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Learning rom Europe on eco-towns
Eco-Town Report
Main menuClick on chapters below
Executive Summary
1 Introduction:Learning from Europe on eco-towns
2 The Context:The context eco-cities and eco-towns
The Challenges:The objectives for eco-towns
4 Case studies:The case studies and the key steps
5 Learning:Learning from the case studies
6 Skills:Developing new skills for
eco-communities
7 Conclusions:Investment, recommendations
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Executive SummaryLearning rom Europe on eco-towns
Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
The British governments recent Eco-town
Programme represents a challenge in the
way we develop new housing and new
communities in the United Kingdom. The
programme seeks to address the principles o
sustainable development, build sustainable
communities and achieve sustainable living
through new urban developments and
expansions. It seeks to balance smarter
land use, housing construction, access topublic transport and local work; with social
integration and principles o social inclusion
and aordability. State-o-the-art green
building, energy and transport technologies
and materials are to be used in an urban
development context. The task is to ensure
zero-carbon housing and that energy
eiciencies are achieved through waste
reduction, energy conservation technologies
and use o more sustainable sources o
energy. Eco-towns are to be the communitieso the uture.
The search or a more sustainable way o
lie is not new but a new momentum o
interest is currently spreading across Europe.
The Bristol Accord (ODPM, 2005), agreed by
the European Union twenty-seven member
states in 2005, established the undamental
concepts o sustainable communities and
there has been an increasing interest and
commitment to a new European strategy,
as well as new national programmes. Eco-
towns are one example o sustainable
communities and in the United Kingdom, the
eco-town programme is as important as the
garden cities and new towns programmes.
An important starting point has to be the
need to avoid the same mistakes we made in
the rush to build ity years ago and to learn
rom the more successul examples in Europe
and elsewhere in the world.
In the United Kingdom, the criteria or eco-
towns, as set in the Eco-towns Prospectus
(DCLG, 2007a) are:
eco-towns must be new settlements,
separate and distinct rom existing towns
but well linked to them. They are additional
to existing plans, with a minimum target o
5,000 homes
the development as a whole should reach
zero-carbon standards, and each town is to
be an exemplar in at least one area o
environmental sustainability
eco-town proposals should provide or a
good range o acilities within the town
a secondary school, a medium-scale retail
centre, good quality business space and
leisure acilities
aordable housing should make up
between thirty and ity per cent o the
total housing stock through a wide rangeand distribution o tenures in mixed
communities, with a particular emphasis
on larger amily homes
a management body is to be created which
will help develop the town, provide support
or businesses and people moving to the
new community, co-ordinate delivery o
services and manage acilities.
2
> Executive Summary
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1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
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Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
This report examines the evidence rom
the most advanced eco-towns and cities in
the European Union and reports on much
larger developments in Asia at city level,
particularly Chinas ambitions. In Europe, the
report examines the challenges which have
arisen and the learning and skills issues which
need to be understood by eco-town builders
by using the our Cs ramework o the
Cambridge Quality Charter or Growth:Climate
Connectivity
Community
Character
Across each o the our Cs, perhaps the
most important ingredients relevant to the
success o eco-towns are partnership and
collaboration. I the new eco-towns can
make rapid progress on the our Cs, it will
greatly assist the skills challenge ahead.
Chapter 4 presents individual case studies
and lessons arising rom Europe and Asia:
Amersfoort, the Netherlands
Freiburg, Germany
Hammarby Sjstad, Sweden
Zaragoza, Spain
Dongtan, China
European eco-towns have beneited rom
strong local authorities, deeply committed
to the sustainable development agenda
over a long period. In Sweden, Germany
and the Netherlands, there is over twenty-
ive years o experience in developing eco-
living strategies, and stronger evidence o
achievement in environmental goals and
objectives. In Spain and China there is a
renewed commitment to eco-town and city
experiments. In Chapter 4 we examine in
detail case studies that are generally recognised
as leading examples o eco-towns or cities,
however, many communities and cities aroundthe world are already beginning to ollow in
the ootsteps o these pioneering places.
Chapter 5examines the lessons rom the case
studies and argues that there are seven steps
to successul eco-town developments which
need to be addressed in the period ahead:
Locating growth
Agreeing development rameworks
Drawing up master plansOrchestrating inrastructure
Selling plots to builders and corporations
Building to higher standards
Fostering new communities
The report presents the case or a European
learning programme and or all the potential
sites in England to participate in a learning
community which brings together public,
private and voluntary sector stakeholders.As part o the new dialogue that needs
to take place, the successul sites or new
eco-communities will, or example, all need
community inormation centres or eco-living,
Amersoort, the
Netherlands.
Zaragoza, Spain.Hammarby Sjstad,
Sweden.
Freiburg, Germany. Dongtan, China.
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Executive SummaryLearning rom Europe on eco-towns> Executive Summary
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like that o the Glasshouse in Hammarby
Sjstad in Sweden. They will need to
investigate the economics o green-building,
wind and solar energy and new carbon-
saving technologies.
Chapter 6 begins to address the new skills
that are required or building and sustaining
eco-towns and communities. The European
case studies bring out the main indingsrom these more advanced eco-towns and
highlight that skills are required in leadership,
entrepreneurship, building consensus,
negotiating, inancial management,
partnership working, conlict resolution,
breakthrough thinking as well as newer
green skills or applying the new green-
building and environmental technologies.
The report concludes in Chapter 7 that
a work programme is needed or the nextthree years which learns more rom this
earlier European experience, seeks to build
UK capacity, and brings together the public
and private stakeholders to harness a
successul eco-towns programme. Planners
and architects must be active co-ordinators
and negotiators who can work across many
sectors and boundaries particularly land,
transport, waste, energy, green-building
and construction, and green business
development.
The report recommends that national,
regional and local agencies and organisations
work together to develop an Eco-town
Learning Capacity Building Programme to
build the skills o those proessionals tasked
with delivering the UK eco-town programme.
The European Commission can be asked to
join the initiative and accelerate collaboration
across Europe.
The study o the European case studies
has yielded important lessons or the British
eco-town programme both in terms o the
process and methods ollowed to conceive,
implement and deliver successul eco-town
projects. The case studies also provide an
indication o the skills required o those
proessionals engaged in the challenge
o delivering these eco-towns.
The our Cs ramework o analysis has
identiied a irst set o conclusions on
engaging with the concept and delivery
o eco-towns, and this broadly ollows
our key themes:
building in the right places
working with and or the local community
implementing proven ways o saving
natural resources
creating comortable and appealing places.
The kinds o skills that are needed to build
a new generation o eco-towns mean that
there is no alternative to learning by doing.
Together with the technical skills required, a
number o generic skills have been broadly
identiied as being essential in the successul
delivery o British eco-towns. These are in
the areas o: breakthrough thinking, analysis
and decision making; partnership workingand conlict resolution; negotiating inance
and stakeholder management; green skills
and applying new green technologies; and
managing change, leadership and community
engagement. It should be possible to provide
the space needed or people to learn new
skills as well as enabling organisations
to proceed down the learning curve. In
learning to work better together and crossing
proessional and sectorial boundaries, a
number o actions are called or, particularly
Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
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Executive SummaryLearning rom Europe on eco-towns> Executive Summary
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Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
in the localities that are seeking to implement
eco-towns that go ar beyond standard practice.
