Abstract: This article explains the background to the investigation of MCR processes in South East England and the North West Europe POLYNET study. It reports on the policy challenges for the South East England MCR, revealed by transnational analysis. London - considered a monocentric spatial form in European policy - has emerged as the most functionally polycentric region studied. But, although European spatial guidance underpins policy frameworks for the MCR, major barriers to implementation are identified. Effective powers, finance and governance are found to be lacking at the MCR scale. More challenging, tensions between Europe-wide objectives - for balanced spatial development, growth and competitiveness - seem to compromise fundamental priorities for sustainable development. (A)

Abstract: This paper traces the latest round of debates about appropriate scales and scopes of government and governance in Rhine-Main - an economically highly integrated but politically, territorially and emotionally divided region We identify a downscaling of political power from the regional to the municipal level, and an upscaling of informal networking and image building to an extended regional scale These countertrends are signs of a more complex geographical rearrangement in municipal and institutional relations The inherent contradictions in the rescaling and reimagining of Rhine-Main are evident in the Strategic Vision for Frankfurt/Rhein-Main 2020 Its new conceptualization of Rhine-Main postulates complementary polycentricity as a competitive asset but remains firmly grounded in an institutional territorial logic that contravenes its own economically-driven agenda

Abstract: This paper provides a series of conclusions derived from a Special issue of Built Environment on the Polycentric Metropolis in Europe. Based on the results of the European POLYNET research program, the authors discuss the reality and forms of Mega-City-Regions in Europe before critically addressing some pressing issues related to city-regions development. The paper concludes on polycentricity as a fuzzy paradigm that needs to be more critically discussed.

Abstract: One way of promoting sustainable development has been put forward by the Congress for New Urbanism through their Charter for Smart Growth. This paper explores the theory and practice of the transit-oriented development (TOD) concept developed in the USA by Peter Calthorpe in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which has been very influential. This paper then goes on to consider the practical lessons and challenges from an example of transit-oriented development at Laguna West, ivhich was built following Calthorpe's design approach, for proposed 'sustainable' developments in designated growth areas of Britain, such as Northstowe ouside Cambridge.

Abstract: In this paper, we first outline Ireland's macro-economic performance, including its causes, and the organizational structures that have been put in place to make it happen. Next, we outline the spatial implications of this for the Greater Dublin region, and the Irish policy model that is in place to manage space. We then use a transport strategy for the nation and the region recently announced by the national government to exemplify the lack of convergence between decisions on investment in infrastructure, and local and regional government decisions concerning land-use planning. We conclude with some implications and conclusions. (A)

Abstract: Scientific opinion is overwhelmingly convinced that global temperatures are likely to continue to rise with concomitant extreme weather patterns and events. There is a protean body of scientific literature available on global warming and climate change, on modelling techniques for estimating 'heat island' and related effects in urban areas and on the design of more environmentally sustainable buildings. But the planning knowledge on climate change and its implications for human settlement is just emerging. This paper examines the state of planning knowledge in the area of climate change and urban settlement and seeks to assist planners in responding to climate change.

Abstract: Swedish planning after World War II had many similarities with The Netherlands. In the 1950s planning in general resulted in human scale neighbourhoods and centres. They were planned with the intention of creating pleasant environments that would foster democracy and culture. But during the ten years around 1970, these ideas faded, and the prime objective was to produce one million dwellings in ever larger neighbourhood units, as the retail lobbyists required larger and larger catchment areas.Today, the neighbourhood centres face problems of survival. Many small centres have ceased to be centres for the neighbourhood as the former grocery stores have been replaced by pet shops, dry cleaners etc, with a regional scope. Some large centres, like Vllingby in Stockholm, are subject to massive investment, to enable them to compete on a regional scale; a few, like Rinkeby also in Stockholm, are trying to adjust to the local population needs, in this case with a large proportion of non-native Swedes.

Abstract: This paper relates the experiences of some rural and urban areas of Tamil Nadu in the aftermath of the tsunami, focusing on issues in their rebuilding and rehabilitation. It draws upon research which the authors are undertaking in the rural districts of Nagapattinam and Cuddalore and also in the settlement of Tsunami Nagar, where some 2000 urban households from five slums have found shelter for more than a year now. The research draws on interviews conducted with inhabitants of both rural and urban settlements where rehabilitation is under way, focusing on housing, livelihoods and infrastructure, in particular. It explores the self-help rebuilding experiences of these communities and also the work of local NGOs, international agency partners and local and regional governments. Only a preliminary summary of the residts of the study is reported here.

