Mobility as Justice by Liviu Teodorescu

Mobility as Justice

Colophon

Liviu Teodorescu

Master of Science in Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences Master Thesis - Interim report - June 2013 Main mentor: R.C. Rocco de Campos Pereira

Second mentor: Dorina Pojani

Faculty of Architecture , Department of Urbanism Delft University of Technology Julianalaan 134 01West800 The Netherlands Tel. +31 1527 81298

Mobility as Justice A metropolitan strategy for a socially and spatially equitable Bucharest

Preface

Problem field definition

The claim for social justice Mobility, accessibility and injustice The spatial development of Bucharest Public administration and planning Problem statement

Thesis drivers

Research questions Aim and objective Motivation Expected final product Methodology

Inferences

Drivers and obstacles Strategic concept Bucharest 2035 Social and spatial distribution Morphology and spatial elements Models Polycentric Bucharest

Reflexion

Challenges Further research directions

< Panorama of Bucharest Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/

Literature

Appendix

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Figure 1 - Visual representation of the authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s traces through the city based on main origins and destinations Origin Destination Metro line

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from GIS processing of OpenStreetMap data - downloaded on 07.03.2013

Preface

Personal statement

Thesis structure

When I conjure up the image of Bucharest the first immediate thing that comes to mind is the metro. While Bucharest may be remembered as the city which holds one of the oddities of our modern world, the Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Palace, it is also the only Romanian city with a reasonably developed metro system. Interestingly enough it is also an extremely congested city. One would argue it is specifically the metro that keeps it alive, mobile and productive. The metro bypasses city morphology, the metro is not hampered by spatial rifts, mismatches of scale and urban collages that make up the city of fragments that is Bucharest.

The thesis is divided into three sections:

Although I have been living and working there for the better part of my young adult life there are some areas of the city that are unknown to me. My daily life in Bucharest more than often took place in or around the city centre and almost in the vicinity of metro stations. Whenever the metro was out of reach of my destination I would opt for a taxi-cab instead of the slower and more uncomfortable surface public transportation system. My choice for living was also influenced by the metro and while income became an important influential factor for the choice of location, with every new home one question remained the same, is it near a metro station? In other words, my Bucharest was a mobile city based on the metro, the areas that are not serviced by the metro are foreign to me and more often than not these areas are also places of social and spatial segregation. The argument put forward is that mobility can help a city grow or hinder its growth and also that the Bucharest metro system and its stations, if improved, can become important elements in structuring the future development of the city.

Aim and objective The aim of this research is to expose several critical issues through which mobility, accessibility and the spatial development of Bucharest have influenced its processes of social and spatial inequality. The over arching objective is to propose an alternative spatial strategy focused on land-use and transport integration that addresses social and spatial inequality.

(1) - Theoretical underpinnings and the condition of Bucharest; (2) - Preliminary inferences; (3) - Hypothesis - The Polycentric Bucharest; For a detailed description of the structure please see the methodology segment of the thesis. The first section assumes an ethical position regarding urban planning through the over arching concepts of ethics and social justice. An explanation is given on how certain aspects of mobility and accessibility inequality transfer into social and spatial inequality. Subsequently, the transformation of Bucharest into a post-socialist capital, is presented through the general condition of post-socialism and in detail through specific aspects intrinsic of its character. The overall relationship between the spatial development, mobility and inequality in Bucharest is described and research questions are drawn. The next section represents the analysis part of the thesis. Each of the six research questions are pursued and investigated. The final section describes a draft of the proposed spatial strategy. Further investigative questions are drawn and city areas are suggested as design projects.

Motivation The drivers of this thesis are the direct result of a personal fascination with Bucharest and a deeper societal and academic relevance. Firstly, in my training as an architect and urbanist I have always sought for the chance to undertake a spatial strategy for my city, as a unifying thread that links my academic and professional stance regarding Bucharest. Secondly, from a societal and academic standpoint, the post-socialist city in general and Bucharest in particular are one of the examples where ongoing societal, spatial and economic processes are continuingly shaping their development. The final effect of these processes is a phenomena of social and spatial segregation that more often than not remain unaddressed by their municipalities and spatial planning professionals.

Social justice

Mobility

Accessibility

{

Equality drivers Inequality

}

The Post-Socialist City

Bucharest

Processes of segregation

The claim for social justice

Problem field definition

The main scope of this section is to initiate the research-process by first of all providing an ethical standpoint towards the spatial planning of the post-socialist city while also exposing several answers to the first sub-research question:

(1) - What are the spatial processes that influence social and spatial segregation in Bucharest?

Social justice is regarded as an extension of human needs and rights (Campbell and Marshall, 2000; Smith, 1999). This implies the equitable distribution of benefits and burdens over the whole the spread of the community as an over arching objective. Through it justice assures that inequalities do not transfer to specific social groups (Smith, 1999). When juxtaposed with the idea of personal freedom justice draws parallels with mobility and accessibility. Further, personal freedom is substituted for mobility and accessibility (Martens, 2012). In essence, mobility and accessibility are processes that link people and places, a critical condition that shapes life opportunities and influences freedom (idem). Moreover, if one equates mobility and accessibility with capital (Kaufmann, Bergman and Joye, 2004) the relationship between the distribution of mobility, accessibility and economic activity becomes a sensitive case of social justice where people with a surplus of resources (i.e. access to amenities, jobs and social services) prohibit others less-endowed from accessing them for their basic needs (idem). This is precisely the case of the post-socialist city in general and Bucharest in particular when observing the new improvements to the infrastructure network. In a post-socialist context, investments in infrastructure are oriented towards the extension of the current road structure as a facilitator for relieving congestion and enhancing mobility and accessibility. In reality, these measures have infused more car traffic thus creating more congestion to the detriment of both its citizens and the public transportation system (Stanilov, 2007). Several aspects in which mobility and accessibility can be influential in relieving or enhancing injustice are treated in the next sub-section.

regarding personal fulfilment and satisfaction and hence correspond to the notion of justice ( Jiron, 2007). It is therefore critical to point out that the manner in which transport is distributed over citizens is of utmost importance. As such, the distribution should be guided by the benefits rather than the burdens it generates. Further Martens points out that this distribution of transport should not be focused on specific target-groups or transport systems and revenues but should take into account the overall distribution of accessibility over members of society and therefore it should link the level of accessibility provided to one group to the accessibility levels received by other groups (Martens, 2012). Therefore improvements in accessibility levels for some social groups may result in low levels of accessibility for others (see the transportation sub-section of the paper). Nonetheless, it is safe to assume that an overall inequality of accessibility is inevitable, however, what is relevant is that the difference of accessibility levels between social groups remains under a specific range. Mobility is linked with social and spatial inequality through the idea that urban daily mobility can potentially influence in place making with an impact on urban inequality ( Jiron, 2007). In other words, the level of connectivity between households and the daily desired amenities is one proponent of the spatial manifestation of inequality that generates social segregation through residential segregation. This condition ties perfectly into the case of the post-socialist city as land-use deconcentration and segregation are two main phenomena that are taking place (Sykora and Bouzarovski, 2011; Stanilov, 2007).

Mobility, accessibility and injustice

In support of this, several authors (Gobillion, Selod and Zenou, 2007; Houston, 2005; Rau and Vega, 2012) have identified how spatial segregation has a direct implication into job accessibility.

Mobility represents the ability to overcome distances in space (Martens, 2012). Consequently, accessibility has a more enriched meaning, as it stands for the ability of people to accomplish a broad range of actions in space (idem). Implicitly, higher levels of mobility and accessibility generate greater life opportunities

Essentially, mobility nourishes the patterns of inequality through diminished accessibility to jobs for specific social groups while at the same time discrete concentrations of economic activity can enhance inequality through segregating work place and living place (Rau and Vega, 2012). Please refer to the office

and retail sub-section for further explanations. Specific literature has identified a direct relationship between the deconcentration of economy and unemployment rates with people living in areas of lower levels of accessibility to employment opportunities are more inclined to be unemployed (Gobillion, Selod and Zenou, 2007; Houston, 2005). Thus, the function of the transport network becomes important when connecting households to land-uses and influencing the level of unemployment (Houston, 2005). However, there is some evidence to suggest that spatial distance and transit network structure are not solely responsible for unemployment. The condition of the transport system is another factor. Therefore slow, inefficient and uncomfortable public transportation systems have a greater effect on the level of employment (Sanchez, Shen and Peng, 2004). Accordingly, there is a direct link between mobility and accessibility and social segregation. The ways of relieving this phenomenon are (idem): (1) - adding more jobs where households are located; (2) - adding more households where jobs are located; (3) - connecting households and jobs. With the barriers being (Houston, 2005): (1) - travel cost; (2) - travel time; (3) - access to a car or public transportation Regarding the relationship between households and job locations Houston has found evidence that the spatial clustering of jobs attracts people and influences residential mobility (idem). In the case of the postsocialist city the reversal is likewise applicable, where concentrations of high-income households act as drivers for future development therefore generating more uneven development (Stanilov, 2007).