An Eco-towns Learning Capacity Building
Programme needs to be developed to:
incentivise local authorities and city regions
to build learning capacity
support leadership development in localities
develop key sta and create a common
purpose in teams
build local project teams and develop team-
building expertise on a cross-boundary and
interdisciplinary basis
share experience and encourage
collaboration across Europe and globally
sharpen inancial and green business
development skills
create awareness o zero-carbon
and green technologies.
The report recommends that local learning
networks should be established to bring
stakeholders together and put them in touch
with others who are also at the leading edge
o innovation. Partnership unding could be
sought rom partnerships with universities,
regional development agencies and key
learning institutions to devise and und a
capacity building programme.
Key national agencies engaged in theeco-town agenda should:
promote more European exchanges
develop eco-town city management
programmes
support looking and learning workshops
develop key themes and projects and key
interpretation centres
build on European and international
best practice
bring those proessionals working within
eco-town localities together to share
experiences on a national scale.
Local authorities engaged in eco-town
development also have a role to:
promote more European exchanges
and apply European and international
best practice
actively engage with looking and learning
workshops by participation
develop eco-town city management
programmes
accelerate investment in the inrastructures
or environmentally sound local economies.
Executive SummaryLearning rom Europe on eco-towns> Executive Summary
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1.1 IntroductionEco-cities, eco-towns and eco-communities1
are now a priority or the United Kingdom. On
4 November 2008, Housing Minister Margaret
Beckett MP launched the second stage o the
eco-town consultation programmewith the
publication o a number o key documents
aimed at making sure that eco-towns are well
designed and built to the highest possible
environmental standards. The search or a moresustainable way o living and the promotion o
the environment and sustainable development
has intensiied since the publication o the
Stern Review (Stern 2006), which stressed
that climate change will aect everyone. The
dilemma is balancing the dierent acets o
urban development including new housing,
transport, energy and social inrastructure with
the promotion o social cohesion and citizenship.
Sustaining the viability o cities and city centres
also has to be achieved whilst giving more
weight to environmental actors and the
saeguarding o natural resources, including our
urban and rural heritage. This means we have to
develop new models o urban living i we are to
promote more sustainable development. This is
increasingly recognised as a key priority, both in
the United Kingdom and in Europe. TheBristol
Accord (ODPM 2005) and the Sustainable
Communities Agenda (DEFRA 2006) ocused
attention on European ambitions or sustainablecommunities. The climate change agenda is
also promoting renewed interest in the need to
build new communities at neighbourhood, town
and city levels, which apply the most advanced
approaches to sustainable living.
In England, eco-towns are to be new small
towns o 5,000-20,000 houses that will be
built using the best techniques in design,
architecture and planning. This is in order to
exploit the potential or creating completely
new settlements that achieve zero carbon
development and allow or more sustainable
living. This process is spawning interest in the
concept throughout Europe and is also now
being adopted in the United States, the Middle
East, China and elsewhere in Asia. One should
be aware that the scale o the eco-cities being
proposed, in China or example, is ar abovethat o the UK examples.
This short report examines places in Europe
and the emerging examples in China that
are leading the way in applying eco-town
principles. It seeks to identiy the skills that
are required to turn eco-principles into best
practice and to transer good practice rom
places that are currently in the lead in Europe
to the UK. The report deals with the challenges
and responses, beore identiying how totackle the skills issues. The recommendations
will support HCA Academy to lead and
coordinate the activity o others in the sector
and set out learning that can inluence and
shape activity in the UK on eco-towns.
The report concludes with some simple
recommendations to help support the change
makers in a UK context.
It argues or much greater European exchange
and collaboration to drive the eco-town
development process in the UK over the
next three years.
1Terminology has not been clariied or the UK and in Europe a number o terminologies exist. In this report, we consolidateterminologies at three spatial levels: eco-cities reers to developments larger in size than the DCLG deinition o 5,000-15,000homes, and eco-community is a term used in this report to relect the lower tier in urban geography, namely that o aneighbourhood or a group o neighbourhoods.
Introduction:Learning rom Europe on eco-towns1> 1.1 Introduction
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1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
> 1.2 Methodology
http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/housing/1030523http://www.occ.gov.uk/activities/stern.htmhttp://www.ascskills.org.uk/pages/international/The-Bristol-Accordhttp://www.ascskills.org.uk/pages/international/The-Bristol-Accordhttp://www.ascskills.org.uk/pages/international/The-Bristol-Accordhttp://www.ascskills.org.uk/pages/international/The-Bristol-Accordhttp://www.occ.gov.uk/activities/stern.htmhttp://www.communities.gov.uk/news/housing/1030523 -
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Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
>1.2 Methodology
What is an eco-city?
A Green City, or eco-city, is an ecologicallyhealthy city. No such city presently exists.
We do, however, see hints o Green Cities
emerging in todays solar, wind and recycling
technologies, in green buildings and
green businesses, in urban environmental
restoration projects, urban gardening and
organic arming, and in individuals using oot,
bicycle and public modes o transportation
in preerence to the automobile. Car-ree
urban centres, mixed-use and balanced
development projects represent land use
and architectural changes moving in the right
direction, too.
But despite such positive signs and eorts,
the much larger trend around the world is
toward cars and sprawl. And now we areat a point o crisis in the way we live, which
is largely determined by the way we build.
This continuing trend is promoting global
warming, species extinction, loss o habitat
and agricultural land, serious public health
problems and even war.
The alternate approach calls or urban
diversity at close proximity, instead o
scattered uniormity. It calls or land uses,
architecture and a steadily and rapidly
growing inrastructure or pedestrians,
bicyclists and transit.
1.2 MethodologyIn Europe and globally, we begin to explore the
concept o UK eco-towns and eco-town issuesin relation to a set o chosen case studies o
successul and step change interventions. Our
irst challenge has been relating existing activity
outside the UK to the concept or the UK eco-
towns as deined in theEco-towns Prospectus.
Whilst there are many similarities between
activity proposed in the UK and existing
examples outside the UK, there are also many
dierences. For instance, the concepts o
sustainable communities and social inclusionare stronger in the Zaragoza and Amersfoort
contexts than in Hammarby Sjstad.
Aordability is important in theZaragoza
example, whilst generating uel and energy
rom waste is more advanced in Hammarby.
The case studies have thus been chosen in
relation to the ollowing criteria:
Replicability. The biggest emphasis was given
to relating successul European eco-towns to
the reality o towns and cities beyond the
proposed iteen sites. For example:
Freiburgcorresponds to a typical British
middle-sized university town;Hammarby is associated with a capital city
lagship development, which has links to
Zaragoza, Spain.
