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“Over One billiOn peOple need to be adequately housed in developing countries. that will require looking more closely at the evOlving needs Of cities”

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Governments and planners must walk a very fine line, balancinG the need for sustainable urban growth as an economic driver with the needs of the people

ofnotetoday’s masterplanners are faced with burgeoning global populations, the uncertainties of climate change and the breakneck growth of emerging economies. on this volatile stage, they are finding ways to combine innovative and inspiring design with essential sustainability and functionality.

02in less than two decades

another 10 per cent of the world’s population will be city-dwellers. how can planners deal with this

trend and other serious pressures on the urban environment?

planners in the gulf need a holistic approach to cope with the diversifying economies, rising populations, extreme weather and infrastructure co-ordination challenges that lie ahead.

06

14rising incomes and

populations worldwide are altering the shape of the modern

landscape. planners are looking ahead to the city of tomorrow.

18research on extreme weather systems and coastal floods over the past decade paints a disturbing picture of what rising global temperatures could mean for the world’s cities.

10from China to panama, economic zones combining tax incentives and planning breaks are turning underdeveloped areas into thriving commercial hubs.

Governments and planners must walk a very fine line, balancinG the need for sustainable urban growth as an economic driver with the needs of the people

28a city is only as resilient as the plans underpinning its growth. how can masterplanners design for the long-term future of our urban centres in today’s fast-changing world?

32railway station rejuvenation

isn’t only about improving a transport hub. it also provides

opportunities to regenerate an area and serves as a catalyst for

urban development.

36today’s waterfronts draw people together, offer unique opportunities for business and provide a focal point for communities.

tourism is changing and planners are catering to this shift in attitude by retaining the individual identity of new developments and encouraging local visitors.

2622

Competing forces of commerce, environment and

geography must all be reconciled by city planners when guiding

rapid urbanisation.

38the rise of india’s middle class means a country-wide shift to urban living. planners need to produce neighbourhoods to suit these new lifestyles and communities.

The changing ciTyscapeAs engineers, architects and planners, we can imagine spectacular structures, reinvent skylines and design essential infrastructure – literally building the cities of the future in the process. But shifting demographics, climate change and a volatile socio-economic landscape are redefining the story. What does this mean for the city of tomorrow and for those taking part in its creation? By Richard alvey, managing director, environmental planning.

3

changing citiesBy RichARd Alvey, mAnAging diRectoR enviRonmentAl plAnning, Atkins

The city of tomorrow needs to be planned

with the bigger picture in mind – and that picture

is now bigger than ever. governments and

planners must walk a very fine line, balancing

the need for sustainable urban growth as an

economic driver with the needs of the people

who live and work there.

half of the world’s population already lives in cities

and, by 2030, that number is expected to hit 60 per

cent or higher. What’s more, according to the “state

of the World’s cities 2010/2011” report published by

Un habitat: “Between the year 2000 and 2010, over

200 million people in the developing world will have

been lifted out of slum conditions.” india, china and

Africa are all witnessing the rise of a new middle class,

aspiring to the kind of lifestyle to which people in the

West have been so long accustomed. this is one of

the largest population migrations the world has ever

known and we’re all watching it happen.

in these economies, the emphasis is on high-

level transport and infrastructure planning, to meet

the changing needs of their people. lifestyles are

becoming increasingly energy-hungry and home

ownership is on the rise. For example, in oman,

Atkins has recently planned a new city district for

suhar in order to meet the needs of a growing

populace while also attracting investment and

driving economic growth.

the more mature markets of europe and north

America, meanwhile, are coping with the increased

expectations of a well-established population, as

they strive to retain that population and maintain

“Business, tRAnspoRt, inFRAstRUctURe, climaTe change And A host oF otheR pRActicAl issUes need to Be AddRessed in ouR maRch To uRBanisaTion”

economic stability. this means paying greater

attention to issues surrounding public realm – from

more shared public spaces to improved pedestrian

and cycling options.

What does this mean for the cities in which we

live? it means we’re facing some intriguing challenges

and some truly remarkable opportunities.

Business, transport, infrastructure, climate

change and a host of other practical issues need

to be addressed in our march to urbanisation. Add

to this the various socio-political and economic

pressures we face today and city planning becomes

more complicated than ever.

The people paradigmplanning a city is more than just designing buildings

and creating suitable infrastructure. it’s more than

water, power and roads. it’s about the ebb and flow

of the people who will live and work and travel

within that space, and anticipating the way in

which all of these pieces will both intersect and

interact. if the needs of the population are not

understood, the original spirit of a plan can be lost.

it’s an essential distinction: masterplanning can

play a key role in the long-term agenda of a city or

region. take the recent redesign of the crossing

system at london’s oxford circus, by Atkins. on the

one hand, the iconic crossroads was notorious for

heavy traffic and pedestrian congestion, a frustrating

bottleneck of shoppers and tourists. Any plan to

update the site had to solve these fundamental

issues in order to function.

44

60But the work produced by Atkins sought

to do more. By introducing a “scramble crossing”

strategy – popularised in the famous diagonal

crossing in tokyo’s shibuya district – pedestrians

are able to go in whichever direction they choose,

rather than having to cross in a set fashion. it

transforms the whole intersection from a cluster

of clogged arteries to a welcoming space that

allows everyone to go with the flow.

similarly, by re-routing vehicles away from the

north side of london’s trafalgar square and allowing

for it on the south, as well as providing more

pedestrian crossings and viewing points, Atkins has

been able to redress the balance between the needs

of all users. the layout now works on both a traffic

and a pedestrian level, converting a semi-permanent

bottleneck into a more attractive space for longer

visits by tourists and londoners alike.

this same strategic approach is being applied

to masterplanning projects around the world. the

same long-term attention to detail demonstrated

in london can be seen in the economic zone

being planned by Atkins in china’s pearl River delta.

it is at the heart of the masterplanning work being

done on the capital city of Baku in Azerbaijan,

taking the city’s heavily industrialised heritage and

turning it into a living, breathing space for its

people today and in the future. And it can be

seen in Atkins’ work on the UAe holistic plan, the

long-term blueprint for the UAe’s five northern

emirates, which is planning ahead to 2030.

the decisions made in each of these projects

have the potential to impose limits or open doors

for generations to come. it’s up to those of us

engaged in the work to make certain the right

decisions are being made every step of the way.

The coming storm: climate changeconsider the long-term strategic thinking needed

to mitigate against climate change and plan for

its potential impact. the best way to undercut

the potential future damage of climate change

is to minimise the causes now, wherever possible.

For Atkins, this begins in the planning stage.

the company has established itself as a champion

of a low-carbon future, implementing a carbon

critical design philosophy in project planning and

using bespoke carbon tools to measure the whole

lifecycle carbon cost of any project.

By identifying sources of carbon at all stages of

any project – from the raw materials to the building

methods to the long-term emissions from any given

development – it is possible to make informed

decisions that will help reduce that carbon.

even if we can slow the pace of climate change,

of course we’re likely to have some consequences

for years to come. Rising sea levels, more frequent

extreme weather systems, severe changes in

temperatures – these could all have a life-changing

impact on the urban environment.

how can cities plan for the future when issues

like climate change are shifting the landscape so

dramatically? how can planners anticipate and

understand possible vulnerabilities and adapt to

these conditions? more important, how can possible

disadvantages be turned to strategic advantage?

to find answers to these questions, there is a

need for very strong governance and decisions to

be made with the bigger picture in mind. there is a

need for risk assessment at city or higher level, one

that works in tandem with the economic and social

development of the city. there is a need for careful

planning based on a vision of the future, one that

goes beyond the end of a build.

For example, investment in new office block

developments could attract new business. however,

any new build and the people working in that

space will have a long-term environmental impact.

By taking the risk of this impact into account,

planners can help to mitigate the potential negative

effects before they happen. they can also assess

whether the bad outweighs the good.

“hoW cAn cities plAn FoR the FUtURe When issUes like climAte chAnge ARe shiFting the lAndscApe so dRAmAticAlly? how can planneRs anTicipaTe and undeRsTand possiBle vUlneRABilities And AdApt to these conditions?”

From building heights in Abu dhabi to flood risk

management in the world heritage site city of Bath

in the Uk, Atkins has been working to help cities

understand and manage the threats posed by

climate change for years, and to implement

solutions that look beyond the immediate threats.

Creating a new horizonturning a city into a successful, vibrant and positive

force is a laudable goal and the broader significance

of this goal should not be underestimated. such

cities can drive business and help grow economies

on a national scale. With the proper planning, they

can even help tackle climate change and meet the

needs of a changing populace.

What does the urban environment of

tomorrow look like? cities from Belfast to

copenhagen are paving the way – without an

excess of paving. pedestrians are being given

priority over cars. passers-by can hear people

talking and birds singing, and are not constantly

running from pavement to pavement to get away

from the traffic. people are discovering that they

are able to work and live in these cities, not simply

biding their time while hoping to escape.

Finding the right balance between the needs of

the public with any future growth and development

priorities that may be required is the key. it’s the

only way you can get back to a sense of something

basic and sensible. good public spaces are even

better when they can adapt to new situations or

circumstances.

in this special edition of Angles, we consider

the challenges facing the city of the future, from

changing demographics to new environmental

threats, and explore some of the solutions that are

now being implemented.

in responding to the challenge to think

differently about how we build cities and how we

occupy and settle the land, we are already building

better cities for tomorrow.

per cent of the world’s population will be living in urban environments by 2030, raising serious questions about the sustainability of the current urban model.

atkins’ new city district for Baku includes a mall, offices, residential areas and a central business district.

Planners in the Arabian Gulf face quite a task. To ensure long-term and sustainable growth, they must imagine a future that involves diversifying economies and rising populations. Could a holistic approach hold the key?

Growth in the Gulf

growth in the GulfInTeGrATed PlAnnInG

the challenges facing governments throughout

the Arabian Gulf are considerable. To reduce

dependence on oil revenues, they must diversify

their economies while catering for the needs of

growing, often largely expat, populations. What’s

more, economies such as the UAe must tackle

internal development disparities and provide an

attractive environment for the inward investment

on which the economy depends.

The Arab Spring may have compounded the

challenge. It’s likely that much-needed foreign

investment will prove more difficult to secure.

However, the World Bank’s private-sector lending

arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC),

has stepped in, setting aside some $1.5bn for

2011 to improve education, support SMes and

generate employment through infrastructure

projects. By 2014, the investment could be as

high as $2.5bn per year.

Professional emiratis are aware of the issues

and are driving the agenda to address precisely

these challenges, with the aim of achieving

sustainable prosperity in a post-oil world. Atkins

has worked on a strategic blueprint to assist

the UAe in this and, importantly, it is one of

the first examples of coupling a plan for social

infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals,

with a long-term development strategy.

Known as the UAe Holistic Plan, the

blueprint covers the UAe’s five northern

emirates, with a combined population of more

than 1.3 million, and looks ahead to 2030.

It encompasses all the facilities provided by the

UAe’s Ministry of Public Works, such as schools,

hospitals, health centres, sports facilities and

community centres.