(1) - adding more jobs where households are located; (2) - adding more households where jobs are located; (3) - connecting households and jobs. The just distribution of benefits and burdens

Inequality through diminished accessibility to jobs, amenities and through uneven concentrations of economic activity

Mobility Space Accessibility

{

Functional role Transport network Qualitative role

}

Segregation Spatial mismatch Inclusion

{

Drivers:

Obstacles: (1) - travel cost; (2) - travel time; (3) - access to a car or public transportation

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The transformations of the post-socialist city (Sykora and Bouzarovski, 2011) >

Figure 2 - Spatial structure of Bucharest (2012) HOUSING Socialist housing estates Post 1990â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development INDUSTRY Existing industry Brownfields OFFICE Existing office Planned office RETAIL Existing box-retail Existing shopping centres Under construction Planned shopping centres

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from GIS processing of OpenStreetMap data - downloaded on 07.03.2013

development in the inner-city that subsequently decentralized towards the periphery into office clusters The fall of the Iron Curtain ended socialism in Europe. grouped around existing infrastructure. Commercial functions had a tendency to spread-out throughout As a result, the former socialist states underwent a the whole of the urban fabric in close proximity with process of change pertaining to their institutions, households (idem). economy, society and urban structure (Sykora and Bouzarovski, 2011). Conversely, Bucharest followed Critical issues regarding the spatial development of the same trend of post-socialist change. the post-socialist city have been identified by several Albeit the political and institutional changes, the main authors (Nedovic-Budic and Tsenkova 2006; Pucher, argument is that the development of the post-socialist 2005; Sailer-Fliege, 1999; Sykora and Bouzarovski, 2011; Stanilov, 2007) with all of them concluding that urban structure and its present condition of mobility the generated effects are: and accessibility have generated a pattern of social and spatial segregation through transport and spatial (1) - increased automobile traffic in areas with poor inequality. service of public transportation; Post-socialist spatial development, an overview (2) - low job accessibility for social groups without a private car; The spatial development of the post-socialist city is a two fold process between its old socialist inheritance (3) - the dissolution of open space at the periphery and the subsequent post-socialist transformations. and the increase in infrastructure and services costs to The outcome of this dialogue can be described as the fragmentation of the former socialist city into isolated the fringe areas where new business was located; pieces of urban space (Stanilov, 2007). (4) - a general trend of socio-spatial segregation with a high correlation between income levels and residential Firstly, in the early years of socialism, the structure of location. the city presented a compact form with an inner-core that expanded outward with housing and industry in The next sub-sections explain the development of the form of wedges along road and rail lines (Sailerthe post-socialist city through four of its main spatial Fliege, 1999). Responding to the ideological goal elements: housing, industry, office and retail and the of industrializing its society while also catering to transportation system. future industrial growth, the industrial estates of the socialist city were often over dimensioned with the land in-between the wedges serving as space for future growth. Regardless of the housing and industrial expansion, the inner-city core took up the important administrative institutions together with cultural, retail and also housing. Because of an insufficient surplus of amenities in the old residential neighbourhoods and also in the new socialist housing estates, the centre became a major destination within the urban structure of the post-socialist city (idem).

The post-socialist Bucharest

Institutional

Social Bucharest Urban

Secondly, the main characteristics of spatial development in the post-socialist city can be outlined as a two-fold process of decentralization and suburbanization of its residential, industrial, office and retail functions (Stanilov, 2007). New urbanization happened at first through office

Please see the maps for a visual description of the text.

Housing The distribution of the population in the post-socialist city is characterized by three main processes (Stanilov, 2007): (1) - the shrinking of residential uses within the urban core; (2) - the suburbanization of housing; (3) - the restitution of land, the relaxation of land development controls and the establishment of an open land market. Two elements make-up the spatial condition of housing, the old socialist housing estates and the new residential development. The socialist housing estates can be characterized by the clustering of neighbourhood units, or mikrorayons, of roughly 5,000 to 15,000 residents and were planned to incorporate all the required uses to sustain daily life. However, in reality these units were poorly serviced by amenities, and mainly functioned as dormitory areas at the urban periphery (idem). Moreover, these units were closely linked with adjacent industry sites that performed as the main places for work for these estates. However not all work-related trips happened in these units. Therefore, this high-density of socialist housing at the urban periphery coupled with the decentralization of land-uses has created the premise of long commuting trips to centres of employment that generate high transportation costs (NedovicBudic and Tsenkova, 2006). It is critical to point out that generally post-socialist cities experience high levels of home-ownership (Stanilov, 2007) which entails a low level of housing mobility as it is more difficult to exchange residence. Therefore the level of accessibility of households to amenities becomes an important factor in influencing daily life in the post-socialist city. After the fall of the old regime, new residential development happened through suburbanization on the urban fringe of private detached housing or through developer-driven housing construction both in the inner urban areas and in the periphery.

Because of a new-found economic prosperity and the desire to escape from both the city and the socialist bad neighbourhoods the process of residential relocation has triggered a phenomenon of socio-spatial segregation (Stanilov, 2007). The main characteristics and effects of new housing construction are (idem): (1) - privatization of space and the rise of individual interests; (2) - suburban incremental and dense evolution due to the condition of limited public financing into infrastructure extensions and the high price of land, lower personal income (as compared to the Western situation) and the slower rate of residential suburbanization; (3) - socio-spatial segregation due to the fact that new residences are more expensive than dwellings in the city therefore specific income groups cluster together based on their means. Therefore new residential construction generates gentrification of inner city neighbourhoods or transforms the urban fringe in single family upperincome developments (Nedovic-Budic and Tsenkova, 2006).

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Figure 3 - Housing in Bucharest (2012) HOUSING Socialist housing estates Post 1990â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development Residential development Main clusters of detached housing

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from GIS processing of OpenStreetMap data - downloaded on 07.03.2013

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Figure 4 -Industry, housing and transportation HOUSING Socialist housing estates INDUSTRY Existing industry Brownfields Peripheral logistics TRANSPORTATION Tram lines Train lines

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from GIS processing of OpenStreetMap data - downloaded on 07.03.2013

Industry The main driver for socialist urbanization was through the industrial development of its cities (Stanilov, 2007). However, this mass industrialization needed an adequate workforce. Therefore housing estates were developed in close proximity and directly linked to the industrial sites for efficient transportation. Notwithstanding this, the overall condition of industry was that of inefficiency and detrimental consumption of land through over dimensioning of the industrial areas for further industrial exploitation.

The subsequent restructuring of the post-socialist economy saw the transformation of vast areas of industrial sites into abandoned and pollutant fields in inner city areas as well as in the periphery (NedovicBudic and Tsenkova, 2006). As a result of extensive closures of industrial production, the post-socialist city experienced rising rates of unemployment, poverty and ethnic tensions in areas of the now abandoned industry (idem). Therefore the changing of the modes of production in the post-socialist city altered the distribution of income over its society and with it generating patterns of inequality. Additionally, reusing the old industrial stock in the early years of transition was problematic due to several technical reasons. This created the premise of new industrial development decentralisation on boundaries of the compact urban areas. The main factors for decentralization were (Stanilov, 2007): (1) - the difficulties for redevelopment the old industrial stock which ultimately drove new industry in open land areas; (2) - the shifting of the modes of mobility towards the car made outer urban areas more accessible to new industry. Therefore spatial conditions and mobility further influenced industrial decentralization where areas of weak transport connections and poor accessibility present stagnant industrial development while at the same time, brownfield redevelopment has started in areas with good transport links and a favorable location (Kiss, 2007).