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1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
>1.1 Introduction
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/ecotowns.pdfhttp://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/ecotowns.pdfhttp://showcase.ascskills.org.uk/CaseStudies/zaragosa/Overview/Default.aspxhttp://www.communities.gov.uk/news/housing/1030523http://showcase.ascskills.org.uk/CaseStudies/Hammarby/Overview/Default.aspxhttp://showcase.ascskills.org.uk/CaseStudies/zaragosa/Overview/Default.aspxhttp://showcase.ascskills.org.uk/CaseStudies/Hammarby/Overview/Default.aspxhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-freiburg-germany.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-hammarby-sjstad-sweden.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-hammarby-sjstad-sweden.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-freiburg-germany.html#overviewhttp://showcase.ascskills.org.uk/CaseStudies/Hammarby/Overview/Default.aspxhttp://showcase.ascskills.org.uk/CaseStudies/zaragosa/Overview/Default.aspxhttp://showcase.ascskills.org.uk/CaseStudies/Hammarby/Overview/Default.aspxhttp://www.communities.gov.uk/news/housing/1030523http://showcase.ascskills.org.uk/CaseStudies/zaragosa/Overview/Default.aspxhttp://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/ecotowns.pdf -
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Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
>1.2 Methodology
sports (similar to Londons 2012 Olympiad
proposals);
Zaragoza, being a typical regional capital,
seeks to address issues o cohesion, social
integration and most importantly aordability
in its housing provision. This relates to UK cities
with strong cultural and industrial heritages,
such as Glasgow, Manchester or Leeds.
Reliability. It was seen as preerable or case
studies to have been lived in or tried and
tested, as this would provide the best set o
lessons or the UK perspective, particularly an
improved and more rounded understanding o
the skills needed.
Pioneering thinking. A balance was sought
between well known and more documented
examples o success within the latest thinking
on eco-town development. Oten, more
recent case studies presented the challenge o
having a less detailed account, as work is still
underway, and a good example o this is the
Dongtan eco-city in China.
Analysis has been based on the conceptual
ramework o the Cambridge Growth Chartersour Cs as this provides a practical model or
conveying the variety o issues associated with
each individual theme (climate, community,
connectivity and character). The narrative aims
to draw on debate to date and urther open
the dialogue that needs to take place in a UK
context in order to deliver successul eco-towns.
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1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
>1.1 Introduction
http://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-zaragoza-spain.html#overviewhttp://showcase.ascskills.org.uk/CaseStudies/Dongtan/Overview/Default.aspxhttp://www.urbed.com/cgi-bin/get_binary_doc_object.cgi?doc_id=275&fname=extra_pdf_6.pdfhttp://www.urbed.com/cgi-bin/get_binary_doc_object.cgi?doc_id=275&fname=extra_pdf_6.pdfhttp://showcase.ascskills.org.uk/CaseStudies/Dongtan/Overview/Default.aspxhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-zaragoza-spain.html#overview -
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The context:Eco-cities and eco-towns
Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
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2Main Findings
House building rates and environmental
standards in Europe have been much
higher than in the UK over the last
couple o decades.
This research draws on case studies
that are generally recognised as
leading examples and that, or themost part, have already been
documented by a range o
commentators.
Though the national context diers,
there are similarities in the approach
taken in Europe, and also in China, in
the way public, and in particular local
authorities, are leading the way.
What is unique to the UK is the
attempt to create large ree-standingsettlements, like the earlier New Town
programme; hence international
experience is relevant.
2.1 IntroductionERBEDU started with a European overview,
having reported on the progress o
sustainable communities or the European
Parliament (EP 2007), and URBED reviewed
experience o regeneration in dierent
European countries through a project unded
by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation ( JRF
2008). Researchers identiied the leading
edge examples o new communities throughstudy tours and European appraisal. ERBEDU
and URBED then selected a number o case
study localities that appeared to be at
the oreront o eorts to cut energy use,
develop zero carbon liestyles and build
eco-communities as urban extensions.
In the Netherlands, the study ocussed
on new settlements around the historic
town o Amersfoortin the Randstadt region
(equivalent to Greater London and its
surrounds), which was one o eighteen
localities to respond to the challenge o
the Dutch governments Vinex
Growth programme.
> 2.1 Introduction
Hammarby Sjstad, Sweden.
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1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
>2.2 Contextual differences and simlarities >2.3 Conclusion
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Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
> 2.2 Contextual dierences and similarities
In Germany the urban extensions o Vauban
and Rieseleld in Freiburg in South West
Germany have been chosen. Though similar
projects can also be ound in other German
university cities like Tubingen, Freiburg isregarded as a pioneer in solar energy.
In Sweden, the case study o the major
development in HammarbySjstad,
Stockholm has been chosen. There are
similar projects in Sweden, like the Norra
Alvstraden (meaning Northern Riverside)
in Gothenberg and Malm.
In Spain the report has drawn on Zaragoza,
where Ecociudad Valdespartera is being
developed as a major eco-city. In2008-2009, Zaragoza will host the Expo
Zaragoza2008 with a water and sustainable
development theme.
In China the ocus is on recent developments
in Dongtan and the agreement with Arup to
build the irst o ive Chinese eco-cities.
Other Asian and Middle East examples are
developing these ideas, the latest o which is
the Masdar City scheme or Abu Dhabi and
one in the making or Pune, India. The task
here is applied to larger eco-cities rather than
the smaller UK eco-towns. Given the scale
and population o these world cities, energy
and environmental management are
becoming the key to achieving sustainable
development goals and demand a dierent
scale o new urban planning.
2.2 Contextual dierencesand similaritiesThe ive countries have very dierent
histories and ways o lie, but are similarin the way they are seeking to tackle the
building o sustainable communities, even
though their institutions and unding regimes
dier or example:
The Chinese example operates with a high
level o state control
Germany and Spain are ederal states and
regional government plays a key role
Sweden and the Netherlands both have
monarchies and are classiied as liberaldemocracies with high levels o tax
In all ive o the case studies, the local
authorities are playing a strong proactive
role in place-making.
In the United Kingdom, the more
individualistic and adversarial culture is still
much more inluenced by practice in the
USA (the evidence is set out in the literature
review inRegeneration in European Cities,JRF 2008). This ails to create the necessary
dynamism and integration o the key
proessions in the built environment and
doesnt bring together the wider layer o
stakeholders e.g. in energy, waste, transport
companies, agencies and community
development which are oten included rom
the start in the European case studies.
The European cases display a higher degree
o collaboration between the public and
corporate sectors. The beneits o greater
collaboration are that less time is spent in
abortive projects, the private sector can
invest with greater conidence and less risk,
and the dierent elements in a development
can be joined-up with greater synergy.
British experts who have made European
comparisons, such as Proessor Michael
Parkinson (Parkinson 2007), have noticedsimilarities or example, in the respect
paid to technical education and to positiveAmersoort, the Netherlands.
