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About the green-structure in Sheffield, Marseille, Breda, MUNICH (notes by -AC Werquin, February 2002) The city contains a wide range of green-spaces and open land supply which strongly expresses the geographical, economical and historical features of the city and refers also to the public policies at work in Great Britain : too steep-sided topography to allow an overall cover of buildings, thereby leaving place for parks and woods, intensive occupation of the valley-sites by the first forms of steel-factories, rich city in the past century having had to regenerate more recently,Öare part of the description of Sheffield, while densification of the historical manors area and the great belt evoke the British national policies context. An overview of this supply, inside and outside the built-up sectors, (description, visits and comments) shows key-components of a town's green-structure. - shaping and embedding the urban areas : the South Yorkshire's greenbelt, (continued on a large regional scale by the ones of West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside), made of agricultural land and moors, melting on the civil parish of Sheffield with the National Park of Peak District (one of the largest and most frequented national park of England), giving to the ancient capital of steel-industry a very large natural context, a strong contrast between rural landscape and built-up parts and largely valued for recreational uses. -a greened urban area rich in biodiversity (Ranmoor/Broomhill Victorian suburbia), the provision of vegetation being nearly all belonging to the private gardens. It is to notice that Sheffield's "suburbia" (individuals housing) represent 80 % of the built-up areas but the importance of vegetation and biodiversity in the different planned units vary in a very strong proportion from a place to another. - the supply of public parks, is to evoke in its variety, with old and recent ones, located in the city centre or in external poor areas, with efficient maintenance or not, having different patterns as islands -Botanical Gardens- or linear and organic green-spaces - as Rivelin Valley Walk, Ö-.
The main challenge for nowadays is the difficulty in management of such an abundant supply of green-spaces, for a city having heavy financial other duties. Such challenge may appear in the first time surprising, as a general opinion is often about the demand from the inhabitants for more green-spaces within the urban region. A relevant point of view may stress such a research-question as one to become more frequent in others countries with the enlargement of cities and urban sprawl and the experiences adressing it, conducted in Sheffield, are especially worth to focus on. Experiences under progress involve several communities and the university also bring contribution in the knowledge process. Roles of actors of these communities are diverse, from helping to produce, to encourage regeneration and maintenance of various types of green-spaces (historical heritage, new greenways, ancient public park in decay, conservation of forests and natural countryside landscape), to the use of the opportunities of the green-spaces in the initiatives communities proposed to upgrade social life in poor built-up environment. Sheffield' as a first examined case reveals many key-questions for the Cost action and concerning this large overview of the city's green-structure, several topics were raised. 1. Types, destination, roles and functions of green-spaces within the urban region, related to urban planning, have to be considered in a new way, according to major changes intervened : .ï an increase in the offer and the frequenting of public spaces for recreational use and less visitors in each green-space (compared with the creation-time) with problems of conservation, maintenance and of funding, ï changes in the demand for the patterns of urban green-spaces related with changes in the way of life, greenways and urban walks are successful and new types of public spaces, more or less greened but belonging to the system of open spaces, are valued in the city, and the countryside attractiveness is reinforced, gaining more and more visitors. 2. A number of questions concern biodiversity within the urban region. Densification in housing which is an advantage for compact city and encouraged by public policies in several countries may be a disadvantage for others trends wanted in sustainable cities, such as biodiversity within the city enhancing the general quality of life (in the Broomhill sector, a loss of mature trees is to be noticed, and the effect on the evolving of wildlife within this sector and the city is to be assess). Where is the biodiversity to be found ? New balances in characters and qualities of spaces, from this point of view, have to be examined. 3. Countries not having strong protection of the agricultural land within the urban region are looking to the ones promoting systems such as greenbelts or green fingers as a desirable way to organise good balance between built-up areas and open spaces in the poly-centric urban region which is gaining everywhere. Countries having such disposals show the strong visual effect and the benefits and also unwanted effects such as the lack of money for others green-spaces. Knowledge on the diverse aspects and statement on such planning experiences is necessary to improve the tools to propose. 4. The involvement of inhabitants and communities is another subject of interest which is to take into account nowadays from different view points, to understand the making, functioning or upgrading of green-structures. As actors, initiators, users, Ö communities play a part in the planning and the maintenance which is probably varying from a country to another, and experiences may not be able to work or to be conducted in the same way in different places, but dissemination of experiences is surely necessary. Links: Sheffield Green-space Atlas - maps and diagrams indicating the extent of green-space in the different Wards (the electoral unit which votes for the Councillors on the City Council) The Geological and Ecological Resource in the Sheffield area Greenspace in the City Plan - Policies Statistics on Sheffield's greenspaces Example of involving the public in enhancing the biodiversity and general usefulness of open green spaces to the public - the work of the Sheffield Wildlife Trust Information and history of Sheffield's Botanical Garden Information on the Greenspaces of Stocksbridge - developed from data provided by Anne Beer, Marius Menz and the students of Department of Landscape, University of Sheffield. Summary of issues related to Greenspace Management in Stocksbridge (Marius Menz, 2001) (Ann-Caroll Werquin, Bernard Duhem, May 2001). This document has been prepared for the meeting in Marseille; this example was chosen to investigate the evolution of the place of nature in a Mediterranean town. A special attention is to be drawn to the areas immediately contacting the dense part of the city. This case study will focus on the green-structure as an heritage, and the ways to manage it in planning. For Marseille, this heritage mainly comes from the 19th century and was largely destroyed by the 20th urban development. Today some people try to save what is left, thereupon the pressure for building is heavy again (including from a sustainable urban sprawl limitation point of view), and thereupon the modern lifestyle does not give to that part of the green(structure the importance it had in the past. The main example of that heritage is the mansions (les "bastides"). 5000 of them were known in 1847, 200 are still indicated as interesting in the local plan, but only about 10 are legally protected. A second example is the canal, digged in the 19th century, which brought water from the river Durance in-through the city. The case study will also deal with private contribution to the green-structure, as long as the main problem with this landscape heritage is to maintain or use it in private building. Finally, the case study brings elements for typology of green-structures. Summary I. Introducing Marseille, general framework:ï A town belonging to three cultural identities.ï A very dense city within low-density urban areas and numerous old villages ribbons. ÝII. Materials for the case study: ï Simplified typology of the green-structure (on Marseille's civic parish land; topography, green sites and open spaces common to the civil parish; in the densely populated town, the "grey town"; in the low-density parts, the "green town";ï the stakes in the "green town";ï appraisal issues and planning tools. ÝIII. Focusing on the "Bastides" area of the northern part. Annex : the feeder giving water to Marseille's grey and green town;ï the Belsunce urban walk;ï some tools for urban planning : guidance for regional planning ("DTA"), landscape Plan, preservation area for architectural, urban and rural heritage. Bibliography: this paper is based on research by: Dominique
BECQUART, Georges DEMOUCHY, INAMA (School of Architecture of
Marseille-Lumigny, Jean-Marc CHANCEL, RenÈ BORRUEY),
INSEE Paca, P. Langevin et E. Chouraqui, AndrÈ
LORTIE, Municipality of Marseille (website), Michel PERALDI,
Marcel Roncayolo, Christian TAMISIER, local and national
