Urban expansion re-visited

in pnd - rethinking planning (2021), 2021(1), 42-54

This paper deals with urban expansion, that is, the growth of cities and inner-urban areas, both inside and outside of the dedicated planning perimeters. My aim is to give a brief overview of how this ... [more ▼]

This paper deals with urban expansion, that is, the growth of cities and inner-urban areas, both inside and outside of the dedicated planning perimeters. My aim is to give a brief overview of how this subject matter can be discussed from a contemporary perspective, with a certain focus on big projects that have evolved in recent decades and are on the rise again. Towards that end, I will situate the subject matter in historical contexts, provide some explanation as to the 1970s and more recent dynamics, and discuss how large-scale urban projects are being implemented. While big projects pursue different ambitions—such as economic, socio-demographic or ecological goals—they are set in place by a kind of managerial urbanism, often prioritise economic gains and thus challenge urban policy and planning. The paper concludes with a call to contextualise the variegated outcomes of new urban projects and to develop appropriate methods for monitoring and assessing urban life in these quarters. [less ▲]

A Temporary Space Where Development and Planning Emergencies Meet? Notes on an International Building Exhibition (IBA) in the Cross- Border Territories of France and Luxembourg

in Planning Theory and Practice (2021), 22(1), 148-154

An International Building Exhibition (IBA) is currently being planned for the cross-border area of southern Luxembourg and north-eastern France (Alzette-Belval). This planning approach, mainly known in ... [more ▼]

An International Building Exhibition (IBA) is currently being planned for the cross-border area of southern Luxembourg and north-eastern France (Alzette-Belval). This planning approach, mainly known in the German building and planning context, was developed as a temporary activity to foster planning innovation and experimentation, in order to bring both formal and informal processes and regulations forward. Some have also argued that an IBA can be considered a temporary case of planning emergency, a means for trying the unusual in settings where business as usual has failed to address important problems properly. Organising an IBA has recently become increasingly popular in other European countries, such as Austria, the Netherlands or Switzerland. The aim of this note is to address some general questions as to the particular role that this instrument can play, and what it may promise (and not) to spatial planning. We also discuss the specific framework conditions and problems the French-Luxembourgian border region is confronted with. Our comment should contribute to clarifying what the underlying problems are actually about and, more specifically, in what ways an IBA could help dealing with them. Particularly, we suggest decision-makers and practitioners to follow a practice of ‘reflection before selection’: to address the very specificities of both the region and of an IBA before turning to ‘project’-based routines. This would avoid rendering the IBA as an empty signifier or a mere branding tool, while practice remains challenged by vested interests, complex policy terrains and powerful political economies. [less ▲]

City-states in relational urbanization: the case of Luxembourg and Singapore

in Urban Geography (2021), 43(4), 501-522

Post-industrial global urbanisation has seen the rise of territorial economic development strategies predicated on reconfiguring the urban landscape to conform to novel forms of economic production, often ... [more ▼]

Post-industrial global urbanisation has seen the rise of territorial economic development strategies predicated on reconfiguring the urban landscape to conform to novel forms of economic production, often under the guise of ‘global city’ development. This paper reorients the conversation on global city development by highlighting the intermediary roles that particular cities play in brokering flows of global knowledge, goods, and capital through novel spatial-economic configurations. We identify a sub-set of city-states characterized by territorial economic development strategies that are exemplary of ‘relational’ processes. Luxembourg and Singapore serve as illustrative cases in which urban territorial development is guided almost entirely by an exogenous orientation benefitting from an intermediary positionality. They focus on intermediary services supported by technologically intensive infrastructures and niche economic strategies enables a relational competitive advantage. Although all cities are in some way ‘relational’ in their politico-economic orientation, these extraordinary cases highlight a number of novel concurrent socio-spatial processes. We conclude that a combination of forward-looking and unconventional ‘relational’ territorial development strategies including digital infrastructures and entrepreneurial legislation support the emergence of novel industrial configurations whose key advantages are conferred by their positionality in relation to regional and global flows. [less ▲]

Policy failure in urban governance: the case of large digital corporations

Presentation (2021)

This paper draws upon the branch of urban studies literature known as policy mobilities (McCann 2011) and, particularly, policy failure (Temenos & Lauermann 2020) to understand the strategic practices of ... [more ▼]

This paper draws upon the branch of urban studies literature known as policy mobilities (McCann 2011) and, particularly, policy failure (Temenos & Lauermann 2020) to understand the strategic practices of large digital corporations (LDCs) in urban development. While it is a relatively new phenomenon that LDCs are appearing as important actors in the field of urban development, their role has moved beyond being simply the producers of new technological products that supposedly make cities more efficient, green and smart. They are, for example, in the background, forging their central position in the functioning of cities by taking up space (land, water, bodies) for so-called essential urban infrastructures such as data centers (Carr 2021) needed to support their technologies. At the same time, they are also driving the production of what we refer to as their symbolic spaces of LDC-style digital cities. These are Amazon’s HQ2 and the digital city that was proposed by Sidewalk Labs Toronto (daughter firm of Alphabet Inc.), projects that epitomised both their importance in the field and the height of their technological innovation. Yet, striking about these cases is that, with the exception of the HQ2 in Arlington, these projects never materialized. In this paper, we argue that this was not a coincidence. Rather, both Amazon and Alphabet effectively mobilized a strategy of policy-making that has recently received attention in the urban studies literature: policy failure (Lovell 2017; Temenos & Lauermann 2020). Viewing these cases through the lens of policy failure shows that LDC-led digital cities is not so much about producing flashy cities equipped with avant-garde technologies as it is about endorsing a post-political mode of urban governance that drains public institutions of time and resources and reconfigures state-society relations. This is a cautionary tale for practitioners, who need to understand and watch out for the flags of this disingenuous behaviour. [less ▲]

