Urban Geography and Planning

What's it all about? by Jeroen Venema MA, MSc

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Make space for pedestrians in city centres

In many articles and city designs pedestrian spaces are addressed as important features for city centres. Many revitalization plans try making the city centre more attractive, which includes more space for pedestrians such as sidewalks, benches, walking routes in combination with retail facilities. One striking new plan is the new city centre plan of Groningen, the Netherlands that wants to make more space for pedestrians and bicycles by relocating bus routes out of the inner city.

What is it so important about pedestrian spaces and why is it therefore included in revitalization plans? When we go back to the start of city life; streets and walking routes were the original paths and connection routes to go to your neighbour, play yard, local shop and many other facilities.  The street has a social function, which facilitate human interaction. What human interaction is on streets is the continuous see and be seen and meeting other people. As a result, it forms an attractive street performance that people want to watch or join. As Jane Jacobs explained, the sidewalks are the most important public areas of a city. The streets tell if a city is attractive or not. In here, the interaction with other people is limited to small chats, sharing opinions and information forms that form a kind of trust between people.

Pedestrian spaces are also important city attractions for other people. If you randomly ask why someone visits Amsterdam, Berlin or Paris, the first reasons are probably the many design buildings, architecture, and historic features. Pedestrian spaces are probably not the one that would be mentioned by tourists but it is the crucial foundation to experience cities on the fullest by just having a walk. Seeing people and go shopping and visit a park would not be fun if you do it alone, the reason that people will be confronted by people is the reason why streets are visited: in short, people attract people.

To make cities work, pedestrian spaces are therefore very important to fit in new city plans. A new physical street setting for pedestrians makes it possible to experience to the fullest all facilities that cities offer.

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Shopping malls: A good idea? Examples from Paarl, South Africa and Assen, Netherlands.

In the last decades, many new shopping malls were developed on a massive scale on decentralised locations throughout the world. Decentralised shopping malls are characterised by being outside of town and next to a high way. The expansion of shopping malls is visible throughout the world and the strongest growth is observable in new economies such as India, Turkey, Brazil, and South Africa.

The main question that rises is as following: are decentralised shopping malls a good idea? What are the pros and cons? To answer this question we go to Paarl, South Africa, a town who was faced recently with a new shopping mall and we go to Assen, the Netherlands where a new development of a large shopping area is planned for the year 2020.

Paarl, South Africa

In a new economy such as South Africa, many cities are confronted with new shopping malls just outside the urban sphere and rise from the ground with many throughout the country. As an example, I refer to Paarl in South Africa: The town is located in a valley and surrounded by many vineyards, it is a medium-sized town of 125 000 inhabitants and an average South African population with an average share of poor, rich, and middle-income groups. In 2005, a new shopping mall was built of 37 000 m2 shopping space next to the main highway, which connects Paarl with the metropolitan area of Cape Town.

The city centre of Paarl had a rich retail offer with stores that aimed for all income levels. There were well-known brand stores, cheaper clothing stores, and many all-you-can-buy stores. Since the completion of the mall, the retail in the CBD of Paarl were confronted with more difficulties. Especially brand related stores saw their consumers going to the mall more often resulting an outflow of brand-stores from the city centre. The new mall came with a completely new retail offer of brand stores, clothing, jewellery, toys, supermarkets, and restaurants, under one rooftop of air-conditioned space. As a result, the retail sector in the central business district (CBD) of Paarl showed no growth and a decline of brand related stores, while the mall attracted new investments and a stronger growth in the last decade in a growing South African retail economy.

The result: Only a few consumers of middle to high-income groups were visiting the CBD for shopping and the main shopping street was confronted with a decline of quality stores and a growing unilateral retail offer containing cheap, informal stores. Further possible growth in the CBD was no more and further growth was concentrated on the new mall. As a consequence: indirect social issues came through such as a stronger spatial segregation in Paarl in which high-income groups mainly visit the mall. Besides the city centre saw a growing crime and vacancy rate. Furthermore, the new mall provided an unilateral retail offer of only high quality stores and was not well accessible for public transport, which leads to less visitors of consumers without a car and consumers from low-income groups.

