Small Urbanism
In the Netherlands, the spatial development in cities changed profoundly during the low-dynamic period of the recent crisis years. Top-down large scale urban planning, like in the last decades, was suddenly not a common practise any more. The tendency was that small developments were getting more regular, which changed also spatial planning and construction system. With this, it was also questioned a new role for local governance.
The Small Urbanism research looked abroad for inspiring examples on small urbanism scale. ´Small´ in comparison with the building practice in the Netherlands. In other countries and cities, ´small´ is a common practise, and sometimes is even considered ´big´. The research focused on what way private initiatives can have a positive impact on the existing city, and what is the role for public entities as municipalities. In Birmingham, Hamburg, Malmö and Porto, projects were investigated and analysed. This lead to an overview of existing instruments for spatial and urban planning that can be applied on small urban developments that aim to have a positive impact in the urban structure and life in a broader area, beyond the specific intervention local.