newspapers. See at the end of the paper. The town lies between the sea and Provence, being also close to the outfall of the River RhÙne. The coastal position is not only the key to the foundation of the town, it is also the very first point of reference, in Marseilles people's minds and in visitor's minds. The centre is at the Old Port, where the urban landscape recalls the history of France's oldest town. A Mediterranean port, a town of trans-shipment, the importance of foreigners ... these features are evident in so many details, even though being Marseillais nowadays rarely means being a longshore fisherman, and even though the town wealth was due in past times more to the manufacturing of raw materials rather than to trade itself. The sea and the rocky coast belong indeed to the city image and maybe have a special relation to its density: a very high urban density within a well-defined perimeter, representing only a small part of the town as a whole. It is, then, a typical mediterrean, populated and intricate built-up city in its patterns of narrow streets and in its urban spaces. How is Marseille organised in relation to the soil of Provence ? The town boundaries are defined by hill slopes, valuing the relation to the seashore and creating a special status for the town, being both influenced by the meso-climate of Provence (in vegetation and climate) and by the seaside conditions (wind, dryness, rocks), giving a sort of independence. Marseille appears to some extent more a town of interaction of Mediterranean worlds than a town of Provence soil. A very dense city within low-density urban areas and numerous old village ribbons. ÝSurrounding the "grey city" is a "green city". According to civic parish records, the town owned the countryside around (24 000 ha) in former times. It succeeded in the 19 th century in providing citizens with copius water to create farms, with cattle and grazing meadows, and in organising shady, greened and treed resting places, converting the harsh conditions of the local climate. This territory, made up of rich estates, second homes (comfortable or humble), and farms - all realms behind walls and not evident from the confined paths - was considered part of the town itself because of the customs and ways of living, and as part of the city, it participated fully in the functions of general urban life. ÝThe town's relationship with the suburban countryside was a specific feature of Marseille (and of other mediterranean towns), since the town resisted the development of the usual urban sprawl for a very long time, with suburbia spreading unevenly ; in contrast, there were large unspoiled green areas with old ribbon developments and, more recently, urban developments, until the last two decades of the 20th century. ÝHaving reached the highest point, linked with an acme in industrial richness in the middle of the 19th century, which led to the creation of the water-feeder (Marseille's canal), and after quite a long, steady period, there was an increased lack of balance between green and urban in the town after World War II. The rich estates vanished or were transformed, the pressure of urbanisation changed the looks and meaning of this special soil. ÝSome sectors lost their value, in social and economic terms : selling prices, popularity, quality of life (neighbourhoods on the northern periphery), becoming heavily built up with a large amount of social estates in the 1960s and 1970s. These areas had been designated over a long period for the use of vegetation and water, and provided spectacular seascapes and scenic views, giving them a very strong identity, all features which could be considered as an opportunity and a benefit for the change of scale in the urban laying out and planning of space. ÝThe attention paid to urbanisation close to the seaside probably made the consuming of land on the other side not so readily visible, in part resembling disorder, sometimes disruption, irrespective of existing sites and acting as an audacious challenge for the town, making the territory become within a few years just land to be filled with urbanisation and equipment, protecting only a very few historic mansions. ÝIt took on the image of the current outskirts and of low-density urban areas, instead of the specificity of a Mediterranean town. ÝToday the transformation has spread over almost all the territory, especially in the north part. The green city is a mix of buildings, social estates, individual houses (planned unit developments) and plots of land, reminiscent of the site at a given date, parks traces (trees, etc.), agricultural fields, walkways and other features of a previous hardscape: planted drives, channels - all of which are the foot prints of the planning of space over centuries, and of elements added in order to create a soil that will yield the highest quality of life despite the climate. It should be noted that the numerous old village ribbons, previously providing urban services for the extensive areas of countryside, made a network that can still be found on the map and in the landscape, although they are diminishing day by day. These points of density have various functions, the important one of which provides the dwellers with roots in the local history of this suburban countryside. ÝAll cities have undergone radical morphological mutations while moving into modern era, and have generated types of urban space that are completly new and in which green-structure plays a part. Urban areas increased and so did road traffic; large areas became attractive for residential purposes, competition between nearby towns increased, dwellers' demands were at odds ; the way the nearness of outdoor spaces was looked at was modified, identifying their cultural meaning, etc. How can we react, and should we accept the disruption of significant land, as suburbs and countryside, when making changes to suit the current demands ?
About this scope of questions, what materials bring the case study dealing with Marseille ? Nowadays, to what is looking like this specific heritage? What did Marseille and intend to do to manage its suburban countryside ? How can we assess greenstructure elements in the ongoing urban planning proceedings ? What are the concerns of the actors and what tools are they using or wishing to use ? Materials for the case study, (Inventory grid with assessment grading, specific concerns) Simplified typology of the green-structure, civil parish of Marseille (to name relevant forms). Outdoors green spaces are recorded to give a general idea of Marseille's green-structure. Ranging of these green components is done with grading their importance to indicate their right of representation. ÝSpecial qualities can be applied to the whole city, coming from the geography, the contour and grade of land surface of the urban site, and are listed in the beginning, components of the grey city are following, then the ones of the green disperse territory. The harbour spaces are on the border of both tissues. ÝA few of these elements will be depicted further on, to focus on special questions relative to green-structure, zooming on a kind of place, with a short portraiture, or on a policy, tool or proceedings used for acknowledgement of parts played by some urban green spaces. List of public green spaces and natural environment inside the civil parish, bringing quality to the whole city : Ý- high points and contour lines (topography) have special importance to the whole town. High points give highly scenic seascapes and turn the building into a landmark ; it permit interesting views from a lot of different places (from grey and green parts of town) but most of such high points are inside private properties (e.g. terraced gardens in the typical country mansions). The church of Notre-Dame de la Garde, is a highly attractive place, offering a public open space, greened, and being the most relevant landmark for the town, the image of the city. The opportunity of developing such landmarks was not enlarged in the setting of new housing areas thereupon much scenic views exist in the countryside, located on slopes, even on roads. - strong features of the natural environment surrounding the built environment, such as rocky-coves (calanques) and native ras-vegetation associating (garrigues) ringing as a natural green belt. These plots of land are maintained in static conditions, by legal preservation constraints (scenic easement) and by the Local plan. In the grey city : Ýï Drives/ walks/ boulevards : urban forms with pluri-functions: (pedestrians and road-traffic), basic public spaces : strolling along the walk, social contacts, commercial purpose, importance for dayly life. The grey town is offering for three centuries the same walks with a good efficency : "Cours Belsunce", AllÈes Meilhan (put in the CanebiËre), "Cours Pierre Puget" (previously ramparts) places easy for coffe-shop terraces, all sorts of markets, functions being more abundant in popular areas. ï The Old Port : is the main public plaza, built on three sides, open to everyone and often busy. Water is representing wildlife ; in a glance, you can enter different historic periods. ï Public gardens in town (not a very large range) and a few private gardens having an impact on public space (Prefect-office, ...), The avenues brought into alignment, forming shaded voults upon the public space created to make the city beautiful and comfortable. In this heading such boulevards (large lanes) are more to improve the