“These five emirates are mostly rural and lie

within desert or mountainous areas,” says Martin

Tedder, senior planner with Atkins. “This plan

considers the need for new and upgraded facilities

to serve the population over the next 20 years.”

“Instead of thinking about where your facilities

might go over that period, we had to first develop

a spatial development plan and think about what

was the most sustainable pattern for

development. rather than having the community

facilities as a bolt-on at the end, you’ve got the

two reinforcing each other,” says Tedder.

The work included initial economic forecasts

and analysis of existing development plans,

through to projections about population migration

and location, coupled with an analysis of the

different services that would be required.

“It also includes, potentially, new link roads to

improve accessibility, renewable energy schemes and

other public realm projects. The main aim is to derive

a list of projects that will help support population

growth in the northern emirates,” adds Tedder.

Predicting the populationThis level of long-term planning requires an

understanding of the future scale, distribution

and characteristics of the population – a task that

was far from straightforward.

“The citizen population – people born in the

UAe with full citizen status – can be estimated

using cohort projection, so we consider factors

such as fertility and mortality by age groups,”

explains Tedder. “But citizens only account for

about 15 per cent of the population – the other

85 per cent are expatriates.”

The expat population is of vital importance

to the UAe. Migrant workers – both skilled and

unskilled – are the linchpin of the economy.

They need facilities, services and a good standard

of living if they are going to stay.

“The future expat population cannot be

predicted using standard indices of fertility and

mortality,” says Tedder.

“However, it does respond to the performance

of the economy and the attractiveness of the UAe

relative to other countries. Forecasting what the

expat population will be and how it might be

distributed in 20 years is a critical part of the

development of UAe-wide economic forecasts.

“Atkins interviewed more than 2,500 citizens to

find out what makes the country tick. It’s not just

looking at empirical data: it’s collecting primary

information on what people think about public

services – how they could be delivered better, how

far they have to travel, what they think about quality.

That was a critical element in our approach.”

A focus on sustainabilityThe plan also provides a blueprint for sustainable

development. Cheap energy and rising incomes

have led to a reliance on road transport in the UAe

and, with daytime temperatures peaking at more

than 45°C, it’s easy to see why so many citizens

make use of energy-guzzling air conditioning in

their homes and offices.

“The climate presents challenges because you

need energy for air conditioning. But it presents

significant opportunities as well,” notes Tedder.

“There’s potential to harness solar energy and

also energy from the wind coming off the Indian

Ocean and over the Hajar mountains.”

Sustainable development is also about avoiding

duplication of resources – such as hospitals and

schools – and providing a framework for

communication between neighbouring emirates.

“Perhaps the greatest contribution this project

can have on sustainable development is the

introduction of a more collaborative approach to

planning and service delivery,” observes Tedder.

“Service delivery can be quite fragmented and it’s

constrained by emirate boundaries. But a more

co-ordinated approach could ensure that services

are built closer to the areas of greatest need. This

means they’re better used and closer to centres of

population, with less energy required for transport.”

One hundred miles up the coast, the Kingdom

of Bahrain faces dwindling oil reserves, prompting

the government to diversify into financial services,

“THe POPUlATIOn [OF BAHrAIn] IS GOInG TO InCreASe FrOM 1.1 million to perhaps 2.1 million over the next 20 years, SO IT’S A lArGe AMOUnT OF GrOWTH TO ACCOMMOdATe In qUITe A SMAll SPACe”

northern emirates have been included in Atkins’ uAe holistic Plan. It couples a plan for social infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, with a long-term development strategy.

5 7

88

industry and tourism. Bahrain is an island state and

the northern part of the island – which includes

the capital, Manama – is densely populated.

“It’s a matter of finding ways to extend that

urban structure to meet future development

needs,” says roger Savage, associate director

with Atkins. “The population is going to increase

from 1.1 million to perhaps 2.1 million over the

next 20 years, so it’s a large amount of growth

to accommodate in quite a small space.”

Bahrain’s national Planning and development

Strategy was launched in 2005 to address the

changing landscape. It began by setting out the

spatial plan for the country and now the focus is

on turning that plan into a reality.

“The work being done now is on implementation

to take the strategy forward. This covers planning

tools, drafting an updated planning law, and also

preparing a suite of regulations and guidance to

go with that – things like planning and design

guidelines, and addressing how development

should be delivered in certain areas,” says Savage.

Implementation includes a new strategic

transport model, making it possible to assess the

traffic effects of new developments. It also

considers how infrastructure and land are

managed, and – crucially – how it’s all to be

funded, including developer contributions

for infrastructure. “This goes beyond straight

planning,” says Savage. “The public sector is

involved in planning and subdividing some areas,

but you’ve also got privately led schemes, which

are almost self-contained gated communities that

fall completely outside of the current remit.

“It requires a balance between private and

public sector involvement, making sure that open

space and public access to the waterfront are

delivered and that there are adequate community

facilities to serve these developments.”

Risk managementeuropean nations have a tradition of state-

sponsored planning. The same is not true in the

Gulf, where governments have generally taken a

less prominent role in directing development of

private land. But that’s changing. There’s growing

awareness of the benefits of strategic planning

and its ability to bolster economic resilience.

“UnderSTAndInG WHere deMAndS Are lIKely TO Be MAde allows government to be more efficient In MAKInG ITS OWn InveSTMenTS”

“There’s a realisation that the more speculative

approach to development may not be the best

way to deliver large-scale projects,” says Savage.

“Schemes that have been successful – and are

ongoing – involved a long-term approach to

managing land and development, and phasing

the infrastructure.”

Crucially, planning can play a decisive role in

attracting new investment – and that’s of critical

importance as countries such as Bahrain continue

to diversify away from oil: “Institutional investors

see having a robustly formulated plan as a way of

managing risk,” says Savage. “If you have a

proper strategic plan, it can flex to accommodate

changes in the market.”

Strategic plans also help reduce financial risk

for governments. “If you pay for major

infrastructure development from the start and

then everything changes, you can’t be sure it will

be able to accommodate what comes next. That’s

costly. Understanding where demands are likely to

be made allows government to be more efficient

in making its own investments,” says Savage.

“Integrated development supports

diversification and delivers tangible economic

benefits,” observes Savage. “But it also provides

some of the more intangible ones, including a

better quality of life.”

It is hoped that tackling the complex economic

and social challenges facing nations in the Gulf

using a sustainable and holistic approach, as in the

UAe, will pave the way to an even brighter future.

Atkins’ projects often involve engaging with local communities in the field – for example, our strategic planning work across the Middle east.

Barking Giamet, quat praessisis nosto od tio consectet wisi.iriure velessequat lutpat ad euiscin hendionullum dunt augait

85per cent of the uAe population are expats. Migrant workers – both skilled and unskilled – are the linchpin of the economy.

“A recent World BAnk study estimAtes thAt, As of 2007, SEZS Still accountEd for about 22 pEr cEnt of national Gdp, about 46 pEr cEnt of fdi and about 60 pEr cEnt of ExportS – And generAted in excess of 30 million joBs”

the Shizhimen new cbd Masterplan in Zhuhai, china, is intended to act as an additional economic engine for the pearl river delta.

11

you can’t force economic prosperity and relevance on a locality, or turn a once-underdeveloped area into a thriving commercial hub over night. But careful planning and design could act as a catalyst for change.

economic zonesstimulAting development

urban EconoMicS:in thE zone

in october 2010, the associated chamber of commerce

and industry of india (Assocham) submitted a paper on the

growth strategy for uttar pradesh to the state’s chief

minister. it predicted that, by using so-called special

economic zones (seZs) to support sectors with export

potential, it could increase gross state domestic product

(gsdp) by 64 per cent by 2020.

it’s a bold claim but one that is backed up by the short

yet successful history of the use of seZs to stimulate

economic development. pioneered in india in the 1960s and

then further developed in china under deng’s government in

the 1980s, seZs saw huge tracts of undeveloped land

earmarked and ring-fenced for industrial use. infrastructure

was built, thousands of rural dwellers moved in to provide

labour and special incentives were created to attract as much

inward investment as possible.

shenzen in china was the first globally recognised major

economic zone. some measure of its success comes from the

fact that it went from a fishing village on the guangdong

coast to an industrial city of nine million people in less than

30 years, purely on the back of planned investment in

chemical and electronic production. it now boasts eight

provinces, an industrial and software park, and even has its

own stock exchange.

According to robert Zoellick, president of the World

Bank, seZs played a key role in china’s move from a poor

agrarian economy to one of the world’s largest

manufacturing centres. “special economic zones were

a test-bed for economic reforms, for attracting foreign

direct investment, for catalysing development of industrial

clusters, and for attracting new technologies and adopting

new management practices,” he said in september 2010.

“even though their importance has diminished over time,

a recent World Bank study estimates that, as of 2007, seZs

still accounted for about 22 per cent of national gdp, about

46 per cent of fdi and about 60 per cent of exports – and

generated in excess of 30 million jobs.”

celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, president hu

jintao hailed the success of shenzhen as a “miracle in the

world’s history of industrialisation, urbanisation and

modernisation,” adding that it had “contributed significantly

to china’s opening up and reform”. the president urged

future seZs to be bold in reform and innovation in their roles

as the “first movers”.

he was right to encourage new thinking. times have

changed and the centrally planned zones dedicated to

industry have evolved to a new type of economic zoning.

“it used to be mono-functional and focused on one type

of industry,” says roger savage, associate director with

Atkins. “the chinese experiment essentially involved putting

together a package of incentives to encourage inward

investment and letting it develop along a single track.”

But the lessons learned in some early chinese zones –

with inflexible infrastructure, minimal social amenities and

pollution issues – have prompted planners to adjust.

“planners have realised that they need to develop services

and communities to support these zones, and that means

they need to be more integrated in the range of amenities

and activities they offer residents, with more attention paid

to the quality of the environment,” says savage.

1212

panama pacifico:

this is a clear example of the new

thinking currently surrounding

economic zones. Given the

country’s history – the panama

canal took over 40 years to build

and virtually turned the entire

country into a special economic

zone – it was only fitting that it

should adopt a similar approach

for the 21st century.

the area, on the outskirts of

panama city and near the

eastern mouth of the canal, is

designed to attract foreign and

regional investment to the area.

tax incentives, labour benefits

and planning breaks were also

introduced. Situated next to one

of the world’s most important

trade routes, the zone is looking

to leverage its natural

advantages to attract commercial,

industrial and freight companies.

the masterplan has been

praised for its sustainability

credentials, including an award

by former uS president bill

clinton as part of his clinton

climate initiative (cci). the cci

recognises projects around the

world that address the dual

challenge of climate change and

urbanisation. clinton’s

foundation created the climate

positive development program

to meet these challenges by

encouraging and supporting

sustainability in large-scale

urban development.

the cci selected panama

pacifico as one of just 17 initial

projects across the globe, saying:

“a key highlight of panama

pacifico is the ecological

sustainability plan... Efforts in

restoring and protecting nearly

1,400ha of wetlands and other

native habitats, as well as

integrating natural processes

with their innovative storm

water management plan, will act

as a tool for sequestering large

amounts of carbon.”

the cci goes on to highlight

panama pacifico’s masterplan,

citing concepts from the

international standards of

Smart Growth, new urbanism

and sustainable land use.

