İstanbul Vision 2050

Many metropolises from different regions of the world in different political and socio-economic atmospheres are preparing predictions and plans for the future. The Vision 2050 study is carried out by benefiting from long-term planning experiences and in communication with the architects of these plans. In this context, interviews with the city planning managers of the cities and the vision documents of these cities are listed below.

New York

New York City, as the most populous city in the US, has a remarkably long history of strategic planning. Dynamics of urban growth and development in NYC, which implemented its First Zoning Law in 1916, had largely shaped under the influence of redistributive social policies of the New Deal (1933-1939). Although the New Deal reforms had sowed the seeds of a welfarist regime, they nevertheless failed to tackle racism, social and economic inequalities, income disparity, increasing vulnerability and insecurity in the city. These issues had long been, and are still today, the major challenges that strategic planning in NYC is facing.

The legal backbone of the strategic plan is the Local Law 83, which was revised in 2013, and defines the requirements of sustainable planning in NYC. Those requirements consist of, but are not limited to, the implementation of the action plans, policies and programs proposed in the Plan, extensive participation of stakeholders, evaluation of the local initiatives’ views and feedbacks, commitments and target milestones in designated areas, as well as the overview of the realization processes for the main objectives. Update of the plan in every four years and annual progress reports for evaluating the key performance indicators are among those legal requirements as well.

Foundations of the Plan were laid during the former Mayor, Michael Bloomberg’s terms in 2007, 2011 and later in 2013, during Hurricane Sandy. While sustainability was the center of these previous plans; Green New Deal and equality lies at the focus of planning during the current Mayor, Bill de Blasio’s term.

At the Vision 2050 Office, we listened to Lolita Jackson and Tasfia Nayem, respectively the Senior Advisor of Climate Partnerships and the Senior Policy Advisor from NYC Mayor Office, about the “OneNYC 2050” plan prepared in 2019. Jackson and Nayem made a presentation which was followed by Q&A and discussion. Here are some highlights from our meeting held on September 6, 2020:

OneNYC2050 Plan has three goals: Tackling the climate crisis; equality and strengthening democracy.
In order to attain these goals, the Plan has eight focuses: Vibrant democracy; inclusive economy; thriving neighborhoods; equity and excellence in education; a livable climate; efficient mobility; modern infrastructure.
In OneNY2050, it is crucial to include all forms of civic participation processes at all scales of the city, civil society and neighborhoods. In the stakeholder participation process, which proceeds with the coordination of the expert team, extensive participation of executive and civic participants. The most extensive participation is one of the key performance indicators.
In the realization of the Plan’s long-term objectives, current situation analysis and annual “milestone” watch reports play major roles. Evaluation of the Plan’s key performance indicators also sheds light on the possible challenges and obstacles along the way of its realization.
Among those challenges that are faced with annual updates and current situation analysis, income disparity despite growing economy; economic injustices; living expenses; insufficient infrastructural services and climate emergency are particularly important. These issues that were identified by means of civic participation constitutes the foundation of analyses and evaluations at every stage of the Plan.

Johannesburg/Gauteng

The largest city of South Africa, Johannesburg and its surrounding province Gauteng are the population and economic centers of the country. 15.5 million people live in the Gauteng province and that corresponds to a quarter of South Africa’s population. Moreover, Gauteng produces 35% of the GDP. In the political field, the Apartheid regime was abolished in 1994. In that sense, one can name South Africa “a young democracy”. Therefore, the participatory strategic planning experience of Johannesburg and Gauteng are relatively new, too.

The long-term planning process for Johannesburg and Gauteng has started in the beginning of the first decade of 2000s. After a long and comprehensive work firstly the Johannesburg plan (Joburg 2040) and then the Gauteng 2055 strategic plan were prepared. The first steps for the preparation of the Gauteng 2055 plan was the formation of the core team and the examination of the strategic planning examples of other world cities that had a longer experience in the field. The strong provincial government supported the planning process. The discussion papers that were prepared by scholars and researchers helped to set the social framework for the plan. In 2011, the Gauteng Advisory Council was established by the premier to assist in driving the Gauteng Vision 2055. The council is composed of administrators and international experts. Subsequently, extensive public participation to the planning process was mobilized and then, the Gauteng 2055 plan was published in 2014.