It is safe to speculate that, in the future, brownfields will start to be redeveloped from the inner city which is more accessible and then spread out towards the periphery (Stanilov, 2007). As an example, in Budapest industrial redevelopment started with areas closest to the city centre, which had high accessibility, towards more remote areas (Kiss, 2007). As an inference, brownfields present a great potential for redevelopment and job creation, and that certain brownfield presenting limited infrastructure connections could be treated as experiments for different modes of travel and transport connections.

Office and retail The general bulk of investment during the first years of transition was into office development usually focused on capital cities (Stanilov, 2007). The pattern of development for offices started initially as concentrations in the inner city areas and subsequently decentralising in suburban office clusters. High accessibility and prestige made inner city areas instant targets for new office development. However, consistent office concentration and rising car ownership rates generated a pattern of reduced accessibility of the urban cores. As a consequence of congestion and surging landprices new office started clustering on existing infrastructure and in less dense but prestigious areas at the urban periphery (Sailer-Fliege, 1999). In Bucharest this phenomenon is represented by the Baneasa area in the northern part of the city where the office market has developed into the high-income new residential areas (Stanilov, 2007). However this area is almost entirely car-reliant with a limited number of public transportation links and poor modal shifts (Mionel, 2012). Moreover, as a result of office clustering, more inner-city firms are relocating to these living-andworking paradises (idem). Consequently, the new office development had a considerable influence on the urban morphology of the post-socialist city. It has been responsible for the expansion of the city centre, the creation of a dispersed poly-nuclear type urban structure and the spreading of inner-city functions into the suburbs (Sykora in Stanilov, 2007). Nonetheless it is also responsible for the taking-up of green land through new development where office parks are developing at the edges of the compact city exploiting cheap land prices and the present road connections (idem). In Bucharest, a process of office development through infrastructure speculation is taking place where new offices are spreading towards future infrastructure connections such as the A3 corridor. Correspondently, retail took a similar route of development. The first manifestation of retail

development in the post-socialist city was during the period of transition when small-scale retail outlets started growing from inner-city areas towards the socialist neighborhoods (Stanilov, 2007). Moreover, it is critical to point out that one main factor for retail location was accessibility. Therefore larger retail stores began positioning themselves around an initial cluster of kiosks or in former socialist retail centres (idem). Secondly, retail further developed through expansions of big-box schemes, as a consequence of the economic recovery and foreign investment. However, these big retail stores are being located in poorly integrated locations on the fringe or outside previous built-up areas (Sailer-Fliege, 1999). Therefore, the spatial conditions for the proliferation of the shopping centre are (Stanilov, 2007): (1) - accessibility through location on important thoroughfares; (2) - location in sparsely populated areas and acting as a driver for the growth of residential development. Office development in the post-socialist city has a tendency to cluster to office complexes while at the same time hooking-up to existing and also projected infrastructure links. Therefore its pattern of distribution is not directly linked to the proximity or accessibility of households. That condition has the potential to generate low job accessibility. Nonetheless in certain cases, the clustering of high-income residences can drive office and retail development in close proximity to these areas.

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Figure 5 - Office and retail OFFICE Existing office Planned office RETAIL Existing box-retail Existing shopping centres Under construction Planned shopping centres Future A3 - motorway High-income agglomerations

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from GIS processing of OpenStreetMap data - downloaded on 07.03.2013

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Figure 6 - Transportation, production, consumption INFRASTRUCTURE Planned roads Future A3 - motorway Tram line Subway line Planned subway line OFFICE Existing office Planned office RETAIL Existing box-retail Existing shopping centres Under construction Planned shopping centres

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from GIS processing of OpenStreetMap data - downloaded on 07.03.2013 and municipality reports

Transportation Two phenomena carve out the condition of the transportation system in the post-socialist city: the rise of automobile ownership and the decline of public transport use (Pucher, 2005). The rise in car ownership was seen as result of the desire for success and independence of the citizen of the post-socialist city, the higher income levels of certain social groups and the ease with which one could acquire an automobile (Pucher, 2005). In Bucharest, the number of cars in 2011 was estimated at 1.3 million with an addition of 400 to 500,000 commuter cars from neighbouring areas (Nae and Turnock, 2011). Another consequence of economic restructuring and the loss of jobs in the industrial sector is the dramatic drop in public transportation shares. Therefore, industrial estates that were once heavily serviced by public transport underwent foreclosure thus transforming the old public transport lines into redundant elements (idem).

their jobs and also amenities in the inner-city areas extremely difficult (idem). In Bucharest, the outer urban areas present poor levels of public transportation coverage. Therefore, the lack of mobility choices and the spatial isolation of suburbia: (1) - fosters inequalities between the centre and the suburbs; (2) - delivers poor accessibility to inner-city amenities

Spatial condition The Comprehensive Transport Study for Bucharest cites the following spatial weaknesses of the transportation infrastructure of Bucharest: (1) - Problems of urban structure - due to sprawl of urban area and insufficient transport network; (2) - Problems of transport demand - increase in vehicle ownership and decrease in public transport usage

Moreover the current trend of the post-socialist transportation policy is enforcing heavy investments in road infrastructure through road expansions and road widening. However these investments cannot keep up with the pace of motorization thus creating road congestion that blocks surface public transportation (idem). The result is a stratified distribution of transport and overall transport inequality.

(3) - Mismatch between transport supply and transport demand - the increase of industrial idle land and concentration of business entities into the central area makes the transport demand pattern changed. Therefore, the transport supply does not match with the transport demand.

In support of this, Pojani has identified two forms of transport inequality in Tirana, Albania where (Pojani, 2011):

(5) - Overlapping Public Transport Network - mostly between tram and metro lines - the overlapping of routes deteriorates the profitability of public transport entities.

(1) - inner city women, the elderly, the poor and the disabled and children are forced to rely on the public transportation system thus making them more vulnerable to car traffic; (2) - the stratification of income is dividing the society into those with a car and those without a phenomenon that is enforcing social segregation. What is more, urbanization patterns are reinforcing the issue of transport inequality where suburban spatially isolated residents are forced to rely on inefficient public transportation making accessing

(4) - Deterioration of Public Transport Service

Social and spatial segregation Notwithstanding the particularities inherent to each post-socialist city, this section identifies the social and spatial segregation patterns of the post-socialist city through a direct reference to Bucharest. Post-socialism brought for the former socialist states considerable advantages such as social freedom, greater residential mobility, the possibility of greater financial earnings and better social status, the opening up of the countries to foreign investment and so on (Mionel, 2012). On the other hand it also brought a greater tendency for social and spatial segregation. Segregation in Bucharest is a direct condition of income segregation through a three-fold process of (idem):

Thirdly, real-estate development is furthering gentrification. An example for this is the Vitan neighbourhood in Bucharest. The construction of the new shopping mall in the late 1990â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s generated a surge of land and rent prices while also adding enhanced visibility for the area. Therefore more gentrification happened with poorer individuals that could not afford the rising living costs being pushed back to cheaper but amenity starved areas such as old socialist neighbourhoods. At the same time, in the now gentrified quarters a cluster of upper-class retail and residential development took place. In Bucharest, the shopping mall is a driver for growth generating higher land prices, rents and value of building stock. However it also generates social displacement.

(1) - auto-segregation of high and middle-income groups in suburban residential developments or in neighbourhood enclaves in the inner-city (2) - segregation of the poor in specific socialist housing neighbourhoods (3) - segregation through real-estate development. Firstly, the auto-segregation of the urban elites happened in Bucharest generally out of the desire to escape the busy city and lead a quite and comfortable life. This new ideal for a better life happened either in the suburbs or in the upper-class neighbourhoods of the inner city. It therefore generated a condition of enclaves both of suburbia and of inner city areas. Moreover these areas of concentration of the upper elites are usually accessible and present all the important city amenities. Adding to this is the fact that this critical mass of high quality residential stock, amenities and upper-classes of citizens is driving realestate development with more and more amenities appearing in proximity.

