Dirk Heinrichs

Fresh Wind or Hot Air - Does the Governance Discourse Have Something to Offer to Spatial Planning?

Governance is broadly speaking about the regulation of publicly relevant affairs. In this respect, spatial planning is certainly a part of governance. This article explores whether spatial planning can benefit from the rich debates that have evolved around the governance concept. It provides an overview of the principal variants of the governance concept and discusses their potential implications for planning. Using a concrete planning case, the article explores whether the governance concept can help to acquire a systematic understanding of planning reality. The article concludes that spatial planning can benefit from using governance as both a conceptual reference for reflection on planning action and an analytical tool for the study of concrete planning practices. Its utility as a normative guideline for spatial planning, however, is limited.

Automated Driving: How It Could Enter Our Cities and How This Might Af fect Our Mobility Decisions

The recent attention given to automated vehicles suggests that self-driving vehicles or driverless cars are about to become reality in the near, if not very near, future. While technologically this impression may well be justified, the emerging discussion discovers other related aspects that needs to be addressed alongside the technological challenges. Examples are legal and ethical aspects (Gasser et al. 2012; Beiker et al. 2012), user acceptance (Fraedrich, Lenz 2014) or the implications on the transport system that might result from the largescale uptake of self-driving vehicles (Zachariah et al. 2013; Spieser et al. 2014; Fagnant, Kockelman 2014). Somewhat less interest has been attached to the possible implications of this new ‘transport tool’ for people’s mobility decisions. In this article, we focus on the possible implications of automated vehicles for the mobility choices of people, in terms of both their everyday mobility, specifically the choice of transport mode, as well as their longer term residential location decisions. The question is: which influence can we expect from automated vehicles on the choices we make for everyday mobility and also longer term residential location? This interest arises from the specific properties of automated vehicles. In particular, the potential benefit of spending time in the vehicle with activities other than driving may lead to significant changes in how we make use of time while traveling and its resultant valuation (Continental 2013; Solokow 2013; Silberg et al. 2013; Silberg et al. 2012; Munsch 2014; Cyganski et al. 2015). As a result, people might reconsider their choice of transport mode, number of trips and distance of travel. What is more, changes in the value of travel time may influence the choice of residential location. The idea, for example, that time in a vehicle does not have to be spent on driving-related tasks, but instead permits other activities, may provoke a complete reappraisal of the time factor (Silberg et al. 2012). This could then lead to users considering different (further away) destinations for their daily journeys, or even changing their choice of home location, as the long commutes would then be seen more favorably. If we take these connected factors to their logical conclusion, in the end it would bepossible to dissolve the time factor as a limiting variable of urban planning. However, such changes can be expected not only as a result of individual choices but also the type of automated mobility concepts. The use of a vehicle on demand as an alternative to privately-owned cars might lead to an increase in multimodal behavior, or contribute to an increase in carpooling. The use of a fully automated private car might instead increase car use and mileage covered given that time spent in the vehicle is often viewed positively. As these examples show, there is a great need to specify and clarify what kind of automated vehicle or rather automation scenario is under consideration. To acknowledge these considerations, the article starts with an outline of current scenarios for the deployment of automated vehicles in urban areas (section 2). It moves on to discuss the possible implications of these scenarios on mode choice (section 3), followed by considerations of the effects on longer term residential location choices (section 4). The methodological basis of the discussion is a stated preference experiment and a systematic review of existing scenarios (for more information see Cyganski 2015 and Heinrichs 2015). It draws on the work by the authors in the recent Villa Ladenburg project of the Daimler and Benz Foundation, in which an interdisciplinary team explored a wide range of challenges and frame conditions associated with automated driving (see Maurer et al. 2015). The article concludes with some observations concerning the findings including the levels of uncertainty.

Privatization of the Fringes — A Latin American Version of Post-suburbia? The Case of Santiago de Chile

Latin America is one of the most urbanized regions worldwide (UN, 2008). Urban expansion and suburbanization are well-established and common phenomena, particularly in the larger agglomerations and megacities in the region. However, the profound social, ecological and economic implications of these processes have only recently — with some delay in comparison to the United States (US) or Europe — started to become a major concern of urban analysts and policy-makers across the continent.

Achieving a Socio-Spatial Mix? Prospects and Limitations of Social Housing Policy in Santiago de Chile

In the Chilean housing sector, the combination of free-market imperatives guiding investment decisions and a long tradition of social housing subsidies has generally had remarkable success in quantitative terms but has also contributed to the large-scale segregation of poor families on the urban periphery. With the goal of a better socio-spatial mix and, ultimately, social integration, the Chilean government recently revised its guidelines for housing subsidies, promoting small-scale social housing in central locations. This paper examines the early effects of this new housing policy in a cluster of the so-called “pericentral” municipalities in Santiago de Chile. Specifically, it raises the question of whether the policy has a chance of achieving its objectives in light of prevailing free-market conditions. We demonstrate strong interrelations between the current dynamics of real-estate investment and government-led housing programs which together continue to promote uneven socio-spatial development and segregation of the urban poor on a smaller scale.

