Dorina Pojani

Going Dutch? The export of sustainable land-use and transport planning concepts from the Netherlands:

The Netherlands is often viewed as a world model of urban planning and sustainable transport practices. This article reports on a study which charts the planning policy transfer activity between the Netherlands and other countries. The study reveals that many foreign ‘policy tourists’ are impressed and inspired by Dutch planning achievements. However, policy transfer efforts based on Dutch examples of planning have rarely resulted in concrete actions or hard outcomes abroad. Contextual differences in culture, social setup, language, planning legislation and financial resources, as well as the failure to involve political elites in transfer processes, are potential obstacles to embedding Dutch planning policies elsewhere.

Ideas, Interests, and Institutions: Explaining Dutch Transit-Oriented Development Challenges

As a planning concept, transit-oriented development (TOD) has become popular in the Netherlands over the last few decades. However, the transition from planning concept to development practice has been fraught with difficulties. Where TOD projects have been implemented, they have often met with limited success in terms of livability and market viability. This paper examines TOD-related efforts in the Netherlands and the reasons for their difficulties up to now. The analysis is built around an analytical framework, which considers the role of ‘ideas’, ‘interests’, and ‘institutions’, as well as their interaction, in affecting the outcomes of these TOD efforts.

Urban design, ideology, and power: use of the central square in Tirana during one century of political transformations

This article recounts the history of urban design in the centre of Tirana, the capital of Albania, during five political periods (Ottoman Empire, Italian domination, communist regime, post-communist anarchy, and Western-style planning). Starting in the 1910s, successive governments have imposed their urban design visions for a grand city centre and tried to erase the built heritage of their predecessors, thus creating an eclectic space. In the post-communist era, the city government has made attempts to develop a new grand vision for its use but has met with failure. The author argues that the reasons for this outcome lay in the contemporary nature of the state, as well as the nature of development in a market economy.

From carfree to carfull: the environmental and health impacts of increasing private motorisation in Albania

This paper reviews the environmental and health impacts of private motorisation in Albania since the fall of communism and the failures of the public sector to effectively control these impacts. The paper focuses on the capital, Tirana, which has almost one-third of the national population, most of the national wealth, twice the rate of car ownership in the rest of the country, and the bulk of the adverse impacts related to motorisation.

Urban planning and design as verbal and visual rhetoric

Abstract This paper explores planning and design processes through a verbal and visual rhetoric approach by examining three case studies of train station area redevelopments in the Netherlands. The paper illustrates how these case study projects were conceived, constructed, transformed and communicated to the stakeholders through stories and pictures. Three threads are discerned, which run through the verbal and visual narratives employed in the case study projects. The first is a longing for identity and a return to the past. The second is a desire to project an image of progress and success. The third is a shift from grand to piecemeal planning. The three threads are overlapping but also contradictory. While some of the rhetoric appears to be post-rationalization, its employment had a strong ethical basis because, by densifying and revitalizing the areas in the vicinity of main train stations, the three projects sought to advance the public interest. While visually diverse and controversial, all three case study areas represented a response to contemporary problems, such as urban economic decline or automobile dependence.

Urbanization of Post-communist Albania: Economic, Social, and Environmental Challenges

The purpose of this article is to describe some of the critical urban transformations in Albania since the fall of communism in 1990 and their economic, social, and environmental consequences, and to respond to some of the negative views about the greatly increased urbanization. This article discusses the benefits as well as harms of urbanization in Albania and argues that, in balance, urbanization is a positive force.

The Urban Transport Crisis in Emerging Economies: An Introduction

This chapter discusses urban transport issues, policies, and initiatives in [The Urban Transport Crisis in Emerging Economies: An Introduction/Australia]. Consistent with the other case studies, it covers the following set of issues: Urban land-use patterns and spatial structure; Trends in transport use and mobility; Urban transport problems; Urban transport governance, decision-making, and financing; Proposed urban transport solutions and implementation issues; and Other country-specific issues. The object of this framework is to allow for a comparative analysis across the case studies. This book discusses urban transport issues, policies, and initiatives in 12 of the world’s major emerging economies—Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, and Vietnam—countries with large populations that have recently experienced large changes in urban structure, motorization, and all the associated social, economic, and environmental impacts in positive and negative senses. It documents the worsening transport crisis and differences among these countries in their urban transport and land-use systems. It includes chapters on each of these 12 countries, focusing on one or more major cities per country. In order to present the case studies in a more comparable way, all chapters follow a common format. Each chapter covers the following set of issues: Urban land-use patterns and spatial structure; Trends in transport use and mobility; Urban transport problems; Urban transport governance, decision-making, and financing; Proposed urban transport solutions and implementation issues; and Other country-specific issues. The object of this framework is to help to identify new explanatory factors that may be overlooked in research limited to single cities or nations. By including cities and countries across all continents, the aim is to identify useful lessons on how to achieve urban sustainability goals across the globe.

The Detriments and Benefits of the Fall of Planning: The Evolution of Public Space in a Balkan Post-socialist Capital

The purpose of this paper is to trace the evolution of the concept and role of public spaces in the capital of Albania, Tirana, since the fall of communism almost a quarter of a century ago. During this time, public spaces have undergone a complete transformation, which is examined through a theoretical framework based on under- and over-management critiques of public space. Processes of public space under- and over-management are ongoing in Tirana, with neglect, car invasion and space privatization being the most problematic issues. However, the authors argue that both under-management and over-management have had benefits as well as harm, in terms of urban diversity (economic and visual) and security.

The Urban Transport Crisis in Emerging Economies: A Comparative Overview

This chapter reflects on the 12 case studies contained in this book, and identifies some of the key issues, trends, and policy measures which emerge from the previous chapters. Consideration is also given to the lessons that can be learned from these countries and the extent to which they may be generalizable and applicable in other contexts across the world. The chapter is structured according to the main headings used in each of the country-specific chapters.

Is the suburban dream still alive in Australia? Evidence from Brisbane

ABSTRACT In view of major contemporary concerns about urban sprawl and related externalities, this article investigates the motivations of suburban residents for choosing this lifestyle, their level of satisfaction with a low-density, car-oriented environment, and their potential interest in embracing alternative living arrangements (i.e. compact urban settings). Interviews conducted in Brisbane, Australia, reveal that the suburban dream is still very alive. A number of factors, including life stage (i.e. the child-rearing stage), lifestyle (preference for ‘peace and quiet’), space (i.e. large home and garden), affordability (i.e. exorbitant house prices in the inner city), and tradition (i.e. the Australian Dream), negatively influence suburbanites’ intention to pursue urban living. A few factors, including accessibility and, to a lesser extent, environmental consciousness and amenity (i.e. lack of safety concerns in the inner city, public transport orientation, and the good quality of city schools), positively influence people’s interest in pursuing compact urban living. Overall, the results are discouraging in terms of Australia’s urban sustainability outlook.