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In most parts of Europe compact city policies have become a popular means of planning for sustainability. Dense compact cities were seen as solutions to reduce continually increasing mobility. They were also seen as a way to avoid urbanization of the countryside. Lately planners have been expressing serious doubts about the impact of these positive effects of the compact city concept. Planners in the Netherlands are instead shifting their attention more to environmental dilemmas which result, in part, from compact city policies. A number of these dilemmas are caused by frictions between environmentally sensitive and environmentally intrusive functions in a compact urban setting. Traditionally these dilemmas or conflicts were taken care of by using a functional rationality approach, that is one emphasizing direct causal relations between cause and effect. In the Netherlands this has resulted in a top-down policy, urging local authorities to keep enough distance between conflicting functions. Unfortunately the compact city concept adds an extra dimension to the problem, favouring mixed use and a dense urban area. Keeping distance can therefore no longer be the primary solution to environmental conflicts in urban areas. Environment conflicts have become, so to speak, more complex owing to spatial pressure and to a growing number of different interests that have to be taken into account. Functional rationality approaches may no longer be sufficient to solve these complex dilemmas or conflicts. Rather than keeping distance as the only possible solution to deal with conflicting functions, in the Netherlands local participation is also recognized as an effective approach towards some of the more complex conflicts. This communicative approach is gradually gaining acceptance in the Netherlands—and in other parts of the world as well—as a potential method for dealing with planning issues. In this paper functional and communicative rationality are seen as two extremes of the same spectrum, with complexity as the key word linking the two together. This has lead to the following thesis: the effectiveness and efficiency of a solution will depend on the assignment of the conflict's complexity. In this case, complexity is no longer seen as a metaphor, but instead as essential for examining planning issues, including environmental conflicts in compact cities.

The development of cities includes a wide variety of uncertainties which challenge spatial planners and decision makers. In response, planning approaches which move away from the ambition to achieve predefined outcomes are being explored in the literature. One of them is an adaptive approach to planning. In this paper, we argue that adaptive planning comes with a shift in focus. Instead of content and process, it is first of all about creating conditions for development which support a city's capacity to respond to changing circumstances. We explore what these conditions may comprise and how they can be related to planning. First theoretically, by portraying cities as complex adaptive systems. Then empirically, through an evaluation of the practice of organic development strategies in which development trajectories are only minimally structured. Based on a review of 12 Dutch urban development projects, two of which are analysed in detail in this paper, we identify a series of conditions on spatio-functional configurations and the capacity building of local actors which enhance urban adaptability.

The concept of self-organization has been used to interpret various complex issues and therefore becomes prevalent in many various academic domains. This paper presents the study urban transformation of a Chinese case Nanluoguxiang at neighbourhood level. Supported by questionnaires and interviews, we found out first, in comparison to the government-led urban development which is prevalent in China, Nanluoguxiang demonstrates characteristics of self-organization; Second, self-organizing transformation doesn't always lead to order, but sometimes go against socially desired outcomes. Third, the development of Nanluoguxiang case has shown that self-organizing transformation can work well with planning regulation, depending on the appropriate configuration of institutions. These findings with evidence from China will enrich the ongoing theoretical debate and clarify misunderstandings of self-organization in cities, in particular how self-organization plays a role in everyday urban development and how this relates to planning.

During most of the twentieth century, the exercise of governance was left largely to the discretion of formal governments, most notably the central state. Especially since the 1980s, however, we are seeing some important 'shifts in governance'. Among the dominant modes of renewing governance is the process of decentralization, supported by idea that local authorities are in a better position to engage in bargaining or collaborative processes with local stakeholders and civil organizations. In addition, familiarity with local circumstances and interests gives local parties benefits in developing more integrated policies that are tailored to the local situation. Decentralization is, however, often pursued without a keen understanding of its possible or likely consequences, which is not without risks. These risks are especially prompt in the realm of environmental policies, as these relate to the protection of ecosystems, human health and future environmental qualities. In this chapter we will therefore reflect on the increasing role of the local level in environmental policy. We will do so based on both a theoretical exploration of theories on decentralization and empirical findings regarding the experiences in the Netherlands where decentralization in environmental policy is relatively well pronounced. We will explain that although decentralization has some important benefits to offer, also in the realm of environmental policies, central policies and regulations remain to play a key role in supporting, enabling and stimulating local good practices.

