Planning and Implementation of Mega-urban Projects - Essay Example

Background Urban centres often go through regeneration from time to time. These urban projects are often huge projects that are meant to attain certain defined ends. There are elements of economic development of the community as well as socio-spatial dialectics which are central to mega urban projects. “Capitalism perpetually strives, therefore to create a social and physical landscape in its own image and requisite to its own needs at a particular point in time” (Harvey, 1985). This implies that these urban projects are initiated with a view of attaining the optimum economic benefits for the community and nations that initiate the projects. Another aspect of these mega urban projects is the fact that the built environment needs to be based on the societys systems and structures in such a way that the economy, culture and social factors become evident through the arrangement of the landscape. This is what Soja describes as the “socio-spatial dialectics” According to a UN Habitat report (2010), the elements of sustainable urban development projects include: 1. Planning Systems 2. Institution of Ownership 3. Market conditions 4. Outcomes of a project These four major factors come together to define the capitalist and socio-spatial elements of a given mega urban project. This is because these indicators provide the basis for evaluating urban development project. Introduction to Base Projects This paper examines three urban mega projects in the United Kingdom, Germany and South Korea. The paper examines the key elements of these three project in relation to the concepts and ideas of urban mega projects. In arriving at this end, the paper will compare differences and similarities between the base projects. In this process, the paper will examine the trends in urban mega projects. Liverpool ONE is a major urban development project that was conducted to boost the competitiveness of one of UKs cities. It involved a total of about £1 billion in expenditure and it sought to redevelop 42 acres of Liverpool into a retail oriented zone (Grosvenor, 2007). The project was completed in 2008 and it made that zone of Liverpool one of the top five retail centres in the UK. The Postdamer Platz in Germany is one of the key areas of Berlin and lies just a kilometre away from the famous Brandensburg Gate and has the German Parliament [Reichstag] just over twenty kilometres away (Weitz, 2007). This makes the region a very sensitive cultural and public section of Germany. The area came under intense Allied bombardment during World War II and it became a buffer zone during the Soviet Occupation (Weitz, 2007). However, after German reunification in the late 1980s, the Postdamer Platz has gone through a lot of change processes. Postdamer Platzs redevelopment was announced in 1991 by the citys government (McGee, 2000). The Berlin senate government advertised the project and architectural firms submitted bids for the project. After the design,the Postdamer Platz was divided into four zones and rights for development were sold to large global corporate entities (McGee, 2000). Currently, the area is Europes largest building site (Weitz, 2007). The Songdo International Business District is South Koreas spatial gem for the attraction of foreign businesses and the creation of a major trade hub for the Asia Pacific region (World Media Inc, 2007). It is a city planned to be built just West of Seoul of an area of 1,500 acres of land over reclaimed land (Foth, 2011). The Songdo International Business District is meant to be a replica of New Yorks Central Park and the Venice waterways (Foth, 2011). It is being built with stakes from international real estate companies and investors, under the supervision of the Korean government. Planning Systems & Institution of the Projects Altshuler & Luberoff (2003) identify that most urban redevelopment projects are based on changes in the economic, social and political structures of a given area. They identify that changes within the decades affect the way and manner within which economic and social activities are carried out in a given area. Thus, the public authorities and social interest groups often push for strategic changes of significant aspects of cities to enable the attainment of certain economic objectives. In other words, the economic plans of the community creates the case for reorganising and re-gentrifying certain portions of a given city to meet these economic objectives. The complex interaction of the various interest groups and stakeholders is also necessary to ensure that the development of urban mega-projects meet the overall expectations of the society. Brian (1995) identify the key stakeholders to be government [public authorities with the power to sanction the project], public entrepreneurs [funding sources of the project], business support [project executors] and social groups. This create a complex interaction that leads to the formulation of appropriate plans and strategies for the redevelopment of urban hubs. In most planning activities, the main features of the interaction between the various stakeholders include mitigation, costs, concerns of the wider community and environmental concerns (Jorisson, 2009). Liverpool One The Liverpool City Council commissioned Healey & Baker Development Team to conduct a retail study with the view of finding the best way of maximising land use and economic activities in Liverpool (Grosvenor, 2007). This was mainly because the city centre had become unattractive as a shopping centre. The 1965 plan to redevelop the city had failed to provide the needs of the people in the 21st Century (Couch, 2003) There was the need for a more modern place for retail activities that would meet the needs of the contemporary Liverpool society. Another view of the city authorities was to attract both local and foreign