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Introduction
Introduction
to the project
Identifying
key issues
Understanding
Greenspace Planning
The
Aim
The
Methodology
No
easy solution
1960s high rise - the
problems
1960s
high density housing estates - a problem
Greenspace
in the 1960s
The
failure of the 1960s built form
The
Compact City
Introduction
Introduction
to the project
Identifying
key issues
Understanding
Greenspace Planning
The
Aim
The
Methodology
No
easy solution
1960s high rise - the
problems
1960s
high density housing estates - a problem
Greenspace
in the 1960s
The
failure of the 1960s built form
The
Compact City
Introduction
Introduction
to the project
Identifying
key issues
Understanding
Greenspace Planning
The
Aim
The
Methodology
No
easy solution
1960s high rise - the
problems
1960s
high density housing estates - a problem
Greenspace
in the 1960s
The
failure of the 1960s built form
The
Compact City
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Groenplan
Overvecht
A Regenerative
Greenspace Plan for Overvecht District - Utrecht City
Een vernieuwd Groenplan voor Overvecht- gemeente Utrecht
copyright 2001, Anne R.
Beer and City of Utrecht
Overvecht District lies
to the north of the city centre of Utrecht.
Introduction to the
project
Overvecht District,
Utrecht - the Netherlands, houses about 30000 people. They
live mainly in high-rise slab blocks
built
in the 1960s. In
2000, as part of the considerations relating to the
regeneration of the district, it was realised that a new
greenspace plan which covers the 400 hectares estate was
needed (click
to see map of the District).
The remit to Map21 Ltd
for this project was to limited to the generation of
innovative ideas about how to approach the regeneration of
the greenspace of the district. Ideas were required for
consideration by the planners, managers and designers as
they decided what should be done - note: the remit was not
to draw up any final plan - that is the task of the city
officials - but to look very broadly at the problem and the
issues involved in making a greenspace plan for an area
undergoing regeneration.
This introductory
section deals with the way the project has been approached
as well as the problems that need addressing and can be
addressed through a Greenspace Plan. The part of the project
presented here was undertaken by Map21 Ltd working in
cooperation with information provided from Utrecht city and
the local district. The aim was only to produce preliminary
advice for those involved in the long term regeneration of
the Overvecht. The regeneration of the area will take many
years to complete.
By 2000, the city's
green team had already identified some funding to be used to
enhance the biodiversity of the estate and had also
developed detailed policies and strategies with regard to
the role of nature in the city of Utrecht and how to develop
appropriate wildlife habitats. In addition, the district
office had carried out intensive discussions with the local
people, through focus group discussions with over 300
people, with the aim of finding out what the inhabitants
would like their greenspaces to be like in the
future.
Alterra (the
Dutch research institute for greenspace also carried out a
study of the recreational needs of the local population. So
the problem was one of suggesting how to structure this
information into an effective greenspace plan for the
District - one which the city and local people might find
acceptable. The problem was in essence how to ensure that
the people living in Overvecht had external spaces which
supported rather than hindered the uses that they had to
make of the external environment. These uses include :
movements through the external area to bus stops, car parks,
schools, shops etc. as well as use of the individual spaces
created by the way in which the estate was laid out - it is
considered essential that inhabitants can like and be proud
of the place outside their homes.
The web pages presented
here are only working documents to show others an approach
to developing solutions - not a final report. The
information is presented because because it shows the
thought processes involved in addressing such problems. The
reader should realise they are not looking at final plans or
proposals - only ideas for consideration . Nothing here
should be taken as the city's policies or
commitments.
It is hoped that the
information and approach can assist others working in the
field on other similar projects - students and professional
decision makers.
Understanding
Greenspace Planning
To understand the
approach used here the reader should first click the
following:
- What
is urban greenspace?
- What
are the factors that influence greenspace
planning?
- How
can we begin making a plan?
The process to be
followed involves the following stages:
- Key issues -
- Aims
and Methods.
- This Section
explores the boundaries of the problems involved in
generating
a Greenspace Plan
(
Click the sub- section menu to the left to navigate the
information in this Section)
- Overvecht
District Atlas (only a few maps are available as
examples at present-
(click Wijk Atlas Button to the
right). 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
(access by clicking buttons on
right)
collating relevant research findings on Greenspace
- Places to live,
work and play - the social aspects
- Nature in Housing
areas - people's attitudes to enhancing
biodiversity
- Sustainable
Neighbourhoods - a brainstorm of the role of
greenspaces in the enhancement of local environmental
sustainability in housing areas
- 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:
- 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:
- the data
collated about the site and its people in
the
Atlas
and the
- 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:
- Performance
Criteria - the "place", the user needs, the
landscape, the management, the ownership, the
financing etc.
- 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
- Performance
Criteria for sustainable "Parks and Recreation
Facilities" in Overvecht
- Performance
Criteria for sustainable "Biodiversity" in and
around Overvecht
- Performance
Criteria for sustainable "Parkways and
Cycle/Footways" in and around Overvecht
- Performance
Criteria for sustainable "Landscape
Management"
- 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
- 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.
- "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.
- 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.
- how people might
use each different "place" within Overvecht's
Greenstructure
- the type of
nature it might be suitable to integrate into each
parts of the site
- how each part of
the greenspace might be best managed
- 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.
Click
the menu to the left for information on the Aims, Methods
and Problems
Back
to Map21 Ltd
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IT IS SUBJECT TO CONTINUOUS CHANGE
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