include government representatives, interest groups and the communities. Margerum states that collaborative planning is the new paradigm for planning. There are two processes in collaborative planning which include the consensus building phase and the implementation phase.
Consensus building involves the setting of the problem, involving the stakeholders and interaction to build consensus. The attributes of consensus building include: inclusion of a full range of stakeholders, public participation, support and facilitation of the process, establishing of a common problem definition, organize the process in terms of rules and agenda, engagement of participants, reaching of arguments through consensus and developing joint plans for implementation. Implementation phase involves the executing of the consensus building process, plans and outcomes. The effects of collaborative planning may be categorized into first, second and third order effects. First order effects include building of trust, shared understanding and strategies and agreements. Second order effects are the indirect outcomes such as changes in perception, partnerships and action, policy and perpetual effects. Third order effects come as a result of the implementation actions and include new collaborations and institutions. Margerum’s article proposes the new paradigm of collaborative planning that the local planners can adopt to create meaningful plans. The inclusion of relevant stakeholders in the planning and implementation processes would lead to more sound and relevant plans to cities.
Public Spaces Have Power, by Amanda Burden (2014)
Amanda Burden states that cities are primarily about people. They are places where people go or where they meet. To most people, public buildings are less important than the public spaces. Public spaces are what make cities come alive. The central question Burden addresses is what exactly makes a public place work. She found out that most people crave for comfort, flexibility, attraction to other people and the pleasant natural view. People would like to experience public spaces, have their needs met and to feel attached to these places. In most developed cities, there are more buildings than public spaces as this is the goal of many architects and developers. The creation of a public place is a hard task as someone has to think harder. The finer details are crucial and successful designs of public spaces depend on individual experiences. Planners in cities could achieve public spaces by rezoning them so as to target where development could go and prohibition of development on places designated for cars or pedestrians. Rezoning of cities cannot be done in isolation as it would need the approval of communities which sometimes might be difficult. There is need for community participation in the whole planning and implementation phases of public spaces. Planners need to listen to the views, opinions and suggestions of the community members.
The creation of great public spaces would make a difference in people’s lives. A successful planner does not tap into his/her design expertise, but into his/her humanity (human perspective). Burden states that public spaces have the power not because people use them but because people feel better about the city and feel they own them. A public space can change the way a person lives in a city as its one of the important reasons as to why s/he stays in the city. People stay in cities just because they are having a great time (Burden, 2014). The talk by Amanda Burden offers a benchmark for local planners. Local planners can learn from her on how to effectively create successful public spaces through community participation and understanding the human needs for public spaces. Planners can copy her methods of effective creation of public spaces in the city of New York.
The Contribution of Planning to the Environment and Society, Gleeson (2003)
Urban and regional planning should anticipate and manage the spatial consequences of economic/social activity and environmental change. Planning improves amenity and provides for the orderly and timely urban development. In recent times, planning has evolved in response to the new socio-political expectations and the new understanding of social and environmental processes. There is emphasis on inclusion of the environment agenda in planning. Planning has been transformed by three principles namely sustainability, management of social and environment change and neoliberalism. This has been the case in Australia as environment and social critiques have sought to transform planning. Planning has played a key role in the management of the consequences of globalization and addressing the issues of global environmental deterioration.
Planners and professionals have lacked the awareness of the purpose of planning. This would mean that planning education and professional training do not equip learners with the skills to evaluate the impact of planning on community well-being and environmental quality, and identify and estimate the value of new interventions. Planning needs to be aligned with and evaluated by planning scholarship. It should factor in global environmental considerations. The key outcomes of planning should contribute to economic growth, environmental quality, contribute to social and cultural growth, encourage participation in the planning process and improve coordination and efficiency in governance. The qualitative and quantitative criterion should be used in measuring the contributions of planning to the environment and society. Planning must regain its purpose with reference to the new challenges and agendas. If planning can explain the difference it can make then it can make a huge difference. This article is a challenge to the local planners who fail to factor in the purpose of planning in the designs. It offers an opportunity for the local planners to assess themselves and provide purpose of planning before implementing plans.
Can You Love A New Place? Creating Authentic Place Attachment, by Nicole Dennis (2010)
The question of how to create authentic places is what Nicole Dennis seeks to address. When planning, designing and creating new places, designers have to be aware of a few challenges. The places people attract to are those that they experience personally, respond to their needs and feel attached to or own. The promotion of a strong community sense of ownership and identity with the place, inviting people to experience it and providing for its users’ needs is key to creating an authentic place attachment. Places are the spaces that have been attributed with meaning by people. Place attachment occurs through the personal experience of a place, the ability of a place to meet a person’s needs and the opportunities to feel attached to the place. Personal experiences are often through the thoughts, feelings and emotions, that later translate to memories. A place meets human needs if it addresses the needs such as spiritual, relationships, personal expression, play, and connection to the past, enjoyment of nature and body care (rest, eating, and relaxation). The third way to create an authentic place is through the personal involvement in the creation of the place (cultivation of the place). The providing of an opportunity for the community to cultivate and care for the public space allows them to give meaning to the place. This is done when they spend their energy and time in creating the place.
Patience is needed when creating attachment to new places. Planning needs to provide the opportunity for people to have a personal experience, have their needs met and have a sense of love and ownership. Planning of the spaces needs to offer opportunities for socialization and connection. The planners need to identify the needs of the people by their inclusion in the planning process and after completion, invite them to experience the place. There should be community participation in the in the cultivation and care of the spaces. The places that encourage personal experience meet human needs and invite communities to their cultivation experience would be more successful. The local planners will have to include community participation in the planning and management of public spaces as this would provide information about their specific needs to be met by the spaces and would also provide ownership.
Three Types of Outdoor Activities and Quality of Outdoor Space, by Jan Gehl (1971)
Outdoor activities can broadly be divided into necessary activities, optional activities and social activities. The necessary activities are those that are necessary for example going to school, going to work and shopping among others. These activities include the everyday tasks and pastime. These activities take place under all external conditions. The optional activities are those that people engage in if they have the will to do so and the time and place allows. They include activities like taking a walk to breath fresh air and sunbathing. These activities are dependent on the weather conditions and the conditions of the outdoor space. Social activities, on the other hand are activities that happen when people meet in public spaces. Such activities include children playing, games, greeting and conversations and communal activities. Planners can greatly affect the likelihood of meeting, seeing and connecting among other activities. People, events, activities and inspiration comprise the essential qualities of public spaces. These outdoor activities combine to make the public spaces attractive and meaningful.
Physical planning greatly influences outdoor activities. Planning is able to influence the pattern of activities, create timely or boring conditions for public spaces and create lively or lifeless towns and cities. Outdoor activities are mainly dependent on the conditions of outdoor spaces. The improvement of physical conditions has resulted in the increase in numbers of pedestrians, people spending more time outdoors and a wider range of outdoor activities in most developed cities. Street quality and street activity are directly proportional. It is possible, through planning, to influence the number of people or events in a public space, how long individual activities will last and the types of activities to develop. Outdoor activities would grow in a place with a better physical framework. Local planners would look at ways of improving the quality of existing public spaces to increase outdoor activities and further come up with plans for public spaces that would boost outdoor activities.