appearance of the area than to answer social demand of outdoor spaces (le Prado/ boulevard Michelet, ...) Ýï Outdoor spaces in private properties, Such planted spaces are not frequent. Some specific programs occured in the 19th century (e.g. quartier Longchamp), upgrading living in town for the wealthy, forming a contrast with the historical city core. ÝThe town is modernising at a relatively late stage, compared with several European large harbour-cities. Amid the on-going projects, take place : reclamation of damaged areas in central town (Belsunce, la CanebiËre), of public spaces and derelict areas, harbour factories (EuromÈditerranÈe, St Charles railway station, with new headquarters ..), attempts to slow down the car traffic in central areas ( Circulations plan, improving the underground offer, and creating special paths for buses ...). ÝIn the low-dense, green town, suburb and countryside : ÝFragmentation in development of areas, large range of green spaces, various streetscapes and landscapes, a mix of areas of farm-land, high-density villageous-nodes, mansions-estates hardscape elements and sudden transformations to accomadate urban growth, pressures , fast access roads and highways ...: all these features to be found in the "green town" establish a deep characteristic soil but also an injured area, sometimes largeled damaged, in which future is at stake considering several points of view. Components : ï Numerous private gardens going with the individual housing, and semi-private gardens of the high-rise blocks of flats (residential dwellings or government-sponsored housing , ï Typical country mansions and estates: "Bastides" (see more further on) preserved or transformed, traces of the parks suiting them such as trees lanes (allÈe de la Maurelette...), ; representing a symbol of the Town itself, something to be proud of, an heritage of the wealthy period, ï the beach of Prado and its recent public park and lawns: equivalent to the Old Port ? Main public space and very busy place ; recent way of valuing water resource coming from the feeder, and an acute way of enjoying much of the sea (surf...), ï Public gardens and parks, specific natural areas with native plants, ï Leasure spaces, derelict places, open plots of land linked with factories and shopping centers..... ï Farm-land in urban periphery, ï Marseille's channel (water-feeder), ï Streetscapes : narrow shaded paths and country roads, ï Walks, Trees in rows along roads and "allÈes", belonging to the high-dense old nodes, ï Family-allotments, ï Valleys VallÈe de l'Huveaune, du Jaret... Ýï others ? The stakes in the green town. Leading to metropolisation, Marseille has to restore its position of leadership in the regional context and to improve the dynamics in economics. A million of inhabitants is wished for the civil-parish territory while the whole urban area is aimed at 2 millions inhabitants. Land seems aboundant on the civil parish, and, as a large part of natural resource is preserved, the complement seems available to accommodate growth. The municipality aims to welcome new inhabitants, employment, headquarters.... This reasoning appears in the Local Plan, with the objective of arising density in the low-dense part of town. The urbanisation process to use is not so related to detailed methodology or strategies to carry out, especially regarding sustainability. Most of the green town is just seen appropriate to housing settlements. ÝNew fast access roads occurred as a desire in the planning documents (Structure plan, local plan) as road traffic increase dramatically, being not so slowed even by the creation of the underground, and impact on territory, landscapes, images and identities are subjects for debate. A huge change in habits from past decades seems necessary when planning additional development and road infrastructures, if there is a strong will to maintain qualities brought by existing identity, to value environmental and social concerns and to obtain a town with a good legibility. ÝThe question of maintaining diversity and socio-spatial balance is accurate in these new fast-growing suburbs largely created by private housebuilders inside the green town. The relationship between the filling of "gaps" in the green city and the existence of previous pieces of built environment (social estates, villageous-nodes, others various small settlements) is to face. What cultural and social impact ? How can we manage seeking for a higher profile, strengthening the villageous-nodes, in urban character, services offers and public transportation, also in their green-structure, heavy in looking after but giving identity ? In the green city, the main character is the variety historical conditions have brought. Variety in the nature of the emigrant persons, in the incomes, in the histories, in the aesthetic tastes. Many researchers think of a challenge for these rapidly-changing areas, wanting to find appropriate connections without breaking the diverse aspects when developing equipments and housing. It is a special time to try to do it. As the attractiveness of the urban pole in the polynuclear area is increasing, some can see nowadays the opportunity of a debate from which planning would benefit (ideas expressed in the book "Aire metropolitaine marseillaise, encore un effort", containing contributions by Claude Vallette, deputy-mayor from Marseille, Camille HagËge, architect, Jean Viard, sociologist, Thierry Fellmann, specialist in urban-planning and economics,...). Appraisal issued and planning tools. Experts in planning have made proposals to manage the green city, for some ones quite a long time ago, but their awareness is still to salute. In the national policies, issued in the recent decades, some tools appear as being accurate, they are yet applied or will probably be applied later on. The success in getting the experts-proposals into active projects -development processes or spatial strategies- is very unequal, the action or its contents being frequently delayed or minimised. Some of the proposals and tools to be use (out of the local plan and the structure plan) are presented below.Ý ÝA. Using planning tools Planning with the first generation of Master Plan. The Extension Plan 1 issued in 1933, for "urban growth and beautifying the city" (Jacques Greber, architect ) is to remember, witnessing of a real project to control coherence in developing spaces in the future . The general idea was : lowering density in inner city, make movements easier and greening the whole town. It comprised three matrix : a zoning plan, a circulation plan and a open spaces system plan, mentioning also rules for building and a project of renovation for the historic core of Marseille. The general sketch was never approved but a large number of proposals were finaly carried on and its strong trends heralded the urban planning of the town untill the local plan of 1978. This document, showing how urban planning was brilliant at that time in France, did forecast the need of preservation the historical character of sites inside the green-city, acknowledged as a valuable soil for the future of development. In the plan, the road network put in order the town with the different roads, fast access roads in a parkway design, scenic roads with green surplus being carefully calculated with the grade of natural topography. Areas were settled aside of development plots of land foreseen for building, in order to stay green spaces, either being the surrounding forests and rase native vegetated zones (and called by Greber : leasure and country-land), either being smaller isolate green spots, inside the housing area, to be protected, being the old mansions and their parks, or farm-land and existing woods. The general design being organised to value the landscape's elements. The Greber's proceeding is an ambitious attempt to accommodate urban growth and to develop in the same time an image of a "touristic" (or residential-valuable) landscape. Another town-planner, H. Prost, a few years ahead, did the same type of proposals for an extensive area designing a scenic road (la corniche varoise, for touristic development of the CÙte d'Azur, 1923), being close to the Mediterranean tradition (and Italian Renaissance gardens) of upgrading the discovery of a region from roads, constructing relevant points of views and articulating the road with the planned unit development by planting, enlarging public spaces with terraced and shaded places. The benefit of the Greber's plan can be seen in the preservation of the wildness of the hills surrounding the land occupied by the urban perimeter and the built and natural countryside. The following plan (by Meyer-Heine, 1949) will maintain most of the proposals, especially concerning a system of parks and green open spaces going with the main roads-design of a parkway running along the river Huveaune, and the scenic road on top of the hills. Later on, the Structure plans (1969, 1973) clear about the large natural embedding to protect, organised a network of large infrastructures and some greened "gaps" (islands of green spaces) to break the continuum of housing and utilities. In the recent Local plan ("POS : plan d'occupation des sols") in the green city, appear the legal grant of right of use to the areas of designated private properties, and general good principles for a wise use of land and landscape, but not much detailed information on