Tensions between Urban Conservation and Urban Land Use - Essay Example

?CONFLICTS BETWEEN HERITAGE SITE CONSERVATION AND URBAN LAND USE: COMPARISON AND ANALYSIS OF THE CASE OF BATH & OXFORD IN THE UNITED KINGDOM Outline Introduction Tensions between Urban Conservation & Urban Land Use The Case of Bath & Oxford Demographic Issues Housing Business Land Use Problems with the Economy Tourism fluctuations Management of the Challenges Conclusion References INTRODUCTION The British cities of Bath and Oxford are major heritage sites with worldwide recognition because they have been identified by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites (Meurs & Verhoef, 2006). Bath is known for its role as a crucial city for Roman occupation over a millennium ago and has buildings that transcend various timelines in history (Fergusson, 2010). However, Bath is becoming more of a historic city rather than a functional city with economic prowess in England. Oxford is also a historic city which has offered world-class education since medieval times. Many historic sites and buildings in these towns are protected by British laws and international statutes that prevent them from being converted (Great Britain House of Commons, 2009). However, the two cities keep on growing and there are different land use types that are emerging. This paper examines the challenges that arise from the tensions between the preservation of historic and landmark sites with emphasis on Bath and Oxford. It goes further to analyse the ways in which these two cities are dealing with the challenge of using land to meet its historical and tourism needs on one side and its general and economic land use needs. TENSIONS BETWEEN URBAN CONSERVATION & URBAN LAND USE Urban development comes about as a result of the numerous needs of people in society (Cohen, 1999). Different groups of people have different land use needs and this gives the need for various considerations in urban generation and regeneration. A major land use type in cities in England is the historic site usage (Tessa, 2005). Tessa (2005) goes further to identify that urban historic land marks give a physical form to individual and communal history in the form of architecture and edifices that come with countless stories about various timelines in history. This is an avenue for the discharge of some human values as well as economic returns from events like tourism. On the other hand, though, people need lands to fulfil their individual and communal needs. These needs are honoured through consensus between various stakeholder units in the society and it leads to so much debate and tensions (De La Torre, 2005). According to Betty (2011), the main areas that the tensions occur in urban development where heritage site conservation is concerned include: 1. The Need for Growth V Restricted Development Capacity 2. Sustainable Economic Prosperity V Dangers of Destroying priceless landmarks 3. Innovation V protection of Heritage 4. Preservation V Requests of Community for housing, education, jobs and transportation 5. Increasing tourism V Loss of distinctive competitive strengths THE CASE OF BATH & OXFORD Bath and Oxford seem to have similar problems in the area of the constraints between urban growth and heritage site management and conservation. Demographic Issues Bath’s population has remained steady between 85,000 and 75,000 over the past forty years. 1971, the population was about 85,000. It fell to about 80,000 and 79,000 in 1981 and 1991 respectively. In 2001, the population stood around 84,000 (Statistics & Census Information). Over 38% of the residents are over 60 years (Betty, 2011). This huge ageing population indicates that Bath’s younger generation are leaving the town in huge numbers because there are more economic and social opportunities elsewhere. Also, there are challenges like fuel poverty, which affects about 8% of the populace. The situation on Bath puts the city authorities in a situation where they need to do something to retain their active population. This entails improving economic and work conditions in the city as well as the creation of socio-cultural opportunities for the people. However, in doing this, they would have to be mindful of the urban conservation restrictions that lay ahead of them. Oxford however has culturally diverse population that keeps on growing. In 2001, the population stood at 134,000 this increased to 149,000 in 2009, over 85% of the residents were below 60 years old (Oxford Population Statistics, 2011). The growth in population at Oxford can be attributed to the demand for educational services which has brought with it huge youthful and international populace. Thus, the City Authorities in Oxford have a bigger duty to provide good conditions that will enable the populace to have good social and economic conditions. Although the conservation of heritage sites is important here, Oxford does not have the pressure to destroy its heritage sites in order to provide the needs of the residents. Rather, Oxford’s city authorities and stakeholders can integrate into the ancient systems without really causing much change. Housing In Bath, about 40% of the houses are more than 90 years old. Some 20% are over 150 years old (Betty, 2011). With an ageing population, any attempt to improve the economy will mean gentrification to ensure that there are appropriate housing to provide the residential needs of the younger people invited to live in the town and honour the RPG10 Plan of the County. However, most of the buildings are protected by statutes that make it almost impossible for them to be torn down or redeveloped (Bennett, 2004). Oxford however