Rapporteur: Ms O. Bennett (Ireland)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

Introduction

It was fitting that the Conference in Plovdiv was one of the first major international Conferences on cities and urban questions organised by the CLRAE following the inclusion, largely on the initiative of the Bulgarian authorities, of the natural and built environment as one of the priorities defined at the Vienna Summit of the Council of Europe in October 1993.

The Conference was organised by the CLRAE in collaboration, in Bulgaria, with the Ministry of Regional Planning, Housing and Construction, the Sofia Greater Municipality and the European Forum "Capital Cities of United Europe".

The last named organisation is a grouping of urban planners and other professionals concerned by city development who have come together to share experience and promote cooperation, not just in Bulgaria but outside on urban questions. Following the Plovdiv Conference, the Forum is now proposing the creation in Sofia of a town and country planning centre and we hope that this manages to come about.

Coming back to the Plovdiv Conference, it fell within the LODE programme of the Council of Europe - a programme of cooperation on local democracy designed to assist local government in the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe in the establishment of their institutions and legislation. The Conference thus gave an opportunity for an international discussion with a considerable number of partners and speakers from this part of Europe.

The Conference was attended by approximately 150 persons - representatives of national and local authorities; members of specialised professions of architecture, town planning, civil engineering, landscape and urban designers; members of universities and teaching institutions, of non-governmental organisations and of national associations of local authorities.

The Conference also provided an opportunity for giving a continuing limelight to the European Urban Charter which, adopted by the former Standing Conference in 1992, has become very much the visiting card of the Council of Europe on urban questions. As a reminder, the European Urban Charter drew together the essence of the work of the CLRAE on urban questions since 1986 into a number of guidelines for local authorities on the sort of philosophy which should lie behind their municipal approach to city development.

The Charter reflects very much the spirit and vocation of the Council of Europe, in its defence of human rights and civic liberties. The CLRAE sees the text very much therefore as a parallel, for the built environment, to the European Convention of Human Rights and to its own European Charter of Local Self-Government.

The urban situation

Most people in Europe live in cities and quite naturally, therefore, there is increasing attention in Europe being given to the question of cities, whether this be by politicians, by the media or by the public as a whole.

For centuries, cities have been the centre for diversity, creativity, vectors for economic and commercial development, centres for distribution and concentration of goods, services and people. They are also, unfortunately, the arena where some of the current problems affecting society - unemployment, crime, a poor quality physical environment, insalubrious housing, social exclusion, drug abuse - are most visible and most acutely felt. Quite rightly, therefore, political attention has been focused on the resolution of such problems, which if left untackled, risk affecting the very basis of civic society in Europe as we know it.

International organisations and urban policies

Furthermore, most international organisations, following the example of many national authorities, have strengthened and/or created, over recent years, units or bodies concerned with urban questions. Many of these, in a national context, have been constructed on a multisectoral basis with representatives from different Ministries.

In an international context some examples are:- the European Union, under pressure from the European Parliament and the Committee of Regions, is considering the development of a programme on urban matters and has, in any case, supported the network of Sustainable Cities developed following a successful conference held in Aarhus in 1994. For a long time OECD has had an urban affairs committee, examining and promoting intergovernmental cooperation on urban policies which are supportive of national and international economic objectives. WHO has its "Healthy Cities" network, a programme with which the CLRAE has collaborated through, for example, the organisation of a joint Conference on Health in Cities, in Vienna, 1989.

The UN ECE in Geneva has its Commission on Human Settlements, an intergovernmental unit which one which is increasingly endeavouring to supplement it with a local authority dimension and, of course, the UN is now organising the major global reflection on cities in Istanbul known under the title of Habitat II.

Whether the Habitat Agenda will have the same widespread appreciation and impact as Agenda 21, arising from the Rio Summit, remains to be seen, but it is certainly indicative of the attention given to urban questions.

Incidentally, with reference to Rio, it is, of course, in cities where the battle for sustainable development will be won or lost. Cities, after all, are the biggest consumers and producers of energy, a major source of pollution and the place where 70% of the European population lives, works and plays.

Cooperation between towns

The corollary of this increased international attention is of course the dramatic development in recent years of cooperation between towns across national boundaries and the development of networks for a variety of reasons - economic cooperation, political affiliation, cultural exchange - transcending the traditional links of twinnings involving visits of choirs and folk dancers. Whether national governments like it or not, such cooperation is a political reality and in most countries, the legitimate aspiration of local municipalities to cooperate beyond their frontiers poses no problem. This is not the case, however, for all countries and the question of the establishment of an international instrument facilitating such intentions and hopes was also discussed at a later Conference held in Lausanne, dealt with by my colleague in the CLRAE Swiss delegation, Mrs Jaggi.

