Søren Præstholm

Land system changes in the context of urbanisation: Examples from the peri-urban area of Greater Copenhagen

Abstract Peri-urban areas are characterised by great heterogeneity and rapid changes of land use. Furthermore, population composition changes as peri-urban areas offer attractive residential alternatives to city centres or more remote locations. The dynamic processes leave peri-urban areas in an in-between situation, neither city nor countryside and home to a range of functions, spanning from agricultural production to residential and recreational areas. The paper investigates the urbanisation of agricultural areas in the Greater Copenhagen region based on quantitative data collected on agricultural properties in nine study areas between 1984 and 2004. The overall conclusion is that agricultural land use has continued largely unaffected by the processes of urbanisation. However, most of the production is concentrated on a few very large full-time farms. In addition, the economic activities have been greatly diversified over the last three decades. The structural components of the areas (land use and landscape elements) thus appear more resilient than the socio-economic system (declining number of full-time farmers and increasing number of owners engaged in other gainful activities). However, at some point this discrepancy will disappear and rapid land use changes may be expected.

Multifunctional agriculture and multifunctional landscapes - land use as an interface

In contemporary sciences dealing with cultural landscapes, the concept of multifunctionality has gained increasing attention in the last decade. The scientific literature displays several attempts to frame the concept (e.g DeVries 2000; Anon 2001; de Groot et al. 2002) but there is much frustration regarding proper sets of broadly based definitions and clear statements concerning the authors’ scientific points of departure (Anon 2001). Multifunctionality is on the one hand used to characterize the activities in the primary production sector, and the land use reflecting the material consequences of the various demands set by the society on land territories — these approaches relate to the agricultural understanding of multifunctionality. On the other hand, multifunctionality is used to characterize the landscape per se. The primary production sector (i.e. agriculture, forestry, horticulture and related land dependent activities) is considered having a primary or main function (production), and related joint productions, typically including a mix of material and non-tangible goods as well as a mix of private and public goods (externalities). Production of food and fibres is generally considered the primary products in this context, but the primary sector produces other material goods too, such as CO2 sequestration, groundwater recharge etc.

Managing rural landscapes in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden- comparing planning systems and instruments in three different contexts

Abstract Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 108(2):1–16, 2008 Urban growth and sprawl have put pressure on surrounding rural areas for a long time, and planning history abounds with examples of how to cope with this development. The problem is also acknowledged in the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP), which, apart from recommending planning principles, also recommends common ways of arriving at solutions. This study compares three different planning systems and physical and socio-economic contexts (the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden) to analyze different approaches to managing urban growth, dealing with the transformation of rurban areas, and ensuring green areas. The results show that population density, the relative abundance of land and the role of agriculture have not only shaped planning systems and policies historically, but still define how urban sprawl is perceived and managed in current planning practices. Although indications of a common discourse can be found, the factors that once led to three distinct planning systems still play a major role. The results are used to discuss the potential for arriving at a common European view on planning as represented by the ESDP.

Planning approaches for rurban areas: Case studies from Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands

Abstract Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 109(1):15–32, 2009 Urban growth and sprawl have long put pressure on rural areas, leading to a growing zone of ‘rurban areas’ where a multitude of functions, urban or rural, compete for land. The development is acknowledged in European spatial planning documents, which also recommend common solutions. E.g. the spatial policy discussed and recommended in the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) emphasises the compact city concept, rural-urban linkages and conservation of nature and cultural heritage. This paper compares planning practice for rurban areas in three cases: Roskilde municipality (Denmark), Staffanstorp municipality (Sweden) and Werv-area (the Netherlands). All three areas belong to the rurban zone and are selected to exemplify pro-active planning. The analysis focuses on how the concept of compact city is perceived and implemented, how rurban areas are managed in order to avoidfurther urban encroachment, and how resilient green landscapes are ensured. The results reveal significant differences in approaches, reflecting variations in the public involvement in rurban areas development, the role of different administrative levels and the use of zonation. Variation in the use of zonation encapsulates important differences between the cases: pre-zonation based on local discretion (Sweden), zonation based on national legislation and principles with little room of manoeuvre for the municipality (Denmark) and post-zonation with deliberate introduction of urban elements in rural areas and negotiations between stakeholders (the Netherlands).

Emerging digital plan data – new research perspectives on planning practice and evaluation

ABSTRACT Profound digitalization of public administration is gaining momentum and spatial planning is no exception. To increase the transparency of planning and its usefulness for public and private actors, planning authorities have integrated production and online distribution of digital plan data within existing planning practices and workflows. Many European countries have established public spatial planning databases. Denmark is one of the forerunners in that digitalization. Since 2006, all legal plans are registered in an open geodatabase including over 34,000 currently effective local development plans. Despite the obvious potential of such data to inform about planning practice and associated outcomes, research using these new data is rare, mainly focusing on technical or judicial aspects. Questions related to planning practice, efficiency, evaluation and design have hardly been looked into. In this paper, we provide a short overview of digital plan data in the Danish database as well as similar data in Nordic countries. We then discuss research perspectives regarding plan evaluation and planning practice and we argue that digital plans represent a new transdisciplinary type of intentionally explicit data source for analysis of land change processes.