Old cities and new settlements

Cities 1994 11 (6) 425-428

Bookwatch Old cities and new settlements 'The abolition of the Greater London Council in 1986 at a stroke reversed the trend towards comprehensive planning in London'. The quotation is from a marvellous compendium of information on London - a revised edition of The London Encyclopaedia, edited by Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert (Macmillan Papermac, London, 1993, 1060 pp, £25.00 paperback).,This is one of those addictive books which are so absorbing that, in searching for a reference, one's attention is caught by so many interesting diversions that the original inquiry becomes forgotten. The blurb claims this to be 'the most comprehensive book on London ever published' and this is easy to believe. I found everything I could think of looking up. Moreover, the entries are truly interesting- never perfunctory - and with some telling illustrations. Unfortunately it is too large to carry around London, but the London Cabbie News suggests that there ought to be one in every London cab. What more can one say? A.N. Wilson's The Faber Book of London (Faber, London, 1993, 493 pp, £17.50, hardback) is a very different book and is not to be compared; but it is equally compelling. It consists of literary pieces about London from writers r a n g i n g from Dickens to Lenin, and from Dostoevsky to Martin Amis. Sources extend from A.A. Milne's 'They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace' to Lord Scarman's report on the Brixton riots. Part of the fun is to fathom the rationale underlying the selection. Another part is to judge the contemporary relevance of famous old views, such as Samuel Johnson's 'When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life'. Wilson adds his own: 'A man who is tired of trivia must be tired of London'. The provision of infrastructure has become increasingly problematic for public authorities caught between increasing costs and tightening budgets.

In the UK this has encouraged measures to obtain 'planning gain' from developers. Whatever the scale on which this operates (a matter of continuing controversy), it is minor compared with the abundance of techniques used in the USA to make developers pay for everything from roads to police, from child care to affordable housing, from urban plazas to public art. The attractiveness of these exactions (variously known as imposts, impact changes, and fees of various kinds) is that 'they generate revenue for achieving publicly defined purposes without offending any organized blocs of voters'. So say Alan A. Altshuler and Jose A. Gomez-Ibanez in Regulation for Revenue: The Politic-

al Economy of Land Use Exactions (Brookings Books, Washington DC, 1993, 175 pp, US$29.95 hardback, US$11.95 paperback). The origins of the growth of these imposts is not only strained local budgets; as the authors note, there are other factors such as the anti-growth movement, increased citizen and n e i g h b o u r h o o d - b a s e d activism, growing environmentalism, and other such a n t i - d e v e l o p m e n t forces. But who bears the cost of these exactions? There has been considerable controversy on this question. The real answer, as any economics student will know, is that it depends on the demand-supply situation at the given place and time. But it is clear that developers can generally pass on the fees (which amount to as much as US$12 000 for a 2 000 square-foot house) to the ultimate home buyers and renters. The effect is therefore to raise prices for both new and existing houses, thereby increasing problems of housing affordability. Nevertheless, Altshuler and Gomez-Ibanez take a 'reluctantly favourable' view of exactions. They argue that though alternatives, such as increased property taxes or user charges, may be more progressive, they are generally politically dif-

0264-2751/94/06/0425-04 © 1994 Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd

ficult to achieve. Growth controls on new development are highly inequitable. In consequence, 'while the ascendancy of exactions owes less to their intrinsic virtues than to the growing unpopularity of leading alternatives, they merit recognition in many contemporary circumstances as the "least bad" option available'. Another survey of US growth control has been edited by Douglas R. Porter: State and

Regional Initiatives for Managing and Development- Policy Issues and Practical Concerns (Urban Land Institute, 625 Indiana Avenue NW, Washington DC 20004, 1992, 249 pp). This provides an excellent overview of the subject. In England, intense debate - but little action - has been under way for some time on the desirability (or otherwise) of new settlements. The Department of the Environment has been under constant criticism for failing to give a lead on this. It has now responded, in part, by the commissioning and publication of a research report by Michael Breheny, Tim Gent and David Lock: Alternative Develop-

ment Patterns: New Settlements ( H M S O , L o n d o n , 1993, 144 pp, £20.00 paperback). The terms of reference of the study were to ascertain the merits and demerits of different ways of accommodating development and, if new settlements are to be developed, to determine how this should be done. Much of the report is of a technical nature, comparing the costs and benefits of different forms of development (curiously omitting all reference t o t h e major 1966 study by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research). This is a difficult and complex matter, since so much depends on site-specific issues. The authors neatly point up the difficulties by stressing that their analysis is 'intended to focus discussion rather than p r e s e n t a definitive a s s e s s m e n t ' . However, central government is urged to come off the fence, and to give a