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1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
2.1 Introduction > 2.3 Conclusion
http://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-freiburg-germany.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-freiburg-germany.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-hammarby-sjstad-sweden.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-zaragoza-spain.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-zaragoza-spain.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-zaragoza-spain.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-dongtan-china.html#overviewhttp://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/eBooks/2177-regeneration-urban-environment.pdfhttp://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/eBooks/2177-regeneration-urban-environment.pdfhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-dongtan-china.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-zaragoza-spain.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-zaragoza-spain.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-zaragoza-spain.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-hammarby-sjstad-sweden.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-freiburg-germany.html#overviewhttp://showcase.hcaacademy.co.uk/case-study/ecotowns-freiburg-germany.html#overview -
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Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
11
planning which helps to explain some
European cities economic success. Others
have suggested that, elsewhere in Europe,
government is not so centralised and regional
governments and local authorities have
more control over the destinies o the places
they administer, as in Germany and Spain.
In the European examples, localities also
have to deal with less industrial dereliction.
Geographic proximity in Northern Europe has
been reinorced by ast public transport links
and active participation in the European Union
and, or instance, eager participation in its
energy and environmental programmes.
The German and Dutch advances in transport
planning and inrastructure are now spreading
to other European countries such as Spain.
They have not tended to look to the USA
or inspiration, as in the UK, even though it
is common or their planners to be luent
in English. What is being suggested in this
report is that much greater attention needs
to be paid to the exchange o best practice
in Europe and in the EU27 (the European
Unions 27 Member States) something thathas been recognised by the HCA Academy
and the European Urban Knowledge Network
(EUKN) in 2008.
The search or European examples also led to
the examination o progress in Asia and the
USA. China has recently committed itsel to
the eco-city concept and there is also strong
interest in states like Caliornia in the USA
and in cities such as Seattle. In all o theselocalities, local and regional authorities are
seeking to lead the way in developing new
techniques and urban planning concepts to
apply to the eco-town approach. All have
lessons that need to be shared with eco-
town localities in the United Kingdom.
>2.3 Conclusion
2.3 ConclusionIn the UK, government ministers have
announced that all new UK homes will
be zero carbon by 2016 (DCLG 2008b).English Partnerships has a lagship zero-
carbon homes programme underway, and
plans or new eco-towns will be tested
through the new regional spatial strategies
which regional development agencies
(RDAs) have to bring orward rom 2009,
alongside local development rameworks
rom local authorities. These experiences
could help in reducing risks and speeding
up implementation.
Signiicantly, the governments strategy is
to create ree-standing new towns o at least
5,000 homes, which makes it diicult to ind
precedents. The aims are very ambitious
and the altering progress o some o the
Millennium Villages programme (DCLG 1999)
suggests an urgent need to ace up to the
obstacles and not be overconident about
what planning can deliver on its own.
Here, the eco-towns programmes will need
to examine the experience rom Europe and
internationally, and build missing skills in the
UK. This report provides a contribution to
that process.
Next >Main menu< Back
1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
>2.1 Introduction >2.2 Contextual differences and similarities
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Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
3.1 Building capacityEco-towns are to pilot new thinking and
advanced technologies that will eventually
become standard i we are to build new
communities which will stand the test o time
and climate change. The Callcutt Review on
Housing Delivery (Callcutt, 2007) reers to
Britain leaprogging the rest o Europe and
this idea is already generating considerable
controversy, as inevitably it involves building
on some greenield sites and locations where
there is little inrastructure. The minister or
local government has called or Lietime
Neighbourhoods and there is a new stress
on changing resistant behaviour in both the
United Kingdom and Europe (see Caroline
Flints speech at Ecobuild 2008 conerence
London 27th Feb 2008)F.
Case studies o leading edge mixed
communities orEnglish Partnerships and the
Housing Corporation show that even the best
examples still suer rom operating problems(URBED, 2008). The rate o building in the UK
has been much slower than on the European
continent and has been too slow to make any
impact on aordability. Visitors to European
success stories have been impressed by the
way that investment in physical and social
inrastructures has preceded, not ollowed,
the new housing.
As well as the designated eco-towns,
many other communities and cities will beseeking to uture-proo developmentsand working to create communities thatare truly sustainable. In doing so, many
will be conused over where to turn or
inspiration and how to make sense o a
barrage o competing concepts, rom One
Planet Living and environmental ootprints
to carbon budgets and water cycles (Rudlin,
1999). In particular, politicians, planners and
developers need to know how to overcome
the scepticism that greets the suggestion
The challenges or eco-towns3
Main Findings
The complex objectives make it important
to have a simple, comprehensive
ramework which needs to cover both the
process looking separately at vision,
strategy, inance and management and
also the product in terms o the our Cs
(connectivity, climate, community and
character), into which the governmentsobjectives conveniently it.
The issues involved in climate-prooing
require changing consumer behaviour, as
well as the use o environmental
technologies such as Combined Heat and
Power (CHP) to save energy and
Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUDs) to save
water, plus separation and recycling o
waste and strong public transport planning.
Connectivity requires good links with jobs
and services, as well as cycling and walking
being given primacy at the local level.
Community involves providing social capital
early in the process to enable mixed
communities to develop and succeed,particularly where higher densities are
involved. The social enterprise and third
sector role and participation need to grow.
Character involves creating distinctive
neighbourhoods that look like somewhere,
rather than anywhere, and which
contribute to a strong local identity.
12
>3.1 Building capacity
Next >Main menu< Back
1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
> 3.2 Climate > 3.3 Connectivity > 3.4 Community>3.5 Character > 3.6 Conclusion
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13
>3.1 Building capacity
that during the 21st century behaviour and
liestyles have to change. There are plenty o
books and articles about the need or a step
change, but limited practical advice on how
to turn visions into reality.
The prospectus published by the Town and
Country Planning Association (TCPA), and the
subsequent worksheets begin to go some
way in elaborating on these concepts. The
prospectus discusses the need to understand
the lessons and assess their transerability
Figure 1: The concept o the
Four Cs and UK eco-towns
Climate
Connectivity Community
Character
UK ECO-TOWNSand the FOUR Cs
Energy (e.g. Combined Heat and Power;
solar & wind power; eicient systems)
Water (minimisation o use; recycling;
re-using)Environment (consideration o eects o
climate change: prevention and
adaptation e.g. drainage and looding)
Planning or a low-carbon ootprint
Low-environmental
Employment opportunities
Access to jobs
Technology as the driver or rethinkingaccess and liestyles related to
employment
Transport
Eective public transport and links
(including adequate subsidised services)
Changing attitudes e.g. minimising use
o the car through encouraging car-
sharing and use o bicycles
Services
Good access to services Quality o service provision
Social mix (30%-50% aordable
housing; proessionals and highly
skilled)
Embedding sustainable community
principles
Governance (local democracy; citizen
empowerment, participation and
accountability)
Delivery organisation (joined-up
management across business and
community interests, social enterprise
and third sector capability)
Place-making
New design and high design standards
Attractiveness and desirability
Investment
Locally-based facilities
Next >Main menu< Back
1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
> 3.2 Climate > 3.3 Connectivity > 3.4 Community
>3.5 Character > 3.6 Conclusion
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UK Eco-towns and the Four Cs
In England, eco-towns are to be new small towns o 5,000-20,000 houses that will bebuilt using the best techniques in design, architecture and planning. This is in order toexploit the potential or creating completely new settlements that achieve zero carbondevelopment and allow or more sustainable living.
