NEW TOWNS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Pascale Gaborit / Jukka Kullberg

NEW TOWNS AND TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT

In the 20th century, one attempted solution to real and perceived problems of large cities has
been the construction of small new urban areas, intended to redistribute population and
activities from the main cities.

Five different periods can be identified marking this phenomenon in the industrialized world:
From 1880 to 1920: urban development closely linked with industrial development and
identification of spaces
From 1920 to 1965: sub urbanization with the construction of large housing estates and
strict separation of spaces. It was also the time of the construction of garden cities and
New Towns in the United Kingdom.
From 1965 to 1985: peri-urbanization: the demographic growth then slowed down, with
the raise of individual houses and the change of location for businesses from the town to
the suburbs, thus increasing the spatial polarization. In this period the dream of garden
cities was tested with the creation of New Towns, in around metropolises in Finland, the
United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the Parisian Region in France, Sweden and Spain.
From 1985 to 2000: Change of relations between space and within regions: with the raise
of entertainment and cultural activities in old centres, gentrification of historic centres, the
marketing of places, and the competition between towns to become metropolises. From
this period on, territories, including New Towns are looking for their own identity to
position themselves in a competitive market and with 2 goals: to attract middle class
families with individual houses, and to attract businesses (employment, taxes)
From 2000: While the idea of large housing estates, is mainly questioned, some growth
poles are still designated in some countries, to allow the concentration of new housing
activities. Sustainability is emphasized, what means that transport/access and economic
development will be key policy issues as well.

NEW TOWNS AND SUSTAINABILITY

Whereas suburbs are usually associated with the idea of unsustainable development, the
planning approach of New Towns integrated the ideas of sustainability.

With the raise of urban sprawl and metropolises, New Towns have been created to prevent
anarchic urban development and answer to demographic growth. They were considered as
a planning option to alleviate the congestion of metropolitan areas, and a way to achieve
balanced territorial development.
In all New Towns the aim was to create good living and working environments. For
example residential areas were developed on the neighborhood principle and vehicular
and pedestrian traffic were separated to create safe environment. New Towns are often
referred to as green cities because they preserved green areas, lakes, and leisure areas
for inhabitants.
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The aim in New Towns was also to provide the inhabitants with all necessary services and
facilities, to offer job opportunities, to attract investment and to facilitate continuing
economic health. Efforts were made to achieve a balance of population in relation to age
groups, family structure and employment.

Allthough highly succesful, New Tows still face the many challenges associated with
sustainable development and urban regeneration. Aging infrastucture, environmental
preservation, and social exclusion are challenges and constraints shared by all New Towns
across Europe.

THE PRINCIPAL CHALLENGES

According to Richard Rogers a sustainable city is a compact city of neighbourhoods, a

diverse city, a city of easy contact, a well ordered yet an adaptable city, a city of economic
strength, an ecological city, a beautiful city, and a just city.

New Towns fulfil these requirements in many respects, but there still remains many
challenges to make them truly sustainable in ecological, social and economical terms. The
main challenges are to promote sustainable transport and reduce car dependance, to promote
socially balanced communities, and to promote economically healthy towns

Sustainable transport

Both in peripheries and in New Towns, the time was not sufficient enough to develop entirely
the transport traffic. In the best cases, the transports in the direction of the towns centres have
been developed. In New Towns, master plans of course took this problem into account, but the
budgets allocated to New Towns were not sufficient enough to solve all the problems.

In most cases, the transport lines which were built, remained lines between the centre of the
metropolises and the periphery with high speed trains and motorways, but forgot to create
railway and bus links between the periphery and the periphery. The growth of peri-urbanized
areas was blocked by such transport problems.

New Towns are examples of environment and quality of life: Low densities have not made it
easy for them to reduce urban travelling and use of private motor vehicles to economize on
space and energy. Urban densification, already undertaken in several New Towns, may be a
solution.

