January 31st, 2017

a) Overview of the course and how to write a project report

Hierarchy of planning. Government planning, in different levels. In Norway,

there are different policy guidelines. Planning legislation. Theres also some
regional planning, they can be very specific. The main level is the local, in which
you have the municipal and local development plans. At a regional level its
important because cities grow outside municipalities, so its necessary to have
planning across municipalities.
But what is a region? Regions centered around a big city. Or a synonym of a
county (with municipalities inside). Also can be seen as urban agglomeration
cities growing together and becoming a big city region.
Why is there a need for region planning? Theres impact in peoples lives in a
series of aspects. If this development takes place without any public sector
intervention, it cant be so effective. Intervention to a more organic growing
strategies for land use, transportation, protection of specific areas and location
of settlements and industry.
When this need for planning is there its important to know what the driving
forces for this planning are. So why the regional development worked in this way
and the implications for what is usually as sustainability and social, etc. What
are the ways to know what is needed and what should be given priority?
Theories are presented and useful for planners.

Course has 4 parts/themes:

Socioeconomic driving forces of urban-regional spatial development;

Land use and transport;
Transport infra planning;
Sustainability challenges.

Project report deadline May 6th

Consultation hours: Tuesdays, 14h to 15th, KA302. Appointments with supervisor.
Find topic for next week.

Project report structure:

Problem formulation
RQ
Research design
Theory
Analysis
Discussion and conclusion

Suggestion: case, phenomenon, target.

Research design: systematic plan to study a scientific problem, in order to ensure that
informations are really helpful to answer to RQ.

Study question: illuminate the issue with some theory pre-understanding.

Case: unit, level of analysis, type, number.
Linking data to propositions: case dictates which data you need in order to answer the
questions. Docs, plans, interview, survey, field work. Is it descriptive or suggestive?
 b) Key concepts in regional land use and transport planning

Region: There are different types of definition.

One can be based on space interaction, where people interact with each other, with
services common for an area.
o Functional region: based on a functional dependence between city
and hinterland.
o Increasing division of labor within trade and business (primary,
secondary and tertiary sectors)
o Spatial division of labor between jobs and housing

Other can be based on territorial boundaries:

Political-administrative: counties
Administrative only: health regions

Functional labor market regions regions consisting of a part of a workforce

population commutes between regions.

It is always contested. New ways of thinking are always being debated.

Societal processes generating regions. How people actually identify as a

region?
Interaction, identification and institutionalizing.

Some other relevant concepts

Physical/spatial urban structures: location pattern, urban morphology, location

pattern, etc.
 February 1st, 2017

a) What are the driving forces of regional restructuring and transformation?

Underlying social economic structures in observable cities regions.

Socio-spatial dialectic
Marx and Engels wrote a piece called housing question, bringing the topic of spatial
and economic processes, already in the early state of the industrialism. K have a
sense of borders in which architects and engineers can operate.

It took around 100 years until another thinker came into scene Lefebvre and the
right to the city. Chart regarding his idea of production of space. Perceived space is
more about shared ideas of space, whereas conceived space are ideas from the
elite and policy makers regarding the space, in terms of social rules and practices,
as well as ideologies are seen as accepted. And lived space is about the cultural
imaginary spaces in the individual perspective.

Socially produced space: production and social relationships, as well as the societal
conditions bring the meaning to the city.

Social reproduction reproduced by space. Example: long commuting has an impact

on life quality and productivity for the companies. In some examples they are
mutually constructed society can also modify the space due to the agents needs.
This paradox is the purpose of urban planning.

No social revolution can succeed without being at the same time a

consciously special revolution.

The urban development is a production of social forces and needs not peoples
needs, necessarily. But companies need for growth and profit. These needs change
over time, thus, the cities settings have been changing. Theres an easiness to
favor economic growth. Meaning that, in order to boost growth, it needs to build
things. Provide infra for an area attractive for investors, as well as peoples need for
services, better roads, streets, etc, meaning accommodate growth.

*Exchange value and use value*

K and how it works

Marxs K circulation. It needs to be in motion in order to have added value and
profit and surplus. Concept of infinite accumulation. Profit and interest mean
nothing when it comes to reinvesting they become normal capital in the other
phases of K. And what are the limits for this growth in terms of environment
balance?

M (money) C (commodity products and services, state) M (new

money, not profit only)

Production domain foundation for more money natural resources, skills.

Consumption domain market to consume and enough money to buy them.
 Conditions for K accumulation (slides).
Production: Organization forms can change in order to enhance productivity. From
the state part, infra is important to make the K process work in terms of
communication and transport, for example. K has to be adequate for its own
requirements, otherwise its going to be transformed.
Consumption: Maslow and needs triangle marketing and social needs.
Consumerism culture. Impact on build environment: new fashions, with more
refurbishment due to aesthetical reasons.

Features of K
Coercive competition
Growth imperative
Contradictions: overproduction (one needs more profit. It can keep wages down,
but people wont have money to buy products. Paradox) and underproduction (too
much of a product brings to scarcity. Resources arent infinite). Growth imperative
vs environmental issues (a blind spot in urban critic literature).

b) Perspective: urban political economy

A historical perspective
A struggle between the exchange value (money you get when you sell things) and
use value (what people need and want in terms of products and services),
therefore, cities dont follow the same logic people have different ideas and
understanding of the K logic. This urban landscape because the accumulation
reality change, as well as the willingness to change status quo are always in
motion.

Stages of K accumulation (US context): City of trade (commercial city), industrial

accumulation (industrial city) and advanced corporate accumulation (corporate city
services and finance with a big role).

Commercial city port cities for trade and transportation. Poor lived outside the
cities.
Industrial accumulation there was a transition period around 1850 and 1870.
Cities for factory production and need for consumption labor force needed to be
close by. Coal came and a decentralization happened. Its urban form had factories
downtown and close to rail/ports. Poor people lived in the suburbs.
Advanced corporate accumulation Transition between 1890-1920.
Decentralization of factories to the suburbs: land value was cheaper and profit
needed to come from somewhere else. Other social activities, as offices, took place.
Urban form: business replaced shopping areas. Rich people moved to suburban
areas (?)

The geography of K

David Garvey (?) The accumulation of K has to overcome geographical distance in a

smarter way, in order to find other products around the globe.

K accumulation can also provoke changes in concentration and decentralization of

business and land value. Ex-urban (after suburbs). However, the lands and the
environment are fixed.

Overacummulation and overproduction are also issues crisis. David suggests a

spatial fix: move the businesses/investments somewhere else, transgressing
boundaries and urbanization can bring new business and labor force. Examples
from Europe and Haussmanns Paris.