Abstract: This paper proposes the emergence of two metropolitan regions in Switzerland, the Arc Lemanique and the Zuerich-Basel metropolitan region, whose perimeters extend far beyond existing political and administrative structures. However current spatial development policies in the light of this metropolitan notion reveal that policy-makers have neglected the impact of the increase in knowledge-intensive economies and international relations, which leads to spatial reorganization of the country. Governance responses at the scale of the metropolitan region to the needs of the expanding knowledge economy are needed. Here we propose a combination of policies, the so-called 'tripod' of spatial planning, regional policies and international location marketing. Concerted actions from the three policy fields will enhance the chance of shaping liveable urban landscapes. A necessary and important step still lies ahead: shaping awareness of the metropolitan reality in Switzerland. (A)

Abstract: This paper explores the emerging regeneration strategies for inner suburban areas. Drawing on evidence from Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds, the authors argue that regeneration of these inner areas can do more than upgrade housing and environments for existing residents; they can become more attractive to a wider range of households as convenient, accessible locations for larger, more affordable housing than is available in the city centre or the more recent suburbs. But care will be needed to create appealing, safe, walkable places; to define and deliver an attractive ‘offer’ for new residents, and to avoid displacement and tensions with existing residents. Here is a potential site for one version of ‘sustainable communities’ in the early twenty-first century, if it is approached sensitively and intelligently.

Abstract: Without a clearer understanding of the range of suburban typologies which presently exists and of the relationship between typology and travel behaviour it will be difficult to progress towards the development of appropriate strategies to reduce unnecessary travel by car. With this in mind it is valuable to develop a framework for a better representation of different suburban typologies and to examine the way in which personal mobility varies across these typologies. Five cities in the United Kingdom - Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leicester, Oxford and Sheffield - are examined in order to identify and characterize suburban typologies, and data from different surveys are used to analyse differences in travel to work journeys.

Abstract: The Netherlands has been bnilding planned new communities for centuries, and their recent experience in developing new suburbs is particidarly relevant to the English Sustainable Communities programme. This paper shows the importance of branding and distinctive design in encouraging people to move to new houses, and provides a new typology for thinking about suburbs in terms of character as well as position.

Abstract: This paper looks at housing in the context of reducing vulnerability and increasing sustainability at several levels within the context of daily life and of mitigating the effects of crises and disasters on housing and its occupants. It begins by setting the context of housing in the early years of the third millennium. This is followed by an examination of the benefits which housing provision can bring to the need to reduce economic vulnerability, through how and by whom it is constructed and the opportunities it provides for income earning both in its provision and its use. This is followed by a discussion of how housing can reduce vulnerability to disasters. The paper concludes with policy recommendations on how vulnerability can be reduced and sustainability increased through housing policy.

Abstract: Brussels's strong international position is linked to the presence of the EU and other international institutions. The metropolitan region's healthy economic situation benefits from the general European trend to re-metropolization. However, the specific situation of Brussels-Capital in the institutional framework of federal Belgium hinders any planned cooperation with its suburban periphery. In this context, Brussels-Capital suffers from a weak tax base, even if its economy is very productive, and appears to be a 'poor' city with a strong economy. Along with suburbanization, the regional urban renewal politics could contribute greater intra-urban social dualization.

Abstract: This paper focuses on the suburban town of Borehamwood to the North of London. Space syntax analysis of the spatial structure of the area suggests that that the way in which Borehamwood has been structured morphologically coupled with its distinctive social and economic history, has allowed it to grow whilst maintaining its original spatial pattern as a village and subsequently as a suburban town. The spatial form of the town centre accommodates the various populations of the town - people living and working locally; people living there and commuting to work elsewhere and people coming into the area to work. This mix has provided a greater economic stability then in other suburbs, particularly as in recent years many companies have opened offices in the area.. However, small-area statistical analysis shows there is a polarisation of prosperity and deprivation.

Abstract: Planning for future urban growth requires understanding of how towns and suburbs have formed in the past. Cities are sometimes seen as centripetal and suburbs as centrifugal. However, this article considers suburbs as 'semi-urban' areas that are not necessarily subordinate adjuncts to cities; and suggests seeing the 'new suburbanism' as an extension of not a reversal of 'old urbanism'. This suggests the need to reinterpret the desirability of traditional compact forms in the light of ongoing urban processes.

