Green Plans - issues. Case Study Overvecht .

Anne Beer and Peter Schildwacht (2002) - based on information supplied by Utrecht City

Paper made available to the COST C11 Working party.

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Overvecht District lies to the north of the city centre of Utrecht.

Introduction to the project

The remit for this project to regenerate the green space of Overvecht is set out in the Project outline - Startnotitie. This describes the need to produce a green space plan for the short and long term for the District of Overvecht in the city of Utrecht. It is a district of about 30000 people living mainly in high-rise blocks built in the 1960s. The green space plan is to cover the area of housing which is over 400 hectares of Overvecht District.

This section deals with the way the project is being approached as well as the problems that need addressing and can be addressed through a Green space Plan.

Before such a plan can be made a very detailed understanding of the area and its people is needed. We are intending to present our findings on-line (so that ultimately they can be accessed and reacted to by local inhabitants, as well as by professional decision makers.

The process to be followed involves the following stages:

· The Introduction -

1. Identifying Key issues and defining the Probem

2. Aims and Methods.

This Section explores the boundaries of the problems involved in generating a Greenspace Plan

· Overvecht District Atlas (only a few maps are available as examples at present- This Atlas will hold the background information for decision making in relation to greenspace planning - it will include mapped data and graphs to illustrate the state of the local physical, natural and social/ cultural environment. The Atlas will also hold a very detailed plan of all the greenspaces in Overvecht (a sample area is now on-line). It is intended that this Atlas can become interactive and allow local people to comment on data accuracy as well as ideas.

· Background papers collating relevant research findings on Greenspace

1. Places to live, work and play - the social aspects

2. Nature in Housing areas - people's attitudes to enhancing biodiversity

3. Sustainable Neighbourhoods - a brainstorm of the role of greenspaces in the enhancement of local environmental sustainability in housing areas

4. Recreation - a projection of demand for recreation in Overvecht areas

· Assessment of Potential - this section will be written by the Overvecht Team. It will be based upon:

5. Identification of appropriate solutions to the problems identified in the surveys of local users' needs and requirements (based on the problem analysis set out in a sub- section of this Introduction - Identifying key issues)

linked to:

ß the data collated about the site and its people in the Atlas and the

ß findings from the more theoretical research into user needs set out in the Background Papers (an approach is expanded upon in the methodology section).

At present it is envisaged that this stage of the Study will be in four parts, forming the assessment of the potential for changing the greenspaces of Overvecht:

1. Performance Criteria - the "place", the user needs, the landscape, the management, the ownership, the financing etc..

ß Performance Criteria for sustainable "Doorstep" Greenspaces - recognising that there are substantial differences in the needs of people living in the different types of housing found in the area

ß Performance Criteria for sustainable "Parks and Recreation Facilities" in Overvecht

ß Performance Criteria for sustainable "Biodiversity" in and around Overvecht

ß Performance Criteria for sustainable "Parkways and Cycle/Footways" in and around Overvecht

ß Performance Criteria for sustainable "Landscape Management"

.0 What could go where - interpreting the site: the physical and natural environmental data examined in relation to the above performance criteria so as to identify the potential for change in each part of the site

.1 Interaction with the local community groups - an essential element before proceeding to the production of a Plan will be the discussion of the "ideas" generated by the above with the people who live and work in Overvecht . Modifying where necessary the preliminary assessment of potential to meet their suggestions.

.2 "Plan of the Potential to enhance the Greenspaces" - this will take the form of a sketch plan supplemented by "ideas" drawings for a wide range of different but typical locations across the District . It will be designed to allow for further discussion and development of ideas as the planning stage progresses into implementation.

o A Greenstructure Plan for Overvecht - an overall plan for the District backed up by statements of the objectives for each major part of the site and illustrations of possible change in "special locations". It will be drawn over the plan of the present greenspaces in Overvecht (see District Atlas) to indicate how each part of the District's greenspace might change in the long term.

0. how people might use each different "place" within Overvecht's Greenstructure

1. the type of nature it might be suitable to integrate into each parts of the site

2. how each part of the greenspace might be best managed

3. who might be responsible for implementation and long term management and maintenance.

This will not be a 'fixed" plan - more a plan to give guidance and present ideas to the professionals who will work on each different part of the site. It will be used to develop the site planning briefs necessary for the implementation of each individual greenspace project within Overvecht.