Assen, the Netherlands

From this retrospect in South Africa, I would like to inform you about a new plan to build a Factory Outlet Centre (FOC) for completing in 2020. A shopping space of 22 000 m2 on the edge of the city of Assen, the Netherlands. Assen is a medium-sized town in the north of the Netherlands with around 65 000 inhabitants. The location of the new FOC is just like in Paarl planned next to the main highway, which connects Assen with neighbouring cities and the metropolitan area of Amsterdam. The location is chosen for its accessibility by car to offer expansive brands, large retail offer, and free parking. Many would probably say that such a plan could complement the city’s economy through the new retail offer, high quality of shopping and free parking. However, I argue the opposite.

Just as in South Africa, important consequences should be considered based on the urban theories of how cities work and how cities become a good working mechanism to offer a liveable space to live and work. To compare Assen with Paarl, Assen does have a relatively low income-difference and crime rate, which would, definitely mitigate the coming of a new outlet centre. Still some important negative implications can be considered in the Dutch town of Assen with the coming of the FOC.

“The success of the FOC depends on the failure of the CBD of Assen”

The city centre of Assen already was confronted with difficulties such as a high retail vacancy rate and located stores that were in trouble to survive. Just like in Paarl and as many urban studies can confirm, a new FOC has a strong potential to attract consumers from the city centre. The success of the FOC depends on the failure of the CBD of Assen. Still the CBD of Assen is difficult accessible by car and bus in which parking, bus stops and the present railway station are not successfully tuned with the present retail. If there would be no improvement in the accessibility of Assen, a new FOC is a serious threat to the present retail sector in the CBD. Just like in Paarl, a new shopping centre will attract a large share of the potential consumers resulting to an outflow from the CBD towards the new shopping centre. Stores will close down, the chances of new investments in the city centre on the retail sector, private sector, and public sectors would be strongly decreased. Especially when one euro invested outside the CBD would prospect a larger return compared to the CBD. Besides, what would the indirect social consequences be of a growing vacancy rate in the CBD for the future on Assen’s accessibility, liveability and the cultural and public facilities of the CBD? A preliminary research initiated by the municipality and province indeed concluded a chance of a negative impact on the retail sector in the CBD of 5% more vacant retail space. This number should not be estimated in which indirect consequences of the livability of Assen’s city centre cannot be precluded.

Why is the city centre so important?

The downward trend is observable throughout the world in which the competition started between the new decentralised mall and the CBD’s retail. In the USA, the battle is over and many cities suffered of the empty shopping streets with more growing crime rates. In the UK retail space suffered from high vacancy rates in the CBD. City centres attracted less consumers and became less attractive for new investments, therefore easy targets for crime. First, the retail sector does much more than just facilitating goods to the consumer but also do have a social value to maintain the streets livability. Shop owners and visitors keep the street safe and livable and therefore the retail sector is an important key to attract businesses, tourists and residents. Jane Jacobs beautifully said that shop owners are the main assistant of the police. They dislike broken windows and do everything in their power to keep the street attractive. Second, the city centre is an important facility area for the disadvantaged consumer such as the elderly, youngsters, and people with a low income. People who are depending on public transport use much more the city centre to go out for social activities and for shopping. Therefore the CBD has an important role for the disadvantaged to provide them the access in the urban society.

“Companies have become footless”

Third, cities are important economic engines that contribute largely on creating new ideas and the creative sector. Companies have become footloose; whereas businesses were attracted by physical features such as infrastructure are they now more attracted by interesting and high quality locations such as a livability, attractiveness with the presence of unique features such as university, public buildings, culture, green areas, and architecture, summing up everything that supports to a high quality of living. Especially new creative economies such as the IT sector, architects, designers, artists are now more than ever attracted by qualitative urban spaces that cities can offer.