“the new design includes a

healthy jobs-housing balance,

ensuring future success and

growth in the community and

making panama pacifico the

first of its kind in latin america,”

according to the cci.

With its diverse mix of business

and residential elements it is a

truly modern planning project.

Future flexibilitythe watchword now is diversification. Whereas the early

seZs were built around a single industrial process – chemical

production or heavy industry, for example – now, planners

are trying to find ways of building on a diverse set of

functions in order to allow adaptability for future use.

“these new zones are based less on heavy industry and

more on services and hi-tech sectors,” says savage. “they are

better planned and often managed by a single organisation

that coordinates the infrastructure and the amenities.”

planners working on zoning development now focus on

incorporating broader sectors of the economy and attracting

more highly skilled workers to populate the zones. the

theory is, the wider the economic base within the seZ, the

greater the chances of long-term prosperity. Added to that,

just bussing in migrant workers with no thought to the wider

social consequences both within and outside the zone simply

won’t be tolerated by local communities.

“it’s about creating a community that people actually

want to live in,” says savage. “the lifestyle aspect has

become much more important with the rise of service

industries. if you look at the business process outsourcing

(Bpo) sector in india, these are high-tech sectors and

occupations and you can’t just lay out a standard industrial

estate and expect skilled people to go and live there. so the

modern seZs are more like a refresh of the old company

towns you used to have in the us with amenities and social

provision at their heart.”

But while the mining towns and the company suburbs

pioneered by us industrialists like levitt ultimately fell victim

to stagnation, today’s planned economic zones are far more

integrated and focused on long-term benefits both for

workers, companies and the host country.

in common with many cutting-edge economic and urban

development projects, the uAe is leading the way on this.

john Barber, an economist by training now consulting with

Atkins, has seen the theory and practice develop through his

work over 17 years. having relocated to china in the

summer of 2011, Barber’s previous work in the middle east

focused on the khalifa industrial Zone Abu dhabi project,

supported by the emirate.

the project involves 420 square kilometres of land and

Atkins has been looking at a range of development

opportunities in terms of heavy industry, as well as

downstream industry in chemicals, the metal sector and

the construction material sectors.

“there is a lot of hydrocarbon money involved in this,”

says Barber. “it is perceived as pump-priming from the public

sector to kick-start the private sector.”

khalifa is seen by many as an exemplary project of its type,

in that it combines a mix of industrial, commercial, social and

residential developments. it has been planned as a more organic

project designed to adapt to changes in the macroeconomic

conditions and not as a rigid, mono-functional factory-state.

similarly, the musaffah industrial Area serving Abu dhabi

city is being upgraded in its role as the prime location for light

industrial and business uses in the uAe. Atkins was brought in

by Abu dhabi municipality to prepare masterplan proposals

covering everything from land use to circulation patterns, and

urban design and landscape strategies for public spaces.

“thESE nEW ZonES Are BAsed less on heAvy industry And more on services And hi-tech sectors. thEy arE bEttEr plannEd”

SoME nEW thinKinG

13

barking Giamet, quat praessisis nosto od tio consectet wisi.iriure velessequat lutpat ad euiscin hendionullum dunt augait

per cent of national Gdp in china comes from SEZs. they have played a key role in china’s move from a poor agrarian economy to one of the world’s largest manufacturing centres.

22Open for businessWhile seZs are being made more diverse in order to attract a

broader range of potential investors and workers, ultimately

their purpose is to drive investment and attract capital.

however, the way in which this is achieved has also changed.

“the business environment is probably one of the most

important aspects,” says Barber. Because there has been so

much development in the free zones around the middle east,

and the world as a whole, it is becoming more and more

difficult to differentiate between them.”

clearly, the earlier approach, which gave rise to a kind

of walled city where everything inside the gates worked

towards the zone’s economic success with no regard to

anything outside, can no longer be sustained. Barber’s

work in the middle east in particular has demonstrated

the value of greater integration.

“those planning zones now have to look much more

closely at ensuring the benefits are accruing for the local

economy, and the zone does not become a sort of export

haven where the economy isn’t going to be touched by the

activities in the free zones,” says Barber.

this is important because seZs have been criticised in the

past for being too exclusive. one of the longest running

concerns about seZs has been the lack of benefits accrued

by the indigenous population. the use of migrant labour has

also been highlighted as a notable downside to planned

development. however, over the last few years, especially in

the middle east, that issue has been addressed in several ways.

By coupling cutting-edge design and planning

techniques with strong central direction and a skilled and

increasingly mobile workforce – not simply importing cheap

labour but attracting the right talent as needed – many

emerging economies are now viewing seZ development as

a shortcut to imposing economic prosperity on previously

under-developed areas. thankfully, these zones are now

playing a greater part in spreading prosperity across sectors

and economies.

in savage’s view, we’ve come a long way: “they used

to be one-dimensional and weren’t very lively or interesting.

now it’s about incorporating broader sectors of the

economy and attracting a wider range of businesses and

workers. Alongside that, in the emerging economies, the

planning and implementation phases tend to overlap a lot

more now: you do the first phase and see how that goes,

and then factor in economic changes, and see which

aspects become successful and adapt accordingly.

“the timescales have also decreased,” savage

continues. “in europe you might be looking at five or

ten years between phases, but in some of these emerging

markets it can be more like two years in and they’re already

thinking about the next phase. they can only do that

because of the speed of economic growth and the

advances in design.”

panama pacifico: an updated approach to SEZs in one of the world’s original planned economic zones.

Khalifa industrial Zone abu dhabi is seen as an exemplary SEZ project and includes provision for a range of sectors.

14

By 2050, the largest city in the world will probably be in China – and it hasn’t been built yet. Demographics are altering the shape of the modern landscape from Shanghai to Mumbai. Masterplanners are defining that new environment. From central business districts to mega city regions, rising incomes worldwide are changing the game and planners are looking ahead to the city of tomorrow.

modern citiesplanning For urbaniSation

The city is undergoing a renaissance. People who once

aspired to live in the widening suburban sprawl on the edge

of metropolitan areas now want to be at the heart of city

life. in Europe and north america, widespread gentrification

and the regeneration of industrial districts such as canals

and dockyards is replacing some of the blight and decay

of the 1970s and 1980s, resulting in new cityscapes that

are a pleasure to live and work in.

outside the West, exciting new city developments are

appearing everywhere from baku and nairobi to abu Dhabi

and Seoul, either in the form of huge extensions to existing

cities or completely new cities built from scratch. often

working with fewer constraints, city planners are

fundamentally re-imagining what the city is all about.

Driving this surge in planning is a wide range of factors –

including new national wealth, dramatic population shifts from

rural to urban areas, the need to respond to demographic

The new faCe of The old city

new cities have been added to

China’s landscape since 1978. China is leading the way when it comes to big developments

and mass migration from rural to urban areas. by 2040, the urban population is forecast to expand by 400 million, or about 15 million people per year.

500

East Asian tigersas in so many things, China is leading the way when it comes

to big developments. Since 1978, it has added roughly 500

new cities to the landscape and it already has 160 cities of

more than a million people (by comparison, Europe has 35).

over the next 20 years, the percentage of Chinese expected to

live in cities will grow from roughly 50 per cent today to 70

per cent. by 2040, the urban population is forecast to expand

by 400 million – about 15 million people per year.

“What’s happening in China is the rapid urbanisation

that we have already seen in Japan and the tiger

economies,” says Mark Harrison, senior technical director

for atkins’ urban planning consultancy in beijing. “it’s the

same as what happened in britain and Europe following

the industrial revolution, and in america in the last century.

We’re seeing a rapid urbanisation, and a mass migration

of people to urban areas.”

the tremendous growth in China and elsewhere in East

asia is leading to a new phenomenon: mega city regions,

where cities coalesce to form uninterrupted urban stretches.

Examples include: the Hong Kong-Shenzhen-guangzhou

region in China, which is home to 120 million people

according to a recent un report; the nagoya-osaka-Kyoto-

Kobe corridor in Japan – 60 million people; and the Malaysia-

Singapore area.

“these regions are economically sound, but they do

pose many challenges. For example, how do you reflect

local or regional identity in these very large areas, if only

from an aesthetic point of view?”Harrison says.

another big challenge in China is planning for a society

that is evolving so rapidly. “China is changing from a

socialist to a market-socialist system, so that changes the

way the cities are. if they weren’t exporting to the West,

for example, there wouldn’t need to be these massive

million people will be living in cities in India by 2030, up from 340 million in 2008. thirty per cent of the population already lives in urban centres. over 90 million households will qualify as middle class by then, up from 22 million today. urbanisation in india is going to be paramount.

590

changes, and ambitious efforts to create sustainable places

with better access to technology, financial centres or culture.

Emerging economies are providing most of the biggest

developments, because their needs are often most urgent

and they are generally more willing to think big and do away

with the old. by contrast, in the West, the tendency is to

preserve, renew and infill cities – partly because of a lack of

space, but also because public opinion tends to be less

prepared to embrace new construction.

in the developing world, there is a desire for growth

and modernity – though this comes at a price, according to

Dr george Martine, co-author of a 2010 study on urbanisation

published by the international institute for Environment and

Development and the un population Fund (unFpa).

“Massive urban growth in developing countries loom as

some of the most critical determinants of economic, social

and ecological wellbeing in the 21st century,” he says.

export processing zones or ports, or for central business

districts, retailers, leisure, and so on,” says Harrison.

Changing timesin another 20 years, india will have caught up with China in

terms of population. Whereas China’s one-child-per-family

rule is resulting in an ageing workforce, india’s burgeoning

population is projected to be growing at around 0.6 per cent a

year. thriving urban areas will be key, as the country will have

to handle the challenge of accommodating a population

growing at a faster rate than China’s within a smaller land

area. new McKinsey global institute (Mgi) projections show

india’s urban population soaring to 590 million in 2030.

the country will also become a nation of upwardly

mobile middle-class households. by 2025, the indian middle

classes will have expanded dramatically to 583 million people

– some 41 per cent of the population. in fact, cities are being

built for the emerging middle classes in many areas of the

world. in azerbaijan, for example, a 200-hectare urban

centre is being developed on the outskirts of baku, aiming to

reclaim lands that were once polluted with oil pits, rail yards

and other industrial facilities.

other new purpose-built cities include Mussafah on the

edge of abu Dhabi. Mussafah is designed as a designated

industrial area and is one of several projects designed to

reduce the region’s dependency on oil and build the necessary

foundations and infrastructure to support a sustainable society

in the future. according to abu Dhabi’s urban planning

Council, some $200bn will have been pumped into various

infrastructure projects in the Emirate by 2013.

Cities have always been built according to proximity of

basic resources like water, but it’s now possible to build in all

kinds of places, even in previously inhospitable environments

such as deserts. in a potential precursor to a futuristic world

altered by climate change, it is perhaps comforting to know

that purpose-built virtual cities can be situated anywhere.

“Whereas in the past cities were located in places for

almost prehistoric reasons, that doesn’t need to be the

case any more,” explains Matt tribe, director at atkins.