how to succeed. A recently issued planning policy (DTA : Directive Territoriale d'AmÈnagement) is on study, for the large scale of intercommunal territory. B. Appraisals Preservation, reclamation and production of knowledge about the "Bastides" (typical mansions of the countryside). In the Local plan, about 200 of these mansions are mentioned as elements of interest (and of cultural importance) without developing a spatial strategy for the one lot. In reference to the number of 5 000 mansions, given in 1847, the power of link, of backbone for the extensive area is going down day after day, about ten offer the protection of national heritage and are to be secured. Quite a large number of mansions were transformed (in use or in form) and turned into public utilities (the building itself becoming hospital, sectorial town halls ...) but rare are the ancient private parks saved in their ancient looking (parc BorÈly, turned into a municipal garden a century ago, St Joseph/Gd SÈminaire bought in1976, town-hall for the northern periphery, parc PastrÈ-111 hectares on the hill of Marseilleveyre bought in 1974-, parc BrÈgante , ...). ÝNowadays the sea and the beach offer acute opportunities for up-to-date and successful water-sports, and the seaside development is a strong competitor in the realm of the offer in public spaces. Having being for very long the backbone of the urban, low-densely populated periphery, and able to keep on giving a special identity to this territory even when gaining a lot more of inhabitants, the mansions are seen as a landscape major component by people such as practitioners, students, associations, groups of inhabitants and stakeholders. From this is born the idea of a "parc bastidaire" 1, a project for a special area in which relevant mansions and parks close to one another could find new use and will maintain a testimony of the lay of land, slope, surface features, hardscape and softscape due to this art of managing violent climate and beautiful views, in resting places. The project was formulated into a proposal for a "Landscape Plan" (Plan de paysage) 2 in 1993 , but is still delayed yet. Other proposals, having the same objectives issued, concerning buildings or open spaces of this sector melting preservation, educational, public recreation, innovative practices for stewardship of territories, activities connected with the inhabitants of the close big social estates, ... and are under discussion. A planning policy could be used, to maintain the actual requirements, the character and performances of the actual site, even if not becoming a public ground (ZPPAUP, see in annex). But this tool, quite recent, is very littlely applied, especially in the south of France (small municipalities, involved in welcoming tourists do use it, for example in Brittany). The knowledge, inventory of the mansions and fine analysis of the countryside soil, of the heritage, of how were performed the evolutions, .. and dissemination about this heritage progressed since the beginning of the 80s. Research work by the schools of Architecture and of landscape architecture, in University, successful public exhibit in one of the protected mansion, ... Professional practice in the green town". An other main challenge, proposed on debate by specialists, concerns the question of relationship between the communities of dwellers and the road system, with all what is depending on it : pollution, lack of legibility in courses, lack of identity, lack of urban amenities, dependence on car increasing, news roads filling the weakest parts of the outskirts. An ambitious challenge would face these questions, working on the great scale and appropriate means of circulation, worthy in the new millenium 3. Zooming in on the "Bastides" area of the northern part of town. In general. How was developed this countryside part of town ? Water is the basic element. At the first time (money from trade being reverse in land, in the 14 th century, general event in Mediterranean world) valleys river or springs are required : l'Huveaune, le Jarret, les Aygalades. In the 18 th century, Bastides are created by men involved in financial world, in the era of manufacturing (19th century) the Bastide can be laid out of river banks having plenty of water from the canal, a water-feeder, constructed in 1847 (opulent industrial period permitted it), to bring water from the river Durance. In the same time Bastides are rebuilt and refurbished, outside and inside, to emphasise and fit with the new fashions. These estates show a skilled work on site requirements (geographical) to upgrade comfort in urban life and to permit people to settle in a favoured position : having water, controlling climate, possessing a "fresh garden" (very deep trees as in Alpen forests and grazing meadows as in Switzerland, cascades in rocky-work, tiny channels along paths). These estates also serve to produce goods (to eat and sell). Rich people can make a little money out of it, having the pleasure of being very close to the town and dominating the harbour with the beautiful seascape the grade offers. Nowadays, about agricultural productions, the lack of balance in economics is flagrant. A century ago, nearly everyone could have such a second home : luxurious huge mansions, tiny ones called "bastidons", a small plot of land all occupied by a hut,... Bastides belong to the daily life and the countryside is belonging to the town, the same person live in both, he is at the Bastide on Sunday, in summer and in town for work. To-days in the northern part of town, how does the Bastides area contribute to quality of life ? The Bastides remain the symbol of quality of life and wealthness. All the un-built territory appears as a potential of diversity, in land surface, forms, drawings, history, environmental considerations. As open spaces, various recreation and educational uses seem possible. The memory of a previous status can still be observed. The northern periphery is keeping guidelines coming from the old times. Most social estates or units of individual homes were built inside the boundaries of the vanished mansion and estate, roads are a mix of enlarged old paths and new ones, giving each sector a special identity. The general lines of construction and organisation of site keep in mind the long history and can be shared by inhabitants beyond the cultural meaning. And of course the Bastides have aesthetic and cultural value belonging to all the Marseillais. Their preservation as elements of the collective patrimony is a step in valuing this outskirts. How do Bastides appear in the large scale, metropolitan territory? Bastides with their large un-built land prevent spots of urbanisation to melt one into another, creating differences in occupation of land, contrast between high-dense and low-dense parts of town. It permitted to villageous nodes to remain important in the services offer, in roots, and in the town general organisation, a part being often beneath notice. Social-scientist recent studies focus on these aspects 1, showing some difference in behaviours between inhabitants of large areas of uniform suburbia and the ones situated close to a village. People seem more stressed by insecurity-feeling when situated in the outskirts of the city in which villageous-node have disappeared, and more attached to the territory, more able to have social contacts, and to share a culture, when villageous-nodes exist. Green spaces reinforce the difference between tissues and in the same time strengthen the role of villages. ÝTo rebuilt town on town (urban renewal applied to the green city), a proceeding which reattribute and does not obliterate all of previous status ? The actual challenge is not necessarily to preserve all the remaining bastides. Some very relevant ones are to save from destruction ; but a special attitude is to be searched, to respect a continuation in territorial history, a soft evolution. Thinking urban extension not as colonial-settlement but as a dialogue between two different cultural trends needs to have a special skilled approach in housing programs, in rules of land-occupying, in landscape plan and urban planning, criteria to define concerning the importance of each building-program, search of compacity, urban forms and mix uses ...A lot more would be necessary according to what is done by now. Marseille's Canal, a special relation of the town with river-water. Big changes in the countryside part of town results from the construction of this canal in 1847. A new type of agriculture could replace vineyard and olive-trees, traditional plants for dry soils. Vegetables and grazing-meadows could be created, for the needs of daily products, just as in "huerta" areas, because of the watering. This was in addition with the fresh parks being created by those who earned a large amount of land. Water is responsible for creating a new landscape and the canal's existence can be seen in most details, in huge or tiny properties. There is a cultural way of managing with water, both a skilled and a clever acting, not very expensive. "What the organisers of SÈville World's Fair have laid to low the temperature with complex technologies (to humidate air, puffing out water, creating up- going wind-blows,...) the marseillais had it from the 19th century, with applying the same knowledge as in the andalousean town, the north-african ones and the oasis, and could be ableto