Role of local authorities

Although national governments naturally are responsible for the overall structural organisation of their component parts within sovereign territory, it is at the local level where the real problems are encountered and where national policy is successful or where it founders. Local authorities are called upon daily to deal with the problems of everyday life of their citizens: they are at the coalface of urban questions. However, if they are to accomplish their tasks satisfactorily, they must be given the necessary political independence and resources, whether these come from central government or from the local tax base.

Towards a European Urban Planning Policy

There are a number of institutions in Europe concerned with the development of a European regional planning strategy. The Council of Europe itself has its European Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning which has established over the years significant guidelines in relation to this objective.

An overall urban planning policy has also been discussed but it meets a number of inevitable obstacles, given the diversity of urban development and the wide range of differing urban situations.

If progress is to be made, now is the best moment. The background of radical structural, political and economic change in Central and Eastern Europe raises hopes and opportunities and also means that urban planning, in its widest sense, has taken on a fundamental role in shaping the way such societies evolve. Now is the best time probably to think in term of an overall urban and regional planning policy for a wider Europe but it does mean a major shift in the mentality of urban planners and local authorities, if such an opportunity is not to be lost.

These are some of the reasons which gave the Plovdiv Conference its topicality.

The Plovdiv Conference as a response

At this point, it would be useful to quote the excellent preamble, proposed by the Bulgarian hosts, to the Final Declaration, which sums up the philosophy of the Conference.

"We are reaching the end of the 20th century. It was a remarkable century; the one of the atom, of the conquest of space, of the laser, of genetic engineering; a century of information and oil, of extraordinary speeds and triumphalism in planning.

At the end of the 20th century, a major part of the European population lives in towns. The way of life in towns is a determining factor in Europe. Towns have simultaneously the quality of being stable and of developing rapidly. Throughout the century, European towns have constantly changed although at different speeds and trajectories. Some have been transformed in a radical manner: some have not moved, or very little, as if they were frozen in time.

On the eve of the 21st century, there are fears that the impact of planning and social economic and political changes threaten the authentic and traditional urban culture in Europe with irreparable loss.

The 20th century was also one of global environmental degradation. The exhaustion of environmental resources has brought about a general crisis which threatens not only the quality of life, but life itself. To respond to the needs of the current generation without damaging the aspirations of future generations to satisfy their own needs - this is the lesson from the development of towns in the 20th century which should continue to the next century.

The experience of towns in the 20th century also tells us that we must:

- economise on energy in order to safeguard it for future generations,

- ensure continuity in the development of towns in order to preserve material and cultural values which condition its appearance: specific urban landscape and silhouette, traditional functions, individual values, respect of the natural environment, etc,

- integrate new infrastructure of towns so as to preserve the cultural and historic heritage,

- ensure economic stability and development maximising human potential; overcome social and ethnic problems and conflicts, safeguard and develop the culture and identity of towns,

- reduce centralisation in the management of public life and give more significant powers to local and regional authorities to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities.

The 20th century was also one of the search for the ideal town of the future. We all know the futurist projects for towns designed to replace existing settlements because of their supposed incapacity to serve human needs. These projects have remained on paper, and mankind has still not achieved its ideal city which today remains in the realms of dreams.

What form will the towns of the 21st century take? Should we leave them to an unknown future, or should we give them special attention in order to achieve an ideal way of life? What new ideas and theories can we bring to the new century?

The replies to these questions were discussed during the three days of the Conference. Many of them remained without reply; others had varying or contradictory responses.

Despite divergences, participants at the Conference declare unanimously their desire to inform and help each other to identify, study and resolve the problems of European towns at the turn of the century.

Specifically, they address a certain number of detailed recommendations, on the four themes of the Conference, to the Governments of European countries, to local and regional authorities, to all architects, engineers, planners, economists, sociologists, politicians and all whose activity concerns life in towns, in order that their efforts be combined to guarantee modern development of towns whilst conserving universal values of humanity, the respect of specific and particular identities and to contribute to a strengthening of the links between towns in a genuinely united Europe of tomorrow."

Themes

The Plovdiv Conference had as its first major theme the steps being taken towards a European policy for towns. The European Urban Charter was presented by the CLRAE Rapporteur, Mrs Storelli, whose constant and determined commitment to the work of the CLRAE on urban questions over the years must here be acknowledged. It was also the moment when questions relating to sustainable development were discussed with the point being made by Dr Premzl, Deputy Mayor of Maribor, that all levels of the urban society and all levels of territorial administrations, should be involved together in defining the establishment of goals, objectives and criteria for sustainable urban development.

