The Role of Impact Assessment for Infrastructure Planning

After hearing from Dr. Michelle Angeles, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) expert at TU Delft and the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, I was reminded of the complexity and importance of mitigating adverse social and ecological effects of infrastructural improvement projects while taking advantage of the positive ones. Even a bicycle path project, which may seem to have good intentions, can produce negative impacts. Through impact assessment, these effects can be controlled so that noise pollution and other impacts from construction and waste are held to a tolerable level. The decision on where to place infrastructure can also produce hostility from those using or living nearby the site, especially if their daily life patterns are suddenly changed; for instance, through a traffic detour, expropriation of certain land parcels, or disturbance of wildlife and plant habitat.

Project managers must realize that effects from a project are not only direct, but also indirect, and often cumulative. Interactions occur, and uncertain consequences ensue. Thus, the process of impact assessment amounts to valuing not only economic outcomes and other predictable outcomes and impacts but also positive and negative social and ecological ones. Developing a problem tree, often used in the evaluation phase of development projects, can be a helpful exercise. Mediation and negotiation with involved or impacted stakeholders also enhance the planning and construction process to ensure more desired outcomes. Although this incremental process can be slow, repeating stakeholders' concerns to stakeholders who disagree with a project due to its impacts can clarify underlying fears by those stakeholders about the project. This could lead them to reconsider their negative opinions on a project to avoid excessive NIMBYISM. In addition, the impact assessment process requires one to value not only monetary outcomes, but also consider the positive social and ecological ones. For example, a project that may have an unquantifiable social benefit of health and wellbeing or an overall cost reduction in health-related expenditures.

A History of Urbanism in Rotterdam

As first-time visitors to Rotterdam, the southernmost port city forming the Netherland's major metropolitan region, what better way to become acquainted with how the city deals with its transportation and land use issues, than to hear from two of Rotterdam's 'plangineers' and professors at the Rotterdam Hoge School. I use this as their job title because of the institution's progressive interdisciplinary curriculum in which civil engineering, planning, and architecture are well  engouh integrated to be taught alongside each other in one lecture.

Rotterdam: A "Brief" History 

70% of Holland is below sea level (shocking, right?). But the Dutch are also notoriously known for having one of the oldest water management regimes-- in fact, it's the oldest of all governance systems in the country-- to deal with this issue. The cities we see along the delta region today were those settlements that managed to drain the silted areas by building dams, hold back seawater through dykes, and gain wealth by trade along the waterways. Rotterdam, among others, succeeded and managed to overtake nearby Delft in trade power as well, mostly due to its strategic location in a less sedimented area.

Rotterdam was shaped historically by a number of planning decisions. Many of these are regarding the city's sanitary condition and grey infrastructure, but also its connectivity with the rest of the region and within the city. Making the decision to build train lines connecting to the north (Amsterdam and the Hague), the east (to Utrecht), and the south (to Antwerp, Belgium), as well as building a train line in the middle of the city, ensure full connectivity to other major economic hubs in nearby and connectivity within the city's bounds. It ensured development would occur in all areas of the city. Bridges also formed a major foundation, in order to avoid one part of the city being solely commercial, and the other side solely residential.  Mixed use land patterns was important to ensure the skyscraper areas did not succumb to the suburban involution, a problem that affects downtown areas of Vancouver today.

Over time, Rotterdam's land use changed from long and narrow meadow blocks, which were eventually subdivided into housing lots still visible today. The urban fabric has changed and been influenced by a number of architectural influences, including classicists- which is why we still see some brick row houses also found in Amsterdam, as well as modernists (like Haussmann) who appreciate grandiose Parisian boulevards, and high rises. One professor called the architecture in the city "eclectic", while another more critical professor believed it to be rather "chaotic".

What differentiates Rotterdam from the other delta cities in the Netherlands is its larger scale, a shift that took place both before and after its destruction in the Second World War.  Rotterdam plays on a global platform, with an outward looking planning approach, visible by its more prominent architecture - a landscape I'd regard as les modest and European and more international (explained by the various international architects whose high-rises dot its skyline).

Image Source: http://www.kunsthal.nl/

In addition, Rotterdam underwent a post-modernist movement, with focus equally being paid to quality of life. Rotterdam still has soft infrastructure in the form of greenspace and emphasizes art in public space as an important amenity, as much as transit infrastructure and connectivity. It boasts an impressive, although industrial, landscape, unlike any other in the Netherlands. In constructing Rotterdam's landscape, planning and engineering process is equally important. For instance, when developers and architects compete to establish a construction project in Rotterdam, planners outweigh both monetary and non-monetary benefits. They do not only consider the costs (bottom line) of the project, but also the social benefit of the project. It is not necessary the lowest cost project that wins the project opportunity. If the benefits are environmental or aesthetic or social, the project has good chances; for instance, if the project promises to hire contract workers from low-education background, extra points will be rewarded for the project's potential non-monetary social benefit.

While definitely understated, Rotterdam is the very cool sister city of Amsterdam and may overtake Amsterdam in popularity in the near future. 

Sustainable Community Systems in the Netherlands: First Impressions from Delft

I attended a Critical Mass communal bike ride a few years ago. The event called "Go Dutch" ended with volunteers handing out t-shirts with the slogan "Get in touch with your inner Dutch". This all makes sense after visiting Holland, especially for the second time. The Netherlands boasts one of the most advanced cycling, water transport, and rail infrastructure systems, worthy of admiration by European municipalities and world cities alike.

Upon entering the Netherlands this time around, I was surprised by the proximity between cities. In fact, these cities make up an urban agglomeration comparable to Paris and other major European metropoles. Amsterdam, the Hague, Delft, Leiden, and Rotterdam can all be reached within an hour and half train ride of each other. When I went to Delft, what stood out most for me was how human-scale the neighborhood is; biking and walking comprise the dominant forms of transport.  As a planning and urbanism student, I noticed how the small scale architecture fits well with the small scale (although expansiveness) of the road network, but I wonder how much had to be adapted to the cycling. Each municipality is connected to others through the waterways and rapid bus and cycling transportation infrastructure.

One of my primary interests in the field of planning is gender mainstreaming within urban landscapes through design. Many cities, especially North American ones, do not consider the needs of women and children, especially with regards to safety and well being. Through Holland's bike system, engaging in risky behavior like riding a bike on a busy road full of cars isn't necessary. Thus, Delft's infrastructure does not limit women and children's mobility in the city. In addition, other safety considerations are taken into account, for example, the strong surveillance of bike parking facilities and separated bike paths (differentiable by pavement surface type and color). Delft offers a sound model of feminist planning in practice. 

Below are some highlights from today's bike tour of Delft: 

An advisory path that enables cyclists, pedestrians, and vehicles to share the road, but cyclists are still given preference. This ensures that cyclists remain the dominant form of transport and  These road networks are part of a larger regional network across the northern-eastern Netherlands and Germany. 

A woonerf, the Dutch word for "living street" creates a car-free residential zone and fosters a pleasant neighborhood experience. It is quiet, surrounded by greenery, and safe for play and recreational activities for families and individuals from all age backgrounds. At the same time, it is accessible to commercial use areas and transportation hubs like the Delft Central Station. 

A well-designed covered bicycle parking facility at the Delft Central station ensures that bikes can be parked safely and conveniently. It alleviates messy bike parking and cluttering of bikes on the streets, which would otherwise inconvenience other cyclists and pedestrian. Electronic monitoring helps keep track of how many bike parking spaces are available. To save space, bikes can be 'parked' on two levels. The facility is video-monitored and well-lit to ensure "eyes on the street".