benefit by now". The canal was to be viewed, a long time during, but now the trend is to cover it."The debate is important between the municipal technical authorities and inhabitants about the future of the canal. It concerns the work (the municipality owns it) and the distribution of water (the stewardship of which is devolute to a company : SociÈtÈ des Eaux de Marseille). The municipality has to pay to dig and put the water into pipes, the work was enterprised but is interrupted. A pressure in the debate is put on by the danger of drowning, for which the canal is said to be responsible. Of course the canal is very attractive to children and young persons, although being not authorised for water-amusements. At the end of the length that was endigged, the canal go through the big social estate called La Savine, which is an isolate place, far for the town-centre, and offering no equipment for fun with water (as swimming-pool, floudering-water-basin, small channels...). There, the canal, as said the newspapers, was responsible for the death of ten children in nineteen years. This shows the problem being not so the canal itself but the water being carried and above all the lack of using water to improve quality of life. Water resource is beginning to be expensive inside the green town. ìThe water is abundant in Marseille, the whole consummation of the town is about the third of the total resource disposability. But the water-price increased a lot, the water to be given is now filtrated one, drinkable-water, and few can afford watering gardens with it. All the ancients contracts to give "rough-water", which price was at 90% beneath, are to disappearî.. ÝThe creation of new types of green spaces using the advantage of the canal's water is to notice : the important new parks lengthening the beaches of Prado, very busy and successful places, are watered with this water. The quotations are taken from the research-work from Christian Tamisier : "Landscape as heritage and as project, chapter : Marseille, water and landscape", 1995. "Cours Belsunce", urban walk, created in 18th century . In France, this type of laying, started in 1628, when Queen Marie de MÈdicis ordered the "Cours la Reine" ("Queen's Walk", being along the Seine River, starting at Place de la Concorde) These trees "allÈes" are designed as a close garden (grids on both sides) only for Court, before becoming a very important public space where everyone can come. Such outdoor spaces are fresh in the end of afternoon, offering a view (mainly on sea, river or mountains) and permit to noble-birth ones to meet and have social contacts outside the King's palace (appreciated by liberal philosophs). The social part increased rapidly. The model was probably from Italy (Firenze) and the fashion expended everywhere in Europe (being also admired and copy by landscape architect F.L.Olmsted in the 19th century ). The Walk in Aix-en-Provence (today called Cours Mirabeau), created in 1665, was one of the best. This allÈes have various roles, built in place of the ramparts and giving possibility to the town to extend in new patterns (Air blows are said safe to fight against pestilence). The public space is the meeting point of old and new parts of town, the new part being more regular, with larger streets. The Cours itself is huge : 45 meters wide in Aix, 70 meters for the "Grand Cours" in Paris (created by Le NÙtre in 1667, now the Champs ElysÈes).The first one in Marseille is created in 1666, copying the Aix' one, when planning the town enlargement. The building on each side obey to rules in aspect (given by architect P. Puget). Numerous French towns still possess such walks not damaged but lots of other urban walks became just streets and roads being injured in their social role, and stopping being an almost separate space. In Mediterranean countries the social contact (view of each other, being together in the same place...) is still alive, especially because city dwellers are numerous (even if density have depressed in the recent period, in Marseille, sectors close to the Cours Belsunce are very highly populated). The spanish "paseo" is to compare (same history, same actual use). In Marseille, Cours Belsunce lost a great number of qualities : the feeling of wide space (and of free space ), the Nature sounds : trees being injured, sanded paths being covered by concrete... making it looking much more like an avenue rather than a garden, but it maintains its social role of important urban space, an essential part to the Mediterranean populations living in the old historic city-core. ÝToday two qualities are to notice : ï the way the creation of this public space was associated with the city enlargement. A simple form but a real good habit of having an equipment gathering two sectors and two populations. Ýï in high-dense cities such spaces are really appropriate to urban life, pluri-functionnal, a lot of services, small markets or fancy events ... can be there. It is in favour of pedestrian movements and, being always busy, it is attractive to all sort of city dwellers : young and old, busy persons or lazy ones...but it needs a compact city surrounding it .
Some French tools for urban planning (besides the two main tools, which are the local plan, the structure plan) : ïGuidances for territorial planning ; ÝLandscape Plan, ïPreservation area for architectural, urban and rural heritage Guidances for regional planning ( In French : Directive territoriale d'AmÈnagement). DTA : L111 1-1, L . 145-2, L 146 -1, Note from government 9/051995, Circular 23/07/96. Issued with the Town and Country Act of 4/02/1995 (loi "Pasqua" since yet revised to include sustainability concerns : LOADDT, loi 99-533, 25/06/99 "loi Voynet"), fixing for some parts of national territory, special guides-lines from the government to be respected in site development, seeking for a good balance between economics, valuing the land in development and preservation of the resource. State is responsible for the study, in association with the regional, districal and municipal (when more than 20 000 inhabitants) representatives, and for approval of the guidances. The aim is to regulate spatial pressure, to herauld coherence and long-term objectives for extensive areas of land under pressure and difficulties in the managing of resource. Each one, concerning a particular area, could precise localy the way the Laws about Mountain and Coastal areas are to be applied. (the Mountain and Costal areas laws assess the disposals on planning documents and are to bridle urbanisation, especially in mountains, to enlarge public access to the sea-shore, to give ecological sounds more importance in development). These guidances are supposed to be ahead of local plan and structure plan and so to be applied in it, but their legal impact is not yet well defined. No one is yet approved. Five are in study, concerning mountains, coastal areas and estuaries. Plan de Paysage. Landscape Plan. Landscape preservation and improving disposals, studied according to the Law on Landscape (8/01/1993), revised to be reinforced (2/02/95 and circular ENV 15/03/95). The Landscape plan has no legal efficiency. Fixing no compulsory measures (independant of the Local plan), it is a survey conducting to the laying out of landscape problem statements and design solutions and to proposals for conceptual and practical aspects of using the land, for education actions... The proposals may lead to a financial contract between territorial authorities under the stewardship of Ministry for the Environment. ZPPAUP (Zone de protection du patrimoine architectural, urbain et paysager). Preservation area for architectural, urban and rural heritage. 7/01/83, revised with the Law on Landscape. Contract to be sealed between Government (Ministry of the Environment) and municipalities to fix disposals for all elements contributing to the identity of heritage (built environment, trees, roadscapes, softscape, natural environment ...).It can by used to transform the preservation perimeter of 500 meters around a piece of Historical Heritage (scenic easement on churches ...) to a more appropriate perimeter inside of it all the others elements are to be considered when acting in reclamation, transformation and development. It is the municipality (one or more) who decides to start the study of the area, then the State ( local Architect for the national heritage) proposes disposals to apply. Three documents are produced : a survey report giving the background to the plan and the reasoning behind it, a proposal subject map and a statement document including disposals about land organisation ,detailed treatment such as indication of height, building shapes and visual aspects... This policy is unequally applied in France. Some regions use it : 1.502 ZPPAUP were approved (mostly concerning village-cores and architectural heritage, very few are concerning natural spaces and landscapes). Bibliography : Under direction of Edouard BARATIER, Histoire de Marseille, Privat, Toulouse, 1973. Dominique BECQUART, Marseille, 25 ans de planification urbaine, AGAM/Èd de l'aube, 1994, Jean-Lucien BONILLO, Marseille, ville et port, ParenthËses, 1991. RenÈ BORRUEY et Jean-Marc CHANCEL, Les bastides ý Marseille, in Monuments Historiques, n° 133, AndrÈ BOUYALA d'ARNAUD, Evocation du Vieux Marseille, Èd de Minuit, Paris, 1974. Jean-Claude CHAMBOREDON, Bastides et Cabanons, in EnquÍte