What limits cities’ ability to make their own
decisions? Cities are rarely able to make decisions
on land use and transport strategies on their own, but the
constraints on them differ from city to city. We have identified
three types of constraint, and found, in PROSPECTS, that it
is typically medium sized cities which suffer most from them;
smaller cities often have more freedom, while larger ones
often have more power.
Lack of direct control
Most cities have some division of responsibility for some
policy areas. While many have exclusive responsibility for
land-use and for traffic management, most share responsibility
for road building, public transport infrastructure and information
provision. However, a significant number do not have direct
responsibility for public transport operations or pricing
measures. In some cases the responsibility lies with other
levels of government, but increasingly it is the private sector
which determines public transport and pricing decisions. Within
cities there is the further problem that responsibilities,
particularly for land use and transport, are often split between
departments. This problem is becoming more serious as the
interactions between transport and other policy sectors such
as health and social policy become more important. Lack of
horizontal integration between these sectors, and their disciplines,
can be a significant barrier to progress.
Intervention from other levels of government
Even where cities have direct responsibility, they may well
be influenced strongly by adjacent authorities, by regional
bodies, and by national or European government. As we found
in PROSPECTS, all cities' decisions are influenced to some
extent by other governmental authorities. The strongest influence
comes from adjacent authorities; that from the European Commission
is much the weakest.
Involvement of other stakeholder groups
Business, environmentalists, transport users, the general
public and the media can all have a major influence on decision-making.
In the cities which we surveyed in PROSPECTS, business and
the general public have the greatest influence, and transport
users the least.
How should cities respond to these influences?
Institutional integration
There is no single answer to this question. Each city will
experience different constraints and need to decide how best
to handle them. This is one reason for making this guidebook
advisory rather than prescriptive. However, some general guidance
is possible. The key first step for each city is to understand
who can influence decisions and to what extent. The second
is to involve them in as many stages of the decision-making
process as possible. Where other agencies are directly responsible
for specific policy instruments, some form of partnership
will be needed, preferably in a form which is legally binding.
Where other government bodies have an influence, arrangements
for joint working can help. DGEnv stresses the importance
of horizontal integration between the sectors within an authority,
spatial integration between adjacent authorities, and vertical
integration between tiers of government. An EU project on
institutional issues, TIPP, makes a series of recommendations
both for more effective institutional structures and for working
more effectively within existing ones.
In the UK example shown, two tiers of government (city and
county) work together, and adjacent lower tier authorities
(districts) contribute advice. In the Norwegian region of
Jaeren, 10 municipalities and the county have jointly developed
a sustainable land use and transport strategy for the city
region, through consensus and with active encouragement from
government.
Stakeholder involvement
Other stakeholders should be encouraged to participate fully
in strategy formulation (Section
5). It should thus be possible to develop a common understanding
of objectives, the problems to be tackled, and the possible
strategies and implementation sequence. However, each group
will have its own objectives and priorities, and compromises
may be needed. In such situations it is important not to lose
sight of the overall goal, and to reach agreements which get
closest to meeting the city’s objectives. In some cases,
it will be possible to have significant impact on the decisions
of the other agencies involved; in others, where they are
wholly free agents, it may be that their decisions will run
counter to the overall strategy. A permanent joint monitoring
body can help to maintain cooperation. In the extreme, where
an agency prohibits progress towards an otherwise agreed strategy,
it may be necessary to seek changes in legislation to permit
more effective strategy formulation.
How far ahead should cities plan?
Most countries require cities to produce plans, and specify
a time horizon for them. For example, French Plans de Deplacements
Urbains are required to look ten years ahead; UK Local Transport
Plans are developed for a five year period within the context
of a 15 to 20 year strategy. The EC is considering a recommendation
that all cities of over 100,000 population should be required
to produce Sustainable Urban Transport Plans, covering a five
to ten year period, within the context of a 20 to 30 year
horizon. In PROSPECTS, we found that most European cities
produced short term plans, but there were differing views
on the need for medium and long term planning. Most medium
term plans cover a five to ten year period, and most long
term plans a period of ten to twenty years. Our guidance is
aimed at cities which are planning over a five to twenty year
period, and should help in responding to any requirements
from the EC. Longer term plans are appropriate where land
use and infrastructure changes are being considered, since
these may take time to implement, and will certainly continue
to influence the way in which the city develops over a longer
period. However, the further into the future we predict, the
less certain will be the circumstances in which our plans
will operate. There is therefore a trade-off between need
to consider longer term effects and uncertainty in doing so.
Two approaches to tackling this are formulating strategies
for different scenarios, which we consider in Section
11, and appraisal under uncertainty which we look at in
Section 13. Provided that
one or both of these are pursued, it makes sense to produce
combined land use and transport plans over a 15 to 20 year
period, and to develop shorter and medium term plans in that
context.
What factors influence longer term plans?
Within the timescale for even medium-term planning, the context
for decision-making can change markedly. All but seven of
the 54 European cities surveyed in PROSPECTS Deliverable 1
identified major changes in the past decade. Twelve mentioned
objectives which had become more important; for most this
was the environment and sustainability, but two mentioned
safety and one each equity, congestion relief, energy and
quality. Five mentioned economic trends, predominantly growth.
Seven mentioned the introduction of a new strategy at either
local or national level. Twenty identified new policy measures
being introduced; these were predominantly public transport
and demand management, but five mentioned new roads. Eight
referred to new land use policies, with all but one involving
tighter controls and increased densities. Six mentioned improvements
in government decision-making processes. Four from Eastern
Europe listed reductions in public ownership. Seven identified
financial or public acceptability constraints.
The same number identified major changes which would influence
future policy. Eight mentioned objectives which would become
more important; again these were mainly environment and sustainability,
but two mentioned quality and one energy. Five anticipated
substantial urban growth. Two mentioned the introduction of
a new local or national strategy. The majority listed policy
measures which would become more important. Of these 18 were
public transport improvements and 13 demand management, including
three listing road pricing; five mentioned new roads. Ten
anticipated greater control over land use, and increased density
of development. Eight expected improvements in government
decision-making structures, two reduced public ownership and
involvement, and two greater public involvement.
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