100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000

The Mall

Secondly, this started a process of gentrification of the poor. Through the push factors of income segregation, the poor population had little means to afford the rents or property in these areas and therefore were forced to relocate in other areas of the city better suited to their income level. More often than not, they relocated in socialist dormitory estates in the southern parts that presented little or no amenities.

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Figure 7 - Price for a two room apartment in Vitan Source: www.coldwell-banker.ro/romana/centrul_media/stiri. html

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VITAN MALL

Figure 7 - Land value, office and retail development OFFICE Office development Planned office development RETAIL Existing box-retail Existing shopping centres Under construction Planned shopping centres PROBLEM AREAS Slums Ghettoes Chinese enclaves 1000 € / sqm

Source: author’s drawing from GIS processing of OpenStreetMap data - downloaded on 07.03.2013 and (Mionel, 2012)

3500 € / sqm

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Scheme showing the spatial planning process in Bucharest >

2 6

5 4

Figure 8 - Administrative makeup - some sectors have to deal with a broad range of issues from the city centre to peripheral sprawl and the emergence of problem areas INCOME Highest income areas High income areas OFFICE Office development Planned office development PROBLEM AREAS Slums Ghettoes Chinese enclaves

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from GIS processing of OpenStreetMap data - downloaded on 07.03.2013

PUZ / PUD

Yes

Architecture phase

or PUG in Romanian terminology.

The administrative make-up of Bucharest is a division of six sectors with each sector having its own mayor that report to the general mayor of the city.

It represents a masterplan of land-uses and urban design rules that structure the urban design and architectural interventions in the city.

Although each of the sectors are free to manage their own budgets and development strategies it often times creates the premise of a clash of interests between the administrative bodies that compete for development incentives rather than cooperating together for the common good of the city (Nae and Turnock, 2011).

While not eliminating the usefulness of the PUG in terms of it being a structure for urban morphology, urban density and land-use, three main weaknesses of the PUG are distinguished:

Moreover, because of the physical administrative limits, each sector has to tackle a widespread of spatial, social and economic issues ranging from the city centre, suburban sprawl and everything in-between. (Pen and Hoogerbrugge, 2012).

PUG

CTUAT (urbanism committee)

Public administration in Bucharest

Revise based on recommendations from the committee

Therefore each sector must deal more or less with all the problems of Bucharest. Moreover, some sectors have specific traits such as sectors 1 and 2 being among the richest while for example sector 5 is the poorest. That coupled with a lack of integration between the administrative bodies of each sector sets the stage incoherent urban management and development strategy. It is critical to point out the mismatch between the ever increasing heterogeneity of the spatial development of Bucharest and the homogeneous make-up of the sector limits. It seems probable that in the future each sector will have increasing difficulties in resolving their specific problems while still retaining a coherent city strategy. Further I argue that this management scheme coupled with the condition of spatial planning and the General Urban Plan has resulted in the heterogeneous and unequal development pattern of Bucharest. Moreover, this condition is reinforcing the patterns of inequality. Spatial planning in Bucharest Urban development in Bucharest is mainly at the discretion of private initiative (Nae and Turnock, 2011). Therefore private, profit-focused interests and not the public good permeates through the urban evolution of the city. The spatial planning document that guides spatial development in Bucharest is The General Urban Plan

(1) - The PUG does not perform the function of a spatial strategy or vision for the city (2) - The PUG can be derogated by the PUZ or PUD. The PUZ is a masterplan at a district scale while the PUD is assigned to the neighbourhood scale. Therefore through endless derogation the PUG loses its structuring character. (3) - The current PUG, dating from 2000, is out of date because of the many derogations that happened throughout the last decade. However, before the PUZ is approved and the PUG is derogated it must be evaluated by the CTUAT (or the urbanism committee). Ultimately the CTUAT has the final say in the matter (and is often times coerced by more persistent developers) which explains the heterogeneity of quality of projects that actually get approved or built. Therefore, it is safe to state that, the current structure and legal weakness of the PUG is not equipped to address the interests of the whole community and is more often than not at the mercy of private actors which have their own agenda. Nedovic-Budic and Tsenkova better frame the condition of the spatial planning in all post-socialist cities: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Master plans, or urban general plans, approved to guide urban development are often revised on the basis of short-term bargaining rather than longterm goals and objectives. All this still does not mean that the processes and initiatives for urban development and revitalization are depoliticized or unchallenged by the variety of interests and views.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; (Nedovic-Budic and Tsenkova, 2006, p 353)

Urban development

Spatial patterns

Mobility

Monocentric > Dispersed Polycentric

Residential enclaves and sprawl

Car-based

Office hubs / concentrations in prestige areas

Car-based infrastructure projects

Office corridors along infrastructure

Neglect towards the public transportation system

Speculative, opportunistic nonregualted private driven uneven development

Scattered non-integrated box - retail Industrial ring The condition of Bucharest

Problems Disparities between highincome amenity-rich areas versus low-income amenitypoor areas Income segregation and gentrification Low accessibility to jobs and amenities

Public administration

Spatial planning

Public role

Heterogeneous city structure versus homogeneous administrative division

Opaque planning process

Little or no public involvement in urban projects

Developer-driven urbanism

Lack of cooperation and integration

Outdated and structurally weak PUG

Weak public voice

Strong political influence in the

Increasing social and spatial fragmentation of the city

Problem statement

Profit-driven urban speculation, a structurally weak masterplan, the lack of a vision and strategy for the city, the inefficient cooperation of administrative bodies and a rigid and opaque planning process have generated the present condition of Bucharest, of a socially and spatially segregated city.

Overview

Mobility and accessibility

Over the course of the last 20 years Bucharest, alongside all European socialist capitals, has undergone a process of intense change.

The post-socialist years of Bucharest have witnessed a rising share in car ownership rates and a dramatic plunge of public transportation ridership. New residential started popping up in places with very poor infrastructure and were completely car reliant. The city was gradually overcome by the private car as the dominant means for transportation. Virtually all new development seemed and still seems to ignore public transit stations with the suburbs being out of reach of the public transport coverage. This creates the premise of spatial mismatch and transport inequality, essentially transforming the city into an unjust system.

At present Bucharest is developing from a previous monocentric form through the overall process of decentralization of future land-uses into a dispersed polycentric structure. This inherent condition is threatening the cohesion of the city and is ultimately generating processes of social and spatial segregation. Spatial development The spatial development of Bucharest falls in-line with every post-socialist European capital. The overall trend of development after the fall of the socialist regime was one of market speculation. This has created an uneven city. The inner city underwent a process of transformation into office and commercial dominant functions while the old socialist neighbourhoods were infused with new small scale program such as retail and services. Office and retail development were strong drivers of growth and raised the overall value and attractiveness of areas. Inner city development raised the level of prestige of the area, infused it with new functions and vitality while also generating increasing congestion and residential displacement and gentrification.

At the same time, economic readjustment implied unforeseen foreclosures of many industrial estates and brownfield generation. Foreclosures meant that many were left without employment, those unlucky saw refuge in emergent ghettoes and poor neighbourhoods that now are deemed problem areas. The new-found freedom and wealth generated a process of income segregation of a rising social class generated a process of decentralization where new suburbs started cropping out especially in the northern side of the city. New wealth started clustering in suburban citadels and inner-city enclaves while the poor got pushed into dilapidated slums and run-down socialist housing blocks.

The municipality tentatively addresses this issue through new but timid investments in infrastructure as ways to relieve car congestion while public transportation is virtually ignored. Public administration and spatial planning The development of the city was entirely left into the hands of private developers. The structure of the General Masterplan permits endless derogations therefore with the tide of continuous building the plan is obsolete. Bucharest has not had a tradition of strategic plans and visions. Development is privately-driven and opaque without any community participation. Politics has a strong voice in the planning process while also being influenced by private developers and powerful lobby groups. This creates a vicious circle with projects being developed entirely profit-driven and for a private interest.

Problems The main problems of Bucharest are a result of the last 20 years of uncoordinated, speculative development. The major effect is that of uneven development which has lead to the condition of amenity rich areas and amenity starved areas which are occupied by different income groups. Without a clear and coherent spatial strategy more decentralization and dispersion will occur which exacerbates the already socially and spatially polarized urban structure.

