Roadmap towards inclusiv(c)ity
This is the graduation research of Marieke de Bode. Contact her for more information about references and illustrations and/or further explanation.
London is a global city, a diverse city and at the same time also a city with lots of socio-spatial inequalities. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, tries to anticipate to this socio-spatial division and aims to more inclusivity in the city, towards urban development that meet the needs of all the diverse population groups in London.
However, at the same time, the current development of the city does not match with this aim towards inclusivity. Because currently, a lot of neighbourhoods in London are facing processes of gentrification. This gentrification is urban development with exclusive characteristics and does not support inclusivity in the city at all. This exclusive urban development, this process of gentrification is initiated by the private developer and facilitated by the government, by the Mayor of London himself
So, in order to strive just like the Mayor, for more inclusivity, we should turn the exclusive urban development more towards inclusive urban development by taking a closer look to this urban development, to this urban planning system in London.
The first thing important to know, is that the UK planning system is a solid and complex system, based on policies. The aim towards inclusivity needs to be in the form of policies in order to work. The second thing important to know is that the London Planning system consist of three actors; 1) the private developer, 2) the different tiers of governance and 3) the civil society. Within the privatised and deregulated Angelo-Saxon free market planning system of London, the private developer is the powerful initiator of urban development. At the same time, the local authority with the Local Plan, has legal planning authority and influence, control and facilitate the development by private developer through a planning brief. The planning brief is a document which summarises the broad vision, requirement, the planning obligations / planning policies for the development of a particular site.
Since the Locality act of 2011, the civil society have the ability to gain more power in the urban planning process in London thanks to Neighbourhood Planning. A Neighbourhood Plan is a community-led planning document in which the community’s vision of neighbourhood development is translated into planning policies. After approval of the Plan, these policies will be included in the Local plan of the local authority and can become legal force. Thanks to these planning policies in the Neighbourhood Plan, the community can influence the planning brief and control the private developer indirectly.
Therefore, the Neighbourhood planning approach in London will be used as a tool to support inclusive urban development and minimise the processes of gentrification and displacement.
From gentrification to displacement
Gentrification is in literature described as ‘the revitalization, renovation and renewal of run-down inner city environment through an influx of more influent persons’. The process of gentrification is time and context specific and shifted through time into classic gentrification (which was a more sporadic, small-scale, bottom up renovation of housing initiated by individuals) into currently the most common form of gentrification: new build gentrification. New-build gentrification is the transformation of vacant or brown field land into high-density, large scale, high rise, monotone, exclusive residential areas, especially intended for the higher social economic residents initiated by the state and the private developer
Based on spatial analyses these indicators of new build gentrification are clearly visible in the global city London based on two trends. London Opportunity Areas and the multiple deprivation Index. By mapping the deprived Opportunity Area neighbourhoods there can be concluded that areas with high risk of gentrification are located mainly in east inner London boroughs.
The exclusive urban development of the gentrification process is mainly intended for the higher socio-economic population groups and will change and influence the urban development of surrounding neighbourhoods. This reinvestment in vacant brown field areas will transform the neighbourhood itself but will also spreads out and influence surrounding deprived neighbourhoods until it is taking over the whole area and also transfer existing neighbourhoods into exclusive neighbourhoods.
Original residents living in surrounding neighbourhoods of the new build gentrification area will be indirectly displaced to outer London boroughs because they are (or feel) forced to move out of their neighbourhood due to the rapid change of their housing, services and public space.
When developing the elements of displacement (housing, services and public space) towards more inclusivity (accessibility, diversity and community), inclusive urban development can be achieved. Thanks to this inclusive urban development everybody in the neighbourhood benefits equally from the new opportunities that comes with the urban development of the neighbourhood.
[Inclusive] Neighbourhood Plan
The Neighbourhood Planning has been investigated and explored as an instrument to implement and promote inclusivity in the urban development of London. But, since a Neighbourhood Plan does not automatically cover the gentrification and displacement issues of the neighbourhood, the Neighbourhood Plan should be improved to stimulate and encourage inclusive urban development in areas with high risk of gentrification.
This results in an inclusive derivative of the Neighbourhood Plan; the Inclusive Neighbourhood Plan. The Inclusive Neighbourhood Plan will come with a clear and understandable step-by-step roadmap.
Just like the original Neighbourhood Plan, also the Inclusive Neighbourhood Plan is a complex, time-consuming job with a lot of responsibilities for the community members. The community members of areas facing gentrification overall lack expertise and the knowledge to produce such complex plans. In order to respond to the lack of skills of the residents, the Inclusive Neighbourhood Plan provides Inclusive Patterns. These Inclusive Patterns are a translation of the urban planner’s knowledge about inclusivity into clear and understandable examples how to develop towards more inclusive urban development. The Patterns derive from combining the elements of indirect displacement with the pillars of inclusivity.
The 9 Inclusive Patterns will help the community members to improve the accessibility, diversity and community of the houses, services and public space in the neighbourhood.
The provision of a detailed ‘Inclusive Neighbourhood Plan roadmap’ together with the ‘Inclusive Patterns’ will help the community producing the Inclusive Neighbourhood Plan step-by-step.
So, a derivative of the existing Neighbourhood Planning approach, an Inclusive Neighbourhood Pan, will support inclusive urban development in London. In this way the processes of new build gentrification and indirect displacement will be minimized. So the neighbourhood and its resident are in front of the decision whether they would like to see the neighbourhood develop in an exclusive way or an inclusive way.
With this inclusive urban development all the different socio-economic population groups in London will profit equally from the urban development and London will be an inclusive city, a city for everybody!
