European policy practices in timespace planning

8/9/2019 European policy practices in timespace planning

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van Schaick, J. (2009) European policy practices in timespace planning. In: Background articles for the

exposition Space For (Every)Day (provisional title). Delft: Faculty of Architecture, TUDelft, pp. xxxx

In the past years there have been pilot studies with time-conscious spatial planning, not only

in the Netherlands but also in other countries. Jeroen van Schaick compares three

approaches in Italy, France and the Netherlands. This article was written in the framework of

the research program Network Cities at the Delft Centre for Sustainable Urban Areas(SUA).

Europeanpolicypracticesintime-spaceplanning

Jeroen van Schaick, PhD candidate Spatial Planning Delft University of Technology

Time-space planning, in my view, is the integral planning of, on the one hand, spatialtransformations in relation to the temporal organization of a society and on the otherhand the planning of time in relation to the spatial organization of a society. Such anapproach to integral time-space planning is not new. Already in the 1970s time-space

planning was spoken of in terms of timing space and spacing time (Carlstein,Parkes & Thrift 1978; see Figure 1). Timing space and spacing time are againtopical in many countries as a result of increasingly individual life styles,emancipation of women, the introduction of new ICTs, a growing mobility and theenlargement of urban regions among other factors.

The policy practices that we can identify as integral time-space planning practices aredifferent from traditional spatial planning practices. Spatial planning practicesgenerally consider time in terms of years, decades and even centuries. The Dutchlayers approach is a good example of such an idea of time (see De Hoog et al.,1998). In this spatial planning approach, design and planning tasks are above alladressed according to the projected transformation speeds on an occupation-layer, anetworks-layer and a substratum-layer (respectively 25 to 50 years, 50 to 100 yearsand 100 to 500 years). Such an approach to spatial planning hardly pays any attentionto the scale of time wherein daily life takes places, namely days, weeks and months(see Schaick & Klaasen 2007).

Other approaches to spatial planning pay more attention to these scales of time, butthese are often marginal in the field, fragmented throughout the different institutionsinvolved in spatial transformation processes and/or hardly provide thecomprehensiveness of approaches such as the Dutch layers approach. These other

spatial planning approaches deal with, for example, travel time, urban rhythms,accessibility to services for various groups of people, choice of location forcompanies, place-making, spatial synergy, management of flows (goods, people,information), etc. Hence, from the perspective of the spatial planner time-spaceplanning deals with the spatial requirements of and pre-conditions for diversetemporo-spatial activity patterns (time-space use) of people (see also Klaasen 2005).

But such concerns for integral time-space planning are often not supported in spatialplanning practices by any particular institution, by coherent sets of instruments or bya vocabulary that supports an integral approach. It is necessary to pay more attentionto these problems related to the coherence of these fragmented policy practices.

Below, we describe three examples of time-space planning practices in which, withdifferent rates of success, policy communities strive to develop and institutionalize


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their time-space planning practices. We conclude by reflecting on the Dutch layersapproach based on these examples.

Pesaro (Italy)

In 1990 the development of a timeplan became a legal obligation for Italianmunicipalities (see Mareggi 2000). In this context, the Piano dei Tempi e Degli Oraridella Citt di Pesaro (timeplan and rosters of the town of Pesaro; Bonfiglioli& Zedda, 1999) was the first plan that comprehensively focussed on the planning ofboth time and space.

This plan for the town of Pesaro is a vision document on the temporo-spatialorganization of this town that is visited by many tourists in summer time. The Pesarotimeplan builds on a body of knowledge developed in a series of smaller case studiesin other cities and countries (see Bonfiglioli & Mareggi 1997). The uniqeness of this

plan lies in that it brings together a previously fragmented set of instruments in asingle official policy document. The main binding factor between different planninginstruments is a new planning concept: chronotope.

A chronotope literally a time-place is described in theory by means of thefollowing composite definition (Bonfiglioli 2004 and Guez 2002):

- a place (or a physical space), urbanized and transformed throughout history,- a place inhabited by different populations with characteristic, cyclical

architectures and structures of time (e.g. residents or visitors).- a place which is embedded in networks at diverse scales defined by the

mobility range of people, goods and information.