Abstract: to be checked) The facility structure in post war areas in The Netherlands is probably one of the most intricate in the world, with facilities clustered in neighbourhood units that are functionally ordered across the cities. However, developments in society harmed the viability of the hierarchic structure and forced to adaptation or dismantling of the neighbourhood centres of the lower end of the pyramid, a process still continuing. Economic viability competes with social desirability of a neighbourhood centre as a social heart of the neighbourhood. As a reaction to the problems of pre World War II urban areas, most post-war developments in The Netherlands, constructed during the 1950s and 1960s, were designed according to the principle of the neighbourhood unit, each with its own schools and shops within walking distance and, perhaps typically Dutch, larger centres at cycling distance to serve two or perhaps more of those neighbourhoods. City centres provided facilities at the highest level of the urban hierarchy. A neighbourhood was considered as both an area where individuals could live in a safe and familiar surroundings and one that provided all daily facilities. However, this well thought out structure for facility provision experienced viability problems in later decades, due to developments in society, and changes in population, in neighbourhood centres and within the facility structure itself. These developments led and will continue to lead to adaptations of the structure of facility provision. In this article the history and development of post-war neighbourhood centres in The Netherlands is examined. The aim is to analyse the origins of the intricate facility structure, to determine what developments have threatened and changed this structure and what the future prospects of neighbourhood centres in The Netherlands will be. The next section discusses the origins, the ideas behind the layout plans, the construction and the outcomes of the neighbourhoods and their centres. The following section deals with the developments of these centres up to the present day. General demographic, economic, societal, political and other developments has changed their positions, in general in a negative way as is described in the following section. Several strategies are being tried to adapt or revitalize these centres. This links with general policies to renew neighbourhoods. The last part goes into the future of these neighbourhood centres; a future that could be a change in function, for example into housing. Or it could be that other services fill in the gap, for example small firms. Moreover, future general trends and policies can change the local position of neighbourhood centres. The article is illustrated with a case study of the South-West district of The Hague, an example of a large 1950s and 1960s development with an intricate structure of facilities. The original ideas, the development afterwards and future prospects are examined. The Origins of Neighbourhood Planning in the Netherlands

Abstract: This paper is the editors foreword to a Special issue of Built Environment on the Polycentric Metropolis in Europe It introduces the Mega-City-Region hypothesis developed in the European POLYNET research project and sets out the main arguments of a policy-oriented discussion of this notion

Abstract: at sub-regional as well as local levels. When Building the 21st Century Home was published in 1999, David Rudlin and I called for a new model to replace the terraced or semi-detached house, which we called th Sustainable Urban Neighbourhood or SUN. We must therefore acknowledge that gover ment has succeeded in promoting higher housing densities and lower park ing standards, and new blocks of flats are springing up on brownfield sites like mush rooms. The problem is that while planners want to concentrate development in locations that are well served by public transport, there is huge resistance to intensification in all the places where people most want to live. Also while public interest may be growing in addressing the problems of traffic congestion and tackling energy and water shortages, there are not enough working examples of changing behaviour to convince the sceptics among politicians and developers. The optimism that greeted the new century is therefore being replaced by the spectre of running out of natural resources, and doubts over whether sustainable urban

Abstract: The experience of Runcorn emphasizes the importance of flexibility in planning and design. 'Shopping City', built around 1970 as the centre for the new town of Runcorn, was facing problems by the 1980s. Rents were high resulting in a narrow range of shops, most of which were leased and managed by national or international chains with little connection with, or concern for, Runcorn as a specific community. It is argued that centres that have grown organically (such as Runcorn Old Toivn) are able to support a much wider range of uses and functions. In addition to making organic centres more interesting places to visit, these characteristics make them better able to adapt to changing economic or social circumstances than planned centres. Runcorn demonstrates the failures of the rational comprehensive approach to planning, perhaps indicating that the incremental approach provides the variety of socio-economic and physical circumstances that enables towns and their centres to flourish and develop, while the rational approach provides only sterile environments that discourage and frustrate initiative and change.

Abstract: This paper analyses recent developments in the Sydney Metropolitan Region that may affect the viability of the city in the longer term. Parts of Australia have recently experienced a long drought ivith a consequently heightened political interest in the problem of sufficient water storage to outlast a future drought. Serious consideration has been given to the development of a desalination plant and a nuclear power plant in Sydney to assure the long-term viability of the water supply system. There has been limited discussion between the engineering and political community about this long-term water supply strategy. The strategy introduces a significant number of complexities into planning a response to a major disaster, such as an earthquake, and may lead to a reduction in the ability of the city to survive such a disaster. This paper reviews the decision-making process for Sydney's water supply strategy and considers the potential unintended consequences and alternatives

Abstract: Improving the management of risk in local economies is important in ensuring the sustainability of economic development. As regional economies become more integrated into the global economy, their exposure to risks increases and the management of these can become more difficult. Societies face increasingly exacting choices about which risks to manage, how to measure the level of risks, who determines acceptable levels of risk exposure to communities and the most appropriate strategies to manage risk. These are demanding questions to answer as risks, by their very nature, are difficult to predict or fully understand. This paper elucidates the application of a risk evaluation technique, multi-sector risk analysis or MSRA, to measure and analyse risks, which have the potential to impact on sectors of local and regional economies. The technique enables local governments and communities to assess the perceived impact and likelihood of risks facing an economy and to decide which risks need to be managed. Two case studies of risk analysis for the Cairns and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) regional economies are presented using MSRA. The results show how these mainly urban regions have very different regional economic risk profiles and exposure to endogenous and exogenous risk. A framework for developing sector industry risk management strategies and plans is then presented, developed from the ACT case study.