How can you win the battle against the shopping mall?

A diverse retail sector in the city centre is one of the components but there is more needed to win the battle. The most important strength of the city centre is diversity. A diverse offer of retail, bars, restaurants, public spaces, buildings, green areas and a good urban composition of streets, squares, pedestrian spaces and accessibility prevent unilaterality and makes the city centre an interesting place for businesses, tourists and residents to visit the city and want to live in the city. On the other hand, shopping malls are aimed to stimulate sales and form a unilateral offer of services and goods. When the city of Assen aims for diversity in unique urban features, a sustainable retail sector, green areas, accessibility and a well-organised urban composition, possibilities can come through to attract new investments in various economic sectors. When Assen can comply with those conditions, the city centre would be more resilient to new developments such as a new FOC outside the city centre.

How can you lose the battle against the shopping mall?

The last sentence already implied this section: When Assen can comply with those conditions, Assen can fight the battle. However, Assen is missing most factors: The city centre was already in poor conditions with a relatively high vacancy rate. Although the city centre of Assen has many historic buildings, museums, it is not well organised. Improvements are needed in public transport and parking space. As well in new design, and smart urbanisation to make fully use of the rich offer that Assen has in green areas and historic heritage than can complement the retail sector. More effort is needed on diverse street areas of culture, retail, and historic buildings instead of zoning the available facilities. 

To conclude, the city centre of Assen could be considered as vulnerable and a new FOC will most likely attract many visitors from the city centre towards the new shopping mall. The FOC has its advantages of good accessibility by car and convenient shopping which is a large retail offer, all located in one compound. The attraction of new investments for the city centre would be more difficult in the future and would demand more effort from the municipality and other governments of Assen to support the city centre. Chances to excel for Assen city centre are definitely there to attract the car-borne consumer to visit the city centre. From my point of view, it will not be my plan to keep the car-borne consumer on the highway and to put him in a so-called FOC.

No, instead I would offer an easy and cheap way to visit the city centre of Assen by shuttle service along the woods of Assen to the city centre of Assen full of culture, museums, local history, restaurants, bars, hotels and of course a diverse interesting retail offer.

But yeah. Who decides?

Important sources:

-Cachinho H 2014. Consumerscapes and the resilience assessment of urban retail systems. Cities 36: 131-144. -Jacobs J 1961. The death and life of great American cities. New York: Vintage Books. -Ozuduru BH, Varol C & Ercoskun Yalciner O 2014. Do shopping centres abate the resilience of shopping streets? The co-existence of both shopping venues in Ankara, Turkey. Cities 36: 1-13. -NOS (Dutch national news) 11th February 2016. Assen approves the coming of the FOC. http://nos.nl/artikel/2086351-assen-stemt-in-met-komst-factory-outlet-center.html -Paarl Mall 2015. http://www.paarlmall.co.za/ -Province of Drenthe 2016. Final research report FOC Assen [Dutch] http://www.provincie.drenthe.nl/publish/pages/112414/eindrapport_foc_assen.pdf

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WHY DO CITIES EXPAND?

The answer to this question is not an easy one, as most urbanist immediately would agree that economic and social issues are involved and yet it confirms again, why urbanisation is about everything. However, the answer is probably in the Urbanisation Cycle Theory. Cities throughout the world in developing countries and developed countries seem to confirm the urbanisation cycle that explains how cities have been developed in the, let us say, last 150 years. The urbanisation cycle is as well explained as the theory of differential urbanisation by Pacione (2009) and Geyer & Kontuly in 1993, which in short explains the 4 transition phases of cities. It could be referred as well as the Urbanisation Transition in which cities grow, suburbanise and expand, and after all reurbanise:

FIRST! Urbanisation!