“in dealing with climate change, sea-level rises, and other

natural processes, planners may now go through a process

of taking people away from risk areas, by understanding

the best place to locate them.”

Planning perfect citiesthe advantage of new cities is that sustainability can be built

into every aspect of the design.

“the new cities that are being developed in China, india

and the rest of asia are going to be able to draw on the latest

thinking, where we design cities that are sustainable at every

level. that means how we design individual buildings, and

how we find the optimal mix of land uses so we can reduce

the need to travel. this is much harder to put in place once

you’ve already built your city,” Harrison says. He asserts that

sustainability is an increasingly important part of developments

he is involved with in China – most recently, a financial district

in Chengdu and a new business district in beijing.

“new CITIes tHat arE bEing DEvElopED in CHina, inDia anD tHE rESt oF aSia arE going to bE ablE to DraW on tHE laTesT ThInkIng, WHErE WE DESign CitiES tHat arE susTaInaBle aT every level”

million people are expected

to live in abu dhabi by 2030.

the Emirate is making a strategic

leap towards a new environment that

will achieve sustainable urban

planning and economic growth.

5

“We try to focus on the key areas of sustainability, like

carbon, water, energy and waste. the important thing is to

look at those things early because it’s then that a lot of them

can be designed out. You can bring population and

employment into balance, minimising the trips people make

and encouraging as many people as possible to use public

transport. Depending on the location, we also want to react

to climate conditions for heating and cooling,” he adds.

Harrison says China is likely to be a good learning ground

for masterplanners in the future: “i’m sure a lot of the

complex urban questions that we’re now facing around the

world will have some answers in China, just simply because

of the numbers of people involved, the scale of the

development and the relatively free hand.”

With sustainability in mind, it is likely that cities will

become increasingly dense. “Future cities are probably

going to have public transport taking a more dominant role,

perhaps even personal rapid systems, if it’s feasible. but to do

that you are going to need high densities of people, rather

than people spread out across a city. You need to

have high concentrations around stations to make them

economically viable,” says Harrison.

“i think there will be more transport-orientated

developments which will be very dense, but there will

also be clustering as well,” suggests tribe. “rather than

megatropolises like the Chinese are developing, i think

there will also be compact densities that are highly linked.

that means either physically with super-fast trains or it

with fast broadband.”

the move to denser urban environments is already evident

in Europe and north america, particularly where sprawl is a

concern. after the Second World War, the tendency was to

build outwards, creating new suburbs and commuter towns.

in recent years, however, that sort of construction has become

increasingly unacceptable, according to Harrison.

“politically, it’s quite difficult to plan any kind of new

growth in the uK at the moment. this is due in part to the

recession of course, but also because the countryside and

heritage is very much valued. So, it’s all about infilling

particular city sites, and a sustainability agenda of having

denser cities that use land more effectively.

“and then there’s the realisation what wonderful

architectural assets are to be found in the older hearts of

cities, often in buildings that had a previous use,” says

Michael Hebbert, professor of town planning in the School

of Environment & Development at the university of

Manchester. “urban renaissance is partly building

renaissance – rediscovering old buildings.”

as well as investing heavily in cities like liverpool,

bristol, leeds and Cardiff, the previous uK government

announced plans for up to 10 eco-towns around England.

it was hoped that these settlements would address the

pressing need for affordable housing while being sustainable

and carbon neutral.

plans included smart meters for residents to track their

energy usage, plug-in points for electric cars and large spaces

for parks and playgrounds. However critics doubted the

eco-towns’ ability to attract the necessary infrastructure,

such as transport and schools, and to meet the ambitious

environmental standards. the plans have since been

downgraded considerably to four eco-towns. these are now

slated for 2016 and still need to make it through the planning

approval process.

“the uK has a fairly robust policy to sustainability,

but because we are building in much smaller volumes,

it is more difficult to affect some of the fundamentals of

land-use planning,” says paul Fraser, a senior urban

designer at atkins.

by comparison, Fraser was part of the team working on

Mussafah in abu Dhabi, which is of a sufficient size to

support a full range of public services.

“ideally, you have a hierarchy of public services. Within

a typical five-minute walk, you would expect to find a local

shop, post box and so on. a bus network would allow you to

get to a health clinic and a bigger set of shops. and then

regional facilities like hospitals would be accessible with at

least one mode of transport.

“it is essential that you create an effective network that

allows you to access as many of these things as possible

without using your car,” Fraser explains.

“there is tremendous latent demand for urban buzz,”

says Hebbert. “You can see it in the take-up rates of

residential opportunities close to city centres. it is about a

rediscovery of everything that an urban, as opposed to a

suburban, lifestyle can offer. So the value of proximity is

going to increase and, with that, encouragement for a high-

quality, high-density urban residential offer. i believe that’s

going to be the trend of the coming century.”

The guangzhou east Tower in China uses the cultural association with bamboo to define its form. It consists of a five-star hotel above serviced apartments and offices.

17

Living with climate change

19

From extreme weather systems to coastal floods, research over the past decade paints a disturbing picture of what rising global temperatures could mean for the world’s cities. how can planners today anticipate a changing climate’s influence and prepare for tomorrow?

climate changeplanning For global warming

While the precise effects of climate

change are still impossible to predict, it is

becoming clear that strategic planning could

hold the key to reducing its social and

economic impact. intelligent approaches to

planning can’t come soon enough, as many

of the world’s cities lie on the coast or in

fluvial zones, making them especially

vulnerable to any changes in water level.

as highlighted in the Un’s “State of the

world’s cities report 2008/09”, 3,351 of the

world’s cities are situated in low-lying coastal

zones – 64 per cent of which are in the highly

populated developing world. meanwhile,

35 of the 40 largest cities in the developed

world (including Japan) are situated on the

coast or along a riverbank. the report predicts

that most coastal cities will feel the effects of

climate change.

the issue is one not only of geography,

but also of demographics. in its most recent

“world Disasters report”, the international

Federation of red cross highlights what it

calls the “urban risk divide” – the disparity

between well-planned wealthy cities and

poorer ones.

“physical infrastructure, land planning

and the size of informal settlements are the

biggest factors determining the impact of

disasters on cities,” says n m S i

arambepola, director of urban disaster risk

management with the asian Disaster

preparedness centre in bangkok. “with so

many people migrating to the cities, many of

the most vulnerable urban populations settle

in the more disaster-prone areas where no

one else wants to live.”

Planning for the unknownif the experts are right, climate change will

mean coming to terms with a world where

extraordinary weather events such as tropical

cyclones may become far more frequent.

Speaking at an environment agency

conference in november 2010, chairman

lord chris Smith said: “we mustn’t

underestimate the enormity of the

environmental challenges that lie ahead of us

in the next 20 years. the science of climate

change remains compelling and during this

period we will begin to see its impact: more

extreme weather patterns; a more

unpredictable climate; changing agricultural

conditions; and a sea-level rise. there will be

more floods and more droughts.”

Finding ways to cope is vital for rich and

poor nations alike. in January 2011 the

brisbane river burst its banks, causing the

worst flooding in the city since 1974.

the bill for cleaning up after the

devastation has been estimated at $440

million, largely to construct new homes,

repair transport infrastructure and restore

power to homes and businesses.

20

for the 20km2 development, which is being

led by atkins, were set with sea-level

changes in mind.

“bahrain has expanded quite dramatically

since the mid-1960s, when the first

reclamation projects took place,” says

Savage. “the practice of reclaiming land,

which can provide an opportunity to build in

flood protection, is one way of dealing with

the problem of rising sea levels.”

the gulf benefits from the fact that it is

relatively sheltered and the violent storms

associated with exposed coastlines are rare.

but global sea-level rises would have an

impact despite this.

“there has been flooding of some of the

more vulnerable coastal villages over the

past two years,” says Savage. “part of the

strategic plan covers the marine

environment. this integrates coastal zone

management and looks at the evolution of

the coastline and how that may need to be

adapted to respond to those challenges.”

masterplanning of this sort is about

setting long-term objectives and achieving

those objectives through incremental

changes. these include mechanisms to steer

new developments to areas where they are

likely to be sustainable and encouraging

energy-efficient urban design to protect

citizens from rising temperatures.

“traditional islamic cities were built with

shaded streets and narrow alleys. buildings

were constructed in such a way that they

cooled naturally,” notes Savage. “it’s

possible to use some of these principles in

modern developments. they can be

enshrined into development and design

guidelines at the neighbourhood scale.”

locking-in sustainable growth means big-

picture thinking and attention to detail. and

the effects, he emphasises, are cumulative.

“it’s about channelling projects as they come

forward. Some of those will be quite large

and will clearly make large steps towards

delivering the strategy. Some of the things

the idea of taking long-term

environmental changes into account in

planning policy has been slow to take root.

but that’s starting to change, and one place

where this is happening is in bahrain. the

kingdom – an archipelago of more than 30

islands in the gulf – has a population of

more than 790,000. accommodating climate

change is a pillar of its national planning and

Development Strategies, which are being

formulated by atkins.

roger Savage, senior planning consultant

with atkins, says that parts of bahrain are

quite low-lying, so a temperature rise of two

degrees in global mean temperatures would

have significant consequences. the question

is: how do you encourage development and

protect communities?

one way is to ensure that new

developments meet rigorous resilience

standards. Durrat al bahrain, a massive new

island reclamation project at the southern tip

of bahrain, is an example. reclamation levels

will be much more incremental. the key is

that it needs the plan to set the direction.”

On the riseclimate change is a major concern for coastal

communities the world over. Some of those

communities have long and painful experience

of adapting to environmental change that has

– all too often – come out of the blue.

communities along the lincolnshire coast

in east england are a case in point. records

stretching back 800 years paint a picture of

the awesome power of the sea. it’s a roll call

of flood defences breached, towns washed

away and land lost beneath the waves.

the lincolnshire coast is susceptible to

flooding for two reasons. the first is the risk

from storm surges: mass movements of

seawater funnelled down through the north

Sea. the second is isostatic readjustment:

since the end of the last ice age, southern

britain has been slowly sinking, so relative

sea levels continue to rise.

the lincolnshire coastal study, conducted

by atkins and completed earlier this year, is

the first comprehensive undertaking of its

kind. the study considers the complex web of

relationships between a huge range of

environmental, social and economic factors.

these include rising sea levels, coastal

flooding, economic regeneration, housing,

agriculture, tourism, transport and health.

“planning for a period of 20 years is

nothing when you compare it to natural

phenomena such as rising sea levels,” stresses

Savage. “we need to look at a much longer

period of time: 50 or 100 years.”

the study considers how the roles of

coastal towns could change over the coming

decades – roles that could be shaped

significantly by strategic planning and

spending decisions. it raises some tough

questions. “Do you freeze development as

it is now and put in protection measures to

stop flooding? Do you start gradually

moving people out of some of the smaller

20per cent rise in the UK’s peak river flows over the next two decades could have significant implications.

It is estimated that it will take billions of dollars and several years to repair the damage of the Brisbane 2011 floods.

21

areas and provide new villages? Do you

allow for growth but sacrifice some of the

best agricultural land in the country? You

must develop methodologies to answer

these questions,” says Savage.

