"Slow Infiltration at Disciplinary Boundaries? - Hydrology and Spatial Planning in the Urban Environment

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1 "Slow Infiltration at Disciplinary Boundaries? - Hydrology and Spatial Planning in the Urban Environment Karen Potter PhD Researcher Mmm Mmm /

2 Overview Spatial Planning Partnership and Interdisciplinary Working Spatial Planning and Floodplain Restoration Upstreaming Social Science/Planning Research Conclusions Mm mm 1 /

3 Spatial Planning Over many years the planning system has been perceived as marginalised and essentially a regulatory activity, often portrayed as the problem rather than the solution (Durning & Glasson, 2004) As part of the Government s planning reform agenda under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (2004), spatial planning is being offered a central role in coordinating and enabling the delivery of sustainable communities Spatial planning goes beyond traditional land use planning to bring together and integrate policies for the development and use of land with other policies and programmes which influence the nature of places and how they can function. (DCLG, 2006:12-13). 2 / 16

4 Spatial Planning (2) This change is reflected in flood risk management: - Water Framework Directive - Floods Directive - Future Water - Water Efficiency in New Buildings - Making Space for Water - Surface Water Management Plans - Catchment Flood Management Plans - Shoreline Management Plans - River Basin Management Plans Planning Policy Statement 25: Development and Flood Risk Spatially: Site level Local level Regional level National level European 3 / 16

5 Spatial Planning (4)..in an increasingly complex and interconnected world, spatial plans should not be developed in isolated, functional or spatial silos. The UK planning system has been accused of evading wider responsibilities regarding flood risk management The relationship between planning and flood risk management being likened to a fish out of water (Howe & White, 2004)... It may be easy to have such ideas, but much more difficult to operationalise them (Shaw, 2006) 4 / 16

6 Spatial Planning (5) Draft Planning Policy Statement: Eco-towns - Consultation Planning Policy Statement 1: Delivering Sustainable Development Planning Policy Statement: Planning and Climate Change - Supplement to Planning Policy Statement 1 Planning Policy Guidance 2: Green Belts Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing Planning Policy Guidance 4: Industrial, Commercial Development and Small Firms Planning Policy Guidance 5: Simplified Planning Zones Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres Planning Policy Statement 7: Sustainable Development in Rural Areas -Planning Water Policy Framework Guidance Directive 8: Telecommunications Planning Policy Statement 9: Biodiversity and Geological Conservation - Floods Directive Planning Policy Statement 10: Planning for Sustainable Waste Management -Planning Future Policy Water Statement 11: Regional Spatial Strategies -Planning Water Policy Efficiency Statement in New 12: Local Buildings Spatial Planning Planning Policy Guidance 13: Transport - Making Space for Water Planning Policy Guidance 14: Development on Unstable Land -Planning Surface Policy Water Guidance Management 15: Planning and Plans the Historic Environment -Planning Catchment Policy Guidance Flood Management 16: Archaeology and Plans Planning Planning Policy Guidance 17: Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation - Shoreline Management Plans Planning Policy Guidance 18: Enforcing Planning Control -Planning River Basin Policy Guidance Management 19: Outdoor Plans Advertisement Control Planning Policy Guidance 20: Coastal Planning Planning Policy Guidance 21: Tourism (Cancelled) Planning Policy Policy Statement Statement 22: Renewable Energy 25: Development and Flood Risk Planning Policy Statement 23: Planning and Pollution Control Planning Policy Guidance 24: Planning and Noise Planning Policy Statement 25: Development and Flood Risk / 5 16

7 Partnership and Interdisciplinary Working The expertise necessary to understand the complexities of the issues cannot always reside in a single head (Matt Thomson, 2009, RTPI, Head of Policy and Practice) The transition from a narrow land use regulatory framework towards a more integrated concept of spatial planning will require effective collaboration with other policy makers and stakeholders Most institutions have scientists in discrete departments.there are many where if you are in biology, you are not allowed to speak to those nasty folk in engineering, much less to sociologists, who are someplace else and you wouldn t know what to say to them even if you met them (adapted from Tabak, 2004) 6 / 16

8 Partnership and Interdisciplinary Working (2) Hydrologist Planner Modelling? Actor? Action Theory - this approach has its foundations in Max Weber's Any person ( ) who undertakes interpretive social action. sociology which claims that it is necessary to know the subjective purpose and intent of the actor before an observer can understand the meaning of social action. 7 / 16

9 Spatial Planning and Floodplain Restoration Although the concept of integration has been fundamental in sustainability debates over many years and it is recognised that integration is an essential feature of spatial planning; a thorough understanding of the complexity of actually achieving integration, both in theory and practice, is not yet complete (Kidd, 2007) PhD Research the Integration of Spatial Planning and Floodplain Restoration A case study of: - how to achieve integration - bridging the gaps in policy and practice - the importance of upstreaming social science (planning) research 8 / 16

10 'The Big Hole' which appeared overnight in the on the outskirts of Northwich, 12th October, 1912 Source: Marston Parish Council