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Book watch clear statement on the management of urban growth. It is unequivocally stated that 'unless much tougher containment policies are introduced - at the very time when concerns are being expressed over urban intensification it is i n e v i t a b l e t h a t s i g n i f i c a n t greenfield/village development will take place in the UK'. The report favours large new settlements (of at least 3 000 to 5 000 dwellings - but p r e f e r a b l y 10 000). The technical parts of the report are of less importance than the clear call for some political decisions. Many of the planning problems facing both old and new settlements relate to car parking. Yet, as a SERPLAN report stresses, car parking is only one aspect of traffic management

(Parking Policies for the South East, London and South East Regional Planning Conference, 14 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6LB, 1993, 115 pp, £15.00 paperback). Moreover, there is considerabled reluctance on the part of the relevant local authorities to do much about it. A major reason for this, paradoxically, is that the problem is not serious enough: "many authorities are still in the situation where serious traffic congestion is only apparent in a few key locations at peak times, and the political will to develop unpopular policies to reduce dependence on the car is not yet apparent'. It is only when conditions become extreme that effective action is taken. But does this matter? One set of figures suggests that things are best left alone: 84% of journeys to work in the South East are by car; they take an average of only 26 minutes, compared with 47 minutes by public transport journeys; and only 5% of drivers have to pay for parking. A US study by Anthony Downs (Stuck in Traffic, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, 1992, 210 pp, US$28.95 hardback, US$10.95 paperback) extolled these advantages, and advised American commuters to enjoy congestion: Get a comfortable, air-conditioned car with a stereo radio, a tape player, a telcphone, perhaps a fax machine, and commute with someone who is really attractivc. Then regard the moments spent stuck in traffic simply as an addition to leisure timc. The inadequacies of such an extreme

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view (if taken seriously) are apparent - both for the car commuters who eventually experience gridlock and for public transport commuters who have to make do with increasingly obstructed public transport (for which resources are very limited in the present p o l i t i cal c l i m a t e ) . T h e r e is another difficulty, which the SERPLAN report highlights: It is politically difficult to take effective action before conditions become intolerable, but by then it may be too late: 'the opportunities for alternative policies are eroded'. The essence of the matter is not simply that parking is only one aspect of traffic management: it is that traffic management is only one aspect of land use planning. It is the disposition of land uses which creates traffic needs, Theoretically, the British planning system provides all that is required to ensure that land uses are allocated in such a way as to minimize traffic needs. However, this can be done only at a metropolitan or regional level since land use restrictions at the local level may simply displace activities elsewhere. Towns with enlightened policies may therefore find that their town centres are at a competitive disadvantage with other towns or with out-of-town locations. Against this background, car-parking policies are only one aspect of much wider planning policies. If ever there was a case for regional planning, this is it. In the debates on providing for the motor car, reference is commonly made to the problems of those who do not have one. This is, of course, an important point, but it is one which is more significant than is often realized. Though the proportion of households in Great Britain without a car has declined from half in 1971 to a third in 1991, this represented 7 million households at the later date. Moreover, there are large geographic differences. The proportion in 1991 without a car in the metropolitan areas was much higher, rising to 54% in inner London. R e g i o n a l d i f f e r e n c e s w e r e also marked: from 25% in East Anglia to 43% in Scotland. These and a feast of similar statistics are to be found in