One of the principal works of the CLRAE is its European Charter of Local Self-Government and a number of speakers related the importance of establishing partnership, democratically elected local authorities, solidarity and securing the base for local authorities to a successful urban planning process. The two Charters ie. Local Self-Government and the Urban Charter are seen very much as a tandem and mutually supportive and in parentheses it was these two Charters togethers which formed the basis of a Round Table, organised by the CLRAE, at the Habitat II Conference.

The linkage between local democracy and urban development, at Plovdiv, was made effectively by the late David Fryer, Secretary General of the European Council of Town Planners - a personality who has made a major contribution to international reflection on the future of cities and whose unexpected and sad demise after Plovdiv saddened all members of the Congress who knew him.

On this theme a number of specific case studies were presented on current national experience on policies on urban questions - from France and from Bulgaria itself.

Concerning Central and Eastern European countries, an excellent paper was presented by Mr Regulski, the Permanent Representative of Poland to the Council of Europe. A number of points were made. Democratic reform, the replacement of a centralised economy and planning by decentralisation of the State administration and privatisation of the economy means that the urban challenge and the objectives of territorial planning are now to adapt cities to the newly emerging demands of the population, to increase people’s satisfaction, to support the market economy, to foster democratic principles and to protect the environment. This implies a reorganisation of planning institutions and procedures as well as an intensive training of planners to adapt them to new tasks, new lines of action and above all help promote a change in mentality making planners more responsive to community needs.

A number of case studies from Central and Eastern European countries were presented on current town planning experience.

A second theme was concerned with the protection of the architectural heritage in Europe.

Since 1975, through its European Architectural Heritage Year, the Council of Europe has established a firm track record on the conservation of the architectural and cultural heritage. Initially concerned with monuments and buildings of outstanding architectural interest, the conservationist movement generally and the work of the Council of Europe specifically, gradually developed a wider focus concerned with whole areas of buildings, often in towns, which might not have outstanding architectural significance but which, often built up over decades, if not centuries, had a social and aesthetic value of importance for the urban population.

The Council of Europe has maintained its commitment through subsequent texts, such as the Convention on the Architectural Heritage (Granada) and through the work of the relevant intergovernmental committee, a regularly held Ministerial Conference, and a diversified programme concerned with technical assistance, raising awareness about the heritage.

The CLRAE itself has also established an honourable record on the subject through its symposia on historic towns, the most recent two being held in Cambridge and Istanbul. These symposia identified contemporary questions of significance such as the impact of tourism on historic towns (Cambridge) and the achievement of a balance between historic preservation and economic development (Istanbul).

Outside the Council of Europe, organisations such as Europa Nostra have been active and most countries now have strong legislation, backed up by financial resources, for the protection of the heritage. Many countries also have active associations for protection of historic towns.

Although the subject, therefore, is well publicised and has had extensively debated, the theme was included in the Plovdiv Conference principally because of the challenges relating to the protection of the heritage in the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. In such countries, there is a superb legacy of historic buildings but the economic resources currently available to save and improve them, coupled with the necessary legislation, are often lacking. Of particular interest, therefore, were the presentations from Bulgaria on the state of heritage protection and a number of case studies were presented from other countries, including from Strasbourg itself.

Dr Parker presented an admirable international review and picture of current and proposed mechanisms for legislative and financial protection of the heritage. Mrs Branchesi traced the means for stimulating and motivating public awareness in involvement of preservation, emphasising the strong role of education and the heritage as a pedagogic instrument.

Additional case studies were presented from Turkey and France.

A third theme was concerned with the relationship between the quality of the built urban environment and social cohesion.

It has always been accepted that there is a link. Urban riots in the UK in the late 70's and early 80's in Brixton, Tottenham, Liverpool were based on multiple deprivation where people were involved in a downward spiral of poverty, unemployment, lack of prospects, social disruption and above all, a dull, boring or even brutal physical urban environment.

Despite these well-known adverse effects on human behaviour of a such a bad environment, as indicated by terms such as "defensible space" and "concrete jungle", architects and planners have not always shown a great deal of interest in planning the physical surroundings of their public, or in the human consequences of their action.

For example, one major disruptive force can be a road system which has imposed excessive road developments on communities at a high social cost, neglecting the requirements of pedestrians and preventing a civilised balance between all users of roads and streets. The result is often a disruption and endangering of life, the spreading of confusion and damage, the production of noise and visual pollution for a community.