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13 Spatial Planning and Floodplain Restoration (2) The negative impact of the large scale uncoupling of rivers from their functional floodplain has become apparent There is an evident need to work with natural processes, including the reconnection of rivers to their floodplains to restore their natural hydrological functions Source: Friendsoftheriver.org Squeezing rivers into pipes and underground tunnels is not a solution, and will often lead to worse flooding in the future. We need to make space for rivers to work naturally with floodplains that hold and convey the excess water during floods (Environment Agency, 2006) 9 / 16

14 Sutcliffe Park, Greenwich - the Anti-Flood Park Source: K.Potter

15 Boscastle, Cornwall Source: K.Potter

16 Spatial Planning and Floodplain Restoration (3) Restoration schemes can achieve multiple objectives: Distributing and replenish soil nutrients Improve water quality Provide habitats Provision of crops and timber Attractive landscapes Opportunities for leisure and recreational pursuits Strong opportunities exist for the integration of floodplain restoration into overlapping planning agendas, for example: Green infrastructure initiatives Mineral site restoration Urban regeneration Redevelopment Source: K. Potter / 10 16

17 Spatial Planning and Floodplain Restoration (4).but Floodplain restoration schemes in this country are few and of a small scale (Ledoux et al, 2005; Moss & Monstadt, 2007; Potter, 2006) The practice of floodplain restoration remains in its infancy and is not keeping apace with the policy rhetoric (Adams et al, 2004) Converting the rhetoric on into practice at the large scales required is said to represent a serious challenge (Werrity, 2006) Floodplain restoration policy prescriptions for restoring rivers natural floodplains face a complex series of institutional barriers to implementing the necessary land use change / 11 16

18 Upstreaming Social Science/Planning Research Rational Policy Cycle: Process driven by rationally tackling social problems Effective and efficient strategies sought on the basis of scientific evidence A social problem has become a policy problem Options compared, one or more selected Policy makers, in general, tend to attribute policy failure to situations abroad or to external circumstances, while they Policy implemented tend to claim responsibility political decisions for policy successes concretised themselves (Crabbe & Leroy, 2007) 12 / 16

19 Upstreaming Social Science/Planning Research (2) Rational Policy Cycle: Process driven by rationally tackling social problems Simple and unproblematic models of evidence based policy and practice in which evidence is created by experts and drawn on as necessary by policy makers and practitioners fail as either accurate descriptions or effective prescriptions.. while it is tempting to think of evidence entering the policy process as part of a rational decision making process, reality is often far more messy and overtly political than this (Nutley et al, 2002, p9) 13 / 16

20 Upstreaming Social Science/Planning Research (3) Policy Rational making Policy is not Cycle: rational: It Process is created driven in an by environment rationally tackling of political social and problems social interaction Researchers Climate change so-called policy data options incongruity often contain and overload idealised meet reasoning we have that met make the implementing policy far limits of human from trivial (Omamo, knowledge 2004) Research/policy/practice gaps can be Institutionalisation particularly difficult to bridge human when a behaviour large scale shift in thinking becomes is required fixed in its responses and actions When major natural disasters Policy happen, goals are there is always vague a and public ill outcry for a formulated response. Politicians respond accordingly - out of fear of being seen as lacking in compassion with grandiose engineering works or technical solutions (Fox, 2006) There are people who have an Individuals Processes with are their complex unbelievable capacity to take own any goals policy or framework ambitions, and interwoven and adapt can oppose it water so that policy they can carry on management doing the same and things spatial that they have always planning done before (Taylor,2005) 14 / 16

21 Conclusions On a practical level: spatial planning is being offered a central role in coordinating and enabling the delivery of sustainable communities The reformed spatial planning system has the potential, in theory, to play a much more important role than it does currently with the cross sectoral integration of policies and programmes Requires an increase in specialist roles and more strategic networking for planning professionals, but.. The change does not only demand spatial planners adapting to new methods of working; all other stakeholders who engage with the spatial planning system also need to re-evaluate their ways of thinking and working with spatial planners (Shaw, 2006) 15 / 16

22 Conclusions (2) On an academic/theoretical level: Currently social science research questions are commonly raised with the downstream analysis of policy implementation (Moss & Monstadt, 2007), if at all The importance of social science research is clear as institutional contexts and prevailing mind sets can create strong barriers for policy implementation (Moss & Monstadt, 2007) 16 / 16

23 Aim: To upstream social science research questions in a contribution to bridging the gaps in research/policy and practice in the restoration of fluvial floodplains with a specific focus on evaluating the potential of the spatial planning system in facilitating the necessary land use change. To draw conclusions and recommendations for researchers, policy makers and practitioners to realise the potential of the spatial planning system in facilitating the necessary land use change for floodplain restoration To analyse and translate best practice through a trans-national study To conceptualise the social science terrain upon which spatial planning and floodplain restoration exist and evaluate key social science research questions through explanatory case study research Obj 5 Obj 4 Obj 3 Obj 2 To develop an understanding and communicate across the conceptual divide of the natural sciences/ engineering and social sciences Obj 1 To establish the contextual backdrop to floodplain restoration, pertaining to planning research, policy and practice karen.potter@liverpool.ac.uk