has a slight challenge in adapting to its RPG9 standards in the form of trying to maintain the old systems and layouts to ensure conformity and preserve the heritage of the city (Housing Provision, 2005). The city planned to build 3,750 new houses according to the historic plans between 1996 and 2011. There is a further 6,500 new dwellings that are to be built in a plan spanning between 2001 and 2016. However, 99% of the new dwellings were previously developed. This therefore means that Oxford has to forsake new architectural systems and honour the older model. In other words, the city council grants permission only when the building will conform to the ancient building plans it had. This has the legal backing of the Town & Country Planning Act of 1990, which has been adapted by the City Council. Business Land Use Most of Bath’s dwellings are ancient heritage sites. This limits economic land use for the manufacture of goods and services. This what has prompted the Bath & North East Somerset Council to increase housing over the next 20 years. Under this plan, there is the need for 15,400 dwellings to be able to create 20,000 jobs that can help the city’s economy to grow (Betty, 2011). However, this expansion comes with so many restrictions and limitations. First of all, there are no spaces to ensure this because most of Bath is occupied by ancient heritage sites that be transformed easily. Secondly, the economic base of the city is too low as it relies heavily on tourism which is also declining. Also, it is difficult to invite investors when they cannot get prime locations to build commercial properties. Oxford on the other hand manages to blend its business housing needs into its historic setting. This is because Oxford relies strongly on providing educational services not only to the UK but to the entire world. These income generating services can be delivered through the historic structures and it blends so well. However, this approach makes Oxford hostile to other modern forms of income generation. The zoning regulations and requirements makes it an undesirable place for other forms of business like the entertainment industry, technology industry and other businesses that will require the use of modern architecture to earn competitive advantage. Due to this, Oxford is losing a potential to expand and it kind of creates some aura of social exclusion around the city. Problems with the Economy Bath has a low-wage economy because the city’s younger and productive population have migrated to other parts of the world due to the lack of expansion because of having too many historic sites. This creates a vicious cycle of low income for the city’s economy. This is because the few jobs cannot be done productively by active people. This create push and pull factors that lead to low income and the cycle persists over years. A critical study by BANES, the major planning authority showed that the heritage sites stands in the way of modern economic land use Bath Economic Appraisal (2010). Secondly, there is a lack of employment because of the land constraints. Thirdly, the proximity of Bath to Bristol makes it an investment shadow to Bristol. Fourthly, there is no proper rail system connecting Bath to Bristol and London. There is also a problem of low wages coupled with high cost of housing. Finally, most of the institutions in Bath are reliant on public funding thereby making them vulnerable to government expenditure cuts. This leads to a cycle that can only be broken if the city can be allowed to expand fully without hindrances. Oxford seems to be making sustainable gains from its educational and quasi-educational businesses (Ratcliffe et al, 2008). However, with a concentration of smart minds in the area, it can easily be transformed into a high income society by flexibility in its city development systems. And due to architectural limitations, other income generation activities that can lead the city to expand and generate vibrant income have been effectively cut out of the city’s development. This leaves room for more improvement. Tourism fluctuations Tourism is the main income generating activity for Bath. The city has over 1 million tourists coming in each year to stay overnight as well as some 3 million day tourists (Rodwell, 2007: Bath & North East Somerset Council: 2010). This gives a very strong case for the city to maintain its tourist infrastructure. However, it appears that the city can do more if they invest in more human resource and other related business to diversify the city’s economy. This way, the city can have a high pool of labour that can boost tourism and also get other sectors of the economy that can provide income for the city. This calls for the building of more structures to house these new people and sectors in the economy. In Oxford, tourism is still thriving. The city plans to promote long-term sustainable tourist growth through investment in tourism, conservation of cultural heritage in Oxford, promotion of alterations to promote tourism and develop all-year round facilities for the development of tourism (Tourism & Art in Oxford, 2005). With these enhancement, it appears that the city is over-specialising in an area that stands in the way of other land use types. MANAGEMENT OF THE CHALLENGES The city councils and other planning agencies in these two cities are making major strategic plans to create a framework of action to ameliorate the challenges in these cities. Oxford’s major strategy include a vision cuts across the provision of affordable housing, promotion of diversity and the reduction of social exclusion, combat climate change, improve the quality of public realms