The Gauteng 2055 strategic plan focuses on alleviating racial segregation, urban inequality, poverty and unemployment. Those goals are also in line with the South African constitution that was announced 26 years ago and abolished racial discrimination.

The target year for the Gauteng plan, namely 2055, has an important symbolic meaning for South Africans. 2055 marks the 100-year anniversary of the “Freedom Charter”, a declaration by the black majority of the country who in 1955 rose their voice against years-long atrocities, racism and discrimination. The ideals defined in the Freedom Charter served as a valuable compass to navigate and helped to set the societal values for the Gauteng 2055 plan. The societal values are the following: “Integration and cooperation. Human dignity, non-sexism and the rule of law. Sustainable, inclusive development and equal access to opportunities social tolerance and cohesion. Vibrant participative communities.”

On September 10, 2020, as the Istanbul Vision 2050 Office we listened a presentation on one of the largest metropolitan areas of the African Continent, the city of Johannesburg and the province of Gauteng by the members of the project office Rashed Seedat, Nalini Naicker and Aveshni Ponnusamy. Below are the key points that were emphasized during the presentation on the Gauteng 2055 plan:

The Gauteng 2055 plan introduces five key problem areas that need to be overcome: These are: “Urbanisation; Migration (national and international); Poverty; Unemployment; and Climate Change. In order to overcome those problems four drivers of change are defined: “Sustainable development; Equitable growth,; Good governance; Social inclusivity & cohesion”
Because of years long Apartheid regime, spatial segregation still continues. Economic growth is not shared equally and does not automatically alleviate poverty. Poverty is still a major problem. Gauteng province has one of the highest GINI coefficient, thus, one of the highest income inequality rate in the World. There are social fragmentation across racial, class and gender lines. 2055 plan is far enough to allow for managed, concentrated change to overcome that social fragmentations, a change that can be carefully plotted over the long-term.
The plan proposes developmental outcomes to achieve equitable growth. Some of those developmental outcomes are the following: “Quality basic education; nation building & social cohesion; an inclusive and responsive social protection system.”
The team organized an extensive public participation process. They visited schools, let students draw pictures, write essays and poems. That was an extremely rewarding process. The pproject team is well aware that the plan is actually for the children of today. Children are saying that they want to play out, they need more parks and green space. They want to feel safe. And they are worried about the effects of the climate change.

Berlin

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was a turning point in the planning history of Germany’s capital and largest city, Berlin. The first land use plan for the whole city of Berlin was developed in 1996 and at the end of 1990s separate urban development plans about housing, centers and production were prepared.

At the beginning of 2000s there was the idea to make an integrated approach to the urban planning at the strategic level where the emphasis was put on broad levels of participation in the planning process. In 2004 the first Urban Development Concept 2020 was prepared, but the Senate of Berlin’s full commitment couldn’t be reached at all levels and the plan couldn’t be implemented.

Since mid-2000s, Berlin’s population started to grow continuously due to the increasing employment opportunities especially in cultural and creative sectors, education opportunities, cheap housing and workplaces. In response to these developments in the beginning of 2010s new urban development plans about housing, centers, transportation, production and climate were developed. These plans formed the basis of the BerlinStrategie: Urban Development Concept Berlin 2030 that was approved by the Senate of Berlin in 2014.

Between the years 2015-16 due to the increase in the number of refugees and immigrants in Berlin, an update in the plans was made and BerlinStrategie 2.0 was created.

In recent years Berlin’s economy is growing rapidly with new companies, businesses and start-ups moving to Berlin especially in creative and technology industries, which has led to an increase in housing and rental prices. The housing stock has become already scarce due to the population increase and there is a growing need for the provision of public services. Because of all these changes, today a new update and BerlinStrategie 3.0 is being prepared.

