Social sustainability tool for assessing land use planning processes

The aim of this paper was to develop a social sustainability tool to clarify what social sustainability means in land use planning processes. The tool was developed through a robust research process covering a large amount of scientific literature and built environment sustainability assessment tools. To assess how the developed tool works in practice, we used it as a coding system for the assessment of social sustainability in a case study from Finland. The case study includes the master planning process of a medium-sized city and the legal framework guiding it. The theoretical contribution of the paper lies in creating a holistic tool for the assessment of social sustainability in planning processes. This study also provides a strong practical contribution, as it goes beyond theoretical definitions to the pragmatic level by providing exemplary measures to be used in designing and implementing processes. Therefore, this paper is a valuable source for those stakeholders (for example planners, developers and policymakers), who struggle with the issue of the successful implementation of social sustainability practices, and it will help them to benchmark their processes against the themes found in the tool.     

An Institutional Analysis of Property Development,Good Governance and Urban Sustainability

It can be argued that creating a reputation for sustainable development for the benefit of a competitive advantage resonates with institutional theory. In principle, this opens up the possibility to relate a given sustainability agenda with theoretical frameworks based on old institutional economics (OIE) and/or new institutional economics. This is particularly true in arenas where qualitative factors cause a discontinuous change from the previous structure, such as amid urban regeneration. Using empirical evidence from three very different European cities, Budapest, Amsterdam and Trondheim, it is shown that OIE has plenty to offer for a “patchy” and evolving problem area such as the analysis of planning and property development in an urban setting. The position taken here is that good community governance needs the support of the private sector too. Smart policies, regulations and especially incentives set at the local and regional levels are an imperative to meet the sustainability goals set out in the Rio-1992 agenda. This international comparison attempts to provide some guiding answers to the empirical question as to how sustainable the three cases of country- and city-specific governance are in terms of their property development.     

Reviews

Damsholt, Nanna, Kvindebilledet i dansk höjmiddelalder (København, 1985). ISBN 87–418–7425–0. 339 pp.

Kouri, E. I., Saksalaisen käyttökirjallisuuden vaikutus Suomessa 1600‐luvulla. Ericus Ericin postillan lähteet. (The influences of German Gebrauchsliteratur in 17th century Finland. The sources of the Book of Homilies by Ericus Erici). Suomen kirkkohistorial‐lisen seuran toimituksia 129. (Helsinki, 1984). ISBN 951–9021–52–4. 325 pp. German summary and appendix.

Hovi, Kalervo, Alliance de revers. Stabilization of Frances's Alliance Policies in East Central Europe 1919–1921 (Annales Universitatis Turkuensis, Ser. B, tom. 163, Turku, 1984) ISBN 951–642–437–6. 135 pp.

Hovi, Kalervo, Interssensphären im Baltikum. Finland im Rahmen der Ostpolitik Polens 1919–1922 (Spheres of interest in the Baltic. Finland's role in the Polish eastern policy 1919–1922). Studio historica 13. (Helsinki, 1984). ISBN 951–9254–51‐X. 180 pp.     

Development-led planning practices in a plan-led planning system: empirical evidence from Finland

Planning systems are generally divided into plan-led and development-led systems. However, it is quite common that the planning practice follows development-led planning although the planning system would structurally be plan-led. To study how development-led planning affects the implementation of large-scale urban development projects, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in Finland – a country with a hierarchical setting of legally binding zoning plans which can be prepared by following either plan-led or development-led practices. The survey respondents were civil servants managing implementation of large-scale urban development projects. Our results quite surprisingly suggest that development-led planning may cause the projects to become more vulnerable to property market uncertainty compared to the projects following the plan-led practises. These results challenge the usual output-based legitimation of development-led planning to some extent.     

Policy Impact and House Price Development at the Neighbourhood-level—a Comparison of Four Urban Regeneration Areas using the Concept of “Artificial” Value Creation

Urban planning measures and restructuring policies tend to cause unintended increases in house prices. The study compares urban renewal areas with respect to such policy impact on housing and neighbourhood quality and house prices in two city-contexts: Amsterdam and Budapest. It shows how four neighbourhoods that have been subject to various forms of urban regeneration differ in their trajectories of house price development. The results tie with well-documented, mostly Anglo-American experiences of related phenomena such as New Urbanism, Neo-traditional communities and gentrification. Furthermore, the study merges two research objectives that often are seen as incompatible: housing markets and urban regeneration.