In light of the findings of the problem field definition and problem statement the following questions are put forth.

Main research question

Thesis drivers

How can a spatial strategy based on a new logic of land-use and transport integration address the social and spatial segregation of Bucharest?

Sub-research questions â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;...the spatial and functional transformations and the consequent redistribution of population and activities leading to socio-spatial segregation processes increase the vulnerability of cities.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; (Tasan-Kok and Stead, 2013, p 72)

(1) - What are the spatial processes that trigger the social and spatial segregation phenomena in Bucharest? (2) - What are Bucharestâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drivers and obstacles of growth and how are they spatially defined?

Motivation The reasoning behind this thesis is the direct result of a personal fascination with Bucharest and a deeper societal and academic relevance. Firstly, in my training as an architect and urbanist I have always sought for the chance to undertake a spatial strategy for my city, as a unifying thread that links my academic and professional stance regarding Bucharest. Secondly, from a societal and academic standpoint, the post-socialist city in general and Bucharest in particular are one of the examples where ongoing societal, spatial and economic processes are continuingly shaping their development. The final effect of these processes is a phenomena of social and spatial segregation that more often than not remain unaddressed by their municipalities and spatial planning professionals.

(3) - What is the role and scope of influence of formal spatial planning in Bucharest?

Expected final product

(4) - What are the visions / objectives / goals formulated by the government and how are these goals being pursued? Is there room for improvement?

The expected products are a collection of the spatial strategy for the city and a discrete design of one of the designated areas for development. The research will be compounded in the form of a final report.

(5) - What is the spatial logic of Bucharest with regards to its areas of segregation and areas of affluence and productivity ? Is there an overlap between the spatial configuration of Bucharest and its social distribution? (6) - What is the ideal spatial model to guide a spatial strategy? Is it the compact city, linear city or polycentric city?

Aim and objective The aim of this research is to expose several critical issues through which mobility, accessibility and the spatial development of Bucharest have influenced its processes of social and spatial inequality. The over arching objective is to propose an alternative spatial strategy focused land-use and transport integration that addresses inequality in Bucharest.

(1) - What are the spatial processes that trigger the social and spatial segregation phenomena in Bucharest ?

Theory review

(2) - What are Bucharestâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drivers and obstacles of growth and how are they spatially

Documentation

Mobility, Inequality and the PostSocialist City - review paper

Real-estate reports Strategic Concept Bucharest 2035 Municipality reports

(3) - What is the role and scope of influence of formal spatial planning in Bucharest?

Problem field definition

Social justice

The Post-Socialist Bucharest

Problem statement

Mobility

Urban development

Disparities between highincome amenity-rich areas versus low-income amenitypoor areas

Accessibility Inequality

Mobility

Social condition Governance Spatial Planning

Income segregation and gentrification Low accessibility to jobs and amenities

(4) - What are the visions / objectives / goals formulated by the government and how are these goals being pursued? Is there room for improvement?

Main research question

How can a spatial strategy based on a new logic of land-use and transport integration address the social and spatial segregation of Bucharest?

General Urban Plan 2000 Pen and Hoogerbrugge, 2012, Economic vitality of Bucharest, In: European Metropolitan Network Institute, The Hague, Netherlands Literature review Nae and Turnock, 2010, The new Bucharest: Two decades of restructuring, In: Cities, 2011, Vol. 28, pp 206â&#x20AC;&#x201C;219

> Mapping:

(5) - What is the spatial logic of Bucharest with regards to its areas of segregation and areas of affluence and productivity ?

(1) - income (2) - education level (3) - occupation (4) - value of land (5) - population density Space syntax analysis Documentation Japan International Cooperation Agency, 2000, The Comprehensive Transport Study Real-estate reports

Literature review (6) - What are the ideal spatial model and transport strategy to guide the spatial development ?

Polycentric city and TOD Perth - Network City Stockholm - Vision 2030

Objectives

Land use and Transport Strategy

What are the objectives for the new strategy ?

Methodology

Strategy directions What are the steps to accomplish the strategy ?

Spatial Strategy

Polycentric Bucharest

Discrete design 31

Land use Where and how are the new development cores of Bucharest defined?

Mobility What is the logic of their interconnections ?

Labour and education

Mobility and accessibility

Public administration

Urban development

Public universities creating research clusters

Brownfield sites as future development areas

Private actors influencing politics

Uneven north to south development

Educated employees Good metro system Drivers

Low-wage workforce New inner ring road Good working ethos

Car-based infrastructure Brain-drain abroad Obstacles

Incomplete middle and outer ring roads

Mismatch in the labour market Lack of attention for public transportation

Lack of a metropolitan territorial structure

Neighbourhoods lacking public services and amenities

Lack of key personnel in policy and planning

Car dependency

Lack of policy tools

Weak public authority

Inferences

Drivers and obstacles of growth

low-wage educated workforce.

Pen and Hoogerbrugge have identified the following drivers and obstacles to the growth of Bucharest (Pen and Hoogerbrugge, 2012)

Obstacles

Labour market and education Drivers (1) - A pool of good, educated employees;

(2) - What are Bucharest’s drivers and obstacles of growth and how are they spatially defined?

(2) - Low wages of the work force compared to the EU-27 average; (3) - Good working ethos of the employees. Obstacles (1) - The brain drain of highly-skilled young professionals towards job opportunities abroad; (2) - A mismatch in the labour market with an increasing number of highly educated employees occupying low-skilled jobs. Mobility and accessibility Drivers

(1) - A good metro-system with more metro-lines needed to connect the neighbourhoods with the city centre; (2) - The development of a new inner ring road as a solution to reduce the congestion. Obstacles (1) - Strongly car-based orientated infrastructure;

(1) - Politicians have a strong influence on urban planning decisions and can be swayed by the private sector; (2) - Lack of a formal government authority at the metropolitan scale limits an effective cooperation between the city of Bucharest and the villages in the surrounding region; (3) - Lack of experienced people in the key positions in local authorities responsible for implementing the strategies and policies defined by academics and policy-makers; (4) - Lack of implementation, monitoring and controlling processes leading to inefficient results; Urban development patterns Drivers (1) - Brownfield sites as a good opportunity for a future urban (and economic) growth of Bucharest; which can result in a more compact and sustainable development of the city, and an optimal use of available land. Obstacles (1) - Bucharest has developed in an unbalanced way; there is a (strong) difference between the northern and southern parts of the city; (2) - The new neighbourhoods, and some of the old neighbourhoods as well, are lacking public services (i.e. public hospitals, green spaces, and public schools) and are poorly connected to public transport facilities.

(2) - Lack of attention for public transport and bicycle infrastructure.

(3) - Increasing car-dependency;

Public administration

(4) - Weak public authority regarding private development.

Drivers (1) - Strong link between ‘public sector’ and ‘universities’ creating research conglomerates with a

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Figure 9 - Structure of the CSB 2035 Plan NODES AND LAND-USE Inner city core Urban cores Urban sub-cores Stations Activity corridors Land for public projects Strengthening of existing areas TRANSPORTATION Existing metro line New metro line extensions Existing rail line New rail line extensions Airport New airport New port

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from The Strategic Concept Bucharest 2035 (CSB 2035)

Strategic Concept Bucharest 2035

Public administration system

The Strategic Concept Bucharest 2035 (or CSB), dating 2011, is the only recent strategic planning document for Bucharest. Although it does not have any legal power its role is to act as a guide for the future development of the city and for the future General Urban Plan of Bucharest.

(1) - The optimization of the functioning capacity of City Hall and personnel training. (2) - The encouragement of dialogue between the community and the public administration and decision making system (3) - The establishment of an administrative body to monitor, plan and evaluate the urban development of Bucharest.

Vision (trans. by author) (3) - What are the visions / objectives / goals formulated by the government and how are these goals being pursued and what are the challenges?

< The CSB proposes a new airport and river port in the southern regional territory as drivers for relieving the disparities between the north and south areas of the city.

