Urban landscape as a new concept in urban planning and design

From Environmentalism to Liveable Urban Landscape …when you build a thing you cannot merely build that thing in isolation, but must repair the world around it, and within it, so that the larger world at that one place becomes more coherent, and more whole, and the thing which you make takes its place in the web of nature, as you make it. (ALEXANDER, 1977) Urban landscape is far from being a new concept in urban planning and design, though it was only 10 years ago that the European Council launched the Landscape Convention which has been approved since then by most of European countries, among them Hungary. Landscape architecture as a mean in improving urban environment was born in the 18th-19th century English landscape movement which opened and widened the scope of urban planning. On the other hand by the second half of the 19th century the urban erosion of industrial cities cried for direct intervention and curing. The methods developed, either along an urban or an anti-urban philosophy, resulted in the new urban structure models of garden cities and later the green belt systems. These systems have been drown up not only on an urban level, but on large scale, regional level as well, first of all in the garden city plan of Ebenezer Howard, and aimed to solve all the main urban problems with restructuring the city’s fabric, controlling the urban spread into rural landscape, dealing with the lack of green areas and open spaces for recreation and the improvement of social life, and the lack of green spaces for ventilation and air quality protection. The garden city movement arrived by the 20th century to the next step, to new concept of urban green belt systems. At this point the urban development gave up its strong technical-economical definiteness, and involved the natural landscape elements into its concept so as to create a sustainable, social friend and healthy, all together a liveable urban landscape. The good old urban planning aspects The first green belt plans integrated the urban, peri-urban green areas and the urban open spaces into urban planning as important structural and functional elements and therefore suggested detailed regulation for the green supply and system. The London green belt plan made by Raymond Unwin and Patrick Abercrombie (TURNER, 1996) suggested not only a new urban structure with well framed green network for the whole urban and the surrounding rural landscape, but also developed a detailed normative system for urban recreation areas. “There can, however, be little doubt that it is possible to set a limit to the size to which a town shall extend continuously without some break, some intervening belt of park or agricultural land; and this at least it is most desirable to secure.” (UNWIN, 1909) The green supply standard by Unwin suggested a 7 acre green area for 1000 people with various functions, while the Abercrombie suggestion was a bit realistic and aimed a 4 acre green supply. Most of Abercrombie’s plan was never implemented in its totality; but some parts were, though. The most developed part is the Lee Valley Regional Park, created by a special Act of Parliament in 1968. The Lee valley is a luscious green corridor, which includes a number of country parks, nature reserves and heritage sites. And the Lee valley is going to host the 2012 Olympic games, which will place an emphasis on sustainability, for the first time in the history of Olympic games. Lee Valley Regional Park Authority are owners of 35% of Olympic Parklands and four Olympic venues – the Lee Valley White Water Centre, the London Velopark and the Hockey and Tennis Centres on the Olympic Park. The blue and green corridors and patches originated in the Abercrombie’s plan offer some new, interesting landscape for participants, guests and visitors of the Games. (Picture 1.) The London green area regulation in the middle of the 20th century has become a strong motive in urban development all over the world. After the 2. World War the urban reconstructions was a strong necessity in the European countries, where new urban structural plans and green supply regulations have been formed. From the 1960s, the new concept of urban ecology arose and developed to create scientific fundaments for urban master plans and green system plans in the form of ecological networks. The science of urban ecology with its broad context was born in a special political situation, in the divided Berlin, under the leadership of Herbert Sukopp. The strong territorial isolation made West-Berlin a good research field to analyse the interactions among natural landscape elements, urban structure, land use system, economy and society.