The big pictureFigures published by the UK environment

agency suggest that global temperature

rises could have significant implications for

the UK, with peak rainfall intensity rising by

10 per cent and peak river flows up 20 per

cent in the next two decades.

in February 2010 lord Smith spoke of the

environment agency’s long-term investment

strategy, published in 2009, which

highlights the scale of investment required

to protect england from flooding. “our

modelling suggests that we need an

increase in investment in building, improving

and maintaining defences – from current

levels up to more than £1bn a year by 2035

– to ensure that present levels of protection

are sustained and improved in the face of

climate change,” he said.

the predicted effects of climate change

are, however, aggregate figures, intended to

paint a general picture of the sort of

changes that could occur. So what could

changes like this mean at the level of an

individual city? and can anything be done?

the city of bath lies on the river avon in

the west of england. there’s nothing unique

about bath’s riverside location: most major

settlements are sited close to rivers or

oceans. but local topography exacerbates

flood risk. bath – a world heritage site – is

tucked into a relatively deep valley at the

southern end of the cotswold hills. heavy

rainfall in the city’s hilly catchment area can

turn the avon into a torrent within hours.

the higher peak flows predicted by the

environment agency are – potentially – bad

news for bath, which is already prone to

flooding and has a high concentration of

homes and businesses in its river corridor.

in spring 2009 atkins was commissioned

to prepare a flood risk management strategy

for bath & north east Somerset council. the

study identifies ways in which sites at risk of

flooding can be built on without increasing

the risk of flooding elsewhere. the key is

balancing the need for economic

development with flood protection.

“a lot of the future brownfield

development sites in bath are along the

river frontage,” explains Savage. “the

possible effects of different flood events on

the city had to be considered and options

explored for mitigating those events,

through planning policy, with both on-site

and off-site solutions.”

Flood management is one of the trickiest

areas of strategic planning. water has to go

somewhere – but where? raising the height

of river walls provides protection in the

immediate locality, but it’s an unsightly

solution and – critically – it simply shunts the

problem further downstream.

large-scale engineering fixes of this sort

do have their place, but building them is

disruptive. and, like bath’s proposed

subterranean flood channel, which was

ruled out on cost grounds, massive civil

works can come with a prohibitive price tag.

“by appraising all of the different

options, a flexible strategy was developed

that could provide greater protection over

time – and a funding strategy was launched

that involved developers making a

contribution,” says Savage.

one of the approaches was to embed

resilience in each individual development by

providing space for water on site and raising

buildings to minimise the impact of flooding.

“that can have an impact on

development viability, though,” says Savage.

“a more strategic approach is required as

well. this involves providing a larger flood

storage area upstream. Developers

contribute in proportion to the volume of

water storage they would have needed to

provide on site. it solves the problem in a far

more cost-effective way.”

“when you look at issues such as climate

change, a lot of emphasis is placed on hard

technology – smart gadgets, smart

infrastructure,” says Savage. “whereas

planning is more like soft infrastructure –

it’s about dealing with people, dealing with

concerns, finding mechanisms to work

through these different problems. a plan

is a good way to do that.”

planning for climate change means

taking account of the possibilities and

then guiding development through local,

regional and national planning

mechanisms. the key is an ability to assess

risks that may lie years or even decades

away. and as the strategy for bath

confirms, creative approaches are likely to

become increasingly important.

“the practice oF reclaImIng land can proviDe an

opportUnitY to BUIld In flood protectIon”

land reclamation has been a big part of Bahrain’s growth as well as its efforts to cope with the impact of climate change.

22

Cities in the developing world are struggling to cope with an unprecedented influx of people. Tackling slums is one of the challenges facing city planners, but municipal centres also need to address how sustainable urbanisation can sustain an ever-expanding population, by devising solutions that will remain viable across the decades.

Cities: the people PARADOX

the issue of how to design cities has vexed planners since the days of the pyramids. The

competing forces of commerce, environment,

geography and culture must all be reconciled as a city

grows beyond its beginnings. Ensuring that the

population is safe, fed and free to move around, while

positioning it to develop economically, has in essence

been the goal of city planners through the ages.

“Cities have been around for 4,000 years,” says

Lars Reutersward, director of the global division at UN

Habitat. “Of course, some of them have a military

basis or strategic importance, but fundamentally most

of them grew up to provide a market for products and

ideas: universities and religions and industry.”

In the 21st century, city design and urban planning

has had to keep pace with enormous social and

economic changes. That’s particularly evident now in

the developing world, where high population growth

and massive wealth inequality fuel urban development

on an exponential basis.

In that context, designing urban systems has

become as much an art as a science. Cities need to be

able to change, while their geography and make-up

need to respond to indeterminate, unpredictable forces.

From Lagos, Mumbai and Delhi to Dhaka, as well

as Shanghai and Jakarta, there is clearly the need for a

new type of development approach.

Reutersward believes that the need to adapt

planning techniques is pressing: “Over one billion

people need to be adequately housed in developing

countries. So that will require not only technical

improvements in construction techniques but also

looking more closely at the evolving needs of a city.”

Holistic planning Africa represents the biggest challenge for urban

planners. Cities such as Lagos, Kampala and Luanda

are all experiencing rampant population growth. But

while they attract more people and investment, the

strain is beginning to show. Are urban plans for a city

of two million really fit for purpose when the

population has swelled to eight million? For Atkins,

finding a solution to this has become the biggest

single planning challenge in emerging cities.

Looking forward three decades, the fastest-

growing cities will be those in Africa and Asia. In many

African countries, for instance, planning authorities

believe a longer-term approach is needed and some

have taken the pre-emptive step of asking for a

masterplan to oversee and control growth.

Paul White, director of planning at Atkins, has

worked on many urban regeneration projects. He says

that, because it’s impossible to put a definitive time on

the lifespan of any plan, the focus for planners is

largely on setting the direction of travel.

Having worked on several sustainable projects,

White and his team have perfected the process of

consulting the relevant parties – local authorities,

planning consultants and community leaders – in

order to set up a “base camp” and produce a basic

initial design plan. “After a few years you revisit this to

make sure that the assumptions you made are

correct,” he says. “Once that’s done, you can readjust

it, and the likelihood is that planners modify that in

some way because circumstances will change.

Ultimately, it would be pretty unusual for a plan to

remain live and current for the duration.”

city solutionsSUSTAINABLE URBANISATION

2424

And that’s the key point: sustainable development has at

its centre the idea that what works now – the rail network

can carry the desired number of passengers, say – may not

work in ten years’ time. Flexibility of design therefore

becomes just as important as keeping costs under control.

In White’s view, the vibrancy of a transitional city can be

both a blessing – no successful city can continue to thrive

without attracting new migrants – and a curse.

“The big challenge is to design a plan with the resources

necessary to provide for an increasing population – one that

is going to grow exponentially in the next 10 years.”

The twin issues of housing and transport pose the most

complex challenges. Providing sustainable housing is one

thing, but it is complicated by the demographic changes that

most developing countries are experiencing. Increased

economic activity inevitably leads to a growth in the

professional class. “The key with transitional cites that act as

honeypots is dealing with the housing issue,” says White.

Given the predominance of rural-to-urban migration (in

some cases caused by civil war or unemployment), people

have flocked from other parts of the country and from the

countryside into cities. As a result, a large proportion of

those people are housed in poor conditions often in suburbs

with little transport or sanitation to serve their needs.

“What we really have to do is to produce a plan for

the future development of the city,” says White. That plan

begins to take shape during the “optioneering” phase,

where a number of scenarios are explored.

“We have a workshop while we’re doing that, and we

get stakeholders to help formulate those options. Then we

evaluate and develop a range of criteria in terms of the

environmental impact, transport benefits, socio-economic

effects, financial side-effects and so on,” White explains.

This is refined so that a plan emerges which has a fair

measure of support from the various stakeholders. Take

housing, for example: in previous years, the approach to

tackling widespread slums would be to demolish them.

A look at how some urban development has proceeded

in some parts of China would give an illustration of the

temptation to do that. But that is only a short-term solution.

What happens in 10 years when more slums have grown

in their place? White believes that a more sustainable and

integrated approach must be taken.

“The plan presents a combination of keeping the existing

slums in situ but upgrading them, with some demolition and

redevelopment where we thought it was necessary to, for

instance, put in new transport routes,” White says.

“What we were trying to do was to strike a balance

between maintaining communities and the necessary

modernisation that the city needs to undergo,” he adds.

Setting an exampleThe Middle East, and the UAE in particular, is leading the

way with many cutting-edge economic and urban advances.

Suhar in Oman is a compelling example of how sympathetic

development planning can produce robust solutions that

last. Previously the ancient capital of the sultanate, Suhar sits

some 200km north of Muscat. As a coastal city it offered

developers the chance to build on existing transport links

and, in common with other Atkins sustainable development

projects, the plan was based on extensive consultation with

community representatives.

Suhar is primarily a trading city, a port with historic links

and significant opportunity to expand. Any plan to develop it

would need to take this into account. The main drivers

would be the development of downstream industries linked

to the port, as well as forthcoming infrastructure such as

the Gulf Cooperation Council railway linking the major UAE

hubs, which is under construction.

For Atkins, the key challenge of Suhar has to be

preserving its appeal to the population as a place to live

while allowing as much room for the port and the associated

industries to flourish. So far the signs are positive: trade

volumes continue to grow at the port while a few blocks to

the north the foundation stone for the city’s new university

has been laid.

Suhar’s sustainable approach to growth – putting

flexible transport and industrial development at its heart

– is mirrored elsewhere in the Middle East. Bahrain, for

example, has recently kicked off its national planning and

development strategy, which will see the kingdom build

180,000 housing units in the next 20 years to cope with the

kingdom’s projected population growth. It’s a clear indication

that authorities in the region are aware that sustainable,

flexible development strategies are needed to harness and

capitalise on growth – and planners are waking up to the

need to plan for 2050 and beyond.

“the big Challenge IS TO DESIGN A PLAN WITH THE RESOURCES NECESSARy TO provide for an inCreasing population – ONE THAT IS GOING TO GROW ExPONENTIALLy IN THE NExT 10 yEARS”

suhar, oman: a sympathetic and sustainable approach to planning for population growth.

The typical “Westerners going abroad” view of tourism in China is being redefined with the ongoing rise of the country’s middle class. New approaches are emerging that seek to meet this new demand while embracing local diversity and retaining individual identity.

Beyond the great wall

changing tourismbuildiNg for The moderN Traveller

“We looked at developing ferry links to

surrounding coastal cites such as hong Kong and

macau to open it up as a destination,” says Ng.

Tourism from within this huge country is not to

be underestimated. for example, this development,

which was planned for 60,000 people, can survive

on the local market alone and hotels are filling up

with business conference travellers.

Developing destinationsChina’s vast size means that it’s possible to

experience very different environments without ever

leaving the country. for example, many northern-

based Chinese people are keen to travel to warmer

areas. Ng says that many Chinese people are very

patriotic and keen to experience the highly

individual corners of their fascinating country.