«Property States» and the Financialization of Urban Development

in Hertweck, Florian (Ed.) Architecture on Common Ground The Question of Land: Positions and Models (2020)

The process of globalization of the economy and society has fundamentally changed the realities of life in cities in recent decades. Technological innovations in data processing allowed current trends ... [more ▼]

The process of globalization of the economy and society has fundamentally changed the realities of life in cities in recent decades. Technological innovations in data processing allowed current trends such as digitalization or the platform economy to gain momentum. Financialisation and its imprint on real estate markets has made land becoming increasingly included in the sphere of the global exchange economy, as an asset. The mobilization of financial assets is followed by the large-scale valuation of real estate; as a consequence, local lifeworlds are subject to heightened pressure to achieve high rates of return. The chapter discusses the implications of these developments for urban development and sheds light on the particular role of property in two small states: Luxembourg and Singapore. The rather distinct role of the state in either facilitating profit or ensuring access to public housing (at least for some) is reflected in the notion of 'property states'. [less ▲]

Relational cities disrupted. Reflections on the particular geographies of COVID-19 for small but global urbanisation in Dublin, Ireland, and Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

in Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie (2020), 111(3), 451-464

This paper looks at the particular geographies associated with the COVID-19 outbreak through the lens of cities that are products of relational urbanisation. This includes small but highly globalised ... [more ▼]

This paper looks at the particular geographies associated with the COVID-19 outbreak through the lens of cities that are products of relational urbanisation. This includes small but highly globalised cities, such as financial centres or hot spots of politics and diplomacy, which are usually situated between different political, economic or cultural systems and their boundaries. These cities experienced strong growth due to internationalisation and a dedicated politics of extraversion. Our argument is that such places are unusually affected by the current lock-down, illustrated by two empirical cases, the cities of Dublin, Ireland, and Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Both have experienced striking growth rates recently, but now suffer from disruption. Their development trajectories remain unclear, since a return to the ‘old normal’ seems unlikely, and the emergent ‘new normal’ calls for adaptation towards more state involvement in areas hitherto governed by the market. The paper addresses possible alternative geographies for both cases. [less ▲]

Cities seen through a relational lens

in Geographische Zeitschrift (2020), 108(2), 74-98

This paper applies a relational approach to global urbanization with respect to the economic flows and relationships that help local places to position themselves globally. The paper ties in with the ... [more ▼]

This paper applies a relational approach to global urbanization with respect to the economic flows and relationships that help local places to position themselves globally. The paper ties in with the increasing functional and economic integration of urban areas – an integration that is not primarily related to economic or population size but an outcome of specialization and a politics of niche sovereignty. Empirically the paper draws upon case studies of three different places: Geneva (Switzerland), Luxembourg City (Luxembourg) and the citystate of Singapore. We reconstruct the different ways in which these three became part of global networks, and how the crafting of political frameworks based on niche making has fostered their rise in global significance. [less ▲]

When Alphabet Inc. plans Toronto's waterfront: New post-political modes of urban governance

in Urban Planning (2020), 5(1), 69-83

‘Smart cities’ has become a hegemonic concept in urban discourses, despite substantial criticism presented by scholarly research and activism. The aim of this research was to understand what happens when ... [more ▼]

‘Smart cities’ has become a hegemonic concept in urban discourses, despite substantial criticism presented by scholarly research and activism. The aim of this research was to understand what happens when one of the big digital corporations enters the field of real estate and land use development and urban planning, how existing institutions respond to this, and how modes of urban governance are affected. Alphabet Inc.’s plans for Toronto’s waterfront provided insights into these questions. Our investigations traced a complex web of place-making practices that involved all levels of government, the general public, and networks of actors throughout the private sector. Methodologically, the discourse was reconstructed with local fieldwork, interviews with key actors, participating in tours and public meetings, and secondary sources. It was found that Alphabet Inc.’s plan to build a world-class digital city contained some lessons for urban studies and urban planning practice. First, Alphabet Inc.’s plans, which unfolded amidst initiatives to expand the knowledge economy, confirmed concerns that the trajectory of neoliberal, market-driven land use and speculation along the waterfront remains unchanged. Second, digital infrastructures are potentially a Trojan Horse. Third, it was seen that municipalities and their modes of urban planning are vulnerable to the political economic manoeuvrings of large corporate power. Fourth, Alphabet Inc. operates as a post-political package driven by a new coalition of politics, where the smart city is sold as a neutral technology. The controversies surrounding the project, however, stirred a civic discourse that might signal a return of the political. [less ▲]

Mobility policy through the lens of policy mobility: The post-political case of introducing free transit in Luxembourg

in Journal of Transport Geography (2020), 83

This viewpoint paper addresses the issue of fare-free public transport (FFPT) in the context of policy mobility, the strand of urban studies literature that examines how policy formulations developed in ... [more ▼]

This viewpoint paper addresses the issue of fare-free public transport (FFPT) in the context of policy mobility, the strand of urban studies literature that examines how policy formulations developed in one place tend to ‘travel’ and inform and inspire plans elsewhere as good or best practices. We argue that the promotion of policies may not reflect a serious attempt to solve a sustainability or socio-economic issue. Rather, the institutions in charge have different targets in mind. FFPT in Luxembourg is thus more a reflection of a post-political process where politics are severed from the political. [less ▲]

"Property States" und Finanzialisierung der Stadtentwicklung

in Hertweck, Florian (Ed.) Architektur auf gemeinsamem Boden. Positionen und Modelle zur Bodenfrage (2019)