By 2035 Bucharest aims to become an influential, dynamic and creative European capital characterized by smart growth and a strong identity. Strategic objectives (1) - An educated, socially inclusive population that can react to challenges. (2) - High quality of social services. (3) - Healthy and safe living environment. (4) - A capital connected to its regional settlements and to the pan-European corridors. (5) - An even, balanced and dynamic structure of economic activity. (6) - A carefully planned, managed and evaluated urban development. (7) - A capital with a strong urban identity. (8) - An efficient and cooperative public administration system. (9) - A sustainable management of energy and waste. Policies Policies regarding mobility and the public administration system have been selected. Policies related to land-use and social segregation have not been identified in the document. Mobility (1) - An integral development of rail transport. (2) - A better functioning public transportation system. (3) - The promotion of sustainable transportation. (4) - The encouragement of pedestrian movement through the development of a pedestrian network. (5) - A park-and-ride policy. (5) - Exclusive inner-city pedestrian and public transportation mobility.

Challenges Several of the main challenges for the CSB as identified from informal interviews with the coauthors of the Plan are: (1) - the weak and inefficient structure of the public administration system (2) - the lack of a transport and land-use planning body (3) - the mismatch between the administrative spatial division of the city and social and spatial make-up. These challenges have been identified as obstacles for development in the preceding section. Critique (1) - The issue of social and spatial segregation is scarcely mentioned and does not seem do be addressed in the strategy. (2) - Mobility is recognized as one of the main problems of the city, however its resolution in the plan is at times modest. The extensions of the metro line while protruding into problem neighbourhoods do not connect with the radial ring where most of the logistics activity is located and a high concentration of jobs take place. Moreover there does not seem to be a clear strategy for connecting the development cores. (3) - The selection criteria for the development cores is missing. While brownfields remain an important opportunity for development, a greater part of the mass of brownfields seems to be ignored by the plan. (4) - The text is often times convoluted with a lot of confusing terminology that makes the overall understanding of the concept quite demanding.

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Population

N: 51% S: 49%

Density (inhabitant / km2)

N: 8831 S: 9473

Population distribution and density Source: Jones Lang LaSalle, Bucharest City Report, Q4, 2012; GIS processing of OpenStreetMap data downloaded on 07.03.2013

Figure 10 - Rent prices and main spatial elements Highest income areas High income areas Office development Planned office development Existing box-retail Existing shopping centres Under construction Planned shopping centres Amenities Existing metro lines Slums Ghettoes Chinese enclaves 1000

3500 500 50 0 â&#x201A;Ź / sqm

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from (Mionel, 2012)

Social and spatial distribution

the whole of the city. However the south presents the densest areas.

The spatial development of Bucharest and its mobility systems have gnerated a pattern of social and spatial segregation.

Conclusions

Conditions (1) - The most socially disparred areas are not exclusively in the South. However the South has the highest concentration of problem areas. (4) - What is the spatial logic of Bucharest with regards to its areas of segregation and areas of affluence and productivity ?

The hypothesis is proved to be true. Socially deprived areas are usually present in amenity deprived areas. Some of the densest areas in the city have little or no metro coverage. It is here that the mass of problem areas gather.

(2) - There is a correlation between metro coverage and socially and spatially segregated areas. (3) - Office and retail avoid problem areas and generally cluster in the more amenity rich highincome areas. (4) - Income is not the driving factor for retail location, nor is population density.

Is there an overlap between the spatial configuration of Bucharest and its social distribution?

(5) - All the ghettoes are in amenity poor areas with poor metro coverage. (6) - The north and south have the same population numbers and density but different spatial characteristics with the north gathering all the important amenities in the city. (7) - Population density is usually evenly spread over

Distribution of spatial elements Source: Jones Lang LaSalle, Bucharest City Report, Q4, 2012; GIS processing of OpenStreetMap data downloaded on 07.03.2013

Office

Retail

Culture

Services

Religion

Amenities

156

80%

20%

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Figure 11 - Poverty distribution and main spatial elements Highest income areas High income areas Office development Planned office development Existing box-retail Existing shopping centres Under construction Planned shopping centres Amenities Existing metro lines Slums Ghettoes > >20%

Chinese enclaves

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from (Mionel, 2012)

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25 km

Figure 12 - High income distribution and main spatial elements Highest income areas High income areas Office development Planned office development Existing box-retail Existing shopping centres Under construction Planned shopping centres Amenities Existing metro lines Slums Ghettoes Chinese enclaves

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from (Mionel, 2012)

2 20%<

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Figure 13 - Unemployment distribution and main spatial elements Highest income areas High income areas Office development Planned office development Existing box-retail Existing shopping centres Under construction Planned shopping centres Amenities Existing metro lines Slums Ghettoes 8 800

Chinese enclaves

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from (Mionel, 2012)

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25 km

Figure 14 - Low-skilled labour distribution and main spatial elements Highest income areas High income areas Office development Planned office development Existing box-retail Existing shopping centres Under construction Planned shopping centres Amenities Existing metro lines Slums Ghettoes Chinese enclaves

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from (Mionel, 2012)

6 600

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Figure 15 - Upper education distribution and main spatial elements Highest income areas High income areas Office development Planned office development Existing box-retail Existing shopping centres Under construction Planned shopping centres Amenities Existing metro lines Slums Ghettoes 4 4000

Chinese enclaves

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from INSSE

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Figure 16 - Population density distribution and main spatial elements Highest income areas High income areas Office development Planned office development Existing box-retail Existing shopping centres Under construction Planned shopping centres Amenities Existing metro lines Slums Ghettoes Chinese enclaves

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from (Mionel, 2012)

7000<

>10,000

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Figure 17 - Global choice, local nodes and main spatial elements SPATIAL ELEMENTS Office development Planned office development Existing box-retail Existing shopping centres Under construction Planned shopping centres Amenities

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing

Morphology and spatial distribution Several segment maps have been generated through Depthmap. The following findings are put forth: (1) - Local street integration is not a driving factor for office and retail location. Office and big-box retail gather near the major transport axes sometimes in non-integrated zones. (2) - The major street infrastructure is presents a radial pattern. This structure has discontinuities. However the street fragments have the potential to be integrated in a coherent street structure through extensions. (3) - The street structure presents gaps and gashes that contribute to poor pedestrian accessibility. The civic centre is a major contributor to this condition (4) - The street pattern presents several local nodes that have the potential to become local urban subcentres.

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Segment map - global choice

25 km

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Segment map - local choice (R=500)

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Segment map - local integration (R=500)

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Segment map - local nodes (R=500)

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Monocentric to polycentric transformations

(6) - What are the ideal spatial model and transport strategy to guide the spatial development ?

Polycentrism

Spatial structure

Bucharest is progressing from a monocentric form towards a dispersed and uncontrolled spatial structure. Therefore, the hypothesis put forward is that because the natural progression of the city is towards a quasipolycentric structure, a more structured polycentric form can become an alternative for describing the future growth of Bucharest.

Three development paths for a polycentric structure are identified (Cruz et all, 2013):

This section displays several theoretical issues regarding the polycentrism as a spatial process that has the potential to deliver a sustainable way to manage urban growth. Definitions The polycentric city lacks one singular definition. Be that as it may, several authors have identified the polycentrism and the polycentric city as a region or city with various interconnected centralities or poles (Mela, 2008; Milder, 2012; Rogers 2008). Therefore as one concluding definition polycentrism is considered to be an open, multilayered system of nodes, network flows and interactions at all scales, be it global, regional or local (Cruz et all, 2013). Effects The outcomes of polycentrism (Lin et all, 2013):

(1) - more and varied opportunities for efficient and faster commutes through changes of housing or employment, the relocation of enterprise or the choice of uncongested roadways; (2) - sufficient housing choices and jobs that are matched both in quantity and quality (when measured by their socio-economic characteristics) then these areas could be considered as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;balancedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; thereby resulting in workers selecting residential locations as close to their jobsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; location as possible; (3) - the potential to successfully reduce commuting trip distances and time in the metropolitan areas; (4) - the opportunity for greater overall metropolitan trip efficiences through a networked transit infrastructure.

