Exploring landscape dynamics at the edge of the city: Spatial plans and everyday places at the inner urban fringe of Malmö, Sweden

Abstract

Landscapes at the edge of the city comprise vast areas that 'lie fallow', awaiting future urban development. During this time new landscape values evolve. It is argued that the complexity of urban fringe landscapes is not adequately considered either within landscape research or in the practice of spatial planning. A key to understanding landscapes at the inner urban fringe is to focus on landscape dynamics, and on the interactions between spatial plans and everyday activities. The study is divided into three parts. First, theoretical considerations about landscape dynamics and the character of the inner urban fringe are presented. Thereafter, the relationship between spatial planning and everyday places is analysed in a casestudy area at the edge of the city of Malmo¨in southernmost Sweden. The case study demonstrates the complexity of landscape dynamics at the inner urban fringe, as well as problems regarding the handling of ephemeral and transitory aspects within spatial planning. The study concludes with a discussion concerning the importance of studies of landscape dynamics within landscape research.

Peri-urban farmland conservation and development of alternative food networks: Insights from a case-study area in metropolitan Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain)

“…Some literature has tended to accept these land-uses as typical of fringe localities and even laud its landscape contribution (Gallent and Andersson, 2007;Qviström and Saltzman, 2006). However, this research detects a common interviewee perception of them as a danger because they undermine farmers' viability.…”

“…This range of land-uses is referred to in Spanish or Catalan as 'peri-urban' (Abadia, 2002;Garcia-Ramon et al, 1995); henceforth, in this paper 'peri-urban land-uses' will adopt this meaning. Attention has recently focused on the proliferation of hobby-farming on the fringe, including the development of equestrian centres and land given over to grazing urban owners' horses ('horsification'), maintaining the rural character but limiting food production (Bomans et al, 2010;Low-Choy et al, 2008;Gallent and Andersson, 2007;Qviström and Saltzman, 2006).…”

Translating Space: the Politics of Ruins, the Remote and Peripheral Places

“…They are quotidian spaces on the fringe of cities that tend to be thought of in terms of transience and future uses that are suspended in the present, depicted as phases rather than places (Qviström, : 269) — even if that understanding is an abstracted reading that misses the geographical and historical specificity of the local spaces themselves, and the social changes they help to enact. As Qviström and Saltzman (: 23) suggest, an ‘everyday perspective, focusing on local, vernacular activities and day‐to‐day changes, is therefore fundamental for an understanding of landscape transformations’. It is the intention of Farley and Symmons Roberts to provide such a perspective, in order to find beauty in the mundane messiness of these interstitial zones, point out the variety of wildlife they host and simply celebrate their existence .…”

Benchmarking sustainability in cities: The role of indicators and future scenarios

“…American cities, such as Chicago (via Millennium Park) and San Diego (via Downtown San Diego), have tried to regenerate their urban centres by strategic investments and sensitive planning (see Southworth and Ruggeri, 2011). Malmö , Sweden, has become an exemplar city with regard to sustainable development because of key regeneration projects (e.g., the BO01 housing development) that have transformed the area's post-industrial legacy (see Qviströ m and Saltzman, 2006;Kä rrholm, 2011). Seoul, South Korea, used nature to revitalise an urban area by uncovering an important stream, Cheonggyecheon, that runs through the city, utilising the stream as a focus for urban redevelopment (see Shin and Lee, 2006;Kang and Cervero, 2009).…”