investors in the retail industry. Thus, the project aimed at providing a relatively more modern and efficient setting for the largest malls and brands in the world. The key stakeholders were therefore the city authorities, the people, UK Central government, business and mall owners and the professional construction companies. Potsdam Platz In Berlin, the Potsdamer Platz came up as a result of the reunification of East and West Germany. The area had been left undeveloped because it formed a kind of buffer between the Soviet zone and the Anglo-American section of the city. However, the Anglo-American section had been constrained because Berlin was simply an isolated zone and was linked to the rest of West Germany by air and not by road. Once the wall fell, it was apparent that the big corporate entities in Germany could build a strong presence in the old capital. So such businesses took the first step. Berlin.de (2012) identifies that the concept of New Berlin was proposed by the city government after some major corporate entities, particularly those that represent the face of German business on the global scale requested that the Potsdamer Platz should be developed according to international standards. Thus, the city government responded by setting zonal standards for the area which were of world class architectural levels. Each zone was sold to commercial investors. The largest zone was sold to the popular German business Daimler-Benz. Sony acquired the second zone to site its European headquarters. Beisheim and Park Kolonnaden acquired the other two sections and set up various high rise buildings for offices and retail centres. Songdo International Business District The Songdo International Business District on the other hand is in line with the Korean governments desire to to make South Korea the business hub of the Asian-Pacific region (Song, 2011). Since the growth of trade routes into China and new markets in South East Asia developed, Korea has sought to become the gateway to the South Pacific corridor. Due to that, Koreas government encouraged trade with other nations of the world. With a huge market developing behind Korea, the nation seeks to use its long standing capitalist systems and structures to form an international trade centre. Gale International and its partners, a major real estate entities saw the vision to create a major international city from the scratch (Songdo IBD, 2012). The Gale International Group therefore invested huge amounts of money to purchase land outside Korea and reclaim portions of land from the sea. This led to the lay out of a major masterplan. This masterplan allowed major real estate companies from around the world to invest money into the venture. Due to considerations given by the Korean government and other investors, Gale International Group now owns 60% of shares in the project. It is still in transit. Comparison of the Projects & Trends The Liverpool One and Potsdam Platz have strong oversight from the city authorities. This is because it is a major project that sought to change an existing city. The Songdo Project in Korea is more under the control of Gale International, a private investor. On the other hand, Liverpool One was under tight control and regulation of the City Authorities. In Berlin though, the major corporate entities including Daimler-Berlin and Sony play a major part in the project. In Korea, the government is more of a partner rather than the entity in charge. It appears that the funding authorities of all these projects have a strong say in matters. Although the governments and authorities have some legal powers, their authority is somewhat limited by sponsors. In all the cases, the professional advice of major development entities like planners and authorities was utilised. These experts gave recommendations which became the basis for the projects in question. In Liverpool and Berlin, there was the need for mitigation. Conditions like destroying existing building to redevelop was significant in the planning process. On the other hand, the Songdo International project was not so detrimental to existing structures. Rather, there was the need for land reclamation to provide enough room for the creation of the city. Market Conditions & Outcomes of the Projects Swyngedouw et al (2002) identify five main trends that exists in urban mega-projects. These trend seem to define most urban mega projects. They include: 1. It establishes the exceptional nature of the planning policy 2. It involves local democratic participation. 3. It is often poorly integrated into the wider city as a whole. 4. It accentuates socio-economic polarization through real estate companies 5. It shifts urbanisation concentrations of cities. The three projects reviewed seem to confirm most of these findings. However, there are some exceptions. In the first point, it appears that most of the cities clearly show the exceptional nature of the planning systems used. The Liverpool project indicates the competence of the project planners and executioners. This is because it was the most successful gentrification project of all the three. Regentrification means breaking down old structures in an area that has seen a sharp decline and replacing them with new buildings that meet high and current needs of the society (Palen, 1984). In this view, the city authorities of Liverpool was successful in converting a portion of the city to a modern retail hub. Their ability to handle all the requirements like compensation and meet high standards places them as one of the most exceptional and competent city planners. In Germany, the role of the big German companies in the development of the Potsdam Platz shows that a public-private partnership can provide good results in planning and implementing mega urban projects. In Korea, the Songdo project is to be built from the scratch. The planning involved little