Ng worked on a Chinese development called Xia

Sha and points out that the local ethnic Keija culture

ignited collective imaginations. alongside the scores

of professionals – the economists, tourism

consultants, property development consultants,

hotel specialists and golf course consultants – that

worked on Xia Sha and developments like it, the

team also engaged ethnically Keijan designers and

planners for their specific knowledge.

“We wanted to preserve and celebrate the local

diversity by developing land that didn’t have an

impact on cultural heritage. after all, many of the

community wanted to stay. What was important is

that we didn’t just drop something into the area,”

says Ng. as a consequence, circular buildings, which

are integral to this ancient culture, were introduced

into the development as a core attraction. Ng says

that these celebrate the culture of sitting in a circle

and eating with the family.

China is becoming ever more affluent, he adds.

its economy may still be evolving on the world

stage, but this growing tourist infrastructure

illustrates the country’s rapid growth.

“We look at the whole natural resource of an

area and we plan our development to fit in with

that,” says richard alvey, managing director of

environmental planning with atkins. “it’s vital to

make sure that a tourism-based project has a sense

of context, place and character.”

in the highly competitive world of tourism

it is not only responsible to take into account the

local surroundings but it also makes good

business sense. Creating a unique tourist identity

is essential and can be of great importance to

any developing economy.

km of coastline will help to turn Xunliao in the Pearl River delta into a prime destination for China’s growing internal tourist trade.

16Tourism in China is changing. The middle classes

are on the rise, bringing with them greater

disposable incomes as well as a genuine interest in

exploring their home territory. This is prompting a

mini-boom in local tourism for communities and

historically significant sites throughout the country.

for Steven Ng, technical director for urban

planning with atkins in China, the masterplan has

become a vital tool when establishing a tourism

strategy that addresses these changing demands.

“it’s a question of balance,” he says. “visitors

increasingly expect authenticity in their travels. any

masterplan must bring out the best in a local space.”

Ng points to the recently completed Xunliao

(oceania Point) resort in the east of Shenzhen City,

in southern China, which was designed around

16km of coastline: “it was planning gold – you

could even compare it to the gold Coast in

australia in aesthetic terms. behind the resort are

the mountains and padi fields, and within the delta

the salt and fresh water meet.”

in order to maximise the natural surrounding

assets, the plan allows for sea views for 60 per cent

of properties and mountain views for 30 per cent.

“We consulted the nearby fishing communities

and made the rivers a feature of the

development,” Ng explains. “We even built a

fishing village into the development based on

traditional Chinese architecture.”

Sometimes a resort’s existing assets will also

work on a practical level. for example, mangroves

are attractive indigenous flora but they also help to

prevent coastal erosion and not stripping them

turned out to be a sensible strategy for the Xunliao

planners. unobtrusive solutions such as these tend

to be preferable.

Xunliao had to fulfil some requests for private

spaces, so the plan clustered spots throughout to

create public and private areas.

“The gaps between the 16km stretch are long,

which encourages people to stay in the public

areas,”says Ng. Clustering does not always work,

he adds, but in aesthetic terms it is “preferable to

fences or barbed wire”.

harmonious solutions within the planning

framework also needed to extend to transport.

road and air networks for Xunliao were enhanced.

Xunliao in China: a new tourism and resort destination that includes beaches, mangroves, padi fields and fishing villages.

27

28

resilient citiesdesigns for change

Cities are feeling the strain and it’s not likely to get any

easier. according to projections, the world’s population will

continue to grow until at least 2050. complex environmental

changes will alter the climate in which cities operate, the supply

and availability of materials that are used in cities’ construction

and maintenance, the energy that is required for their

economies to function, the supply of food and clean water for

their inhabitants and the provision of sustainable modes of

transport to enable mobility.

new and existing cities will encounter shocks and stresses

associated with environmental change, energy scarcity and

global population – issues that remain difficult to predict reliably.

only by attempting to understand these complexities will

planners, designers and creators of sustainable societies be able

to successfully meet these challenges head on in the future.

Why do we need these discussions and

what do we mean by resilient and adaptive cities?

Nick Roberts: “We need to have these discussions to explore

the relationships between socio-economic, political, cultural and

environmental change and their potential effects on cities over

long periods. a resilient city is in essence about adaptability and

diversity. The ability of a city to change, morph, adapt and

reinvent itself continually is the key to sustainability.”

Elspeth Finch: “There is a huge range of factors that affect

a city’s resilience and adaptability. cities need to be physically

durable to withstand the physical shocks associated with future

climate change. This can mean designing mitigation measures

to guard against potential floods or securing food supplies in

case of long-term water shortages. They also need to be diverse

in terms of their sources of energy, the economy and public

institutions because with greater diversity comes an increased

ability to survive and bounce back from these shocks.”

READY FOR ANYTHING:THE CITIES OF THE FUTURE

changing climates, increasing populations and varying industry trends are affecting how cities function. Can masterplanners design for these developments? and how can a city’s resilience and adaptability be maximised when it comes to future unknowns? Nick Roberts, managing director of atkins’ environment business, addresses these key questions in a round-table discussion with colleagues Elspeth Finch, futures director, and Guy Mercer, associate director for land and development.

Roberts: “That’s right, and i’d also

suggest that, with increasingly global flows

of people and capital, it’s important to

consider resilience in economic and social

terms, as well as the more obvious physical

durability and issues related to climate

change. as we’ve seen in recent years,

economic shocks can have major effects

on cities and these can often be much

harder to recover from than natural

disasters. and, as inequalities in wealth

become greater in many cities, it’s important

that we start to think about how this could

generate conflict between different social

groups and affect resilience.”

Guy Mercer: “The impact of global

influences is enormous and increasing every

day. We need to take the global dimension

into account when looking at a city, or we

can’t look at the resilience. The ability of a

city to adapt and be resilient is as much an

issue about commerce as it is about people

and where they want to live.”

What are the essentials that every

resilient and adaptive city must have?

Mercer: “food, water, energy and shelter

are just some vital ingredients that enable

a city to thrive economically and socially.

a resilient city would seek to feed people

within its own effective boundaries and be

less reliant on global food chains.

“it will use local building materials for

shelter and sustainable energy supplies to

drive its economy and provide people with

basic sustenance.

“By delivering essentials locally, cities

make themselves less vulnerable to

external economic and environmental issues.

a secure flow of goods – in and out – such

as water, sewerage, food etc, make up the

basis of resilience.”

Finch: “i agree that we need to source

locally, especially as this can help to reduce

carbon emissions. But i think we need to

remember that, because we’re living in a

very globalised world, there are many

external influences that will actually affect

the ability of that city to adapt and thrive.

it’s impossible for cities to build walls around

themselves and think that they’ll be secure.

Many cities have varying degrees of control

over their own wealth, their own direction.

so, unless we take the global dimension into

account when looking at a city, we can’t

look at the resilience.”

Mercer: ”The key factor here is making sure

that we have reliable and diverse supply

chains for a wide range of essentials: food,

water, energy, building supplies etc.”

Finch: “That’s very true and, in order to

understand what the city needs to be

resilient (from an infrastructure context), we

also need to understand how these things

connect, because a city is made up of

different components: transport, energy

supplies, buildings etc. if one element goes

down, it can have major implications.

Understanding these dependencies is critical

to understanding resilience.

“Linked to this, i’d suggest that some

redundancy needs to be built into a system.

This means that, if one element is

compromised, other parts of the system can

fill in for it. i think my one comment about

what infrastructure needs to be in terms

of being resilient and adaptive is ‘simple’.

“We can’t know exactly what the

future will hold. if infrastructure is

too over-designed and specific, it makes

it very difficult to adapt for different

ways of working when change happens,

as it always does eventually.”

Roberts: “You’re absolutely right. The

simplicity of infrastructure and its ability

to be used in different ways leads to a

real challenge in the way we approach

design. it’s about saying: ‘how do we

provide something that’s inherently simple

so that it has an adaptive use?’

“This principle extends to buildings as

well as infrastructure where requirements

for the type and size of buildings can

sometimes change incredibly quickly with

economic and technological developments.

if you consider Victorian housing stock in

London, it has been remarkably adaptable

to changes in society. it is a relatively simple

design, but it has been able to

accommodate huge changes in family size

for over a century. This has undoubtedly

played some part in supporting London’s

resilience to economic and social change.”

Finch: “if you look at cities such as

Toronto and helsinki, they have much wider

temperature fluctuations than London and

very different climates. as a consequence,

their infrastructure has to be much simpler

and more flexible. it has to be resilient to

being under snow for five months of the

year. it’s all about the levels of tolerance

that we design for. designing for that

tolerance may be more expensive, but how

do you weigh up those upfront costs

against the potential cost to a city of severe

weather, the ferocity and frequency of

which we cannot be sure?”

Mercer: ”Without a doubt, being adaptive

or resilient will cost and the economic

questions are complex. There are other

elements (beyond infrastructure alone) that

need to be understood in the context of an

adaptive and resilient city.

“for instance, recreational and open

spaces are good examples of land that has a

clear economic value which is often not

directly accounted for in terms of a financial

yield per square metre or traditional rental

income, yet they form an inherent part of a

modern city. Parks are not considered

examples of getting maximum return on

investment, but they draw in value for other

parts of the city’s economy and that value

stands to be at risk if a city is subject to

unforeseen shocks and stresses.”

How will adaptive and resilient cities

look across the world?

Finch: “i think the first question we need to

ask is: what does each city need to be

resilient to? so should we be looking at

resilience to flooding or water shortages,

which will affect food? is it legislative

changes, is it political unrest – is it major

population growth?”

“The qUesTion is: hoW do We PLan for ADApTATION TO THESE SOCIETAl AND lOCAl ISSUES for a ciTY Being BUiLT WiTh a 50- TO 100-YEAR lIFESpAN?”

“RESIlIENT CITIES shoULdn’T onLY Be aBoUT designing an insUrance PoLicY againsT negaTiVe shocks – IT’S NOT jUST AN ADDITIONAl COST. iT’s an oPPorTUniTY To BUiLd bETTER lIvING ENvIRONMENTS”

30

Mercer: “in other words: what are the

major threats to a city?”

Finch: “exactly. cities in different parts of

the world will face different issues of

resilience and adaptability. We need to

understand the local climate and the

cultural elements.

“Understanding the local context and

how people want to live in that particular

environment (including the family structure

and how that needs to be supported

through the built infrastructure) is

important to enable the resilience of that

city from a societal perspective. We need

to learn lessons from the past and

implement those for future design.”

Roberts: “The question is: how do we

plan for adaptation to these societal and

local issues for a city that’s being built with

a 50- to 100-year lifespan?”

Mercer: “if we had to look back over five or

50 years, what would the evaluation criteria

for a successful city be? What is a successful

city from a resilience perspective? i don’t

think we’re asking the right questions yet.

We have a feel for what such a place should

look like in crude terms, but we don’t know

what the success criteria are. This needs to

be considered now and, however imperfect

such criteria might be at the outset, it will

need to be adopted and refined as we learn

from lessons throughout our journey.”

Finch: “But in some ways there could be a

really simple answer to that: a fundamental

aspect of a resilient city is that it’s a place

where lots of people want to live and will

continue to want to live 50 years from now.

keeping things simple, if you want to live

there rather than having to live there, it’s

probably because of the choice of jobs, the

attractiveness of the urban realm and so on

– there are lots of different aspects.

