Density and the compact city

McFarlane, Colin

doi:10.1177/20438206221144821

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…More recently, Neuman [58] points to the spurious definitions of sustainability throughout the literature and, indeed, the ability of built-form outcomes to deliver on all fronts. Haarstad et al [60] and McFarlane [61], though acknowledging that future cities will be compact, raise a host of issues such as overcrowding, gentrification, and ecological outcomes of compactness, which have been poorly addressed, pointing to compact cities as being an ideological agenda flowing from institutional neoliberal hegemony, which actually generates inequities and is largely resisted for fear of outpricing, congestion, and infrastructural overuse [24]. This last point speaks to the paradox of the compact agenda, which is firstly paradoxical due to its promotion of the very issues that led to the rise of urban planning in the first place, i.e., overcrowding, noise, and pollution [57], and secondly because quality of life, across social, economic, and sustainability factors, may actually be higher in the suburbs.…”

Section: Tensions Of Compactnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suburban Futures, Density and Amenity: Soft Densification and Incremental Planning for Regeneration

Glackin,

Moglia,

White

2024

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article explores practical aspects of the compact city agenda as it applies to the ongoing densification of car-dependent suburbs, focusing on Melbourne, Australia. While the idea of compact cities has widespread policy support globally, debate continues regarding the negotiation of compact urban form and its implications for issues like overcrowding, tree canopy, waterways, urban heat, and so forth. Irrespective of the debate, Australian cities are experiencing rapid urban infill, with all areas becoming denser. Some areas of strategic attention afford master planning and planning forethought; however, most of the land in these cities, and at least half of the dwellings being redeveloped, has suburban form, with little or no strategic planning consideration, despite doubling and, in some cases, tripling population density into the future. Significantly, many areas are or will soon achieve population densities that can support vibrant commercial centers, but with little capacity or interest in top-down planning for adding necessary amenities and services. This article shows how, with minimal effort, planning authorities could subtly alter land use planning to allow incremental, but planned, growth of commercial areas, create the destinations the suburbs need to make them vibrant, and deliver less car-dependent local centers.

show abstract

Section: Tensions Of Compactnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suburban Futures, Density and Amenity: Soft Densification and Incremental Planning for Regeneration

Glackin,

Moglia,

White

2024

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The commentaries illustrate that a ‘diversified’ agenda is not simply about bringing in a wider range of perspectives, but also about engaging with a wider range of contexts, conditions, and histories of compact urban spaces. As McFarlane (2023) writes in his commentary, ‘paying attention to how compactness is lived’ is a better starting point ‘than the technical projects of planners or academics’. He illustrates the diversity of contexts in which compact and dense urban spaces are experienced.…”

Section: Contexts Practices and Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grounding the compact city

Haarstad

Kjærås

Røe

et al. 2023

Dialogues in Human Geography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In our article ‘Diversifying the compact city’, we aimed to open a dialogue, in human geography and beyond, on how to broaden the scope of how we examine and critique compact urbanism. The insightful and constructive commentaries we received generated further reflection on the lived experiences of compact urbanism and the mutual benefits of constructive interdisciplinary collaboration on the compact city agenda. In this author response, we elaborate on the need to ground compact city research in actual practices and experiences, and on how planners and geographers can advance the commoning of the compact city.

show abstract

“…Many reports and policy papers have argued that the compact city model has positive effects on transportation efficiency, local economy, citizen health, social cohesion, and cultural dynamics since the European Union Green Paper on the Urban Environment (EC, 1990) (OECD, 2012;UN-Habitat, 2017;EC, 2017). The model is presented almost as a straightforward positive phenomenon, and critical debate on compact cities is rare and scarce (McFarlane, 2023). Compactness, density, diversity, mixed land use, efficient transportation, and abundant green space are the compact city's core planning strategies for achieving sustainability (Bibri, 2020;Bibri et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compact city or dispersed form reality: Banja Luka case study

Novaković,

Milaković,

Simonović

2024

geod. vestn.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

According to recent urban theory and research, many cities have transformed from formations with recognisable centres, periphery and precise edges to large, dispersed tissues that penetrate deep into their hinterland. Contrary to these findings and experience of dispersity, the ideology of a compact city dominates urban policy and planning practice. In the context of the City of Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina), the research elaborates on the incompatibility example between the spatial strategies of compactness (defined in the Spatial plan of the City of Banja Luka) and the dispersed character of urban form in reality. The morphological study demonstrates different urban form patterns arising from the relationship between buildings, open spaces, and landscapes. In contrast to urban form characteristics, the planning documents analysis shows the spatial strategies of densification and compactness in the urban form planning narrative. The research contributes to the characterisation of the dispersed urban form by developing the methodological model founded on the landscape theory tradition. Moreover, the research affirms a more substantial consideration of urban form and urban morphology in spatial planning.

show abstract

Density and the compact city

Cited by 10 publications

References 15 publications

Suburban Futures, Density and Amenity: Soft Densification and Incremental Planning for Regeneration

Suburban Futures, Density and Amenity: Soft Densification and Incremental Planning for Regeneration

Grounding the compact city

Compact city or dispersed form reality: Banja Luka case study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About