Hans Karssenberg

Hans Karssenberg, a consultant with the Dutch firm Stipo Consult, is speaking. He helps the ReUrbA project with the development of the method.

What is the ReUrbA method exactly?
'First of all, it is not yet reality. It is a method-under-development, an exchange of practical experience. A lot of theoretical ink has been spilt about the various topics. Nevertheless, I think that this method will be something quite special because it is based on practical experience and findings. Of course, where necessary, there is also a theoretical component.

The method concentrates much more on the way results are achieved than on the project results themselves. When there have been urban regeneration projects, we see the result being presented, often with a roll of drums and a clash of cymbals. But results hardly teach you anything at all. What matters to us is the way those results are arrived at. In some cases, failures are just as interesting as successes. How has a problem been dealt with, and why? How were threats warded off? These things are much more interesting for urban renewers than the final outcomes.'

The ReUrbA method is being established as it goes along. What does this mean?
'First of all, the method is rooted entirely in practice. At present, in the practice of the project partners, but the scope could be extended. Together with the partners, we are working on the analysis of their own procedures, regardless of how far projects have got. All this information produces similarities. And, where possible, we classify the experiences so as to obtain common denominators. You should not think of the ReUrbA method as a nicely rounded concept, either. On the one hand, it is a useful lucky dip in which you can fish for other people's experiences. Alternatively, as we are now finding, a few principles are very important for successful practice. The principles that are emerging are: governance , creative transformation and lifestyles .'

'Governance' is starting to become a bit of a buzzword in the world of planners.
'That is true, but the concept is actually very important. To understand things properly, we have to realise that there has been a major change in the world of spatial development. Not long ago, building new areas in meadowland was, in effect, the main activity of urban developers. They developed overall plans for these areas and, in the end, put the product onto the market. Of course, they did take a look at demand, but their thinking was dominated by the quality of the product. This approach is now thought of as obsolete, and rightly. It no longer works, because our first task is to redevelop ever-larger existing post-war neighbourhoods. But another reason it no longer works is that urban renewers are now starting to understand that good regeneration processes need to assign a central role to demand. This is a logical development: the housing market is no longer so tight that there are buyers for whatever is on offer.

This changing attitude is referred to as "demand-driven planning". I do not think this term is clear enough. The undertone is still that plans are based on the supply side and that you simply take a better look at demand. Modern urban regeneration is a planning process in which suppliers, customers and investors get together to work on plan development. ReUrbA therefore prefers to use the term "governance". It describes the process much better.

And whatever the laws of "governance" are, they will constitute an important part of the ReUrbA method.'

Is the second principle - creative transformation - mainly about the talent for making the most of small spaces?
'Yes, it's about that too. But it is about more than "density". In some cases, "dilution" is the appropriate response when people start leaving a given area. In other words, the aim is not to fill up all the available space. It is more a question of combining various functions in the area and also of looking at the links between those various functions: housing, work and relaxation.'

The third principle, the 'lifestyles', sounds like a modern version of working with target groups.
'No, it's not the same thing. Urban regeneration has used target groups for a long time now. The focus is on income, age, family size and other indicators of that kind. A lifestyle approach is a supplement to working with target groups. You still have to use a target-group approach in a demand-driven planning process. But once you have defined the target groups you want to attract to an area, you still have to decide on the instruments you can use. This is when the lifestyle approach comes into its own. You also use lifestyles to analyse market demand, but the emphasis is much less on what consumers are, in other words their income or age. Using lifestyles, you can identify people's wishes, their motives, their cultural preferences, the facilities they want to have, those sorts of things.'

Is the Reurba² method a fixed process?
No, not at all. As I said previously, the method is rooted and developed in practice. Some project partners have asked us to look at a number of financial aspects of urban regeneration. This request has led to a fourth principle for the Reurba² method: value-oriented planning.

How new are these principles really?
'A lot has already been written about governance as a planning principle but thinking about it is still in the early stages. So we will be encouraging it using the practical background of the ReUrbA partners. A lot is already known about creative transformation on the project level but it has not yet really been elaborated properly in terms of practical application. A lot has already been written about the theory of lifestyles but, again, hardly anything has been done about putting it into practice. And so there are very few examples of successful application.'

What does the laboratory atmosphere of the ReUrbA method mean?
'First of all, it means that we are developing the method in a continuous interaction with practice. Or rather that the method is based on practical experience. And because we communicate intensively with our partners about it, the method results immediately in feedback. Partners can benefit from each other's experiences immediately. On top of that, everybody can get involved. Our ReUrbA site shows how far we have got at all times. Everybody with an opinion - even non-partners - can report by e-mail, preferably on their own experiences. We then take a look and see what we can do with those responses. Towards the summer of 2005, we hope to present an initial, reasonably complete, interim assessment. And of course, we will be doing our best to ensure that everybody who wants to use the method can gain easy access.'

For suggestions:
reurba@pzh.nl