(1) - The centrifugal mode - where the polycentric structure has resulted from a monocentric core through the development of new sub-centres (2) - The incorporation mode - where the monocentric primal core has incorporated already existing sub-cores in the surrounding area (3) - The fusion mode - where several centres / settlements of similar size and importance are linked into a polycentric structure. Locally, on a city scale Bucharest seems to adopt the centrifugal mode while on a regional scale polycentrism will more likely result out of the incorporation of existing settlements. Morphological and functional polycentricity [to be added] Resilience of polycentrism One strong and essential characteristic of polycentric urban systems is that they are resilient. Urban resilience is a system of governance which envelops a high degree of adaptability and capacity to manage urban changes pertaining to socio-economics, ecology and spatial dynamics, in a sustainable way (Schmitt et all, 2013). Characteristics Out of the concept of polycentrism and resilience several characteristics of polycentric urban systems are distinguished (Cruz et all, 2013): (1) - Complexity - implying multiple possible scenarios and outcomes of urban dynamics; (2) - Diversity - a wide array of functions implemented withing the system and a multitude of actors taking part. The diversity of components is a characteristic that strengthens the system.

(3) - Interconnection and interdependence - the exchange of transactions between the systems facilitate their support and makes the system more stable. Spatial elements Spatially polycentric urban systems are comprised by their nodes (or poles) and the links between them, represented by the infrastructure network. Although infrastructure is a term that has a broad sense (i.e. knowledge, service and social networks, etc) here infrastructure entails the urban mobility of passengers and goods. Nodes The characteristics of nodes (Rogers, 2008):

research laboratories and university clusters). (2) - specialist node - is similar to a technical pole however it generates a high intensity of flows and is more embedded in the city context though it does not present public space (e.g. hospital zones). (3) - capsular node - is similar to a specialist node in the sense that it generates flows. However it also generates public space though having a low degree of spatial permeability (e.g. commerial and leisure zones). (4) - higher urban node - this type of node presents a rareness of functions, a high generation of flows and public space and has high relations with its context. These poles have metropolitan importance and perfom the function of metropolitan centres (e.g. inner-city cores).

(1) - a distributed density in such a way that allows the feasibility of a mass transport system; (5) - capsular sub-node - presents a low rarity of functions and a reduced user catchment area. The node (2) - a sufficient mixture of uses to allow access to jobs has an importance at a neighbourhood scale but is without the need to commute long distances to find able to generate flows and has public space although employment; its relations to the context are not important and are usually limited (e.g. hypermarkets). (3) - economically strong, dense and connected in a transport system; (6) - urban sub-node - this node reacts in the same way as the capsular sub-node, however it has more (4) - an accessible, efficient and affordable transit strong relations with its context (e.g. community system that interconnects all nodes. centres). The typology of nodes pertaining to (Mela, 2008): Governance (1) - the rarity of functions (i.e. highly specialized poles); (2) - the generation of flows of users : concentration of functions that involve a strong influx of users versus others that are directed only at highly selective bands of users; (3) - the generation of public space; (4) - the degree of permeability. Type of node (idem): (1) - technical node - implies a concentration of highly rare functions that do not generate flows nor public space and has a poor spatial permeability. It is highly important for the economic and cultural context because it is highly specialised. It is also complementary to other specialised nodes (e.g.

[to be added]

Transport oriented development

drop. Moreover there is a direct relationship between parking supply and the price of housing. The node-place model

The integrated development of railway stations and land around the nodes of those networks is seen as a way towards a more public transport and nonmotorized modes-oriented, concentrated urbanization pattern (Berolini, 2008).

The concept of the node place model is that improving the transport provision in an area will create condition favourable to the further intensification and diversification of land-uses and viceversa (Bertolini, 2008).

Definition

Aim

Transport oriented development describes the physical integration and linkage of public transportation investements and land development at or near a station (Cervero, 2012).

The aim of the model is to assess and indentify nodes that present development potential.

Aim

Five conditions of the node are distinguished:

The aims of transport oriented development are:

(1) - Balanced - where node and place values are equally strong

(1) - To encourage public transportation and reduce traffic congestion while improving environmental quality

(2) - Stressed - where the intensity and diversity of both mobility flows and urban activities is maximal.

Implementation

(2) - To revitalize urban districts (3) - To encourage the production of more affordable housing

(4) - To stop the consumption of agricultural land and open space Benefits Transport oriented developments have shown: (1) - lower car ownership rates (2) - higher transit modal splits (3) - fewer vehicle trips per day Challenges There needs to be a right balance between the supply of parking space and public transportation shares. Empirical studies have shown that there is an inverse relationship between the two. Therefore with the increase in parking supply public transportation shares

Node-place characteristics

(3) - Dependent - where the node depends on other factors such as area topography, the morphology of the transportation network, external subsidies (4) - Unbalanced node - where the node presents good transport infrastructure but lacks diversity of uses (5) - Unbalanced place - where the node presents a wide array of uses but lacks an adequate supply of transport Unbalanced nodes, because of their development potential, are essential in the development of the urban transport and land use system. To establish the index of a node-place, a node-place analysis is performed (for a detailed description of the analysis Bertolini, 1999; Reusser et all, 2008). The node-place model analysis is therefore useful in identifying the condition of the nodal network and the sequencing of development.

Perth Network city ideal model >

Figure 18 - The network city Activity centres Activity corridors Light-rail links Transport corridors

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from Western Australian Planning Commission

Examples The Network City The Network City is a spatial planning strategy for Perth, Western Australia. It has a framework for urban development for a 25-year period from 2004 till 2029. The Network City is spatially defined as a network of mutually dependent subcentres linked by a highquality public transport system. Aim To achieve more sustainable travel outcomes by improving land-use transport integration. Framework The strategy puts forth the following framework: (1) - a strong system of regional planning (2) - a state agency structure organised around land use transport integration (3) - a planning strategy produced and supported by the regional community (4) - recognizing the need for new planning practices and new stakeholder relationships Spatial elements 51

Spatially it is a polycentric urban structure which presents three main components: (1) - Activity corridors - low speed, pedestrian oriented routes centred on either a main arterial road or suburban railway line utilising land up to 400 m on either side.

key to the metropolitan structure, and is based on achieving a high level of sustainable accessibility. The aim for the transport network is to provide a high quality walking and cycling network to and within centres close to home, high frequency public transport between activity centres and car, freight and public transport movement across the region but outside these centres. Policy In Western Australia there has been a long-standing policy environment promoting land-use transport integration with public initiatives oriented towards the achievement of more sustainable travel outcomes. The public budget is also dedicated to the addition and extension of cycling infrastructure and a travel behavior change programme. Moreover, the national government adopted a National Charter on Integrated Land Use and Transport Planning with 30 metropolitan governments agreeing to cooperate with the state in accordance with an Integrated Transport Planning Partnering Agreement. Spatial planning The key change towards the ability to integrate land use and transport was the merger of the transport and planning agencies into one body. Further, the network city replaced the old strategy documents. It proposed the adoption of nine priority tasks. The multidisciplinary character of these tasks requires a superior integration and cooperation of all the planning teams. Challenges

Differences between the outcomes of the spatial structure such as the dialogue between the need for strong centres at the end of each corridor versus (2) - Activity centres - developed at intervals along continuous commercial develpoment over the entire the activity corridor as the focus of activity needs. Centres include small scale employment, shopping and length of the corridor were common during the services, and medium to higher density housing placed planning process. Moreover, the setting of population and employment targets for each government area is a within walking distance of the transit stations. new practice tool that has not been yet implemented. (3) - Transport corridors - which are paired with one or more activity corridors to form a network. Transport Lack of practice in considering accessibility to activity corridors provide a higher speed, higher capacity route centres by public transport or indirectly integrating for inter-urban travel and relegate the need for longer service provision with land use planning. distance through-traffic. The transport network is the

Stockholm 2030

(3) - Vicinity to housing. (4) - Vicinity to seashore. (5) - Vicinity to parks and green areas. (6) - Location in defined areas according to the draft Regional Development Plan, for example in a subregional centre. (7) - Location in defined areas according to the municipal comprehensive plan.

