This issue of Urban Design and Planning contains four papers. The journal caters to professionals in the discipline of urbanism all over the world, and the authors as well as the topics have an international orientation. One of the papers stresses that globalisation results in local events possibly having worldwide impact, be they natural or manmade. All four papers present results of research using a range of information technologies. Although each paper is focused on a specific field within urbanism, together they show the importance of relating these insights and integrating them into the one discipline. This remark may be expected from a Dutchman, as the Netherlands in general and his School of Architecture in Delft in particular are known for the conviction that urbanism is an engineering science integrating design and planning. Elsewhere in the world, urban design is often seen as an extension of architecture and planning as a sociopolitical science. This issue is another plea for this conviction, as is the name of the journal.
The first paper, by Sahoo and Pekkat (2014) from India, focuses on recognizing and measuring hard surfaces from satellite images as an indication for degrees of and changes in urbanisation. The paper demonstrates an awareness of history as a meaningful and important source of knowledge. Next to its precision and technical knowledge it shows what I call a ‘designerly’ way of thinking in assuming the direct relationship between hard surfaces and urbanisation. No doubt this holds true in a general sense, although exceptions can be imagined in, for example, rural industries with large surfaces of pavement for handling or storage of goods, or large park reserves within cities, but that does not devaluate the assumption. Sahoo and Pekkat cite research indicating the risk of loss of effectiveness with the improvement of the technique of measuring. They also show the positive effect of integrating results obtained from different kinds of data. It would be interesting to know to what degree this can be automated. One suspects that the insights gained through the data on Guwahata City would allow for follow-up research on the ecological effects of the reduction of forest areas, swamps and open water, as on the managerial effects of handling rainwater. Both relate to other papers in this issue.
The second paper, by Arndt et al. (2014) from Brazil, presents a specific use of information and communications technology for the management of urban planning, including the manipulation of ontologies of thinking of decision makers. The approach incorporates formal and empirical knowledge, focusing on the planning and management of sewage systems. The paper's introduction states: ‘… a clear understanding of the present is needed to discern the future’ (p. 58). I would add that, likewise, the present can only be understood from the past. Here again we see evidence of the combination of designerly ways of thinking and hard science, as the authors introduce ‘neuro-fuzzy networks [that] make possible the creation of environments with the ability to store knowledge and understand the logic of human reasoning, working with uncertainty, [and] degrees of relevance and inference’ (p. 59). This of course goes way beyond just the management and planning of sewage systems, and is most relevant for new ways of thinking that are needed to make the step from traditional scenario methods to truly sustainable planning methods, sustainable also in a social sense.
The third paper, by Moloney and McKeogh (2014) from Ireland, evidences the equally scary result of unrecognised relations and direct effects of planning decisions on a national economy. By assuming new housing was needed to support the economic boom of Ireland in the early 2000s, and overlooking existing and rapidly growing vacancy rates, followed by building new infrastructure to sustain a non-existent population growth, the country wasted great sums of money. This also resulted in a boosting of the construction industry, albeit very temporarily and thus creating unemployment immediately after. So much for the support of planning. And it would have been so easy to perform better. Moloney and McKeogh explain a very strong planning policy instrument, based on relating different sources of knowledge and recognising the mutual dependencies, and aiming at a sustainable ‘investment in physical infrastructure […] aligned with population growth and industry requirements’ (p. 77). However, aspects remain unexplained. Why did developers keep building for vacancy? Did salaries not rise to expectation and is the new housing thus too expensive? And what has been the influence of speculation that has developed into a very serious threat in other (developing) countries? For this further research is needed.
The fourth and final paper, by Collier et al. (2014) from Arup in Australia, Hong Kong, Russia and the UK, presents a wheel of different aspects of resilience on different scales developed from four case examples of cities that have suffered severe damages from extreme weather events, and that can now be used to reduce vulnerability to hazards, threats and trends of all kinds. The authors state: ‘Urbanisation is one of the great driving forces of the twenty-first century. Cities generate both productivity and creativity, and the benefits offered by high-density living and working contribute to sustainability’ (p. 79). This may be somewhat optimistic, as cities also form threats by themselves, for example segregation and exploitation of the poor or the creation of excessive heat islands; but just imagine the loss of capital, financial but even more so social, in the case of disasters, natural or other. The framework offered may seem at first sight almost self-evident, but the authors explain how it helps create awareness of general and specific vulnerabilities of cities when applied to the characteristics of any city. It is more than a checklist, as it stresses the interrelations of the different aspects listed. The example of the worldwide effects on economy of the flooding of several factories producing supplies for high-tech industry in Bangkok in 2011 again evidences the way local events can have a global influence.