n°4, 1996. Jean-Louis COHEN , Laurent HODEBERT, AndrÈ LORTIE, Le parkway, dispositif mÈtropolitain, Ecole d'architecture Paris-Villemin, PIR-Villes CNRS, mars 1996. Colloque Eau et Paysages mÈditerranÈens, 6-7 mai 1994, EHESS, interventions de P. FRAPA, M. AYMARD, COST C2, Large-scale infrastructures and quality of urban shape, final report, 2000. Under direction of Maurice CULOT, Marseille, la passion des contrastes, Bruxelles, Mardage, 1991. Georges DEMOUCHY, Les quatre ÈlÈments, in Monuments Historiques, n° spÈcial sur Marseille. GIRARD RenÈ, TAMISIER Christian, MobilitÈ, paysage et espace public dans la rÈgion urbaine de Marseille, les enjeux pour EuromÈditerranÈe et le boulevard du littoral, septembre 2000. INAMA (Ecole d'architecture Marseille-Lumigny) : Jean-Lucien BONILLO, Jean-Marc CHANCEL, RenÈ BORRUEY, Etude exploratoire pour une mÈthodologie de.repÈrage systÈmatique des bastides marseillaises, 1980, Les bastides marseillaises ; vers un inventaire analytique, 1981, Rapports d'activitÈ de 1983 et de 1984, sur les bastides marseillaises et sur le colloque ville-ports de mÈditerranÈe. Aire mÈtropolitaine marseillaise, encore un effort ... Ouvrage collectif coordonnÈ par P. Langevin et E. Chouraqui, l'aube sud, 2000. AndrÈ LORTIE, Jacques GrÈber, les plans pour Philadelphie (1917) et Marseille (1933) in La ville, centre Georges Pompidou, 1994. Le siËcle de Louis XIV ý Marseille, MusÈes de Marseille, musÈe d'histoire, Marseille, 1994. Alain MEDAM, Blues Marseille, Èd Jeanne Lafitte, 1995. MELTT-Plan Urbain. Villes en dÈbat, sÈminaire amÈnageurs-chercheurs, Marseille, 1995-1997. Monuments Historiques n°133, juin-juillet 1984 : Un art rÈgional, sÈrie d'articles sur les bastides ý Marseille, le cours en Provence (par Marc Gillet),.... Michel PERALDI : MARSEILLE, Bulletin d'informations architecturales, IFA, 1989 Michel PERALDI : Rumeur des lieux, la formation du paysage pÈri-urbain marseillais, in Les annales de la recherche urbaine, n°18-19, Dunod, 1983 Michel PERALDI : Le cycle du fusible, jalons pour une histoire sociale du DSU ý Marseille, in Les annales de la recherche urbaine, n° 68-69, 1995. Michel PERALDI : Fragments d'urbanitÈ dans une ville Èparse, Cerfise, 1985. Michel RACINE, Les jardins de l'Huveaune, in Monuments historiques n°133 Arnaud RAMIERE de FORTANIER, Illustration du Vieux Marseille, Aubanel, Avignon, 1978. Marcel Roncayolo, les Grammaires d'une ville, EHESS, 1996, Marcel Roncayolo, Marseille, les territoires du temps, Èditions locales de France, Actes Sud, 1996. Marcel Roncayolo, Les grandes villes franÁaises : Marseille, Paris, la Documentation franÁaise, 1963. SUD INSEE L'essentiel, n°21, septembre 1999, n°23, novembre 1999 (article de P. Julien), n°24, mars 2000. Christian TAMISIER, A. FUZIBET : Patrimoine, Paysage et banlieue ý Marseille, document de synthËse de travaux de recherche, MinistËre de l'Equipement, Conseil gÈnÈral des Bouches du RhÙne, Direction rÈgionale des Affaires Culturelles de PACA,Transit, 1995. Christian TAMISIER, Paysage et MÈditerranÈe, les leÁons du mÈtissage, Pages paysages, n°5, 1994. Christian TAMISIER, : Une ville ý la campagne, brochure de l'expo, 26/09-24/10/1992. L'oeuvre de Henri PROST, architecture et urbanisme, AcadÈmie d'architecture, 1960 (prÈface d'AndrÈ Siegfried) la revue Urbanisme, n°5-6, 1951, Jean VIARD, Marseille, une ville impossible, Payot, Paris, 1995. Ghislaine VICHERY, Jean-Samuel BORDREUIL, Michel PERALDI : Marseille, le grand projet urbain et les quartiers nord, Èd de l'aube, 1997. Newspapers : Le Monde : Marseille, menace sur les balcons de Sainte-Marthe, 16/06/2000, Marseille en pleine forme, 9/01/2001, Le renouveau du port autonome de Marseille, 5/12/2000, Marseille retrouve de l'Ènergie au rythme des chantiers, 9/02/2001, Aix-en-Provence, tous les plaisirs du Sud, 13/02/2001. Pierre VIDAL-NAQUET, Les ruisseaux, le canal et la mer, les eaux de Marseille, CERPE, 1990. Ann-Caroll WERQUIN, Les promenades urbaines : un savant dosage d'urbanistique et de nature, article in Metropolis, 1990. Ann-Caroll WERQUIN (atelier ThalËs) , Comparaison des politiques publiques, nationales, rÈgionales ou locales, cherchant ý freiner l'Ètalement urbain dans quatre pays europÈens (tome 1 : La France, tome 2 : Grande-Bretagne, Danemark, Suisse) MinistËre de l'Èquipement, des transports et du logement, DGUHC-PUCA, 2000. Alain DEMANGEON, Ann-Caroll WERQUIN (atelier ThalËs), Les grandes armatures vÈgÈtales urbaines. MinistËre de l'urbanisme, du logement et des transports, 1986. Alain DEMANGEON, Ann-Caroll WERQUIN (atelier ThalËs), Etude du patrimoine des mas et domaines viticoles de la commune de Montpellier, secteur est, dans le cadre de l'Ètude du Contournement autoroutier (A9) et de la rocade Est, 1997-98. Pierre-Paul ZALIO, UrbanitÈs marseillaises, EnquÍte, 4-1996, pp191-210.
( AC Werquin, February 2002) Breda is indeed an old city, as can be seen within the city centre, and is also relevant in expressing the modern thought of green areas within walking distance from dwelling places. The organisation of the city, with the strong contrast between the red and the green on map (built-up places, vegetated soils) and the lobe model, responsible for having clearly defined in the three or four past decades residential areas and rural land and making rivers becoming greenways towards the city centre, is a structural feature, making the green-spaces a major component in the image of the city, and in the daily life. Pressure is on for living in this not too big-sized city and to benefit of its qualities. Different landscapes (rural, parkland, river-banks, forest) are associated with residential parts of the city which are mostly organised in neighbourhood-clusters and well linked with the heart of the city. The second characteristic, the water presence, could as well occur in first due to its importance in the landscape and in the projects, recent, on-going or examined. Water, source of pollution, had disappeared of the centre in last century but is now coming back in the city, with existing canals and upgraded rivers, while the water control at the large scale of rural and urban territory is a matter of action and concern for the municipality. Both of those steps in spatial planning are to be credited to the local authorities, the public policies and the planning schemes issued in the post-war decades, the "dialogue" between landscape and housing being not so taken into account at the beginning (the sixties), but since the seventeenís, the process has taken a huge leap forward. Among relevant rural landscapes offered to city dwellers and embedding the residential sectors, lets evoke : elements of country estate with tree-planted road, fields and meadows (Haagse Beemden), lake with clean-water and recreational surroundings in front of housing (Asterd), lay-out of park and pedagogical lesson on the polder (Hoge Vucht), forests (Mastbos), mixed patterns of grass, trees, shrubs and water (Zaartpark) and a large urban park being for twenty years under ecological maintenance and welcoming contemporary Art pieces (river Bavelsche leij). If the "green" structure with efficiency the discovery of Breda, it is also because of the balance found between the two networks linking the green-spaces : the black one (roads, streets Ö) and the blue one (waterways and rivers). The traffic network is distributing places, organising commuting (ring road and motorway nodes) with awareness, having no priority in the inner city, being curved in some occasions to slow the speed in residential zones and, in total, being not so damaging to urban fabric and to wildlife moves it can be elsewhere. The water network is the big affair of Breda for the recent years and the future. Water running within the inner city is to be emphasised and even if only a part of the question it is a relevant element for the quality of public spaces as well as a factor for a modern identity, which is strongly needed while having large plans for developing the city in the future. Breda large expansion occured after the second world-war, first just with high rise buildings set in open space (Hoge Vucht) then with accurate concepts for organically growth and a strategy for greening the city/upgrading the quality of life, sometimes required by the national authorities (spatial planning documents : first national commitment for the planning of the green structure in 1965, Ö) put into practise in a remarkable manner in Breda. The Green Structure Plan for the inner city -1982- expanded in 1986 for the entire city, the Landscape policy plan in 1990, permitting to defend ordinary rural landscape, and the following step, the REM : regional ecological model, 1992, changing of scale conceived as an instrument of integral planning and permitting to reconsider involvement in green issues, worked for such a general and comprehensive approach. The viewpoint of the green structure plan was often in opposition in the spatial choices for several places with the Structure Vision (1989) expressing the planners claims for space for development needed to create in Breda the urban node the national Fourth Report on Physical Planning wished to see. Tension between green structure strategy and building and development programmes is not calming. The Vinex plan for 1995/2005 is asking for 11 000 new dwellings in Breda, which supposed to emphasise all facilities offered by the city in order to keep its quality of life.