The contextual analysis made by the ENTP, in the framework of the NEWTASC project
emphasized the following: New Towns have very good access and connections with their
mother cities. However, in terms of local transportation, the connections and the facilities
have to be enhanced. The transports plans are aimed at reducing the use of private transports
and encourage public one. These initiatives are born because of the growth of local traffic.
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Socially balanced communities

The population was attracted by peri-urbanized areas because of the environment, and
because land prices were lower. New Towns especially tried to implement policies to keep the
middle class, by developing better housing and education services and they achieved their
goals in this area.

Buildings were designed for nuclear families. From a dynamic point of view the transport
issue had also an impact on family structures. The population needed individual cars and the
distance between the housing areas and the infrastructure was not facilitated. In the families of
peri-urbanized areas women are more entitled to stop working to care of their families,
whereas in old centres, it is easier to find leisure activities for children and kindergartens.

Nowadays authorities face two processes: the arrival of foreign migrants with large families
and poor income who need a decent housing, and the ageing of the population. This will ask
not only for policy strategies regarding the type of housing required in the future, but also on
the type of transport, service, leisure etc.

Economically healthy towns

Innovative poles, industries and links with universities are an asset for most of the New
Towns. Paradoxically, the image of quiet towns remains, while a range of governments
incentives made it possible to create business centers and employement poles.

New Towns attracted businesses by offering good infrastructures, tax cuts and facilities. They
created business parks and often specialized in new technologies and innovative economies.
Of course this is still difficult to compare the different economies of New Towns between
themselves. There are important differences: Some towns attracted more services economies,
and new technologies companies and other ones attracted logistic and transport companies,
because they have more space.

There are nowadays a range of actions, to promote the image of New Towns, and town
planners develop new ideas and concepts to make the New Towns more attractive in a
competitive environment. The challenge of New Towns in the future will be to facilitate a
good quality of living for inhabitants while still attracting businesses.

CONCLUSION

Over the last few years the British Local Government Improvement and Development Agency
has reviewed many local governments. With respect to old New Towns the overall
conclusion is that they are ambitious, innovative and good in involving the community.
However, the main challenge is what was called in the case of Stevenage the reinvention of
the New Town mindset. This reinvention should be targeted on the development of an outside
focus by determining the New Towns position and potential role in the wider region. This
perfectly fits into the present European regional development challenge to further improve
polycentric urban networks. Thus what is important in for the present New Town planning
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task is to integrate intra-regional activities both spatially, functionally as well as economically

in such way that the various cities and towns in the given polycentric urban network maintain
their own integrity, uniqueness and character independent from the central metropolis. Each
city and New Town must be allowed to play different roles and functions, and yet it should be
region-widely integrated.

There is a main difference between peri-urbanized areas and New Towns, which are that the
latter result from a well thought planning approach. If New Towns were considered in the past
as a planned solution to solve the demographic growth, the role of New Towns to provide new
housing supply has ended in Western Europe.

The challenges that New Towns are now facing are to consolidate and realign the urban
spatial structure (and have urban regeneration in derelict areas), as well as to accommodate
changes in the population structures and lifestyles.

In a more global environment, what are the chances of peri-urbanized areas and of New
Towns: Becoming real cities, waiting for the next decades to see if the community feeling has
developed with the creation of new infrastructures?

The answers are probably to included in the Copenhagen charter of cities 2002 and more
specifically applied to the peri-urbanized:

1. To use the forces of globalization constructively by assessing the local potential in the
global economy and integrating this into strategies for urban and regional development
2. Use regional and urban identity as the starting point in adapting to global changes
3. To develop an integrated perspective on urban and regional policy by promoting the role
of towns and polycentric urban patterns
4. Coordinate strategies and promote partnerships
5. Develop long term perspective, creativity and culture
6. Create diverse and creative living and working environments in all urban district
7. Enhance integration
8. To strengthen opportunities and empower local actions.