The regional development plan for the Stockholm region (RUFS 2010) has one of its foremost aims to relieve the inner city and to create living sub-regional cores offering a wide selection of workplaces, services and cultural events ( Johnson, 2012). It is believed that if the outer cores are suitable located then a polycentric structure can provide greater welfare than a region which remains mono-centric ( Johnson, The final principles governing the spatial strategy are: 2012). The plan was developed through the creation and evaluation of alternative planning scenarios. (1) - Dense cities (2) - Good Accessibility to Stockholm and Arlanda Vision International Airport (3) - Competitive Public Transport The vision is to make the Stockholm region one of (4) - Efficient, Fit-for-purpose Freight Structure Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most attractive metropolitan areas in terms of (5) - Management of Land and Water Resources living, working and visiting. (6) - Enhanced Cooperation within the Metropolitan Region Objectives Spatial structure Four main objectives are put forth by the plan: (1) - An open and accessible region The structure has the following elements: (2) - A leading growth region (3) - A region with a good living environment (1) - A radial subway system emanating from the (4) - A resource-efficient region central city (2) - New towns along the subway lines Strategy (3) - Residential and employment in one location resulting in a bi-directional use of the public system In order to achieve these objectives six strategy steps (4) - Public transport systems which converge at act as guidelines for development: subway stations allowing for seamless connections (5) - Low public transport fares and expensive car (1) - Increase sustainable capacity and quality in parking strategic areas (6) - High density and high functional mix around (2) - Develop, ideas renewal and innovation stations (3) - Safeguard assets to meet future needs (4) - Develop a multi-core spatial structure with dense Governance and spatial planning zones (5) - Strengthen cohesion The main aspects of governance and spatial planning (6) - Promote personal growth that act as drivers for the strategy are: Urban development The urban development was distributed according to the following criteria: (1) - Accessibility to employment, by public transport or car. (2) - Accessibility to housing, by public transport or car.

(1) - Strong role of the central city (2) - Land in public hands (3) - A large share of public housing (4) - A strategic continuity or tradition in spatial planning and spatial vision Challenges The regional plan acts as a guideline and does not

have legal power, therefore there needs to be a strong cooperation and agreement between the municipalities involved ( Johnson, 2012). The main challenges are: (1) - The expansion of the urban system would result in increasing distances and time of travel (2) - The increasing amount of mobility demand between new poles and an inflexible subyway system suggest the adoption of ring light-rail connections (3) - Uncertainty of new developments being sufficient for new growth (4) - Difficulty of coordination between poles

Figure 19 - Structure of Stockholm 2030 Plan CENTRES Greater Stockholm Major town Commuter town Other town GOVERNANCE Cooperation area TRANSPORTATION Major transport corridors Transport corridors Regional rail High-speed rail Airport Port

Source: authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing from Office of Regional Planning, Stockholm County Council

Technical

Capsular

Higher

Henri Coanda Airport

New airport and port (from CSB) 56

Transport corridors

Metro and tram infrastructure

Light (outer ring) and high speed rail

Specialized cores

Final structure

Polycentric Bucharest [draft spatial strategy]

Vision

Mobility

The polycentric Bucharest strives to become an equal and just city through an integrated land-use and transport spatial structure.

Public transportation

Objectives

The strategy assumes the role of the metro as underground and surface transport, to become the main backbone for public transportation and fast mobility.

The spatial strategy is planned for an interval of 30 years. Bucharest is evolving into an uncontrolled polycentric structure. Therefore the hypothesis put forth is that polycentrism can become an alternative for describing and guiding the future growth of the city.

The metro extends throughout the whole urban fabric interconnecting the important spatial elements (households, office and retail, amenities and new Over arching goals development cores). The tram lines functions as feeder Based on previous investigation the strategy proposed lines to the metro. The desired spatial condition is to remove all the overlaps between tram and metro in three over arching goals as guides for the whole development. They are spread apart into short, medium order to create a network of public transportation. and long term objectives. Transport corridors (1) - Connectivity - improved overall mobility and accessibility. (2) - Cohesiveness - a balanced, socially and spatially cohesive future development of the city (3) - Cooperation - efficient, transparent and accountable governance system Short term goals (1) - The establishment of one administrative body for transport and spatial planning. (2) - A new territorial administrative division based on polycentrism and on a neighbourhood structure. (3) - The extension of metro connections one and two in disconnected neighbourhoods.

A new middle ring road is proposed as well as the upgrading of the outer ring road with a new light rail line using the already present but not functioning infrastructure. The transport corridors are assigned as radial thoroughfares touching the rings. New development cores as stations are assigned at the intersection of mobility modes.

Land use Three major development core typologies are proposed based on previous research about polycentrism.

The outer ring performs as a structure for specialized cores of mainly logistics and industry. No households are proposed here. The middle ring dispersed all the capsular cores. Here is were the main office, retail, (1) - The complete middle transport ring. (2) - The complete metro third and fourth connections. services and public program is concentrated. The inner (3) - The established metro connection to the existing ring concentrates all the higher urban functions of the city. Henri Coanda airport. Mid term goals

< Spatial manipulations

Long term goals (1) - The completion of the three transport rings and transport corridors. (2) - The complete tram feeder infrastructure to the metro. (3) - The complete and integrated light-rail, highspeed rail and metro infrastructure.

Brownfields will be the main land source for the new polycentric development. All the cores are linked by transport corridors and public transportation.

Core characteristics The selection criteria is loosely based on the nodeplace model analysis (Bertolini, 1999) and uses Space

1 - Present condition

2 - New metro loop into disconnected neighbourhoods

4- Complete metro and rail infrastructure (station areas in black)

3 - A secondary metro ring

30 years

20 years

10 years

Syntax to identify morphological criteria for sub-cores (nodal analysis, integration and betweenness; the maps are done).

Specialization (1) - Rareness of functions (research clusters, universities, hospitals, office or retail clusters).

Selection criteria Territorial availability The desired spatial condition for the characteristics is a high potential of accessibility to the indicated spatial elements. Nearness (1) - Proximity of car infrastructure (2) - Proximity of public transportation (3) - Connectivity of street structure Mass (1) - Sufficient mass of households (2) - Office (3) - Retail (4) - Amenities

(1) - Brownfields - as main source (2) - Unprotected land

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< The metro and rail structure the future of Bucharest

Figure 20 - Transport and development plan LAND USE Higher urban core (public program, amenities) Multi-modal stations Capsular cores (office, retail, services and public program) Technical cores (logistics, industry, office and knowledge) Urban sub-cores Brownfields - to be included in the cores Existing office development - to be included in the cores TRANSPORTATION Existing metro line Metro extensions Existing rail infrastructure Rail extensions Transport corridors - car and surface public transportation Airport New airport New port

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Challenges

Reflexion

Two main challenges were encountered throughout the course of the research. Firstly, the difficulty in obtaining data (i.e. GIS, economic, social and demographics data) was detrimental to the whole research process, considerably hampering progress. Secondly, one cannot help but point out the reluctance of people in the administration, academic and professional sectors in engaging in debates and interviews. Several other factors have been obstacles such as: the lack of literature on the urban development of post-socialist Bucharest, the overall lack of literature on mobility in a post-socialist context and also the lack of experts in mobility in Bucharest. Moreover, the convoluted nature of planning documents and municipality reports have made the whole process even more challenging. Lastly, it has been observed the lack of literature of polycentrism in a post-socialist context and the difficulty of adapting polycentrism for Bucharest, specifically when it regards the assignment of selection criteria for land-use and transport and the proposal of a new governance (here defined as public administration) scheme for the city.

Further research directions 61

A comprehensive node-place analysis must be performed in order to determine core location and spatial characteristics (land-use, density, mobility and accessibility). Moreover, further investigation must be made into the governance element of polycentrism. Additionally, the spatial strategy must be detailed regarding the objectives and strategic actions, metro and tram infrastructure layout and landscape and nature elements must also be addressed. A financing scheme should be proposed together (i.e. PPP) together with the selection of the design areas. The governance element will only be tentatively treated.

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1 - Space syntax (global choice) to determine the major transport axes

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2 - A middle ring is added and an outer ring is proposed for upgrading

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3 - Metro extensions spread into the whole urban fabric of the city

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4 - The metro system is connected with a light rail (outer ring) and a high speed rail system as part of the pan-European corridors

5 - Multi-modal stations act as drivers and structure for future development

6 - New specialized cores spread into the whole area of the city balancing the social and spatial condition of the city. (1) - inner high urban core (2) - capsular cores (office, retail, services and public program) (3) - technical cores (logistics, industry, office and knowledge)

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