After having built a quite satisfying balance between antagonisms inherent to the cities, the next step is opening debates which appear as very interesting topics to our group : 1. Alternatives choices on the size of development to promote are noticeable nowadays with several questions related to the place of Breda in European economy. Effect on spatial planning can be seen more precisely with the future of the Railway station district. A key-project is envisaging the construction of a section for High Speed Train linking then Breda, with a shuttle, with Rotterdam and Antwerp in their move to reinforce the national economy. A large zone for new developments has been defined for a project immediately surrounding the station in plus of the development land found within the inner city. The opportunity of a big growth is dividing the citizens. In what measure such an important urban development within the inner city is compatible with the safeguard of nowadays qualities, quality of life in the future and ecological conditions ? Is it a interesting opportunity to transform today's "back door" of the city in a new "front entrance" and what consequences on the city's image ? What could be said about the capacity of the zone with an approach of regulation of flows relating the assessment and reinforcement of the two networks ? 2. Alternatives choices are also to be made related to the actual built-up boundaries of the city. Several opportunities can be faced : allowing development on large land on the other side of the ring road in the east sector or not ? Is the rural area (two-thirds of the municipal territory) as part of Breda as the built-up one for everybody ? Has Breda enough green-spaces or not, from which point of view ? How to feed the choice on that particular piece of land in an sustainable exemplary approach and how to work on different levels, taking account of the relationship between the green areas helping in the water-control approach, the urban area and the new district developments ? How to put forward the construction of the network of complementary cities, within a distance of 40 mn, several people have in their brains, and what effects to foresee ? 3. On-going projects within the inner cities as "ChassÈ Park" are for compact housing layout plans. Reinforcement of the water presence and the city facilities are thought to balance the lack of destination project for the space given to the dwelling-place in the project. Is it a correct vision and what experiences of dense parts of cities being desirable to live can we brought in comparison to enlarge the knowledge about good quality of life and compact city ? 4. Water is a large subject of interest for spatial planning : flood prevention, adequate drainage, questions of sewage-system and pollution, design with nature concepts, strong ability of supporting wildlife inside the urban areas, the recovering of the urban memory (as the project in Breda for the a new layout of the ancient harbour), questions of costs of ecologically sound approaches, are part of the sharpened demands appearing in the field of spatial planning taking care of the environment and of city-dwellers. Breda municipal staff, others officials and experts, specially in the Netherlands, were gathering knowledge, about this subject. Further inquiries or discussions are necessary, with all the different view points appearing, proving also "green-structure", as our action is considering it, is mainly related to other colours (blue, white) as we already saw in Marseille with a similar importance of the water system control for the green city.
Annexe 2.4: The Greenstructure of Munich The City of Munich has approximately 1.3 Million inhabitants and covers a surface area of 311 km2 within its administrative boundaries.Ý The city forms the core of a fast growing urban region within the urban ëBlue Bananaí of the European Union.Ý The region has a population of 2.4 million inhabitants, however, the commuting zone goes far beyond.Ý
Fig. 1: Munich is the center of a region with 2.4 mio inhabitants in Bavaria, Germany The natural context Munich is situated in the Munich plain, a glacial and post-glacial outwash of limestone gravel. The Munich plain is rhombic in shape.Ý It starts in the south at the rim of the terminal moraines from the last glaciation at a maxium height of 650 m in the south and gently slopes towards the north where it ends at the fringe of hilly countryside near Freising (450 m). In the South the Northern-Alpes already become visible and influential not only for the climate with dry winds in the wintertime. The plain has few geomorphologic features to influence urban development except the floodplain of the river Isar with its sequence of river banks and terraces.
Fig. 2: Munich is situated in a plain formed by the river Isar Fig. 3: The Isar is a dynamic alpine river that brings floods in spring and summer While the groundwater level is below 20m under the surface in the southern part of Munich, it comes to the surface at the northern edge of the city, leading to the formation of extensive fenlands. Therefore, a distinction can be made between the dry (southern) and the wet (northern) part of the Munich plain.Ý Historically, villages were situated either along the streams, in particular on the border of the river Isar floodplain and along the transition zone between the dry and the wet part of the gravel plain. Within Munich, breweries often equipped with beergardens follow the line of the terraces where water comes to the surface. Naturally, the gravel plain would have been covered by deciduous woodlands predominantly of oak.Ý These woodlands have been mostly cleared to give place to farmland.Ý In particular in its northern part, the soils on the dry terraces of the gravel plain are very shallow and infertile.Ý Water infiltrates quickly due to the coarse gravel.Ý Therefore, the land was mostly used for extensive grazing by sheep, and developed into very species rich, dry calcareous grassy heathlands and grazed woodlands of predominantly oak and pine.Ý Munich therefore was once called a ëgolden saddle on a skinny mareí. Thus, while the Munich Plain is overall homogeneous, a relatively finegrained sequence of natural units can be distinquished based on gradients of geomorphology and moisture.Ý Cultural and political history The City of Munich was only founded in the 12th century on the western banks of the river Isar. King Henry (Heinrich der Lˆwe) tore down the old bridge over the river Isar controlled by the Benedictine monastery in Freising. A new bridge was build at Munich Oberfˆhring. The rise of Munich in the crossing of two important Europeen streets for salt transportation and salt trade began. Later, Munich became the residence of the Bavarian electors and then kings.Ý However, it remained a small town within medieval boundaries until the 19th century.Ý The topographic map of 1812 shows the city still mostly confined within its medieval limits. The river Isar formed a continuous belt of floodplain woodlands, extensive pastures and medows from south to north.Ý Outside the floodplaine, the woodlands were mostly cleared in the northern part of the Munich Plain, whereas the woodlands in the south were largely protected as (royal or feudal) forests.Ý Clearings around villages give it a characteristic structure until today.Ý Thus, the clear differentiation between the ërichí south and the ëpoorí north of the city was already founded from the beginning of the cityís development. Fig. 4: Freising as a town is much older than Munich Fig. 5: Bastions and fortifications were not converted into a green gring The first big projects of city enlargement took place in the first part of the 19th century, when the elector Maximilian and King Ludwig I built new neighbourhoods in the north, and northwest of the city.Ý These enlargements follow a grid pattern.Ý They were speculative and very densely built up.Ý Greenspace was only created in the form of small squares with a representative character.Ý Together with N¸rnberg and Berlin, Munich was one of the cities chosen by the Nazis to demonstrate their power.