gentrification. However, the land reclamation success, which builds on the Dutch dyke system places the authorities in a calibre of competent planners. This confirms that the sophistication of each mega urban project confirms the abilities of the project authorities and stakeholders and their abilities to ensure democratic participation and stakeholder satisfaction and integration into the wider city process. The gentrification in these urban mega projects had an impact on the social and economic integration and polarization of the city. Littlefield reports that in Liverpool One areas, rent is usually 50% to 150% higher than it will be in other parts of Liverpool (2011). This means that it will invariably keep certain shop owners away from owning spaces in this vibrant part of the city. This will inevitably cause international and top class businesses to rent in the Liverpool One zone. Additionally, Liverpool One has several benefits that make business activities go faster than normal and most traders are able to recover their costs in a short period of time (Honeywell, 2011). This will lead to disparities between the local businesses and the Liverpool One businesses. The case is not also so different in Berlin. Potsdamer Platz is an important area to the nations economy. As such, rent is extremely higher (Koglin, 2009) and there are numerous laws that strictly prohibits uncompetitive practices of a global city (Koglin, 2009). This confirms the fact that the Potsdamer Platz is a place where the economic conditions are somewhat discriminatory and prevents alignment with other parts of Berlin. However, as a federal state, it appears that the significant differences are quite common. This is because there are huge disparities in neighbourhoods in Germany in general (Koglin, 2009). The situation of Songdo seems a bit different. The city is meant to be a typical world class city but with some consideration for people of all social and cultural classes (Weightman, 2011). Due to the fact that the city is being built from the scratch in a fairly isolated part of the city, the planners have built numerous housing units like residential communities, schools and hospitals to cater for the needs of families that will live in the city. So unlike Liverpool One and Potsdam Platz which are very commercial in outlook, Songdo International City seem to be considerate of the needs of its inhabitants and seeks to attract longer term international migrants who are to live according to Asian standards which are less expensive as the British and German standards. So in this wise, the Songdo project defies the traditional view that urban redevelopment projects are meant to be more commercial in nature and hence more expensive. Rather, the project authorities aim at balancing the needs of Asians like the Chinese who are used to low costs and the needs of people from relatively richer backgrounds like Americans and Europeans. Conclusion Mega urban projects are often meant to produce help a nation to attain its economic objectives and visions. However, these projects reflect the social, cultural and political trends in the society because there are interest groups and stakeholders whose views are incorporated into the planning and building processes. Normally, these projects are expensive and are commercially motivated. Due to that, rent in most of these areas of cities are higher than other parts of the city. The Liverpool One project was meant to provide world-class retail buildings in Liverpool. This was because the city centre was not appealing to the locals and foreigners who came to the community. As such, the project was commissioned to include high quality systems to promote efficiency and high standard in the community. The Liverpool One project was generally successful and it reflects the potentials of the planners in question. Additionally, the project has led to high costs of rent for tenants to reflect the commercial nature of most urban mega projects. The Potsdam Platz project was initiated by the Berlin city authorities under the advice and support of major German businesses. The project was executed by these two parties. It has been successful in transforming the area to one of the biggest commercial centres in Europe. The successes of the project confirms the abilities of the authorities. The Potsdam Platz is maintained with with tough regulations and rent is high like all other urban projects. In the case of Songdo International City, it was built from the scratch by a private investor under the auspices of the Korean government. The Korean government seeks to make Songdo an international business destination whilst the private investors seek to maximise profits. This has led to a bargain which has caused the building of a successful community. Unlike other urban mega projects, the Songdo International city is not purely profit oriented. It is meant to provide livelihoods for international workers. Thus, prices are relatively lower than Liverpool One and Potsdam Platz. This goes to show that the vision of a project and its location determines the economic demands placed on tenants. References Altshuler, A. & Luberoff, D. (2003) “The Changing Politics of Urban Mega-Projects” Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Journal Vol 15 No 4. Berlin.de (2012) Potsdamer Platz: Wall Tour – Changes to the City [Online] Available at: http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/bauen/wanderungen/en/s4_potsdamerplatz.shtml Accessed: 26th April, 2012. Brian, T. (1995) “Public Perceptions, Fiscal Realities & Freeway Planning” Journal of the American Planning Association 61 (1) 43 – 56. Couch, C. (2003) City of Change and Challenge Surrey: Ashgate Publishing. Foth, M. (2011) From Social Butterfly to Engaged Citizen: Urban Informatics and Social Media Boston, MA: MIT Press. 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