Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
strategic planning processes, and if a reasonable degree of comprehension
is reached between the administration, businesses and an ample representa-
tion of social agents, organisational synergies will develop that will eventu-
ally improve resource management and citizens' quality of life.
Strategic urban planning (SUP), hence, has dominated the urban plan-
ning field for the past two decades or more. It aims to improve the city's
performance and to ensure that future development is planned and respon-
sive. Its reliance on a participatory approach enriches the process, promotes
local ownership and ensures—to an extent—its actual implementation. The
overall aim of the process is to improve the performance of the city through
adopting the strategic urban development plan. Its general objectives include
clarifying which city model is desired and working toward that goal, coor-
dinating public and private efforts, channelling energy, adapting to new
circumstances and improving the living conditions of the citizens affected.
Thus, it can be viewed as a tool to enhance the quality of life of city residents.
In the United States, SUP processes, also known as urban renewal projects,
began to appear at the end of the 20th century. The city of San Francisco carried
out its process between 1982 and 1984. The main motivation behind starting
the SUP process was the attempt to adequately react to problematic situations
(mainly economic crisis or standstill). At the beginning of the 21st century, this
kind of organisation is not reactive but proactive. In the case of Spain, crisis
situations are not the main causes of these processes, rather they are motivated
by the search for an improved level of public-private cooperation—the wish
to coordinate activity, continued improvements, the wish to launch revitalisa-
tion processes and even to follow others. The initial determination needed to
launch this type of process varies by region; in Spain, most processes (approxi-
mately 50%) are fronted by public entities, although a significant percentage
has mixed public-private leadership.
5.2.1 Description of SUP Processes
An SUP process is defined as a city project that unifies diagnoses, specifies
public and private actions, and establishes a coherent mobilisation frame-
work for the cooperation of urban social actors. A participative process is a
priority when defining contents because this process will be the basis for the
viability of the objectives and actions proposed. The result of the strategic
plan should not necessarily be the creation of regulations or of a government
programme (although its adoption by the state and local government should
mean the instigation of regulations, investment, administrative measures,
policy initiatives etc.) but rather a policy contract between public institutions
and civil society. For this reason, the process following the approval of the
plan and the monitoring and implementation of measures or actions is just as
or more important than the process of elaboration and consensual approval.
That is why SUP is now considered a type of governance.