A chronotope can be characterized and described in different ways, for example:

- according to a limited amount of time (e.g. 24 hours, week, season) in which amixed and layered presence of populations is distributed over time and space,

- according to the degree in which it attracts different groups of people toperform specific activities bounded by the available place and time for theseactivities,

- according to mobility characteristics and the physical form of the chronotope

supporting different types of mobility and immobility, such as the promenade,the transfer point, the traverse, a row of benches to sit down, etc.

In addition to an integrative planning concept, the institutionalization of time-spacepolicy in a separate time plan makes it crucially different from having isolatedparagraphs on time-space planning in sectoral policy documents. This is supported bythe institutionalization of timeplanning in so-called time offices and the emphasis onthe participation of citizens in the planning process. Further, the specific cartographyused in the Pesaro timeplan might play an important role in developing morecoherency between policy measures. In the example of Pesaro, especially remarkableare the map of urban rhythms (chronotopic map, see Figure 2), the three-dimensional

visualisation of opening times (on/off map; see Figure 3) and urban year calendars all of them related to maps of the physical city.


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Earlier examples of similar maps of places characterized by use cycles and ofspatially bounded time envelopes in urban regions were developed by KevinLynch in his bookManaging the Sense of a Region (Lynch, 1980: 133-134), while theon/off map was specially developed by LabSAT (the research program of the

Politecnico di Milano) in light of the chronotopic planning concept.

Grand Lyon (France)

A second example, time-space planning in the Grand Lyon region, demonstrates thatthe coherency of time-space policies can also be organized in a different manner.Here, the coordinating role of the regional association in which 55 municipalitiescooperate is a major factor in striving for a more coherent time-space planningpractice. The approach of the program Espace des Temps differs from Pesaros ontwo points. Firstly, the goal of the program is explicitly formulated from the

viewpoint quality of life for citizens. Secondly, the program is organised by meansof integral projects rather than shaped as a policy document. These projects are, forexample, directed at the analysis of urban processes, the organization of public debateand the realisation of experiments or pilot projects for time-space planning.

The example of Grand Lyon offers a new set of tools for planning. For example, localgovernment in this case has chosen for a digital communication strategy with anextensive amount of project material available on the Internet. Other noteworthyaspects of this example are the focus on organising the public debate and the creationof a guide des horaires des services (a guide for the temporal availability ofservices).

Another planning instrument used in this case is the use of thematic projectsspecifically directed at temporal aspects of the city. For example in the city of Lyon,there are projects about the night and about the 24-hour city, about coordinating timerhythms around work, and about the mobility of pupils and women(www.espacedestemps.com; accessed 21/08/2007).

In addition to the thematic projects time is being introduced as a facet of planning inurban redevelopment projects. For Lyons district Gerland, for example, chronotopicon/off maps (see Figure 4) have been created to map the daily dynamics in support of

the integral, inner-city restructuring of this district into a technople. A multi-actorstrategy is used, where the municipality, institutions, business people and inhabitantscome together at one table, for example, at the so-called ateliers de dialogueurbain.

Rotterdam and the South Wing of the Randstad

In the third example the focus is on the Netherlands, in particular the South Wing ofthe Randstad. In this region there seems to be a relatively strong awareness abouttemporal aspects in spatial planning and other policies, but the level of coherency

between initiatives as described in the two previous examples seems to be absenthere.