(LACHMUND, 2006) The isolated urban island not only created a good opportunity for the urban ecological survey but also needed new planning ideas and solutions, so the scientific analyses based important fundaments for the development of urban landscape planning methodology. From the 960’s the urban societies of developed countries became more and more responsive and responsible for Nature and its protection. The ecological commitment of urban residents is reflected in the foundation of numerous urban green associations and civil groups. The development of public gardens, community gardens and even ecological or wild gardens in urban environment are strong votes on the importance of nature and the necessity of urban green, like in case of the Berlin Zapata House example, where the famous, bombed-out storehouse has been occupied by alternative artists and freethinkers in the 1980’s and besides workshops, cafés and art galleries a large ecological community garden in a natural, wild form was also created. (Picture 2.) The ecological aspects of urban landscape are well known nowadays but they are not integrated into urban planning owing to the direct interests of private development investments. It would be futile to wait for the global money market to control the intensity of their developments so as to create environment- and human-friendly, good quality urban landscape in the long run with well structured open spaces, air and sunshine, like it was suggested in the 920’s by the architects of the CIAM, by Corbusier. I am convinced that the erosion of the Hungarian urban regulations, namely the abolition of detailed public green supply system was a great mistake. The result of this market oriented liberal planning regulation is the lack of convenient, comfortable, sufficient public open space system and a total defencelessness to the money market both from the urban residents’ and the municipalities’ side. The erosion of urban open space system planning can be well illustrated by many new urban development processes, like in case of the Corvin Szigony project, just to mention the very last urban renewal program of the development market. It is enough to look at the differences of the plans and the reality. The plan is talking about open lawn to lay down and enjoy the sunshine, well planted courtyards with various characters, the mixture of recreational offers, enjoyable and attractive open spaces. Picture 3.) And what is the reality or what can be the reality in a long east-west corridor-like open space, in a street, which is embedded and closed among high buildings of a new plaza, the church of consumption. The new development has widened the street so as to create a promenade, but the height of the street canyon is higher, than the width, therefore the street remains in shadow during half of the year. Lying in grass and enjoying the sunshine remained only a dream. The new building-in system has not solved the main problem of the quarter, namely the intensity of building in system. The architectural frames of the streets are too high, practically higher than the original regulations. Water features are really good and attractive open space elements, but they need sunshine to create an enjoyable, vibrant and light view. (Picture 4.) It is a pity that the promenade is so a deeply shaded environment. The diversity referred in the original open space development plans is interpreted only in the vibrant facades and installations, in the artificial disbelieving environment. This is a make-believe urban structure with no local roots, no harmony with the environment. (Picture 5.) Stimulating urban landscapes needed The aim of long term urban planning and design is to develop an adaptable and variable urban fabric together with its green and grey systems, the network of public open spaces which are necessary tools in creating a stimulating, wholesome and liveable urban landscape. The phenomenon of urban sprawl to the peri-urban landscapes is the answer to urban structural and environmental problems. Unfortunately the agglomeration development induces even higher environmental problems in the cities, with the heavy car traffic loads as the main problem factor. Therefore urban renewal should concentrate on strong reduction of car flow mainly in the historic urban districts where pedestrians and environment-friendly transport methods have to get priority in harmony with the given historic urban fabric and its narrow grey open space system. The traditional urban intensity could be decreased with a well assisted courtyard garden program to develop the green space supply, to depress the urban heat island symptom, to improve the urban ventilation and to amend environment quality. The opened and partly enlarged courtyards offer a new, variable open space system where small enterprises can settle, new shops, cafes, workshops, exhibition halls may bring buoyant life and prosperous business life like in the case of Hackesche yards in Berlin. (Pictures 6., 7.) The first block rehabilitation programs in the inner zones of Budapest in the 1980’s lost their advantages owing to the privatisations and the withdrawal of central or municipal financial support. The privatisation of housing substances has given the development possibilities directly into the hands of private investors who do not take care of long term urban renewal. The lack of municipal support may be in the background of the backsliding of the well-known Ráday KultUcca project. Last yeat an.open space design tender was organised by the municipality and the Ráday Bookshop for university students in the field of architecture, landscape architecture and design. The most valuable and price winning designs suggested the renewal along new cultural and artistic programs and stressed the importance of civil society and creativity while accepting and utilising the historical urban fabric and architectural values. The students’ designs were built on the involvement of the given urban open space structure, mainly the inner courtyards partly enlarged or opened for public use, to offer new spaces for cultural programs, exhibition