Autonomes Fahren und Stadtstruktur

Mobilitat, Verkehr und die physische Gestalt stadtischer Raume sind eng miteinander verknupft [1]. Die Stadtstruktur bildet eine wichtige Grundlage fur Mobilitatsentscheidungen von Haushalten und Unternehmen und gibt in entscheidendem Mase vor, welche Formen von Verkehr ermoglicht oder aber auch ausgeschlossen werden. Kompakte Stadtstrukturen mit hoher Dichte und Nutzungsmischung bieten gute Voraussetzungen fur kurze Wege, ein leistungsfahiges offentliches Verkehrsangebot, fordern den Fus- und Radverkehr und machen die Nutzung des Kraftfahrzeugs im Alltag oft unnotig.

Megacities and Climate Change: Early Adapters, Mainstream Adapters and Capacities

In this chapter, the relationship between the necessity of making urban adaptation responses to climate change and the competences and capacities in megacities is analysed. The experience of early adapters (cities that have already initiated local adaptation strategies and plans) reveals that these cities are able to seize several opportunities. These include the political recognition as local champions, innovation of local administration (e.g. by creating cross-departmental working groups and units), the development of new networks, the creation of new knowledge and the formation of strong and broad political consensus on development priorities that support and confirm existing strategies. However, these determining factors do not necessarily work for potential later adapters and, in particular, for megacities. They are either case-specific or exclusively available for early movers only and will no longer apply to mainstream adapters. Some other factors are of instructive value to mainstream adapters as good practice, for example, those relating to accommodating the integrative cross-cutting nature of climate change in the implementation arrangements. The diffusion of adaptation action to megacities will rely to a great extent on mobilising potentials and overcoming obstacles with respect to a range of political, financial and administrative competences and capacities. However, many megacities around the world suffer from significant deficits with respect to these capacities and competences. These shortcomings are probably among the causes for the fact that initiatives towards strengthening adaptation action are still the exception rather than the rule.

Climate Adaptation Strategies: Evidence from Latin American City-Regions

Since cities are both a key source of greenhouse gas emissions and highly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, many are starting to take actions to mitigate and confront the anticipated effects. Latin America and the Caribbean, the most urbanized region worldwide after North America, are no exception. This contribution studies the state of adaptation strategies of two Latin American agglomerations: Sao Paulo and Santiago de Chile. The article, first, characterizes the adaptation efforts of the two cases based on local climate conditions with respect to actors, priorities and approaches. Second, it derives particular implementation challenges. It shows that each of the two approaches has distinct advantages as well as constraints. Common to both approaches is the challenge of preparing local governance for the long term risks of climate change. The research is based on a review of official documents, expert interviews, literature reviews and analysis of statistical data.

Autonomous Driving and Urban Land Use

Mobility, transport and the physical forms of urban areas are closely bound up with each other (Cervero and Kockelman in Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 2(3), 199–219, 1997). Urban structure plays an important role when households and businesses make mobility decisions, and to a considerable degree dictates what forms of transport may or may not be taken. Compact city form with high density and mixed use provide good preconditions for short trips and efficient public transportation, promote walking and cycling, and often render daily car use unnecessary.

Making Automation Work for Cities: Impacts and Policy Responses

There seems to be great concern and perhaps even greater uncertainty about how autonomous vehicles (AV) in cities may possibly affect not only mobility and transport but also infrastructure, land use, and the natural environment. Along with the debate on the impacts of AV the question arises what urban and transport planning strategies will be needed to ensure that the transition towards a fully automated transport in urban areas will contribute in the best possible way to urban sustainability goals and make it compatible with existing key urban policies. This paper addresses the question: What do city planners and policy makers have to know about the technology, its impacts and how can they prepare? It reviews the status of planning and implementing automation in cities and metropolitan areas in the US and in Europe. The paper draws on the presentations, discussions and conclusions from a breakout session ‘Making automation work for cities’ at the Automated Vehicle Symposium in July 2017.

A systemic view on autonomous vehicles:Policy aspects for a sustainable transportation planning

Abstract Over the past few years, many studies have provided detailed descriptions of the potential benefits associated with the introduction of autonomous vehicles, such as improvements in traffic flows, local and global emissions, traffic safety, cost efficiency of public and private transport operations, etc. Additionally, the mobilization of mobility-impaired people and the independent car use of travelers without a driver’s license have been identified as potential benefits for users. However, merely estimating the benefits of these direct (or first-order) effects is unlikely to show the full picture of the consequences that will emerge once autonomous vehicles enter the roads. In this paper, we therefore put emphasis on discussing systemic (or second-order) effects. The paper presents a conceptual exploration of these effects based on literature and research findings to date. We show that these systemic effects have the potential – especially in urban areas and without adequate policy intervention – to eliminate at least some of the benefits initially associated with autonomous vehicles. Following this systemic view on autonomous vehicles, we discuss policy aspects for responsible authorities and planners on how to prepare transportation systems for the challenges related to the introduction of autonomous vehicles, and conclude with areas of research that seem highly important in terms of further investigation in this context.