As Vision 2050 team we had a conversation about Berlin's strategic plan history and experiences with Elke Plate and Thorsten Tonndorf from Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development. In our meeting, these points were underlined:

In Urban Development Concept Berlin 2030 initially six basic qualities of Berlin were determined such as being a caring, inclusive and socially responsible global city, a place for everyone to explore their creativity, green and compact city, an innovative economic and scientific hub and a dynamic capital with global reach. Grounding on these qualities and as an answer to the question “What does Berlin want?” eight strategies were developed for realizing the city’s middle and long term goals. Moreover, ten transformation areas in the city were selected where these strategies are going to be applied.
Due to the emphasis put on spatial analysis the city’s spatially strong and weak areas, potentials and risks were identified. Spatial analyses were conducted on for bacis levels: economic development, social integration, cultural diversity and the quality of life and environment.
During the whole planning process it is ensured that academicians, civil society organizations and related groups participate. However, they faced difficulties for securing Berliners participation as the plan’s strategies and goals stayed on a more abstract level. For ensuring the city dwellers’ participation they realized that special methods and techniques are required. In this respect they organized city forums about different themes and discussed with Berliners about these topics and identified prioritized problem areas.
For identifying the transformation areas they organized eleven meetings in 2014 where politicians and public administrators participated. During these meetings different groups and actors protested the decisions. These protests were seen as an influential participation method and the articulated criticisms in the protests were also taken into the decision making process.
In Germany there are rigid regulations about the ecological effects of urban development projects. Hence, ruling parties in Berlin develop planning strategies that affect the environment and ecology based on these regulations.
They convey the future vision and an open-minded city concept of Berlin with different visuals in the city. In these visuals they picture different topics together such as urban mobility, housing problem, energy adequacy provided with wind energy, different cultures living together, young and old generations sharing same environments.
Currently they work on identifying a concept that represents the city of Berlin as a whole in the participation process. For the future vision they focus on three main topics: economic power, participation-solidarity processes and the quality of life.
Art works were carried out in 2013 with by-then 13-year-old children and children who will be 30 years old in 2030, in which they told their future visions. Information about the BerlinStrategy project was added to the school textbooks in Berlin.

Sao Paulo

The legal framework for the planning of cities in Brazil was defined in the first half of the 2000s, and the master plan law was approved in 2002 and after that the land use plan in 2004. On this structure, São Paulo, which is the most populous city not only in Brazil but also in the whole Western hemisphere, started the planning process for urban development and the master plan was initiated. However, as the master plan focuses on spatial issues and infrastructure, a separate strategic planning process and an comprehensive study was needed to focus on socio-economic issues and the climate crisis.

With the works started in 2009, the 2040 vision was prepared for the city of Sao Paulo, which has a population of over 20 million together with the metropolitan area. For this, the University of Sao Paulo was specified as the main consulting institution, and an international advisory committee was established. Representatives and executives from many cities such as Hong Kong, Madrid, Barcelona, Beijing and New York, who prepare strategic plans in their own cities, participated in this committee.

We listened and discussed the details of the plan, which was launched in 2012, from Prof. Miguel Luiz Bucalem, who was the Urban Development Secretariat of the Municipality of Sao Paulo and the General Coordinator of SP2040 between 2009-2012. Here are some highlights from our meeting with Prof. Bucalem:

A local advisory council was established, consisting primarily of important institutions and institutes. Industry, trade, union representatives, engineers, architects and lawyers participated in this council.
A detailed engagement strategy was prepared and a detailed questionnaire for experts was created in the first phase.
The first open discussion event took place at an international conference. Workshops and park meetings all over the city followed.
In the final plan, the 2040 vision is briefly introduced with the slogan "The City We Want". Then again, with a very general definition, two different scenarios were prepared: Tendencial scenario and desired scenario.
Problems were identified in the plan first, these problems were placed on five axes and six different “catalyst projects” covering them all were presented.
Identified problems: The distance between residences and workplaces, insufficient use of areas with good infrastructure, socio-spatial discrimination, poor quality water, clash of municipal administration and metropolitan dynamics, increasing costs with scale in the face of strong economy.
The axes were: social cohesion, urban development, environmental improvement, mobility and accessibility, job opportunity.
The six catalyst projects that have been finally created can be summarized as follows:
- Living Rivers (reclamation of all rivers in the city by converting them into parks)
- City Parks (to have a park within a maximum of 15 minutes)
- 30-minute city (the journey from home to work will not exceed 30 minutes on average, this 30-minute area will include hobby and cultural areas)
- Communities (integration with the city will be ensured by creating communities in risky and unsafe regions)
- Business opportunity centers (basic business axes will be integrated and decentralized)
- Open City (the city will be a center of attraction for innovation, tourism, different cultural festivals)