1991 Census: Housing and Availability o f Cars, Great Britain, (HMSO, Lon-

The tables detail car ownership by a range of factors including household type, ethnic group, tenure, and number of children. The volume also brings together the national data on housing. Major trends are the increase in owner-occupation and in the number of households consisting of one person living alone. Household size fell from an average of 3.06 persons in 1961 to 2.47 in 1991. Housing conditions on average have improved greatly, particularly as measured by household a m e n i t i e s and by the selfc o n t a i n m e n t of a c c o m m o d a t i o n . However, almost a fifth of households were lacking central heating (rising to a third in some inner urban areas). It is, of course, an indication of the marked improvement in housing conditions that central heating is even included in the census. This volume gives figures only for very large areas. A different picture of the range of conditions is given in the county reports: it is there that the arithmetic of poverty is to be found. The British planning system (unlike that which now operates in Northern Ireland) is dependent on the efficiency and integrity of local government. Given the discretionary nature of the development control process, there is considerable opportunity at the local level for inconsistency, departure from national policies, favouritism, and even corruption. All happen to some extent, but it is generally believed that such practices are exceptional. Some doubt has been thrown on this by the reports of the local government ombudsmen and by the House of Commons Select Committee on Welsh Affairs who have drawn attention to planning decisions which are in violation of planning policy. Particular concern has been expressed about decisions which are affected by the personal needs of applicants. These, by definition, are not matters of land use, and it is g en e r a l l y accepted that, in principle, personal c i r c u m s t a n c e s can be taken into account only exceptionally. But the issue gives rise to controversy and sometimes personal hardship may have to be balanced against the public good. A leading court case (Great

don, 1993, 566 pp, £3(}.40 soft cover).

Portland Estates v Westminster City

Cities 1994 Volume I1 Number 6

Bookwatch Council, 1985) noted that personal factors 'are not to be ignored in the administration of planning control'. The issue received national attention in 1991 when a television programme, Cream Teas and Concrete, highlighted the behaviour of a Cornish local authority which clearly was flouting government policy by allowing sporadic development in the open countryside to the benefit of local residents, This led to the setting up of an official inquiry undertaken by Audrey Lees whose report is now published: Enquiry into the Planning System in North Cornwall District (HMSO, London, 1993, 94 pp, £11.00 paperback). It is interesting to note that this went out of print almost immediately, thus suggesting that many areas other than North Cornwall are interested in the matter. The report concludes that many of the complaints against the local authority were justified. It makes a number of recommendations for policy and procedural changes, and urges the completion of the local plan to provide a basis for consistent future decisions. It is unusual to have such an insight into the operation of the planning system as this report provides. It will for long remain essential reading for planning students and practitioners. Inner city programmes in the UK have proliferated in a bewildering manner, and it is useful to have an

Evaluation of Urban Development Grant, Urban Regeneration Grant, and City Grant which was carried out by Price Waterhouse, and published in the Department of the Environment's research series (HMSO, 1993, 76 pp, £14.50 paperback). The aims of City Grant and its predecessors are to encourage major private sector capital schemes in inner cities which would otherwise be unable to proceed because, as a result of their location, costs exceed values. To evaluate these grant-aided projects is inherently difficult, particularly in a period of rapidly changing property values. The report concludes that the programmes have been basically successful, but require a greater clarity of purpose. Even so, they will not 'address the basic causes of poor regional or local growth'. Unfortunately, the brevity of the report

Cities 1994 Volume 11 Number 6

precludes an adequate exploration of this significant conclusion. Policies in relation to the rehabilitation of old housing in Britain have developed over the years from a preoccupation with individual houses to an increasingly wider concern for areas. The latest policy (introduced by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989) replaces the former housing action areas and general improvement areas with much more broadly conceived renewal areas. The goal is no longer simply to improve individual houses or even areas of housing, but also to embrace environmental and socio-economic regeneration. This is a tall order, and some of the difficulties are highlighted in a brief preliminary report by Chris Couch and Nichola Gill, Renewal Areas: A Review of Progress (School for Advanced Urban Studies, Rodney Lodge, Grange Road, Bristol BS8 4EA, 1993, 43 pp, £4.95 paperback). It is perhaps too early to pass judgment, but it does appear that the high ambitions will be difficult to realize without more commitment of long-term resources. In the meantime, modest progress has been made on the initiative of a number of local authorities. Progress is less apparent with the maintenance of civil order: indeed, 'riots' and 'disorders' since 1980 (of which the latest were in connection with the poll tax) have given rise to alarm and governmental responses to 'strengthen law and order'. Much nonsense is written on the subject, partly because understanding is so limited and difficult. A welcome contribution to the debate is provided in a slim survey by John Benyon, of the Centre for the Study of Public Order at the University of Leicester: Disadvantage,

