Cities4PEDs Atlas_November 2021.pdf

4. How existing and newlybuilt
districts can learn from
each other
Parallels and overlaps can be found in relevant
aspects for both existing and new districts.
Lessons and aspects related to implementation
dynamics of newly built environment can serve
as inspiration for existing district transformation
and the other way around. In light of the
Cities4PEDs project, this is particularly relevant
for the three specific cases part of this research
trajectory, Brussels, with the Northern District,
Vienna, with Aspern Seestadt, and Stockholm
with the Royal Sea Port district. Two transversal
relevant elements have been identified to
further be discussed and analysed: ‘Steering
the District development process’ on the
one hand and ‘Implementing Co-creation
and local ownership dynamics outside and
inside the district’ on the other hand.
Steering the district development process
The district development management is one
of the pivotal aspects both for newly built
and existing districts. In order to steer and
accelerate the process of development, diverse
strategies can be identified. In Aspern Seestadt,
the development is steered by the setting
up of a Special Purpose Company which in
collaboration with a private owner, manages
the whole district implementation process
and has a continue iteration with the city
administration in order to monitor the process.
Special Purpose
Vehicle (SPV)
Municipal
Department
Coordination
platform
Land sale contracts are used to guarantee high
targets for developers, by including specific
criteria. In the same way, in Stockholm Royal
Sea Port the development is steered by the
administration unit. In order to implement high
target standard capacity building programs are
organised with developers and a monitoring
system is implemented. In the Northern District
in Brussels, on the other hand, the development
process is less linear. The diverse ownership and
irregularity of the context, demands an entirely
different approach. A Coordination Platform
was set up by the City of Brussels with the
ambition to steer the process and push for a redevelopment
vehicle that allows decentralised
ownership and coordinates diverse local
initiatives and projects. It would be interesting
though to learn from concepts such as a Special
Purpose Company and test how these could
be adapted to the environment of an existing
district.
In newly built environments, there is more
experience and testing on the level of the
strategies, tools, instrument for district
development. In existing environments,
the (mostly) heterogeneous realities of the
district render the situation more complex to
manage centrally. Existing district can learn
from newly built environments on the level of
instruments (such as civil agreements, contracts,
procurements, etc.) and strategies (like
governance, zoning, etc.) to tranfer high targets
to the possible transformation and test them
locally, but it will be necessary to adapt them to
the existing context.
Aspern Seestadt
Vienna (AT)
Lyon Confl. (FR)
Limerick (IRL)
Stockholm Royal
Seaport (SE)
Limerick (IRL)
Brussels
Northern
District (BE)
RTM BoTu (NL)
Figure: Steering the district development process
Working document
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