The key eatures to achieve are:i. places with a separate and distinct identity but good links to surrounding towns andcities in terms o jobs, transport and services CONNECTIVITY / CHARACTER
ii.the development as a whole to be carbon-neutral and to be an exemplar in at leastone area o environment technology CLIMATE
iii. a good range o acilities within the town including a secondary school, shops,business space and leisure acilities COMMUNITY / CHARACTER
iv. between 30-50 % aordable housing with a good mix o tenure and size o homesin mixed communities COMMUNITY
v. a delivery organisation to manage the town and its development as well asproviding support or people, businesses and community services COMMUNITY
rom examples in the UK and overseas.
The initial worksheets highlight the need
to learn rom Europe in particular, with a
headline in Planning magazine Eco-towns
to shift transport paradigm, or example,
with regard to giving pedestrians and
cyclists priority (Planning, 2008). Further to
this, HCA Academy and the TCPA ran eight
regional seminars to generate awareness
and understanding o the governments
eco-towns initiative and the skills required
to deliver it. The seminars have begun to
generate the debate needed in the UK and
this report has drawn learning rom some o
these key seminars.
Because there are dozens o actors to
consider in assessing proposals, there is a
need or a simple ramework or organising
inormation and learning. Having considered
the main themes set out in the governments
eco-towns prospectus and the importance
o giving equal weight to social, economicand environmental considerations, we
have used a ramework or analysing case
studies that has already proven its worth in
Cambridgeshire, where one o the potential
demonstration projects, Northstowe, is
located. The ramework considers both the
process and the product. The process is
broken down into our main steps, which
emerged rom research into the renaissance
o twenty-our towns and cities in the
UK (DCLG, 2002). These are vision (and
Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
>3.1 Building capacity
Hammarby Sjstad, Sweden.
Next >Main menu< Back
1.Intro 2.Context 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions3.Challenges
> 3.2 Climate > 3.3 Connectivity > 3.4 Community
>3.5 Character > 3.6 Conclusion
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the closely related topic o community
engagement), strategy, inance, and the
management needed to maintain the
momentum which together enable the
public, private and voluntary sectors to work
in collaboration. Case studies in Chapter 4
highlight exemplary achievements o the
successul application o these main steps in
instances deemed to exceed the UK norm.
The product or outcomes need to
be considered in their context (both
geographical, historical, and including the size
and prosperity o the location). It can also beanalysed in terms o what we reer to as the
our Cs (connectivity, climate, community
and character), as used in the Cambridge
Growth Charter (which in turn draws
on inspiration rom the Charter for New
Urbanism in the USA and the New Zealand
Design Protocol). These terms tie in with
the themes in the Eco-towns Prospectus,
but orm convenient shorthand. Figure 1
illustrates some o these connections, with
examples across each o the our Cs.
Eco-towns will develop the
ollowing outcomes:
environmental technologies
high design standards
travel plans promoting public transport
community empowerment and
community assets
economic strategies based on local workhealthy and sustainable environments
green inrastructures.
3.2 ClimateThe basic concept o an eco-town involves
changing consumer behaviour (as mentioned
in statements by Henry Cleary, Head o the
Growth Areas Division, DCLG and Caroline
Flint MP). It requires reductions in theconsumption o energy, water and materials
rom non-renewable sources. In a home
built to current regulations, space heating
accounts or only 3% o carbon emissions,
compared with 13% or waste and 18% or
personal transport. Food produced ar away
is one o the worst oenders. As Pooran
Desai, Sustainability Director or developer
Bioregional Quintain Ltd, has commented:
We cannot think simply of building new
eco-homes. It wont in itself save much
carbon. Instead we must build places
where is it easy to lead an eco-friendly
lifestyle; places where it is easy to walk
and cycle; places that are far less car-dependent, where it is easy to recycle
and where we have ready access to local,
seasonal organic produce.(Desai, 2007).
While there have been considerable
technological advances in building green
homes, attempts to apply them in the UK
on any scale have not yet materialised
through inancial and technical diiculties:
or example, the introduction o Combined
Heat and Power (CHP) plants have experienced
some technical problems and have ailed
in certain areas because the process was
deemed uneconomic. In Germany, or
comparison, greater success appears to have
been achieved where the Feed-in Tari
provides incentives or local generation; solar
power produces twenty times the energy;
and, by 2020, it is planned that each unit o
GDP will require hal the energy consumed
in 1990.
Similarly, Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems
(SUDS) have been implemented attractively in
a number o schemes in the UK, but in some
instances builders have ailed to get the levels
right resulting in ongoing problems with litter
cluttering up drainage ditches. Considerable
eorts have been made to promote the use
o local energy generation but there have
been reported disagreements over whether
their introduction will deter house-buildersrom paying the land values needed to make
Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
> 3.2 Climate
Next >Main menu< Back
1.Intro 2.Context 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions3.Challenges
> 3.3 Connectivity > 3.4 Community
>3.5 Character > 3.6 Conclusion
> 3.1 Building capacity
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development viable. Attempts to pioneer
new ways o living in the UK have produced
surprisingly ew true eco-homes to date.
Common problems to be overcome include:
making new technology inancially viable
and attractive to home buyers
persuading house-builders and developers
to invest in Modern Methods of Construction
securing support rom the utility companies
or co-generation and green energy schemes
achieving critical mass.
The eco-town programme will need tostudy the UK experience in light o European
achievements and experiences in this area.
HCA AcademyS demystiying climate change
tool is a good step orward in this area
3.3 ConnectivityHaving well-built homes would still not
achieve the aims o eco-towns i residents
used their cars as much as they currently do
in the UK. As high-quality public transportsystems are expensive to install and operate,
much depends on situating new communities
in locations that already have a good basic
inrastructure and that are close to sources o
jobs and services. We have seen some o the
diiculties or cities like Leeds in obtaining
national support or light rail transport
investments and the need or much greater
investment in light rail projects, or example.
Problems to be overcome include:
securing good public transport in advance o
residents moving in
securing inance or public transport and
encouraging public transport authorities and
private companies to work with the local
authorities at city-region level
dealing with parking and encouraging use o
public transport
encouraging walking and cycling or
shorter trips
setting targets or modal changes
access to local jobs
securing coordination with retail and leisure
investors plus employers who need to
develop transport plans.
3.4 CommunityThere is growing agreement that social
inrastructure and social capital are as
important as physical inrastructure in
enabling mixed communities to develop and
succeed. This is particularly important where
there are relatively high densities that depend
on sharing communal space. The Town
and Country Planning Association (TCPA)
and the Development Trust Association
(DTA) have produced clear guides to thesocial inrastructure that is required, but
there are major problems in securing the
necessary agreements in advance o a
community moving in. I service charges and
management arrangements are not resolved
at the time when development agreements
are drawn up the quality o lie will suer,
with conlicts arising between owner-
occupiers and those in rented accommodation
(URBED 2007 a/b). Also, subsequent
residents may object to what is being done i
the basic principles o the master plan are not
clearly communicated.
Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
> 3.3 Connectivity > 3.4 Community
Freiburg, Germany.