There is the primate city phase: In this phase, cities grow tremendously because of a strong massive in-migration from smaller cities and rural areas. This was especially observable in Europe and the United States in the 19th century because of an agricultural decline towards an industrial economy. Many people moved into cities to work in production industries. Cities were growing so fast that there was not enough space for all of the migrants. As a result, many people lived in slums under unhygienic conditions in the 19th century. The hard conditions of cities in the Western world resemble many examples in urbanising cities in Africa. On the African continent and South East Asia, new service economies are developing in combination of a deteriorating agriculture leading to a high in-migration towards big cities. In countries with a poor fiscal capacity, corruption, and informal housing are leading to major slums under bad liveable conditions. Such as in Jakarta, Indonesia on the picture, are there many more examples throughout the developing world. More economic growth and transport change such as the broad use of the car can lead to the next urban phase!

SECOND! Suburbanisation!

In this phase, the primate city is bursting due to the strong in-migration resulting to urban problems such as congestion and economic inefficiencies. Residents and companies start to relocate outside of the central business district (CBD) towards more suburban locations. New neighbourhoods and small cities start to grow that were surrounding the primate city. More economic growth and a growing middle-class means that more people can afford a car and more people can afford to leave the city centre and to escape the congested unhygienic conditions in the city centre. Whereas this has happened in the UK and USA in the beginning of the 20th century, present examples are apparent in Turkey like the city Bentderesi on the picture, Russia, and India, which show a strong economic growth. Examples of suburbanisation are as well visible in African cities such as Accra in Ghana, Lagos in Nigeria and Luanda in Angola.

THIRD! Counterurbanisation!

After suburbanisation, the rise of living costs in the city centre forces more people to leave the CBD and the suburbs leading to migration movements outside the metropolitan city area towards smaller cities and villages surrounding the metropolitan area. The attraction towards tranquillity, a greener environment is often considered as child-friendly. In combination of low house prices and more space, people were leaving urban areas. In the USA, further counterurbanisation has become visible in most metropolitan areas escaping the high living costs in the cities and enjoying green areas. This phase was first present in the USA and UK from the 1960s and later on in Western Europe. Counterurbanisation occurs mainly under a good transport network, decentralised employment and with a service economy rather a production economy. The main force of counterurbanisation in developing countries was based on decentralising families longing to a more child-friendly, greener environment to escape the congestion and city pollution. Which need after all a good infrastructure when the head of the family commutes to his work. Countries such as India stick at the suburbanisation phase due to a lack of efficient infrastructure, public transport network, and insufficient fiscal capacity to build and maintain a good infrastructure.

FOURTH! Reurbanisation!

The fourth and last trend is reurbanisation, which is the last observable trend in Western Europe and the USA. Cities and their unique public areas offer a high facility rate of cultural, leisure, economic and public offer and keep the city an attractive place for different kind of people. A strong movement to live in the city has become apparent throughout the Western world for people that would like to enjoy the unique city life. New apartments and a reuse of old buildings is now the present trend in developed cities. Policy makers see the advantages of new resident locations in the city centre along with new creative companies that demand a fancy urban location. After all, cities were and still are the main location for cultural, public events and economic activities. Stock exchange, businesses, retail, politics, museums, and concerts do prefer the city and more people seem to appreciate city life.

Important sources:

-Geyer HS & Kontuly T 1993. A theoretical foundation for the concept of differential urbanization. International Regional Science Review 12: 157-177.

-Pacione M 2009. Urban Geography: A global perspective. 3rd edition. London: SAGE Publications.

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Coming up!

The urbanisation cycle! Why do cities urbanise, suburbanise, counterurbanise and finally reurbanise? In short, throughout the world big cities were confronted with most of the 4 urbanisation cycle’s phases. What are the exceptions in the world and why are there differences observable; from Tokyo, Japan to Jakarta, Indonesia and Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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Urban geography is about everything!

