Jean-Marie Halleux

Landscape Quality and Brownfield Regeneration: A Community Investigation Approach Inspired by Landscape Preference Studies

Abstract Increasing emphasis is given to brownfield regeneration across Europe. However, many local actors consider landscape quality as a secondary issue in the regeneration process. The present research investigated community sensitivity to landscape quality in the context of brownfield regeneration. This analysis was conducted in six post-industrial neighbourhoods situated in Wallonia (Belgium). The investigation method was inspired by landscape preference studies (LPS) and complemented with a qualitative case study approach. This method produced valuable insight into local community expectations regarding landscape management in the context of brownfield regeneration. The results presented in this paper suggest that perceived landscape quality influences community evaluation of regeneration schemes and reveal an unpredicted preference of certain community groups for post-industrial aesthetics. The findings also suggest that higher landscape quality in brownfield regeneration increases the attractiveness and liveability of a locality.

The spatial structuring of interurban housing markets: application to building sites prepared for self-provided housing

The author supports the argument that a focus on the spatiality of economic mechanisms can be a valuable way to address the issue of interurban housing markets, a theme which has not yet been adequately addressed by academic research. Developments are based on a theoretical framework in which two factors are considered central to the structuring of markets: (i) the possibility of choice between substitutable supplies (spatially related to the territory prospected by the consumer), and (ii) the availability of information on the state of the market (spatially related to the use of local sales references when market participants prepare their negotiations). This theoretical framework is empirically applied to the case of building sites prepared for self-built housing, with a modelling methodology elaborated for Belgium. The modelling methodology, based on cross-sectional regressions, develops a spatial autoregressive specification and incorporates a multiscale comparison. By highlighting the importance of information availability and demand substitutability, this exercise confirms that a focus on interurban market spatiality can be helpful to housing researchers. In fact, the results suggest that such a focus is particularly appropriate to the analysis of the impact of planning regulations on market outcomes.

Under the radar? ‘Soft’ residential densification in England, 2001–2011

Urban compaction policies have been widely adopted in developed countries in pursuit of more sustainable cities. Compactness is achieved through a process of ‘densification’, of developing and using land and buildings more intensively. However, empirical evidence on the processes and outcomes of urban densification is lacking. The paper addresses this lacuna. It considers densification in England, a country that has long experience of applying policies of urban containment and consolidation; and one where new data sources allow the analysis of recent land use change at a level of detail not hitherto possible. In England between 2001 and 2011, the bulk of additional dwellings were accommodated within urban areas, increasing their density. Yet, there were wide inter- and intra-regional variations in the pattern of densification: for example, in the contributions of large scale, formal development and of small scale, informal, gradual change – of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ densification – to the process. The significant differences in local experiences of densification that result raise major issues for policy.

Evaluation of the spatial and economic effectiveness of industrial land policies in Northwest Europe

ABSTRACT This article stems from the discrepancy between the lack of attention paid to industrial land policy by academics and the predominant thought among elected representatives and development agencies, i.e. that industrial land policy plays a key role in the creation of growth and new jobs. The article begins with a reflection on the literature, which stresses the need to develop knowledge on industrial land policies. To help fill this research gap, we have developed an exploratory piece of research on the theme of their ‘spatial’ and ‘economic effectiveness’, on the basis of statistical analyses dedicated to seven countries. As regards ‘spatial effectiveness’, the results underline significant national differentials in terms of land consumption on the one hand, while highlighting the economic sprawl that affects France and Belgium on the other hand. As regards ‘economic effectiveness’, our results show that the impact of the development of economic estates on growth depends largely on regional contexts. In particular, the ‘intermediate regions’ in western Germany stand out as belonging to a specific context where land policies seem particularly effective from an economic standpoint. By contrast, the ‘economic effectiveness’ of industrial land policies requires readjustments in the Netherlands as well as in most ‘predominantly rural regions, close to a city’.

Spatiality of Local Governments in European Intermediate Urban Regions: A Methodological Approach

Abstract Local authorities are central actors in the governance of European intermediate urban regions. In this paper, we propose a methodology to analyse the fragmentation of local authorities within 119 urban regions. We tested several European databases to create indicators of fragmentation and to develop a typology of fragmentation within cities. Our results show that the Eurostat Cities programme gives a consistent spatial definition of urban regions and that their fragmentation is mainly influenced by national contexts. The developed methodology is a contribution to the debate on territorial reforms and urban governance transformations.

L'impact de la gestion de la mobilité par les entreprises wallonnes sur les déplacements domicile-travail

Bien que la gestion de la mobilite par les entreprises soit une pratique de plus en plus courante, la litterature sur ce sujet ne permet pas de degager de conclusions bien tranchees quant a l’impact reel des mesures adoptees. Dans cette perspective, cet article cherche a preciser l’impact sur l’utilisation de l’automobile des mesures adoptees par les entreprises situees en Wallonie. Afin d’aboutir a cet objectif, l’article developpe des simulations qui precisent comment l’efficacite des mesures interagit avec d’autres determinants des pratiques modales. En integrant les mesures en faveur du covoiturage et les mesures en faveur des TC, nous aboutissons a une reduction comprise entre 7,2 % et 8,4 % de la conduite automobile. Pour les mesures en faveur des TC, contrairement a l’hypothese initiale, l’efficacite apparait moindre en centre urbain qu’en peripherie. Concernant les mesures en faveur du velo, les resultats temoignent d’un report modal qui s’effectue essentiellement depuis la marche plutot que depuis la voiture.