Next >Main menu< Back
1.Intro 2.Context 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions3.Challenges
> 3.2 Climate
>3.5 Character > 3.6 Conclusion
> 3.1 Building capacity
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Common problems include:
providing basic shops and services on time
delivering services or children and
young people
avoiding and dealing with anti-social
behaviour
providing well looked-ater public spaces
bringing communities together and tackling
social cohesion.
3.5 CharacterThe area that has received most attention,
in part due to the eorts o the Commission
or Architecture and the Built Environment
(CABE), is the design or appearance o new
communities. Eco-towns are intended to
have recognisable identities or their dierent
neighbourhoods. Complaints have been
made about the standard products that the
volume house-builders mostly build. The
greatest criticisms in the audits carried out
or CABE have been made o suburbandevelopments carried out by a consortium
o house-builders. In the UK, unlike the rest
o Europe, small builders ind it very hard to
obtain sites because house-builders make
most o their proits (and share value) rom
getting planning permission or their land
banks. Housing Associations oten innovate,
but cannot do so i they depend on buying
homes rom private house-builders. The
Callcutt Review (Callcutt 2007) recommended
that small builders should get more sites to
break the eective monopoly o the volume
house-builders that is resulting in the same
number o similarly designed homes being
built each year.
Common problems identiied by CABEand others include:
places that look like anywhere, with too
little sense o place
a public realm that looks stark and is
dominated by hard suraces or cars
layouts determined by Highways Engineers:
or example, roads wide enough or
municipal vehicles to pass, which appear
to be lacking in design integration
and inspiration.
Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
> 3.5 Character
Amersoort, the Netherlands.
Next >Main menu< Back
1.Intro 2.Context 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions3.Challenges
> 3.2 Climate > 3.3 Connectivity > 3.4 Community
> 3.6 Conclusion
> 3.1 Building capacity
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3.6 ConclusionTo build a new generation o eco-townsrequires new ways o thinking. Eco-towns
require a high degree o partnership and
collaboration between public, private and
built-environment proessionals, energy,
waste and transport companies, and local
residents. In the UK we need to think through
what is required by the proessions and the
new teams which will bring together the
public, private and third sectors to work
on a holistic approach to the eco-towns
programme. The number o stakeholders is
vast. Time and eort has to be spent in team
building, public participation and citizens
involvement. Too oten we ail to develop
the necessary working arrangements and
opposition to new developments in the UK
show that even the most well-intentioned
plans can easily run into the ground.
I eco-towns are to succeed, dedicated
leadership is needed, bringing the relevantlocalities and stakeholders together to ocus
on the product, the outcomes and issues.
Private and public sector agencies will need
to look at the eort required to achieve a
more integrated common purpose. Individual
local authorities will need to assess their
resources and assemble multi-disciplinary
teams to generate the new thinking that
is required.
Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
> 3.6 Conclusion
Freiburg, Germany.
Next >Main menu< Back
1.Intro 2.Context 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions3.Challenges
> 3.2 Climate > 3.3 Connectivity > 3.4 Community
>3.5 Character
> 3.1 Building capacity
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Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
The case studies and the key steps4
Main Findings
In Amersfoort, the Dutch have used a
ten-year housing programme to develop
ninety new settlements and a million
new homes. The programme shows
how collaboration can be made to work
with targets being set to exceed national
standards or reducing emissions and
energy consumption.
Freiburg in Germany has led the way in
applying renewable sources o energy
and in achieving a modal shit towards
cycling and public transport. Housing is
designed to minimise energy consumption
and a signiicant amount o housing is
either passive or even plus energy
eicient. The national Feed-in Tari
scheme has also been instrumental in
allowing small producers and investors
in renewable sources to lourish locally.
Hammarby Sjostad in Sweden is a
prime example o local authority led
sustainable development. Innovative
methods o water treatment and waste
disposal have made Hammarby an
international example o best practice
in sustainable communities.
Zaragoza is an important eco-city
demonstration project or the whole o
Spain and ocuses in particular on
sustainable energy management
systems and social housing.
Dongtan in China is the irst o the
Chinese eco-cities. It is developing a
master plan or a new city o 500,000
people in Greater Shanghai. Lessons here
so ar relate to scale and measure o
ambition to develop sustainable housing.
4.1 IntroductionThere is potentially a lot to learn rom Europe.
European countries, particularly Sweden, the
Netherlands and Germany, have been putting
the principles o sustainable communities into
practice or many decades. More recently,
Spain has made a major commitment
to sustainable development principles.Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands
have prioritised promoting alternatives to the
car, such as improved public transport and
the bicycle, or decades. The Netherlands, in
particular, has consistently built new homes at
several times the United Kingdom (UK) rate.
Continental homes are also much larger and
better insulated than buildings in the UK. In
European cities there appears to be greater
equality and ewer inter-city, regional and
sub-regional disparities than are associatedAmersoort, the Netherlands.
>4.1 Introduction
with the UK (see Dorling 2007), combined
with a greater commitment to sustainable
development principles.
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1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
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Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
Main Findings
The selected case studies have made
the economics o development work
by building urban extensions in places
that oer a better quality o lie thanexisting cities, and applying proven
technology on a large scale.
The economics have been helped by
unding inrastructure out o the uplit
in land values, and by keeping the
proportion o social housing to below a
third, with the exception oZaragoza.
The seven key steps to successul
eco-towns are locating growth in
the right places, agreeing development
rameworks, drawing up master plans,
orchestrating inrastructure, selling
plots to small builders, building to
higher standards and ostering
communities.
5.1 Contextualising lessonsor British eco-towns.The UK Governments proposals or eco-towns
will make it clear that the development is
about ar more than simply building new kinds
o housing its about changing behaviour and
liestyles. The eco-towns will demonstrate
how to cut back on the consumption o
renewable resources so that we can live
within the planets means and ind more
sustainable ways to harness our economic
growth. To date, the British experience has
been on too small a scale to make a dierence.
There is still much concern about the scale
and location o the English eco-towns, andalso about how to cut back car usage and
reduce the consumption o energy and water
in cities. Its imperative to look to Europe,
where or well over a decade the more
advanced eco-principles have been applied in
a number o new settlements.
Though the countries examined in this report
are all very dierent, what marks them outrom the Asian experiments, such as the
plans or Dongtan, China, is a stress on:
building urban extensions rather than
ree-standing towns ar away rom major
urban centres
applying proven technologies rather than
going solely or new technological ixes
building neighbourhoods that oer a better
quality o lie than existing towns and cities
striving to improve on existing national
standards in design, transport, energy
conservation and generation, and in doing so
achieving higher sustainability and
environmental targets.
In the UK, a key issue or implementation
will be overcoming the sceptics, who doubt
whether there is the ability and demand to
support the extra investment needed. The
latest estimates rom URBED are that therequirement to eco-proo homes will add
another 30,000 to the cost o a home,
on top o the 30,000 required to cross-
subsidise social housing, while the Community
Inrastructure Levy may take a urther 10,000.