Ý The art museum (ìHaus der Kunstî) at the southern end of the ìEnglischer Gartenî is an example of the Nazi architecture. At the ìHofgartenî the famous last exhibition of modern paintings (ìentartete Kunstî) was shown 1936. Many parts of the city were destroyed inÝ WW II. And some squares and blocks were not rebuilt until the recent years (Marienhof, Marstallplatz) or are still awaiting redesign (Jacobsplatz). Some of the rare Munich hills are a deposit for the sunken heritage of the city. After the war Munich began to develop rapidly. Siemens and some other large companies chose Munich as their headquater. The economy is now mainly based on information technology, services and the banking and insurance sector.Ý As a consequence, the Munich region has a high percentage of highly paid jobs and one of the lowest unemployment rates in Germany. In city statistics Munich is listed as one of the most densely built-up urban areas in Germany.Ý Since the breakdown of the ìiron curtainî the good position of Munich in the competion with Berlin is put into question. Film stars move to Berlin, but still the quality of life in Munich and the economic power of the cityÝ are its strong points in this competition, though municipal finances break down everywhere in the 90ies. There is a continuing strong need to build new houses but land available for development is scarce. Densification of the city has been favoured by planenrs to contain urban sprawl and a strategy called ìCompact ñ Urban ñ Greenî was adopted. There is a strong pressure on green space in low density residential areas by infill densification. As a consequence, gardens with many or old trees are lost. Fig. 6: Munich is the "Paris" of the Bavarian county, densly build-up and the political heart of a large region Munich is a concentric and very compact town. It did not succeed to incorporate the neighbourhood municipalities, so the big challenge of today is to cooperate with other cities and find a functional compensation for not-wanted infrastructure facilities (Nimby-Phenomenon). The airport today is about 40 km from the center of the city at Freising and caused huge problems for the transportation system. The infrastructure for traffic and transportation was mainly realized with the Olympic games in the 70ties and covers a huge region from Freising to the southern lake distict near the Alpes. The planners think how they could transform the centre focused system into a better and more netshaped system of public transportation. Waste management and the cleaning of used water are further functions that Munich can only handle with the help of the region. Fig. 7: To provide facilities for recreation is more and more a task for urban regional planning To spend recreation and leisure time the region is also quite important. In the southÝ many big lakes and the Alpes are a big attraction to the Munich people but until 80 km far away. Since 20 years the northern part of Munich region tries hard to provide facilities more nearly the settlement of the people. Lakes and bathing zones are build. They are filled with the ground water of the Munich plain. The water quality of the river Isar in the north is not sufficient for bathing, but many people use the river zone to go out hiking, biking and skating.Ý Fig. 8: Nature conservation does not stop at the borders of municipalities More and more the farmers are included in the maintenance and management of important landscaped zones. They get help from the municipalities to sell their goods but they have to fulfill a change in their selfunderstanding as ìcity or urban farmersî. ....to understand the pattern of green structures The green backbone of the city is the floodplan of the river Isar. Although being largly changed by engineering, the floodplan is still preserved for flood retention. The ìHofgartenî was the first publicly opend residential garden. Everybody could walk and meet other people there. Because it became to crowdy it the duty to greet was abolished one day. Until today the ìHofgartenî forms an important link from the cities center to the ìEnglischer Gartenî. It is discussed very emotionally within architects, politicians and landscapers how to enforce the linkage over streets and against new buildings of the Bavarian state. The system to feed the fountains was restored recently. Fig. 9: The river Isar shapes the green structure of the inner city Fig. 10: The ìHofgartenî (Residence Garden) was once part of the bastion green belt of Munich, which is not really visible today The Englischer Garten of Ludwig Sckell, built at the end of the 19th century, was in former times situated completely outside the city in the river Isar floodplain.Ý Today people enjoy in their ìgreen sitting roomî this first public Garden (ìVolksgartenî) in the core center of the city. Many students enjoy the park and go bathing in the ìEisbachî, Beergardens, shipping and other leisures can be lived easity there. Fig. 11: The ìEnglischer Gartenî (Garden in the English landscaped style) The second historical greenstructure on the city but also on the regional level are the summer residences of the Bavarian electors Nymphenburg and Schleissheim. SckellÝ transformed the baroque summer residence of the electors in Nymphenburg into a landscape park, but maintaining the structure of the baroque axes.Ý Originally these residences where linked to the city by avenues and a sequence of places and small parks. Nymphenburg is today one of the most important habitat for species in the city and designed as a nature reserve.Ý The park is sourrounded by villas with their gardens and it is clearly shown that ecological functions are well performed in this not very dense area of the city. Schleissheim Castle, another baroque summer residence, lies in the northern part of the Munich plain.Ý Both residences were connected by a system of canals which feed the fountains, but also serving as a transport network, for instance, to carry construction materials to Schleiþheim.Ý The canals were built by Dutch engineers and are a masterpiece of engineering with water being taken from the small river W¸rm in the western part of the Munich Plain, then led two times across the plain to be finally discharged again into the river W¸rm.Ý Additionally, water could be fed into the system from smaller streams.Ý Most of the canals still exist today. Other historically important visual axes are not existent any more, but some can perhaps be recuperated by intermunicipal planning.Ý Parks and forests of the Bavarian electors and kings were created outside the city but were later incorporated into the urban fabric.Ý Fig. 12: A system of canals connects the castles and residences in the northern Munich plan (source: Burkhardt, 2001) Between 1871 and the turn of the 19th century the city experienced a dramatic growth from 170 000 to over 500 000 inhabitants.Ý In 1935, Munich had a residential population of 735 000 inhabitants (LH M¸nchen 1990).Ý Most of the industrial development took place in the north of Munich whereas high qualitiy residential areas developed in the south, around Nymphenburg in the west and along the river Isar corridor.Ý Fig. 13: The city centre is very densely build up and has squares in the wilhelmian style The strong growth in built-up areas at that time was not complemented by the creation of public parks.Ý Small courtyards are used as carparks and are filled with other buildings. Only big cemeteries were created in each major direction.Ý Today the closed blocks of that period are good places for living in neighbourhoods with small shops, cafes etc.Ý Some houses are restored in a very expensive way. The municipality tries to encourage private families to take care of the courts and use them also as a space for recreational needs. However there is a great deficit of greenspaces.Ý Fig. 14: To green the courtyards in the inner city is an important task There is also a strong need to regenerate the historic gardens and squares in the city. Munich did not keep its old ring of fortifications and bastions as a green belt within along an inner ring road like Frankfurt or Wien.Ý The densly build up zones in the inner city (called INRA) are the most problematic areas for greenspace in Munich today. It is not only the lack of greenspace as residential areas for recreation but also the climatic problem in the inner city. In the summer it is very hot and in the winter the quality of the air and the noise of the streets reduce the quality ofÝ live. The southern part of the Isar still has some non-designed parts with gravel banks, which are very popular for recreation. In the year 1984, Prof. Grizmek, then professor for landscape architecture at the Technical Uni | |