and the creation of a safer and more cohesive city (Oxford Development Strategy, 2008 p.5) Bath & North East Somerset Council on the other hand is focusing on the improvement of land supply, infrastructure, improvement of the environment, combating climate change and enhancing local communities (BANES Development Strategy, 2008 p2) The City of Bath is doing its best to ensure that the city is able to meet the RPG10 targets in spite of the limitations that the heritage sites presents. The proposition of Bath City Council to increase housing by several thousands to ensure that there is balanced growth through stakeholder interactions and changes in systems (BANES Development Strategy, 2008 p163). This system of dialogue and negotiation provides the best ways of compromising between the conservation of the ‘Britainness’ of the city and at the same time ensure that financial targets are met to improve the economy (Tessa, 2005). Oxford on the other hand seems to be pursuing a strategy of specialisation. This is done by the focusing on what it does best so that it gets and maintains competitive advantage (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2011). Oxford seems to be focusing its strengths in tourism and education and this brings world-class economic returns however, the city is also seeking to put in place measures that will promote diversification of the economy by 2026 (Oxford Development Strategy). Oxford City Council is trying to ease traffic congestion (Oxford Development Strategy 2008 p22). They are doing this by identifying sites suitable for regeneration that will support diversity like mixed housing that will enable residents to live and work in the same neighbourhood. The city is also putting in place measures to encourage the use of bicycles and public transport (Oxford Development Strategy 2008 p39). They also plan to put in place active transport management systems to ensure that public transportation is patronised and also discourage the use of private cars by placing levies on private vehicles. Oxford is also seeking to provide affording housing in its four strategic locations: West End, North Gateway, Barton and South Oxford Strategic Development Area (Oxford Development Strategy 2008 p41). This development will be complemented by strategic, service and transformational infrastructure. Due to the peculiar nature of Bath’s developmental challenges, the planning authorities, BANES is focusing on a strategy of dialogue and negotiation BANES Development Strategy (2008). Land supply is at the top of the community’s need so the authorities have put in place structures for dialogue in terms of rural diversification, affordable housing, disparity in accessibility, private transportation, natural environment protection and renewable energy. This way, they will get the right human resource, efficient systems and structures as well as a balanced system that supports economic growth and sustains tourism. From the stakeholder interaction, BANES hopes to successfully get the right to zone more lands as residential and business lands and if this system is successfully instituted, it hopes to provide 140 affordable houses some of which can be used as offices each year (BANES Housing, 2010) Also, BANES hopes to ease congestion and improve transportation in the city in several ways (BANES Transportation, 2011). First of all, BANES is working to improve the public transportation system. It is also trying to improve personal transportation by promoting cycling, walking and systems to cut the use of cars like car sharing and the like. CONCLUSION The clash between the old and new creates conflicts and this is evident in land use, when heritage sites are to be held alongside other urban land use types that bring immediate results for the city in question. The city of Bath and Oxford are cities with high concentrations of heritage sites and also have the need and potential for other land use types for optimum results. The main problems with this clash manifests itself in these two British towns are concerned with the population characteristics like migration of younger people out of Bath and the exclusion of some people in Oxford. This is connected to the restriction of land use that affects residential housing and land use for business. This clash also brings problems to the economy such as a low income economy to Bath and the limitation of the earning power of Oxford to only academia and tourism. Bath has responded to these limitations by the use of dialogue led by the Bath & North East Somerset Council with other stakeholders to ensure that there they meet each other mid-way. Oxford on the other hand has focused on improving its competitive position in education and tourism and to an extent, improving diversity over the long-term. REFERENCES BANES Development Strategy (2008) Available online at: www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/.../localdevelopmentscheme/corestrategy.htm Accessed: 14th May, 2011 BANES Housing (2010) Available online at: http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/HOUSING/HOUSINGADVICE/NEWAFFORDABLEHOUSING/Pages/default.aspx Accessed: 14th May, 2011 BANES Transportation (2011) Available online at: http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/stopgridlock/ Accessed 14th May, 2011 Bath Economic Appraisal (2010) Available online at: democracy.bathnes.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=2798 Economic Accessed: 14th May, 2011 BANES Website Bath & North East Somerset Council (2010) The City of Bath World Heritage Site Bath: World Heritage Bennett, Andrew, F. 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