Thus even i the cost o new homes could be
reduced to 60,000 (as or example with the
Taylor Wimpey preabricated homes at Oxley
Wood, Milton Keynes), it is not surprising
i they end up selling or over 200,000,
which hardly makes them aordable in mostpeoples terms.
Learning rom the case studies5
20
> 5.1 Contextualising lessons or British eco-towns
1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
Next >Main menu< Back
> 5.2 A basis for economic achievement in successful European eco-towns
> 5.3 Processes> 5.3.1 Locating growth in the right places> 5.3.2 Agreeing development frameworks
> 5.3.5 Selling plots to small builders and cooperatives> 5.3.3 Drawing up master plans
> 5.3.6 Building to higher standards > 5.3.7 Fostering communities > 5.4 Conclusion
> 5.3.4 Orchestrating infrastructure
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The key question, thereore, will be how
to resolve the economic and social housing
issues involved in building eco-towns,
which includes:
aording a higher quality o inrastructure
to get people out o their cars
super-insulating new homes and generating
energy closer to home to cut losses
speeding up the rate o construction (and
sales) to improve the cash low and reducethe risks, which implies building eco-towns
in growth areas and inside some o our
existing cities.
5.2 A basis or economicachievement in successulEuropean eco-towns.The European case studies here, o Freiburg,
Amersfoort,Zaragoza, and Hammarby
Sjstad share eight common eatures whichhelp explain their success:
They are located in growing and prosperous
parts o the country, where there is an
assured demand or new homes and a
choice o good jobs
They are close to existing settlements and
hence oer easy access to jobs and services
rom the start
They are built on land owned by a public
agency, which also commissions the masterplan and installs the basic inrastructure to
enable plots to be sold to small builders and
cooperative groups
They include a signiicant proportion o social
housing (25-30%) but this does not
dominate (except in the Spanish case)
They und the inrastructure out o the land
value uplit (which in some cases, such as
Freiburg and Hammarby, required
decontamination irst)They secure a higher level o investment
> 5.2 A basis or economic achievement in successul European eco-towns> 5.3 Processes
Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
21
in inrastructure through long-term contracts
with utilities, such as energy and water
companies
They involve a major commitment rom
entrepreneurial local authorities to
eco-town principles
Local universities and companies work
alongside the authority to assist the process.
In order to catch up with the rest o Europeand be prepared to deal with climate change,
we need to seek ways o applying these
lowest common denominator principles and
joining up the work o public agencies and
the private sector to promote eco-town
development.
5.3 ProcessesFrom the study o the European context
and case studies, and in particular rom the
in-depth analysis o the ive case studiespresented in Chapter 4, seven key actors
or success can be teased out which orm a
sequenced process o series o steps. The
seven steps to successul eco-towns are:
1.locating growth in the right places
2. agreeing development rameworks
3. drawing up master plans
4.orchestrating inrastructure
5.selling plots to small builders6. building to higher standards
7. ostering communities.
> 5.1 Contextualising lessons for British eco-towns
> 5.3.1 Locating growth in the right places> 5.3.2 Agreeing development frameworks
> 5.3.5 Selling plots to small builders and cooperatives> 5.3.3 Drawing up master plans
> 5.3.6 Building to higher standards > 5.3.7 Fostering communities > 5.4 Conclusion
> 5.3.4 Orchestrating infrastructure
1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
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> 5.3.1 Locating growth in the right places> 5.3.2 Agreeing development rameworks > 5.3.3 Drawing up master plans
Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
22
5.3.1 Locating growth inthe right placesThe essential irst step is deciding where
housing growth should be concentrated.
A critical mass is needed to support new
inrastructure. This needs to be close enough
to a range o jobs and services i residents
are not to spend too much time travelling
(with its impact on congestion and pollution).
This is basically achieved by dierent levels
o government working together:
In the Netherlands, the ten-year housing
programmes set broad targets. VINEX
sought 455,000 new homes, o which nearly
two-thirds were to be in the Randstad
(equivalent to the area within the M25).
The main guidelines were that development
should be close to settlements o more than
100,000 population, relatively compact
(over 35 to the hectare), and with good
transport systems.In Sweden, the government adopted a
programme or A Million Homes, which led
to many peripheral high-rise suburbs, but
they were connected by high-quality public
transport links, such as trams, and inhabited
by socially diverse residents
In the United Kingdom, new Regional Spatial
Strategies will be critical in teasing out the
growth areas.
5.3.2 Agreeing developmentrameworksBeore plans are drawn up, broad principles
need to be agreed; or example, the numbers
o houses and inrastructure, as well
underlying design principles.
In the Netherlands, the government ormed
panels o local and regional politicians
and oicers or each area where VINEX
suburbs were to be built. They spent theirst hal o the 1990s drawing up contracts
or covenants in which the exact numberso homes and conditions or receiving
government money were detailed. By 1995
eighteen contracts had been agreed with
ninety new settlements
In Freiburg, six months o intensive
consultations with local groups were used
to draw up the competition bries or the
sites, irst or Vauban, which involved the
Vauban Forum, a local pressure group,
and then Rieseleld.
5.3.3 Drawing up master plansThe municipality leads the process in Europe,
with what in Sweden is called active
collaboration, and many teams o architects
and planners compete. The master plan
sets out the layout o the streets and where
dierent acilities are to be located, such
as parks or schools. The German system
requires that the job be given to one o the
three irms that are short-listed. When it
is approved by the local authority as the
BauPlan it sets out all the basic principles or
codes. In the case o Vauban, these were
produced on one large sheet o paper. As a
consequence there was relative clarity over
what was to be built and where, with less
room or conlicts:
The master plan or Hammarby Sjstad
involved some twenty dierent irms o
architects, but the basic vision was decidedby the City Council and its planners
The master plan or Vathorst involved
neighbourhoods with distinct images within
an overall theme o a world o dierence,
and with 75-80 homes being designed by a
single architect to secure variety
In Ecociudad Valdespartera, the urban
development plan encompassed the
application o eco-climatic criteria rom the
outset, ostering solar energy.
> 5.1 Contextualising lessons for British eco-towns> 5.2 A basis for economic achievement in successful European eco-towns> 5.3 Processes
> 5.3.5 Selling plots to small builders and cooperatives> 5.3.6 Building to higher standards > 5.3.7 Fostering communities > 5.4 Conclusion
> 5.3.4 Orchestrating infrastructure
1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
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5.3.4 OrchestratinginrastructureIn all the case studies the local authority
played the leading role in assembling the site
and then putting in the roads.
One o the main architects o Hammarby
Sjstad said there was no problem in
getting the utilities to invest, as they saw
major projects as valuable investments.
Furthermore, in Sweden there is a legal
requirement to install district heating systems,
which ensures local energy generation
In the Netherlands, local authorities pool the
sites, install the basic inrastructure and then
sell o plots. In the new town o Zoetermeer,
near The Hague, the municipality charged
developers an average o around 20% o the
sales value, rising to 28% on more expensive
homes. Finance or inrastructure is borrowed
at low rates o interest rom a bank
established by the public sectorIn Zaragoza, the regional council, local
authority and two savings banks
collaborated in raising the inance with
central government support.
