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New Zealand Planning Institute Annual Conference 2007

Do we have the capacity to respond to the changing rules? Implementing urban

design in New Zealand

Viv Heslop & Sherilyn Gray


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Planners as resource

management specialists but how ?

Planners as facilitators of urban design

What capacity building is needed?


Outline of presentation

what is capacity buildingwhy it is important for plannersthe changing rulesan integrated capacity building modelhow we are responding to capacity building issuesfuture challenges to the planning profession


What is capacity buildingnot a new ideatoo often focused on upskillingindividualsrecognition that everyone needs to play a part in delivering better urban design outcomescapacity building is holistic and integrated & incorporates skills, processes, practices


Why it is important for plannersthe process of creating better urban environmentarchitects, landscape architects, engineers, surveyors, developers & plannersplanning & planners can bridge the gap between professions & facilitate the development of sustainable towns & citiesplanners need to be integral in implementing urban designplanners facilitate good process


The changing rules for implementing urban design - what does this mean?


A soccer analogyIn soccer you have:

the rules - controlling how game is playedplayers - how teams are organised to playcoaches - how players get the skills they need to play the gamecheerleaders - those who ‘inspire’ the playersumpires - those who decide if the game is being played fair


Translating this to urban design implementation…


The ruleswhat it will take to implement urban design– being intent-focused– ability to diagnose key relationships– organisational strengthening– leadership, dialogue, advocacy– ‘thinking in time’ & ‘thinking in space’– adopting a learning perspective– innovation & creativity– good management of projects, people, finance, time


The players

how we structure ourselves– within organsations– between organisations– amongst key stakeholders


The coachesurban design championsconfidence, enabling environment

The cheerleadersstrong leaders being able to inspire on the need for change & to push the change– recognise, develop & support this talent


The umpires

those who judge & critique progress– people, people,

people


An integrated view of capacity building…


Aspects of capacity building

Human Resources

(i.e. individuals)

Intra-organisational

capacity

Inter-organisational

capacity

External institutional rules &

incentives


Human Resources

(i.e. individuals)

The process of equipping people with the understanding & skills, and access to knowledge & information to perform effectively

understand why urban design is importantgreater emphasis on process-related & ‘soft’ skills– communication– cooperation– conflict resolution– build coalition infrastructure– facilitation– negotiation– creativity– reflection

ability to understand other perspectivesunderstand the process


Human Resources

(i.e. individuals)

The process of equipping people with the understanding & skills, and access to knowledge & information to perform effectively

Some of the tools:– training - in-house and

external– secondments– seminars– networks


To achieve this the organisationalenvironment must be dynamic &

responsive…


Intra-organisational

capacity

The process by which things get done collectively within an organisation

multiple parts of organisationsinvolved in delivering urban design -this will require new & different organisational structures & relationshipscollaboration - genuine exchange of needs, ideas, responsibilities and controlcommunication - internal communication criticalrecognition of tools - LTCCP’s, urban design strategies


Inter-organisational

capacity

The process by which things get done collectively between organisations

networks - informal, more about process than procedures & structures, based on trust & reciprocitycollaboration - genuine exchange of needs, ideas, responsibilities and controlon-going learning & reflection needs to be supportedcommunicationrecognition of tools - regional strategies, START


These changes need to be supported by institutional development…


External institutional

rules & incentives

the legal & regulatory changes that have to be made in order to enable organisations & agencies at all levels & in all sectors to enhance their capacities

strategies - NZ Urban Design ProtocolNational Policy StatementsLocal Government Act 2002 - sustainable development focussupport & recognise soft skillssupport informal networks, collaborationpromote for open communicationpromote & support open monitoring & evaluation


How we are responding to capacity building issues…


New Zealand Urban Design Protocol– calls for “step up” in quality of

urban designMfE research into capacity issues & how we can deliver on this aim– Local government urban design

skills survey (May 2006)– Action Plan progress survey (Oct

2006)


Opportunities & issuesvariable understanding and uptake of urban designregional and rural councilsvariable support & buy-in – politicians, management, stafflack of urban design principles incorporated into planning strategies and processesshortage of specialist urban design skillssignatories – higher awareness of issuesrecognition of need to build-up understanding (‘inter’ & ‘intra’)call for continued support, resources, communication & collaborationbetter integration of urban design into strategic policy frameworks


Central governmentreviewing the Protocol’s supporting information & resourcesidentifying urban design & urban design related coursesworking with education institutes & professional institutesdeveloping more visual types of resourcesdeveloping more urban design case studiesfacilitating better information coordination & information sharingproviding increased/enhanced access to urban design expertise


No need to re-invent the wheel

NZPI urban design training -existinglocal council initiatives - including training (HCC, TCC)new training development - NZPI, NZIS, IPENZ, NZILAtools for change - researcherscase study portal


No need to re-invent the wheel

the CABE enabling service– Provides free advice to public sector

organisations that are commissioning new buildings, masterplans, urban frameworks or green space strategies

CABE’s urban design summer schoolDetroit Collaborative Design CentreGreater Vancouver Green Guide


Issuing a challenge

planners need to re-focus our attention & skills on strengthening capacity to support more sustainable urban outcomesneed to embrace a diverse range of practices, processes & skills for the outcomes we wantre-discovering old skills & learning some newplanners can take the lead & lead the chargerecognition that it will take time


Some C’s

ConfidenceCreative & innovativeCollaborativeConnected to the communityCommunicating benefits


Contact details

Viv [email protected]

Sherilyn [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

manaaki whenua - landcare research | landcare …...cabe’s urban design summer school detroit...

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