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In the South Wing there is a wealth of individual initiatives, especially preliminarystudies for policy-making. Examples include the work of the project groupDagindeling Rotterdam (Daily Routines Rotterdam,www.dagindeling.rotterdam.nl; accessed 21/08/2007), the visualization of travel

times in the framework of the Traffic and Transport Plan Rotterdam (VVPR, dS+V,2003) by Florian Boer (2003; see Figure 5), intended for a better communicationbetween spatial planners and traffic specialists, the Atlas of Cultural Ecology inRotterdam (with the short name Sense of Place) created by Next Architects and thedS+V Department of Urban Planning, Housing and Traffic Rotterdam (Dudok, VanTeeffelen & Reijndorp, 2004, see Figure 6), the study Milieu Differentiation alongthe Stedenbaan a collaborative project by Urban Unlimited with the University ofUtrecht in the framework of the ReURBA-program (Boelens, Sanders, Schwanen,Dijst & Verburg, 2005) and finally the small-scaled projects developed and testedwith the method Ruimte voor Elke Dag (Space for Every Day,www.ruimtevoorelkedag.nl; accessed 21/08/2007).

Two examples are of particular interest here, because they demonstrate that it ispossible to integrate concerns about temporal organization in the making of spatialplans. Firstly, the municipality of Rotterdam has employed the framework of theSense of Place atlas to define the priorities and phases of urban redevelopmentprojects (according to Iris Dudok, interview of 20 March 2006). The Stedenbaanstudy by Boelens et al. presently forms the basis of development plans of areasaround several train stations. However, we can not say that integral time-spaceplanning has been structurally embedded in planning practices in the South Wing orthe city of Rotterdam. Partly this has to do with the sectoral Dutch policy culture. But,also, the planning tools, vocabulary and imagination needed in order to place aspectsof time on the political agenda in spatial planning processes are lacking. In this regardthe Dutch can learn from the foreign examples introduced above.

Toward a new layers approach and a vantage point for theoretic reflection

The Dutch layers approach introduced at the beginning offers a framework forcoherence in spatial planning, but lacks attention for daily (weekly, yearly, etc.)routines of people. The three case studies above demonstrate possibilities for integraltime-space planning with a focus on these routines. Is it possible to combine these two

approaches? Is it possible to develop a layers approach that includes principles oftime-space planning? Might thinking in terms of urban networks provide a potentialframework for this?

In the interactive version of the Sense of Place atlas and subsequent publications thecreators and commissioners have already made cautious first steps (Van Teeffelen2005). The precise elaboration of such a new layers approach needs to be supportedby further theory building in combination with rich visualizations. In the originalDutch layers approach the layers networks and occupation are the carriers ofdaily routines of people in terms of time-space usage patterns.

Both of these layers offer possibilities for further elaboration in terms of timingspace and spacing time: (a) in terms of people and their activity patterns, (b) in


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terms of the rhythms of the city, (c) in terms of reachability and (d) in terms ofaccessibility. The work on urban networks by the Frenchman Gabriel Dupuy (1991,2008) provides starting points for connecting those usage aspects with the physicalstructure and the substratum of the city in new ways.

Alone a combination of approaches from both a background in time planning andfrom a background in spatial planning offers real possibilities for policy making thatconcerns itself with the new spatial requirements called for by contemporary time-space patterns of daily life. The future will have to show if a more structuralembedding of time-space planning is possible in day-to-day policy-making.

References:

Boelens, L., W. Sanders, T. Schwanen, M. Dijst and T. Verburg (2005)

Milieudifferentiatie langs de Stedenbaan - Mobiliteitsstijlen en Ketenprogrammasvoor Milieus die Sporen. Rotterdam/Utrecht, Urban Unlimited/University of UtrechtUtrecht, commissioned by the Province of South Holland - Department of UrbanDevelopment.

Boer, F. (2003). The tempo of the city. In: P. Meurs and M. Verheijen, eds., Transit -Mobility, City Culture and Urban Development in Rotterdam. Rotterdam, NAiPublishers: 105-112.

Bonfiglioli, S. and M. Mareggi, Eds. (1997). Il tempo e la citt fra natura e storia.Atlante di progetti sui tempi della citt. Urbanistica Quaderni. Rome, INU.

Bonfiglioli, S. and R. Zedda (1999). Comune di Pesaro. Il Piano dei tempi e degliorari della Citta di Pesaro. Quaderno 18 Urbanistica, INU, Rome.