A kid playing football on the main city square in Samos, Greece along with tourists shopping and looking around. Restaurants, bars, churches, statues, trees and benches and the nice weather. All conditions that makes this place attractive and convenient. What makes cities convenient and livable are one of the many questions urban geographists think about. In this post I give a brief introduction what urban geography is and why it is so relevant. 

Urban geography is everywhere. When you walk, cycle and drive through cities, towns, villages, and abandoned places, you will notice all the social, economic and cultural flows that are bonded to a place. Places and the explanation why we call a place a place and how places are bonded to economics, sociology, and culture is the field of social geography. More than we know are we bonded to geography: When we take the car to go to our work, or the airplane to another continent we are confronted with different cultures, economic and cultural circumstances that differ throughout the earth, countries, cities, villages, neighbourhoods, and houses.

Some of you might relate geography at first thinking with nature, such as the explanation of climate differences, seismology, and geology, all focused to explain the physical environment throughout the earth. Perhaps less interesting when we focus on the social geography. However, humans are inevitably related to natural circumstances that shaped human kind in many ways.

When we look back before the start of the first civilisations; when we lived a nomadic live in huts and relying on hunting and food gathering. Our way of living was and still is adapted to the physical geographical circumstances. The present of rivers, the possibility to domesticate cow and sheep species, the present of grains and rice in Eurasia were the natural circumstances for humans to create a food source throughout the year. As a result, human numbers rose and formed villages and after all cities, which formed civilisations, resulting to new better circumstances to enhance technological advancements and economic growth. Now we are here, most of you who might read this blog is living in cities and the number of people throughout the world living in cities is rising. As reports of the United Nations show, 54% of the world population is urban in 2014. Which is a tremendous change when looking at the year 1950 when 70% of the population lived in the countryside. For more information: 2014 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects:  http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/FinalReport/WUP2014-Report.pdf

Urban geography focuses on cities, on places where people live which is all about to answer the main question: What relate people to certain places? Why are more people living dense to each other called cities? Why are people living in streets, houses, and use cars? What is the reason why some cities are smaller than other cities are? What is the reason of the worldwide present divide of poor and rich neighbourhoods? Why are there metropolitan regions? Where and why do people live and work; what is their daily routine? These are the questions I would like to answer in the coming year.

To find the answer you would probably notice already that the answer is related to social, economic, cultural, and environmental circumstances. Cultural traditions of how people live, economic changes in telecommunications for example effects company locations, which could lead to relocations of residences. New transport technologies, from the cart with horse towards the car and coming changes of drones, self-driving car all had and would have an impact on the urban geography. Natural circumstances from rivers, natural ports, and natural resources, attract human presence and explain the rise of New York, Amsterdam and the rise of Dubai that was for example inevitably connected to the natural source of oil. Urban geography not only provides a wide view and sense of perspective, but as well a sense of detail on how cities work and how the relation is between people and places; what is the need of market squares, city centers in which cities could be perceived as living beings that expand and shrink and change in time.

Look at the picture of the city center of Groningen, the Netherlands. At first you see old and new buildings, little alleys crossing the buildings. In the last decades this city like each city has changed in which streets changed from shopping streets to resident streets resulting to what could be percieved as chaos. However, universal processes are observable throughout the world and to understand them is the key of what urban geographists do.

In short, urban geography is about everything and provides the knowledge to explain why the human world is how it is today. Why is the knowledge of urban geography relevant? What can we learn from it to make our world better? This question leads to the reason of urban geography existence. To answer, urban geography, although it is my own profession, is the most important profession to understand global issues on why thousands of refugees from the Middle East leave to Europe. Why there is hunger and poverty in Africa. It explains why China, Turkey, Vietnam and Brazil are developing economically and as a result urbanising. On a local scale, urban geography explains among others why cities cannot develop without a public transport system and how to enhance livability in cities and after all how public areas such as market squares, shopping streets and parks are important quality features. To sum up, this knowledge is crucial for any government, NGO and company that works in the fields of economic development, housing and city planning.