Whether or not people want to live in a city

is a good measure of its adaptability and,

therefore, its potential resilience.”

Mercer: “here’s a dilemma: to make a place

really attractive/resilient costs money. how

how are you going to achieve that in the

developing world and at the rate required?”

Finch: “That’s the question isn’t it? no one

thing will make a resilient city and the costs

involved will be different for every city. in

most cases, though, the upfront costs of

building for resilience should be small

against the potential savings. We need to

come up with innovative ways in which

these investments can be funded, especially

in the developing world.

“But i think what this discussion has

highlighted is that building resilient cities

shouldn’t only be about designing an

insurance policy against negative shocks –

it’s not just an additional cost. it’s also

an opportunity to build better living

environments, improve environmental

quality, encourage diverse communities to

live together and secure a better economy

that improves everyone’s living standards.

That’s got to be the key to a resilient city.”

Mercer: “and, ultimately, how far can we

or should we take resilience? What should

we be realistically looking to control and

adapt, and how should we be factoring this

into our cities of the future, at the same

time making them places in which we want

to live – and can afford to live?”

More work on this topic will be explored

by our Cities Board in the coming

months and we look forward to sharing

this with our clients and partners as we

embark on this journey together.

“The qUesTion is: hoW do We PLan for ADApTATION TO THESE SOCIETAl AND lOCAl ISSUES for a ciTY Being BUiLT WiTh a 50- TO 100-YEAR lIFESpAN?”

31

32

The condition of railway stations across the UK is under fire, criticised for failing to meet basic standards in terms of facilities, appearance and ease of access. Faced with funding difficulties inherent to the current economic climate, what can we learn from successful overseas public transport models?

moving forwardlearning From pUblic TransporT

All chAnge: public transport

Some railway station schemes are simply about

transport, says Warwick lowe, transport development director

at atkins. They improve the concourse, add a few shops and

clean up the immediate environment – but that’s about it.

others do more. They take the chance to regenerate an area,

spark economic activity and bring communities to life.

“There is this concept in home design of indoor-outdoor

living, where the outdoors is brought indoors and the

indoors is brought outdoors. That is how it should be for

stations,” says lowe. “The ideal railway station ends up in a

large open square, with space on all sides for cafés, that

pedestrians, cyclists and buses can all navigate easily,

allowing people to flow naturally into the city. it blurs the line

between where the station ends and where the city begins.”

lowe highlights atkins’ recent proposals for belfast’s

great Victoria street station, euston in central london and

barking in east london. each, he says, offers tremendous

possibilities as catalysts for urban improvement.

“most of the time, proposals focus on cosmetic

improvements because they generate more passenger

revenue than when it was falling down. at belfast, barking,

and euston we have proposed new public spaces that allow

the station to function better as part of the community,” he

says. “it’s not only about adding a few shops to the stations.

The real benefits are in making the station the hub for local

activity; improving the flow of the area.”

There are lessons to be learned from successful urban

station projects abroad, too. luca bertolini, professor of

urban and regional planning at the University of amsterdam,

says that the best examples can be found in asia.

“Tokyo station is the icon for this kind of idea. stations in

Japan are urban centres. Urban ‘centres’ and ‘stations’ are

totally intertwined. These places have great potential for

cities, for accessibility and sustainability. but the challenge is

to develop them as places, not just as an interchange,” says

bertolini. “building outside the city is easier, but inside you

already have other things already there. if you can integrate

them, you can offer much more to people.”

Go with the flowgreat Victoria street station dates from 1839, but was

closed in 1976. a new station was opened near the original

site in 1995. but, according to lowe, it remains hidden

from the main street, one of belfast’s most prestigious

thoroughfares. The most important rail services (serving

Dublin, for instance) operate from belfast central, which is

not as central as Victoria street.

The masterplan, created by atkins and which lowe

helped to draw up, “re-establishes a footprint on belfast’s

main street and reconnects the station with the

communities around it,” he says. The area behind the station

used to be at the centre of a turf war between protestants

and catholics, but is now available for redevelopment,

allowing boulevards and commercial spaces to be

constructed. The plan also improves the station itself,

adding bus bays, platforms and facilities such as waiting

areas and toilets.

“it’s about improving the functionality of the station and

its connectivity with the city, and exploiting the former yards

for maximum commercial return. The station needs a flow

that boosts economic activity. The easier you make it for

people to get from a to b, the more likely they are to make

that journey and generate economic activity,” says lowe.

it is vital, he adds, to create open, walkable spaces

around station developments. He cites the example of the

new st pancras as a scheme that has done this successfully.

Atkins’ proposal for Birmingham New Street Station included both comprehensive redevelopment and reorganisation of interchange facilities.

in 2009 ONly twO-thirdS Of cuStOmerS were SAtiSfied with BritAiN’S StAtiONS. JUsT HalF oF cUsTomers Were saTisFieD WiTH sTaTion FaciliTies. [Source: “Better rail StationS report 2009”, uK Department for tranSport]

3434 “What you need to create is some space that allows a

wider circumference of development to happen. There has

been an ongoing debate about preserving the piazza

between King’s cross and st pancras because the land is

worth so much. but they were right to keep it because it

allows st pancras to flow better with the local area.”

Developing areasThe scheme at barking is similarly ambitious, involving

plans not only for the station but also the town itself.

although barking is well connected with rail services to

london and the building itself is grade ii listed, the station

itself is unwelcoming and the surrounding area is

underdeveloped, according to paul reynolds, a senior urban

designer at atkins. There is an opportunity to clean up the

concourse, taking out poor-quality shops and removing

advertising hoardings that block the windows, and to

refine the area outside allowing better access for pedestrians

and cyclists. at the same time, the station’s refurbishment

could be used to spur development of the wider area.

“The regeneration masterplan for the area around the

station is designed to develop a stronger office market,

improve the quality of its retail stock and address areas of

strategic focus,” says reynolds. “The idea is to provide office

space in tandem with retail and leisure areas. There is very

little to do in barking town centre in the evening and the

population is quite transient as things stand. The

regeneration is part of a plan to attract a demographic with

a higher degree of permanence to the town.”

The blueprint for euston does something similar,

although on a larger scale. For example, it creates a new

entrance to the station, rationalises the bus station out

front and improves disability access. it also takes the

underground entrance out of the railway station so that

Tube passengers no longer clog up the main concourse.

“There’s a huge opportunity to have a look at the whole

area,” says reynolds. atkins produced the plan on behalf

of sydney and london properties, which owns tower blocks

at the front of the station. “There’s plenty of scope for

masterplanning that would come about from the

opportunities initiated by the station development.”

Finding the fundingThe obvious problem with the station development-as-

regeneration model, however, is that it is more expensive

than a station-only project. moreover, regenerating a whole

area inevitably involves a larger range of stakeholders,

including landowners, transport authorities, regional

development bodies, councils and mayors.

the refurbishment of Barking station is intended to provide office space in tandem with leisure and retail areas.

“THe beneFiTs oF THoroUgH anD Well THoUgHT-oUT sTaTion reNOvAtiONS are nUmeroUs. THe cHallenge For THe UK’s planners is To inTegraTe THese neW layoUTs eFFecTiVely inTo oUr chAOtic urBAN lANdScApe”

the development plan for london’s euston Station includes a new entrance and keeps tube, rail and bus passengers separate.

at barking, the london Thames gateway Development

corporation has funded a detailed design for the space

immediately outside the station. but other potential

financers, including network rail and the train operating

company that has a licence for the station, have yet to step

forward to pay for other elements.

reynolds says the lack of funding shows the inherent

limitations of the UK’s train franchise system, where

companies hold licences for relatively short periods and

therefore lack incentives to make significant long-

term investments. reynolds and lowe agree that the

financial crisis and public spending cuts have hit funding

for station projects.

in euston’s case, the redevelopment scheme is further

complicated by plans for the High speed 2 rail link (Hs2),

which envisages euston as the main london hub.

should that go ahead as planned, euston would need to

be extended again, both southward and westward. The

problem, says reynolds, is that euston needs

redeveloping soon, rather than in 10 or more years, which

is the probable timeframe for Hs2. The planning and

funding difficulties around inner-city stations such as

euston means that some observers think the UK should

consider different approaches, including building further

out of town.

one Hs2 proposal considers old oak common, to the

far west of london, as a potential site – seeing the disused

railway yards as a much easier redevelopment opportunity.

The disadvantage is that old oak is 40 minutes outside

central london, which would limit the value of a high-

speed service in the first place.

Model stationsbut the edge-of-city approach is one that has been taken in

France, and to a greater extent, china.

“in china, they have built a lot of high-speed stations

wherever the land is available. They have then built cities

largely around the new stations,” says reynolds.

an example of this is shanghai’s new south station,

which atkins has been involved in masterplanning.

“The major challenge was to redevelop the former railway

yards and associated land and to reconnect the

redeveloped area with surrounding communities,” says

mark Harrison, senior technical director for atkins’ urban

planning consultancy in beijing. “The development is

intended to take advantage of the high level of

accessibility offered by the new station, with its high-speed

rail links to Hangzhou. The area was planned as a new

mixed-use business hub within shanghai also serving the

wider region.”

The challenge in the UK is that planners are unable to

drive large-scale rail projects, changing the purpose of

whole urban areas as a result. “We don’t have that luxury,”

says reynolds. “When we’re talking about euston, we’re

talking about an existing urban context. We can’t simply

clear two miles and build a whole new city.”

nevertheless, we can recognise from successful

overseas models that the benefits of well thought-out

station renovations are numerous. The challenge for the

UK’s planners is to integrate these new layouts effectively

into our already chaotic urban landscape, while

anticipating and incorporating future requirements of the

transport network.

36

The V&A waterfront in Cape Town is now one of South Africa’s most visited destinations.

Historically, urban waterfronts were viewed primarily as ports: the point at which goods arrived from all corners of the Earth. But many of today’s waterfronts are being transformed, becoming a gathering place for locals, tourists and businesses – and a valuable focal point for masterplanners.

transforming the working waterfront

Situated between Robben Island and Table Mountain in the heart of Cape Town’s working

harbour, the Victoria & Alfred (V&A) basins were

once a hub for trade activity. Back when container

shipping was the main method of handling cargo

worldwide and the Suez Canal had been reopened

as a major freight route, this South African

waterfront welcomed ships carrying products from

around the globe.

But, despite their importance to global trade,

such spaces did not always fare well. Many fell into

decline owing to new developments in

manufacturing and freight delivery methods. This is

now changing. The V&A waterfront continues to

welcome visitors, but for very different reasons,

having been transformed into South Africa’s most

visited tourist destination.

“As the key interface between land and sea,

waterfronts have always played an important role,”

says Helen Doe, teaching fellow in the Centre for

Maritime Historical Studies at the University of Exeter.

“Although modern port operations have mostly

moved out of cities, the waterfront has now become

a key leisure focus and continues to draw people to

the waterside.”

With shipping no longer at the core of these

projects, the skill for the modern urban planner is to

ensure that these often derelict spaces will be

revitalised and – crucially – link in with the rest of

the urban framework.