5.3.5 Selling plots to smallbuilders and cooperativesOnce the basic inrastructure and landscape
is installed, it is much easier to sell plots to
house-builders. One o the reasons or themuch aster build rate in Europe is that it is
much more competitive. Volume house-builders
exercise less control, as municipalities play
the lead role in making land available or
housing. Another actor is that cooperatives
and rented housing are much more important
than owner-occupations.
The development o Hammarby Sjstad has
sold ten times the number o homes each
year thanGreenwich Millennium Village, orexample, with sales levels o 500-900 and
averaging around 700
In Vauban and Rieseleld most o the homesare built by small builders, oten working or
small cooperative groups who acquire sites
rom the city. The price is based on the
amount o space to be put on the site and so
bids are evaluated in terms o quality and
whether they meet the requirements or a
balanced community.
5.3.6 Building to higher
standardsIn Europe, building regulations appear tobe more demanding generally, but in all
o the case studies local authorities drive
up higher standards:
In Freiburg, the idea o being a solar city
was promoted with agreements with
dierent agencies to secure the installation
o solar panels and photovoltaic roos
In Amersfoort, the area is uture-prooed
through being able to add additional storeysabove the lat roos. Over 5,000 homes
have been built, with an expert on materials
overseeing and monitoring the material uses
and setting environmental goals. Energy
perormance ar exceeded required standards
and there is over 1.6MW o solar capacity.
In Zaragoza, the university has been advising
the construction companies on their energy
initiatives and have promoted the idea o
Bio-climatic architecture.
The idea o energy-eicient cities is being
supported in Britain by theEngineering and
Physical Sciences Research Council(EPSRC)
and much more can be done to develop
technologies or low-energy buildings
using sensors and smart computer-based
systems to optimise energy use, along
with technologies to exploit the energy
available rom ground-source heat pumps to
photovoltaics roos as in Zaragoza.
> 5.3.5 Selling plots to small builders and cooperatives
> 5.3.6 Building to higher standards
> 5.3.4 Orchestrating inrastructure
Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
23
> 5.1 Contextualising lessons for British eco-towns> 5.2 A basis for economic achievement in successful European eco-towns> 5.3 Processes > 5.3.1 Locating growth in the right places> 5.3.2 Agreeing development frameworks > 5.3.3 Drawing up master plans
> 5.3.7 Fostering communities > 5.4 Conclusion
1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
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5.3.7 Fostering communitiesA great deal o eort is put into developing
communities where dierent groups can
get on with each other. Schools unction
as community hubs, providing local people
with a meeting place that is not separated
by ences. Liestyles are more collective,
including greater use o communal space.
In Freiburg, the sot inrastructure is seen
as important as the hard inrastructure and
shops and services were provided rom thestart, or example by moving a secondary
school and redeveloping its site. Funds are
made available to landscape communal
spaces between buildings and residents
commission this work and take responsibility
or its upkeep
In the Netherlands, there are systems or
agreeing the rules or social etiquette in
neighbourhoods and residents are provided
with inormation packs that explainresponsibilities. Large models in local project
oices make clear what is planned and civic
wardens are employed, which is one way o
providing local work. The arrangements or
recycling with underground storage also act
as places to meet neighbours.
5.4 ConclusionOverall, there is a commitment rom the
local authorities, combined with support
rom regional and central government, and
a commitment to developing a broad-based
interdisciplinary approach to eco-towns. This
inter-disciplinary approach is extended to
provide the technical education in renewable
energy technologies, and establish the green
demonstration projects where consumers,
businesses, politicians, students andresidents can learn about eco-principles and
issues. A key eature in all the European
case studies is the bringing together o
the key stakeholders to create a learning
community, the creation o an interpretation
acility in the early stages o the project, and
the commitment to developing schemes or
local work.
24
> 5.3.7 Fostering communities > 5.4 Conclusion
Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
Freiburg, Germany.
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> 5.1 Contextualising lessons for British eco-towns> 5.2 A basis for economic achievement in successful European eco-towns> 5.3 Processes > 5.3.1 Locating growth in the right places> 5.3.2 Agreeing development frameworks
> 5.3.5 Selling plots to small builders and cooperatives> 5.3.3 Drawing up master plans
> 5.3.6 Building to higher standards
> 5.3.4 Orchestrating infrastructure
1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
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Hammarby Sjstad, Sweden.
Collaboration is needed between experts in:
planning: constructing an
eco-town culture
architecture and design
climate change
energy and buildings eiciency
green building techniques
waste management technologieswater management technologies
transportation technologies
project development
inance and investment
policy and legislation
green business development
community development
third sector and social
enterprise development
healthy living and healthy liestyles
economic development and
local workenvironmental management
technologies
wind power technologies
social and cultural leadership
> 5.4 Conclusion
Eco Town Report: Learning from Europe on eco-towns
25
> 5.1 Contextualising lessons for British eco-towns> 5.2 A basis for economic achievement in successful European eco-towns> 5.3 Processes > 5.3.1 Locating growth in the right places> 5.3.2 Agreeing development frameworks
> 5.3.5 Selling plots to small builders and cooperatives> 5.3.3 Drawing up master plans
> 5.3.6 Building to higher standards > 5.3.7 Fostering communities
> 5.3.4 Orchestrating infrastructure
1.Intro 2.Context 3.Challenges 4.Case studies 5.Learning 6.Skills 7.Conclusions
Next >Main menu< Back
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6.2 Breakthrough thinking,
analysis and decision makingSurveyors always talk about location,
location, location because it is so hard to
change and so invaluable to success. Yet
many successul projects look quite daunting
at the start. Rieseleld, in Freiburg, or
example, was a sewage works next to an
industrial estate and poor housing area.
Vathorst in Amersfoort was the other side o
the motorway and cut-o rom amenities. It
is thereore essential to be able to:The master plan or Hammarby Sjstad
involved some twenty dierent irms o
architects, but the basic vision was decided
by the City Council and its planners
The master plan or Vathorst involved
neighbourhoods with distinct images within
an overall theme o a world o dierence,
and with 75-80 homes being designed by a
single architect to secure variety
In Ecociudad Valdespartera, the urbandevelopment plan encompassed the
application o eco-climatic criteria rom the
outset, ostering solar energy.
6.3 Partnership workingand conict resolutionEveryone complains about the time and
expense involved in developing schemes
in the UK and the tortuous and diicult
process o securing planning permission.The problems are partly due to a litigious
society and the lack o trust placed in local
authorities. But this is made worse by the
way we go about developing strategic plans.
In Europe, the process is plan-led and the
local authorities appear to play a much more
proactive role.
In Sweden, local authorities like Stockholm
employ planner architects who are activecoordinators. While in some places there
are elected mayors, as in Zaragoza, more
oten trust is placed in technically qualiied
oicers. Furthermore, as Lord Richard Besthas pointed out on public participation, much
more eort is put into building consensus
in Dutch settlements (URBED, 2005). There
are some thirty-eight Architecture Centres
that help raise the quality o debate and
organisations that specialise in mediation.
Indeed dist