Bonfiglioli, S. (2004) The city of time and the culture of planning. Urbanistica 125:23-24.

de Hoog, M., D. Sijmons and S. Verschuuren (1998) Herontwerp van het Laagland, inD.H. Frieling (Ed.) Het Metropolitane Debat. Bussum, THOTH, pp 74-87

Drewe, P. (2004) What About Time in Urban Planning and Design in the ICT age?Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture.www.networkcity.bk.tudelft.nl, accessed 25/07/2007

dS+V (2003) Verkeers- en Vervoersplan Rotterdam 2002-2020: Open Stad,Duurzaam Bereikbaar. Gemeente Rotterdam, dienst Stedebouw en Volkshuisvesting,Rotterdam.

Dudok, I., J. Van Teeffelen & A. Reijndorp (2004). Sense of Place: Atlas van deCulturele Ecologie van Rotterdam. Rotterdam, dS+V, Rotterdam. [including CD-ROM with interactive maps]

Dupuy, G. (1991) LUrbanisme des Reseaux - Thories et Mthodes, Armand Colin


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diteurs, Paris.

Dupuy, G. (2008) Urban Networks Network Urbanism, Techne Press, Amsterdam.

Guez, A. (2002) La Chronocartographie dans le Developpement dun Urbanisme des

Temps et de la Mobilite. In: J.-Y. Boulin, P. Dommergues & F. Godard, eds., LaNouvelle Aire du Temps - Reflexions et Experiences de Politique Temporelles enFrance. La Tour dAiges, Editions de lAube, DATAR: 101-106.

Klaasen, I.T. (2005) Putting Time in the Picture. In: E.D.Hulsbergen, I.T.Klaasen &I.Kriens, eds., Shifting Sense: Looking Back to the Future in Spatial Planning.Amsterdam, Techne Press, pp.181-195.

Lynch (1980) Managing the Sense of a Region, Boston (Mass.), MIT Press

Mareggi, M. (2000) Le Politiche Temporali Urbane in Italia, Firenze, Alinea.

Carlstein, T, D.N.Parkes, N. Thrift (1978) Timing Space and Spacing time, Volumes1, 2 and 3. London, Arnold Publishers.

Schaick, J. van & Klaasen, I.T. (2007) Dynamics of Urban Networks as Basis for theRedevelopment of Layer Approaches. Contribution to International Seminar onUrbanism and Urbanization. Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture.

Van Teeffelen, J. (2005) A New Research Approach on the Creative Potentials ofRotterdam: Mapping as a tool for policy development. Contribution to the 41stISoCaRP Congress 2005. www.isocarp.net/Data/case_studies/607.pdf; accessed21/08/2007


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Image captions

Figure 1: Mutual relationships between time and space: a forest of terms.Source: Drewe 2004

Figure 2: Chronotopic map of Pesaro. The legend of the map is based on openinghours and the temporal grain of the urban rhythm, on different populations, activitiesand mobility behaviors. Using this legend the map demonstrates a time profile foreach neighborhood: continuous usage through diverse functions, continuous usagethrough certain functions, cyclic calendar based on specific time periods, such asdaily, weekly and monthly, cyclic calendar based on timing of events, zero-time (nousage) and combinations of these time profiles. Source: Bonfiglioli & Zedda (1999)

Figure 3: On/Off map indicating in the third dimension the opening times over theperiod of one day for the functions around a square in Pesaro, for which a newphysical plan was being developed. Source: Bonfiglioli & Zedda (1999)

Figure 4: Snapshots of the dynamic On/Off map for the Gerland district in Lyon.Source: Alain Guez; www.espacedestemps.com; accessed 21/08/2007

Figure 5: Tempographic map of the Rotterdam area displaying the potential differencein accessibility (in travel time) between 1998 and 2020. Source: Boer (2003)

Figure 6: Map from the digital Atlas of Cultural Ecology of Rotterdam constructedin different layers, which can be turned on and off in the interface on the right side ofthe digital map. Source: Dudok, Van Teeffelen & Reijndorp (2004)

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European policy practices in timespace planning