halls, coffees, galleries. (Picture 8.) The ideas of the tender have been received with great enthusiasm both from the organising institutes and the local civil society, and even the public media. Unfortunately the plans remained only plans, nobody worked on the development of the good ideas, and also the cultural character of the Ráday street have been decreased, the small cultural workshops and programs lost their vitality, and the street seems a low-grade restaurant and coffee street. Historical values in new context Urban renewal is a necessity not only in the inner and transitional zones but in the outskirts as well. The renewal program may be more differentiated in these zones which have very mixed and confused land usage, and also brown field sites are to be found. Historic values need thorough archival research to define the possibility and the philosophy of protection or reconstruction. On the other hand brown fields need a totally different way of thinking. These development sites generally need an environment reclamation at first, and the whole utilisation and land use program can be defined afterwards. Though brown field areas do have their own history that can be referred in the frame of the development program, but in some cases brand new characters and programs have to be visioned so as to make the renewed site attractive and interesting. Urban open spaces developed and changed in the course of history. Some traditional functions have been lost, new utilisations took place. But the urban environment also changed showing typical urban air pollution, noise problems and bad environmental quality. The social, technical, ecological and environmental changes create new situations for the renewal programs. Urban historic character has to be protected and improved while answers and solutions should be found for the decrease of urban environmental loads. Green areas, open spaces, urban vegetations and water features strongly belong to liveable cities according to all sociological surveys. The present urban renewal programs and building regulations do not give any priority to urban open spaces in Hungary. Urban development programs generally are directed along the main infrastructure programs. The strict planning regulations of traffic and public utilities do not give enough space for urban greening. In case of the renewal of Hollán Ernős street, a small street in the inner zone of Budapest, it was impossible to find some square meters for tree plantation to create a liveable open space of the new pedestrian street. The reconstructed section is only 100 meters long and 14 meters wide. After several debates the landscape architects and engineers could arrive at a compromise and six trees (!) have been allowed to be planted leaving out the limits of the protection zones. This time killing procedure could have been spared if new regulations and standards of urban landscape and vegetation had already been accepted. The urban design was fitted to the architectural appearance of the street, to the traffic and infrastructure demands and also to the residential and shop owners demands. The result is a vivid, attractive and bracing urban open space, appreciated by residents and visitors as well. There are many examples where well-planted urban squares create beloved, liveable urban open spaces as valuable elements of the historic urban landscapes. The once clear, open urban squares with busy social functions are far from our present environmental needs and necessities. We have to count with the dramatic change in urban climate. The so called genius loci is the most often cited phenomenon in debates about the traditional urban character as opposed to the importance of urban plantations. The German urban renewal programs have many exemplary iconic results. For example the main square of Wittenberg is a fantastic nice public space with protected and renewed space walls. Everything talks about the history, about valuable architecture. (Picture 9.) Through traffic and parking has been restricted. The ground floors of the surrounding houses are well utilised for cafes and shops which attract people, residents and tourist as well. Unfortunately parasols do not look very much historical, but the intention is most obvious. The square is very large and open therefore people and shop owners would like to find and sign their own place, and they also need a shelter in summer sunshine and a meeting point. Large open squares in the continental Europe may become practical urban deserts in summer, where no living creature can find comfortable places to have a rest. It is the urban landscape planning and design that can add to the liveability of urban fabric that can create attractive recreational places, even for the poor Genius Loci. (Picture 10.a. 10.b.) As a conclusion let us refer the thoughts of Ian McHarg: “Recreating nature is not so much a pleasure, its a necessity. Its not only an escape for the dullness of city life, but it also is what makes life worth living.” References Ch. Alexander, S. Ishikawa, M. Silverstein, M. Jacobson, I. Fiksdahl-King, S. Angel: A Pattern Language, Oxdford University Press, New York, 1977. Tom Turner (1996): City as landscape: a post-postmodern view of design and planning, Taylor & Francis, 1996. p.200. R. Unwin: Town Planning in Practice, 1909. J. Lachund: Ecology in a walled city: researching urban wildlife in post-war Berlin. Endeavour Vol. 31. No.2. 2006