Mattias Qviström

LANDSCAPES OUT OF ORDER: STUDYING THE INNER URBAN FRINGE BEYOND THE RURAL – URBAN DIVIDE

Abstract. Contemporary accounts of the inner urban fringe tend to focus on the transition from rural to urban land use and rural–urban conflicts, rather than highlighting the landscape at the city edge in its own right. It is argued in this paper that such dichotomous accounts neglect the complexity, values and conflicts of fringe landscapes. The study illustrates that an investigation into the relationship between attempts within spatial planning to design orderly places for urban expansion and the evolvement of places out of order offers a way to analyse landscape transformations at the fringe beyond the rural–urban divide. This approach will offer a multifaceted analysis of the landscape, which in turn will facilitate a more open discussion on land use and values within planning. A theoretical discussion on the interplay between ordered and disordered places is followed by a case study of the interactions between a disordered place and the ambitions within spatial planning to create order. The study has been conducted at the fringe of Burlöv (in southernmost Sweden). By way of conclusion, the findings of the case study are summarized, along with arguments that underline the need for further case studies of fringe landscapes.

Exploring landscape dynamics at the edge of the city: Spatial plans and everyday places at the inner urban fringe of Malmö, Sweden

Abstract Landscapes at the edge of the city comprise vast areas that ‘lie fallow’, awaiting future urban development. During this time new landscape values evolve. It is argued that the complexity of urban fringe landscapes is not adequately considered either within landscape research or in the practice of spatial planning. A key to understanding landscapes at the inner urban fringe is to focus on landscape dynamics, and on the interactions between spatial plans and everyday activities. The study is divided into three parts. First, theoretical considerations about landscape dynamics and the character of the inner urban fringe are presented. Thereafter, the relationship between spatial planning and everyday places is analysed in a case-study area at the edge of the city of Malmö in southernmost Sweden. The case study demonstrates the complexity of landscape dynamics at the inner urban fringe, as well as problems regarding the handling of ephemeral and transitory aspects within spatial planning. The study concludes with a discussion concerning the importance of studies of landscape dynamics within landscape research.

Shadows of planning: on landscape/planning history and inherited landscape ambiguities at the urban fringe

Abstract. The history of vernacular landscapes at the urban fringe is poorly studied, limiting our understanding of the contemporary character of the fringe and our knowledge of the urbanization process. This article argues the necessity of a combined analysis of the legacies of planning and the footprints of former landscape ideals in order to understand the conditions for spatial planning at the urban fringe. After first introducing the methodological use of landscape/planning history, the article focuses on the Swedish discourse on landscape change and landscape planning concerning the urban fringe in the 1930s. Particular focus is placed on the discourse on agricultural landscapes at the urban fringe. The third section of the article presents an examination of the footprints of the ‘landscape convention’ (i.e. an agreement on the meaning of landscape in relation to law and justice) resulting from the landscape discourse of the 1930s. The article argues that the legacy of the 1930s explains some of the difficulties arising when planners of today aim to utilize the farm landscape as a resource for recreation at the urban fringe. The shadow of the landscape discourse of the 1930s also creates difficulties in dealing with peri‐urban landscapes in Swedish planning and Swedish law. With the ongoing discourse on how to implement the European Landscape Convention, such knowledge is particularly useful.

Searching for an open future: planning history as a means of peri-urban landscape analysis

The paper studies the need to acknowledge planning history in order to grasp the character of contemporary landscapes. The aim of the study was to critically examine how the shadows of past planning frame the current discourse on peri-urban landscapes and, inspired by actor-network-theory, to explore the potential for new stories through a symmetrical analysis of historical planning documents. This is illustrated here using a case study of a municipality in Sweden. The paper argues that a combination of critical and creative reading could enrich the planning debate and open up new strategies for investigations and policies concerning hybrid landscapes.

Contested Landscapes of Urban Sprawl: Landscape Protection and Regional Planning in Scania, Sweden, 1932–1947

Abstract Studies in landscape and planning history are used here in order to critically examine the debate on urban sprawl and to reveal embedded conflicts within spatial planning aiming to curb sprawl. The paper aims to illustrate this with an examination of one of the earliest attempts to control peri-urban development at a regional level in Sweden. The discourse on sprawl is first introduced and the fruitfulness of landscape studies in capturing inherent and conflicting aims within planning is examined. Subsequent analysis of the seemingly scattered and weak spatial planning of the 1930s and 1940s in Scania, Sweden, reveals an ad hoc regional plan, developed primarily in order to curb scattered development. The importance of the landscape discourse for the development of the plan, as well as the contradictory treatment of urban sprawl (on a local and regional level), is demonstrated. The final part discusses the importance of this historiography for the ability to deal with the current planning situation. The conclusion is that urban sprawl is not necessarily the result of weak or absent planning, but rather of embedded contradictions within planning; therefore stronger planning will never be sufficient as long as the inherent conflicts within the plans (and in the landscape they help create) remain unresolved.