How can masterplanning reduce the threat

of any future decline? Cape Town’s harbour has

undergone numerous changes over recent years to

bring greater public access and appeal, and Atkins is

part of a team working to develop the V&A

waterfront further.

The challenge is to present a viable masterplan

linking the waterfront with the city and the new

football stadium at Green Point. Along with plans for

one of the most expensive hotel developments that

Africa has seen – a seven-star R450m luxury

destination – the reinvented waterfront offers a wide

range of visitor attractions and has successfully

reinvigorated the area.

Long-term appeal“It’s all about creating pockets of interest,” says

Janus Rostock, design director for architecture with

Atkins in the Middle East. Rostock has worked on

projects around the world and is well aware of the

changing face of waterfront development and its

implications for planners.

The instinct for humans to interact in and

around water is something that all waterfront

developments, whether new or transformational,

recognise. They have the ability to draw people

together and offer unique and attractive

opportunities for business. And creating a destination

with long-term appeal is of utmost importance for

the regeneration of all waterfront projects.

“We always think about the future when

planning any project,” says Rostock. “We prepare

the design and create spaces so that people will

enjoy them.”

urban planningWATERfRonT DEVEloPMEnTS

“AlTHoUGH MoDERn PoRT oPERATIonS HAVE MoSTly MoVED oUT of CITIES, The wATeRfRonT hAS now BeCome A key leISuRe foCuS AnD ConTInUES To DRAW PEoPlE To THE WATERSIDE”

38

One way to find out is to ask the

communities. Birmingham City University has

been working closely with Atkins on the

subject of community-led design since 2008 as

part of a new government-funded initiative

through a knowledge-transfer partnership

(KTP) linking academia and business.

Working with Delhi’s School of Planning

and Architecture, 40 residents of different

ages came together through the KTP in 2009

to take part in design workshops devised by

the university and Atkins. With the help of

attending engineers and after-education to aid

understanding and engagement, the residents

undertook the design of appealing new

neighbourhoods for their capital city. Working

in teams, they formulated design briefs and

concepts for detailed block layouts, providing

real insights into what was actually required

from their living arrangements and the

surrounding infrastructure.

Sanjay Tanwani, senior urban designer

with Atkins, says the aim of working with

communities in this way is to “eschew a

formulaic approach to urban design and to

tailor the work to specific circumstances,

while incorporating cultural traditions

wherever this is appropriate.”

“Community is often considered only at a

later stage of the process,” says Tanwani. “We

bring in the community first, involving it from

the word ‘go’. We design, based on what the

people need, and then analyse the structure,

putting aesthetics and concepts behind it.

You could say it’s a hyper-rational approach.”

India was chosen not simply to help

address the growth challenge – Atkins has an

office there already. Another key reason was

the cultural synergy with south Asian

communities in the UK – a focus of the KTP

later in 2009.

“Neighbourhoods in India are already quite

successful in terms of social capital and

cohesion,” says Tanwani. “We wanted to take

inspiration from that. India’s vernacular

neighbourhoods have hardly been designed at

all. They have mostly evolved over the years

and we wanted to understand how. Now

we’re transferring these design principles to

multicultural communities in the UK. There

are striking similarities between what people

want in the two.”

British lifestyles are generally not very

neighbourly, according to Tanwani.

“These days, in many parts of the UK at

least, we hardly know each other. We don’t

familiar facesNeIghBoUrlY ThINKINg

Community by designThe rise of India’s urban middle class means that by 2030 the number of people needing homes that match their aspirations and incomes will quadruple – leaving India with the significant challenge of meeting this demand in less than two decades. How can rapidly developing cities create neighbourhoods that are suited to these new lifestyles while incorporating the sustainable and economic demands of the modern world?

39

“BY gIvINg lOcal peOple a vOIce IN The DeSIgN AND PlANNINg of TheIr CommUNITY, DeveloPerS AND CITY PlANNerS hoPe To forge A CloSer BoND between peOple and tHe places In wHIcH tHey lIve”

know people living five houses away from

us on the same street. And, if you look at

the backs of our houses, there are long,

thin, private gardens with fences that rise

above eye level,” he says. “There is little or

no interaction.”

Privacy is increasingly seen as the ideal,

while “strangers” can all too often be the

focus of fear and mistrust, so opportunities

to engage are missed.

But the benefits of a clearly defined

community are clear: reduced crime,

greater social cohesion, security in numbers

for both children and the elderly etc. As a

consequence, there is now greater focus

on the regeneration of local areas being

conducted in close consultation with

residents. By giving local people a voice in

the design and planning of their

community, developers and city planners

are hoping to forge a closer bond between

people and the places in which they live.

In India the need for community-led

design goes beyond these extensive social

benefits. According to Jitesh

Brahmkshatriya, Atkins’ masterplanning

team leader in India, many of the existing

Indian community-led masterplans focused

on “what” or “where”, rather than “how”

or “when”. As he points out, such projects

often fail to include robust delivery

mechanisms for dealing with the practical

viability and long-term management issues

that inevitably arise in competitive markets

such as India. As a result, Atkins noticed a

number of good concepts failing in the

Indian market.

“We believe that every innovative

concept should be backed with a robust

delivery mechanism tailored to suit the

needs of the users without compromising

viability. obviously, we want to understand

the ways in which different cultures place

different value on the significance of public

spaces, but we need to make sure we can

then produce a realistic plan for reflecting

these cultural needs.”

becoming more engagedIn many ways, it comes down to a

question of relying on what we know.

“The general feeling is that urban design

today is very much a cut-and-paste

exercise,” says Birmingham City University’s

Noha Nasser, founder of the Centre for

Urban Design outreach and Skills, which

examines the academic side of the

equation. “There are certain urban design

principles that tend to be used, no matter

where work is being done.”

Tanwani agrees: “Through this initiative

we’re developing new characteristics for

neighbourhoods, where people interact

more often because of the physical form of

the neighbourhoods – and not just because

they have to. The secret lies in the physical

form of the neighbourhoods we’re

designing: people just happen to bump

into each other more often.”

The secret of the initiative’s success is

the involvement of members of the

community at a very early stage in the

design process: during the initial brief,

before first ideas are formulated and the

standard concepts take over.

“In this project we try to talk to people

about what they feel should underpin the

neighbourhood; how a site will affect their

wellbeing and otherwise benefit them,”

says Nasser. “There is also the issue of

value systems. People from different

cultures place different values on the

significance of public spaces and how their

neighbourhood dynamics work.”

Brahmkshatriya adds that community-

led masterplanning “enables local

communities to implement and control

the procurement process through their

own organisations, often resulting in

more openness and accountability,

reduced corruption and wastage, better

value for money, increased use of local

workers and contractors and better-quality

works and services.”

Social possibilitiesThrough the workshops, Atkins identified a

number of essential features for Indian

residents. These included neighbourhoods

that cater to all age groups; plenty of

opportunities for interaction; mixed-use

high streets where commercial and

housing properties coexist; houses that

cater for all extended family members; and

“walkable neighbourhoods”.

one example of the ideas resulting

from the workshops is a cluster form of

some 15 houses, Tanwani explains. These

residences have much smaller back

gardens than would normally be the case

in the UK (about 30 square metres, rather

than the typical 70 square metres), all of

which converge in a semi-communal

space. Together with small, low walls,

they each become “more of a semi-private

area than a private area of the house”, he

says. Similarly, a semi-private porch at the

front includes seating areas that are shared

with neighbours.

Nasser adds: “We’re proposing more

engaging front doors and thresholds with

the public realm. We’re creating streets

that are sociable streets – places to play, sit

and take advantage of the sun and

microclimate. At the backs we’re also

designing communal spaces where people

can come together around social activities

such as growing food.”

factoring these social requirements into

the designs helped to create a

neighbourhood proposal that reflects the

40

“IN ThIS ProJeCT we try tO talk tO peOple ABoUT WhAT TheY feel ShoUlD UNDerPIN The NeIghBoUrhooD; hoW A SITe WIll AffeCT tHeIr wellbeIng AND oTherWISe BeNefIT Them”

self-reliant communities. resource

conservation was another key

consideration throughout the design

workshops, so solutions such as

rainwater harvesting and storage have

been included throughout.

Forward thinkingThe main challenge, Nasser says, will be

“mainstreaming” the workshop way of

building the briefs so that it can be

adopted across the professional world.

“It’s resource-intensive, because you’re

spending time listening to people as well as

building local capacity. We’re also

educating the people to engage with the

design process in a meaningful way

themselves. There is a certain resource

required to make that a success.”

Nevertheless, the KTP has already

begun testing the concept with the homes

and Community Agency, sparking interest

in showcasing the work with regeneration

agencies – particularly in areas such as the

West midlands, where cultural diversity is

especially high. Indeed, it is partnering with

the Ashram housing Association that

serves the region. The association’s chief

executive, Jas Bains, is a strong advocate of

community-led design.

“Cuts in public-sector funding mean

that community voices risk being lost in the

shuffle,” Bains says. “Community-led

design is about more than putting up four

walls and a roof over someone’s head. It’s

about encouraging involvement where

there may not have been before. It’s about

defining community in a real and physical

way, and giving local people the chance to

have control over their environment.”

Atkins is planning to run a series of

workshops and seminars with local

authorities, land developers and public-

private partnerships to form strategies to

deliver the concepts developed through

their research.

“We intend to develop new ideas in

masterplanning by using the findings from

these workshops,” says richard Alvey,

chair of Atkins’ masterplanning network.

“We’re hoping that this will help to derive

new patterns, structure and building

typologies for multicultural communities,

and that we will be able to expand this

concept both within the UK and overseas.”

With about 800 million square metres

of commercial and residential space

needing to be built in India by 2030 – the

equivalent of a new Chicago every year –

these new masterplanning ideas could just

be the key to solving the country’s looming

growth challenge.

social and cultural lifestyle needs of middle-

income Indian families. But these social

advantages weren’t the only positive

suggestions to come out of the workshops.

Together with the residents, Atkins

designed a sustainable and biodiverse

environment suited to India’s increasing

resource challenges.

Partly because of the desire for

interaction, the masterplans cover a much

smaller gross area than would typically be

allocated for such a development, reducing

infrastructure costs and saving space for

future development or agriculture.

The modular designs allow for flexible

construction. This means that no houses

will sit empty and people can move while

construction is still under way. The plans

also include areas dedicated to biodiversity

and spaces where residents will be able to

grow their own food.

At the residents’ request, the

neighbourhoods have been designed to

allow for maximum social interaction –

providing socially sustainable

communities where people can develop

long-term friendships. This will aid

retention and help to develop supportive,

4141

left and opposite page: atkins’ knowledge transfer partnership scheme with delhi’s school of planning and architecture involved working with a panel of 40 local residents to develop design solutions.

“By 2050, the largest city in the world will probably be in China -

and it hasn’t been built yet. From central business districts to mega-city regions, rising incomes worldwide are changing

the game, and planners are looking ahead to the city of tomorrow.”

www.atkinsglobal.comUK & Europe: Woodcote Grove, Ashley Road, Epsom, Surrey KT18 5BW, UK, T: +44 (0)1372 726140

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