It is nonetheless clear that the collective memory of town dwellers is seriously impaired by the destruction or radical transformation of familiar surroundings, or badly-conceived slum clearance programmes which mean loss of contact with friends and family, and loss of a wider social support. Demolition has consequences reaching beyond destruction of a building and can reduce the capacity of people to cope with illness and disability, through depriving them of familiar structures. Its loss is not always made good by new construction or by some large-scale housing schemes, often of doubtful architectural and technical quality.

In some countries, there are problems not just in inner city areas, but also in some suburban or dormitory areas where social isolation can develop as a result of distance from employment, the submerging of traditions and landmarks and a poor supply of essential services and transport.

It is nonetheless clear that good urban design, well-designed space, adjustments to the built environment on a human scale, the preservation of local architectural styles and building traditions, the development of green areas, all can play an important role in maintaining citizens' well-being. An acceptable townscape is one in which people relate to their cultural roots, where a pleasant urban environment has been created consisting of attractive blends of groups of buildings, trees, roads, spaces, people and traffic, where squares are cheerful and healthy with better lighting;

A prime objective of urban planning must therefore be to produce a stimulating social environment, where individuality can be expressed, where there is a sense of belonging, where places are created in which residents are proud to live, where the whole of the city is safe and secure and where the identity of the city is respected.

It is also true that in areas of multiple deprivation, urban policy needs to be based on a neighbourhood and grassroots approach which harnesses and releases community potential.

Many of these points were made by delegates at the Plovdiv Conference. Dr Raev, the Bulgarian Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe and one of the main instigators of the Conference went even further in drawing a parallel between the aesthetic quality of buildings and the ethical behaviour of citizens. An environment in which new buildings merge harmoniously with older settings, emphasising aesthetic quality and achievement, can help bring about a more socially responsible behaviour and reinforce a sense of citizenship.

An excellent case study was presented by Jacqueline Miller on the experience in Belgium of the social impact of the environment.

A fourth theme concerned contemporary architecture in historic areas.

Participants insisted on the need to foster a match between the insertion of new buildings and the character of older settings and a number of good points were made, for example:-

Too often, modern construction in old surroundings has been inadequate or offensive. Some high-rise tower blocks are synonymous with poor construction and soulless architecture, lack of sound insulation, poor maintenance. Not only do they create problems for residents in monitoring surrounding space, in achieving informal interaction, in making physical changes to their home or achieving significant management of the block; they are often accompanied by outward and visible signs of a situation out of control, shown through the common pollution of public areas of communal space by litter, vandalism, graffiti;.

New buildings sited within historic settings should respect surroundings in terms of height, scale, form, materials, colour and architectural character: be in harmony with the local environment, streetscape, local views and use of lighting.

The new infrastructure which accompanies new buildings, ie road, services, parking and pedestrian access, should be integrated into the existing surroundings in terms of layout, paving materials and the urban grain. The uses for new buildings should also be complementary to others in the immediate neighbourhood.

Round Table on contemporary architecture and historic buildings

One of the highlights of the Conference was a Round Table chaired by Dr Raev bringing together leading international architects in order to identify some leading trends in contemporary architecture and analyse the most suitable methods for its sensitive introduction into older settings. The personalities included Prof. Böhm, Prof. Hahn and Wolfgang Pehnt from Germany.

Conclusion

At the end of the Conference, the participants wished to make a number of Recommendations to the Committee of Ministers and to the Congress with a view to strengthening the activities on urban matters within the Council of Europe and including them in programmes of cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe.

So far, in respect Central and Eastern European countries, the CLRAE has concentrated upon help with institution building; on the distribution of territorial responsibilities; on the establishment of local authorities with consequent rights and resources. Inevitably, however, in a second stage, activities concerned land-use planning, on historic buildings, on transport, on the urban environment, on drug abuse, crime, will have to be developed, in that it is clear that such questions are very much in the forefront of the political agenda of the newly elected local authorities.

The participants, therefore, ask that the Committee of Ministers create an intersectoral Committee on the Town, amongst other requests and in the accompanying Resolution and Recommendation to my report, it is hoped that the Congress agrees to create a new Working Party on Policies for the Town to replace the existing Working Party on the European Urban Charter, which has now done its job. The creation of such a Working Party with a wide mandate would be the best way to respond to the urban challenges and extensive political interest on urban questions in contemporary Europe.

For its part, the European Forum "Capital Cities of United Europe", in my view, is to be supported in its endeavour to create in Sofia, a centre for Town and Country Planning for countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Finally, in respect of the documents and reports presented at the Conference, they constitute an excellent reference to current day thinking and policies on some aspects of urban development in Europe. They are being drawn together and will be published in a single compendium.