Network Ruins and Green Structure Development: An Attempt to Trace Relational Spaces of a Railway Ruin

Abstract In recent years, ruins have come to be regarded as an asset for the revitalization of urban nature, facilitating a critique of the nature–culture divide embedded in the fabric of contemporary cities and modern planning. This paper therefore argues for investigations of relational spaces of industrial ruins in order to capture their potential within green structure planning. The breakdown of the former order and the establishment of new heterogeneous relationships need to be regarded as vital background information when reinterpreting the ruin as part of the green structure. The concept network ruin is introduced here to inspire further studies of the shattered actor-network and its inertia. In order to illustrate the concept, the paper presents a case study of the ruins related to a former railway in southern Sweden. The transformation of one part of the embankment into a multifunctional greenway is studied in detail and the process of dismantling the ruin (metaphorically and literally) within planning and the public debate is scrutinized. Finally, relational spaces of the ruin are compared with the spatially and conceptually limited discourse on the greenway, in order to illustrate the fruitfulness of a more inclusive analysis.

Forty years of Landscape Research

Abstract Papers of four decades published in Landscape Research are reviewed in order to chronicle the journal’s development and to assess the academic performance of the journal relative to its own aims. Landscape Research intends to reach a wide audience, to have a broad thematic coverage and to publish different types of papers with various methodological orientations. Cutting across these first aims are the interdisciplinary ambition of the journal, and its overall focus on landscape. These aims are evaluated based upon categorisation of article content, authorship and methodology, using data derived through interpretative inquiry and quantitative analyses. The results tell the story of how Landscape Research has developed from a newsletter of the Landscape Research Group, mainly aimed at practitioners, into an interdisciplinary, international journal with academic researchers as its primary community of interest. The final section discusses the current profile of the journal and identifies issues for its future direction and development.

Evaluating soundscape intentions in landscape architecture: a study of competition entries for a new cemetery in Järva, Stockholm

While soundscape is increasingly acknowledged within landscape planning and design discourse, there is little research that clarifies how soundscapes are actually dealt with in landscape architecture practice – partly owing to methodological insufficiencies. This paper, therefore, describes a model for evaluating soundscape treatment in landscape design proposals, focusing on three key aspects. With the dual aim of testing the model, and learning more about how soundscape is approached in practice, the paper spotlights a major design competition for a new cemetery in Sweden. The model proved fruitful and easy to apply. It showed that only limited attention was paid to soundscape in the competition as a whole, and was a useful means of pinpointing proposals where soundscape was fully considered as a design feature; one competition entry that did so is described in the paper. Discussions cover design practice, trends in the competition and model application.

Competing geographies of recreational running: The case of the “jogging wave” in Sweden in the late 1970s

Recreational running encompasses more than one type of exercise. Different running practices offer different, even opposing, conceptualisations of the role of the environment. As illustrated in this paper, historical studies can uncover and explain these variations. By studying the clash between two practices in Sweden in the 1970s - the newly translated idea of North American jogging and an already established tradition of fitness running - this paper qualifies the difference between them and illustrates how they assembled competing geographies. The paper argues that current planning would benefit from acknowledging this multiplicity because different forms of running offer complementary strategies for inclusivity.

What Kind of Transit-Oriented Development? Using Planning History to Differentiate a Model for Sustainable Development

Abstract Transit-oriented development (TOD) is frequently cited as a planning strategy which facilitates sustainability transitions on urban and regional levels. Its supporters emphasize its innovative nature, but this tends to downplay the importance of the long history of transit-oriented strategies. This study examined whether scrutinizing planning history, particularly regarding rural–urban interplay, can differentiate TOD strategies and facilitate a discussion on desirable kinds of future TOD. The analysis used the case of the town Skurup in Sweden, tracing its partial dependencies on past planning and urban development through archival studies, maps, interviews and field studies. Particular attention was paid to the establishment of the rurban village in the late 19th century and to modern planning in the 1960s. It was concluded that the “divergence” from the TOD strategy of the former period and the “similarities” with modern planning need to be critically discussed in developing future TOD strategies. Based on the case, strategies for going beyond modern planning and referring more clearly to earlier TOD approaches are suggested, not least in order to maintain the cultural heritage of the town and its hinterland.