Greg Lloyd The Irish – Scottish Forum University of Aberdeen June 2009 Re-presenting Scottish Cities

Introduction Changing contexts, conditions and thinking Policy iteration and tensions Scalar relations and integrated working Strategic imperatives and deficits

And on the Eighth Day

City presentationCharacteristics & focusThinking & ideas PassiveIndividual city & micro- scale - internal - community Regeneration agendas - social democratic ActiveCompetitiveness - micro- scale – bricks & mortar Neo-liberal - managerialism ActiveStrategic – city regions – spatial order – economic growth Neo-liberal - managerialism – yet regeneration & new delivery vehicles

City re-presentation Devolution – the search for managed space Globalisation & competitiveness Modernisation & scalar tensions Functional agendas for action Identity – the search for managed places City branding & marketing Representational agendas for action

Inside and out In 2006, the Scottish Executive published a regeneration policy which asserted the primacy of growing the economy in a sustainable manner, the importance of cities as key economic drivers, and stated that regeneration is key to achieving sustainable economic growth

Timeline of reform 1997Land use planning under a Scottish Parliament 1999Scottish Parliament – Labour Liberal Democratic Coalition 2001Consultation Paper – Modernising the land use planning system – emphasis on strategic planning deficits 2004National Planning Framework Planning (etc) Scotland Act 2007Scottish Parliament – Scottish National Party 2009National Planning Framework 2

Devolution & before Inherited strategic planning traditions and thinking Influence of European thinking & practice – ESDP Ideological tensions & contradictions in the Third Way Located in wider public sector reforms& the modernisation of land use planning Community planning and integration ambitions

A strategic planning philosophy There is a need to prepare an indicative plan for Scotland on a national scale which will show how it is intended to utilise the land for urban, industrial and recreational purposes. To prepare such a policy plan it will be necessary to take into account the views of planning authorities, industrialists, trade unions and many other interested parties. The structure plans of the new regional planning authorities must conform to the national indicative plan. Select Committee on Land Resource Use in Scotland 1970

Strategic planning traditions Metropolitan planning – West Central Scotland Regional planning – NESJPAC Regional Reports National Planning Guidelines

Strategic planning? Hierarchy & contingency Match context & method Scale & ambition Political & resourced Leadership & risk

Context & method West Edinburgh Planning Framework 2006 Consultation Paper – Strategic development planning authorities 2007 City- regions – functionalism & representationalism?

Scale & ambition To address issues of national importance either identified in existing policy statements, eg: Infrastructure Investment Plan or policy developments such as waste management and renewable energy.

Politics & resources? To be scrutinised by Scottish Parliamentary Committees To be debated in Scottish Parliament To assert an agenda for national infrastructure.

Government by contract a wide range of contractual arrangements involving public bodies, including traditional public procurement, contracting out, public/private partnerships, franchising or state concessions, agreements between state agencies and individual citizens, and various types of agreement within government. Vincent-Jones (2006: p. 3)

Place Imaging and Indicative Determinants of Change FactorDescriptor Social compositionStructural and relational behaviours and influence Patterns of movementImpact on city and resultant dominance of projects linked to specific groups Existing and potential images Convergence and divergence of city and city-region Built environment legacyDereliction and potential for new redevelopment Aesthetic interestsInfluence of groups over the built environment EntrepreneurshipChange and transformation of the local economy Leisure strategiesEnabling new investment for city change ManufacturingEmployment and service impacts HegemonyLocal projects and transformation of local economy in conformity with the transformed place image Cultural shiftsImpacts on life-style, spending, and consumption activities in the city

Conclusions City re-presentation characterised by scalar, political and planning tensions Internal and external faces of the cities need to be reconciled Need for political space to deliberate a spatial planning agenda