Politics and Disorder: Social Disintegration and Conflict in Contemporary Britain (154, Upper New Walk, Leicester LE1 7QA, 1993, 40 pp, £3.50 soft cover). Benyon reminds us of the long history of concern about the ways in which things are not what they used to be. It was not only the Victorians who were worried about the rise in crime and disorder: Benyon has some interesting references to complaints stretching back into the 18th century. What makes the post-

1980 disturbances of such apprehension is that they followed a long post-war period of relative public tranquillity (except in Northern Ireland). Benyon shows that there are no easy answers - and there is 'continuing potential for disorder', but it would help if there were 'real action against racism, urban disadvantage and social injustice'. Attitudes to such a view will depend upon the differing 'perceptions of crime and disorder' which are summarized in the paper.

Shorter notices Professor Peter Townsend's research on poverty continues with The International Analysis of Poverty (Harvester Wheatsheaf, London, 1993, 291 pp, £12.95 paperback). This new volume provides a major contribution to the debates on the meaning of poverty and its new dimensions of social polarization and discrimination. Particularly arresting is the discussion of the relevance of relative deprivation. The Rural Development Commission has published a series of 'topic papers' on economic and social conditions in rural England. These deal with sustainable development, small businesses, rural communities, the rural economy, and European experience or rural development. It has also published a policy document entitled

Rural Development Strategy for the 1990s. In addition, a substantial research report by David Mullins, Alex Marsh, Pat Niner and Peter Symon of the Birmingham Centre for Urban and Regional Studies provides An Evalua-

tion of the Housing Corporation Rural Programme. This clearly demonstrates the continuing need for this programme. All these reports are available from the Commission's Publications Unit, 141 Castle Street, Salisbury SP1 3TP. William A. Schwab's The Sociology of Cities (Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N J, 1992, 514 pp, £22.95 hardback) is a college text aimed at the US market, but it is of wider use. It provides an excellent wide-ranging review of urban sociology. All the standard issues and theories are covered, though most of the contemporary

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Bookwatch analysis relates to the USA. The volume is packed with information, and there is an excellent bibliography.

Britain 1994: An Official Handbook ( H M S O , L o n d o n , 1993, 519 pp, £21.00 hardback) retains its place as the best, most accessible and userfriendly reference book on the UK. The layout as been significantly improved and a brief reading list of official publications now appears at the end of each chapter. This is the HMSO bargain of the year. Over 2 000 million day trips were made in Great Britain according to a survey carried out for the Department of National Heritage. Three-quarters of these were by car. A small feast of statistics on the survey is published in Tricia Dodd and Jacqui Hansbro, Day

Visits in Great Britain 1991/92,

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HMSO, London, 1993, 44 pp, £7.65, soft cover. A new edition of the Penguin Dictionary of Building (Penguin Books, London, 4 edn 1993, 517 pp, £7.99 p a p e r b a c k ) is an a c c o m p a n y i n g volume to the Penguin Dictionary of Civil Engineering, but dictionary lovers will also want the Penguin Dictionary of Architecture - and perhaps others of the more than 50 Penguin dictionaries. A useful discussion of the local impacts of demographic change is edited by Tony Champion in a volume entitled Population Matters: The Local Dimension (Paul C h a p m a n Publishing, London, 1993, 189 pp, £14.95 paperback). Among the issues discussed are the effects of population change on the quality of life, educa-

t i o n , e m p l o y m e n t , h o u s i n g and health. The superiority of market mechanisms over regulatory controls is eloquently set out in a guide prepared by the Department of the Environment:

Making Markets Work for the Environment, HMSO, London, 1993, 61pp, £10.00 paperback. Examples are given of recycling credits, the tax differential between leaded and unleaded petrol, the Danish deposit/ refund schemes, and the Californian experience with tradeable permits.

Barry Cullingworth Department of Land Economy University of Cambridge 19 Silver Street Cambridge CB3 9EP

cities 1994 Volume II Number 6