Since the 1980s and due to the ongoing complexity and diffuseness of global networked societies, planners have tried to move beyond classic technocratic and/or sociocratic ideas of planning towards new approaches, which address the multiplicity and fuzziness of our perceptions and actions in time and space. Innovative ideas have been developed concerning discursive, collaborative, informal and post-policy planning, as well as relational geography, multi-planar, non-linear and actor-relational approaches. Nonetheless, techno- and sociocratic approaches remain dominant conceptions for much teaching and practice in Europe and elsewhere. This is partly because these innovative contributions of the past 20 or 30 years have been fragmented and isolated. However, they can also be regarded as the beginning of a bigger transition towards what we call a movement of 'planning of undefined becoming'. In this article, we will sketch a framework in which these innovative ideas about the planner's perceptions of fuzzy, complex and co-evolving space and time will in some way be interrelated. From this background, we will also critically reflect on some planning experiments in practice inspired reciprocally and incrementally by these ideas, developing applications for practitioners along the way.

Regions can become 'locked' into a spatial-economic development trajectory, thereby losing their capacity to adapt to spatial dynamics. This is in contrast to those regions that seem to be able to reinvent themselves by adapting to processes that drive spatial change, deviating from past development trajectories and giving rise to nonlinearity. This paper focuses on the influence that spatial planning has on stimulating as well as frustrating such nonlinear development. On the basis of an analysis of the development trajectory of the Wadden Sea Region, we clarify the relationship between spatial planning, lock-in situations, and the coming about of nonlinear development trajectories. For conceptual support on nonlinearity we turn to the complexity sciences. This assists us to reflect on planning strategies, and we discuss how spatial planning can contribute to managing emergent nonlinearity.

International concerns about climate change and environmental and socio-economic impacts linked to fossil fuels have pushed energy transition up the agenda of the Chinese central government. The Chinese central government recognises that energy transition requires actions beyond what the energy sector can deliver, and has thus called for policy integration. Climate policy integration has emerged as one of the key strategies to respond to energy concerns by incorporating the diverse perspectives of various sectors. The main goal is for energy issues be considered and governed by multiple sectors taking collective responsibility and allocating resources for similar policy ambitions. However, developing integrated policy within traditional hierarchical sectoral settings can be rather challenging. In this article, we analyse how the integration of energy ambitions within non-energy sectors manifests at local level in urban China. This research draws upon semi-structured interviews in two case study cities: Chengdu and Yangzhou. We find generally weak climate policy integration in local governments due to insufficient communication and interaction between policy sectors, limited professional capacity, and inefficient governance structures. These findings suggest incorporating hierarchical, top-down governance with an increase in cross-sectoral and horizontal forms of communication and interaction, as both actions can significantly facilitate policy integration.

This article explores the mechanisms of urban self-organization and the role of formal institutions in shaping peri-urban areas. A case study of Gaobeidian, a former rural village that is now part of Beijing, examines the mechanisms of change and the interdependent relations between institutions and bottom-up initiatives that drive peri-urban transformations. The paper presents two main contributions: (1) it identifies the differences between government-controlled planning, shared governance, self-governance and self-organization and how these intertwine in urban transformations; (2) it proposes three distinct roles played by institutions in relation to self-organization: triggering, constraining and enabling. The empirical study of this Chinese case will enrich the current debate on planning for self-organizing cities by revealing the impact of, and the various responses to, self-organization dynamics in a hierarchical institutional environment.

This article explores the mechanisms of urban self-organization and the role of formal institutions in shaping peri-urban areas. A case study of Gaobeidian, a former rural village that is now part of Beijing, examines the mechanisms of change and the interdependent relations between institutions and bottom-up initiatives that drive peri-urban transformations. The paper presents two main contributions: (1) it identifies the differences between government-controlled planning, shared governance, self-governance and self-organization and how these intertwine in urban transformations; (2) it proposes three distinct roles played by institutions in relation to self-organization: triggering, constraining and enabling. The empirical study of this Chinese case will enrich the current debate on planning for self-organizing cities by revealing the impact of, and the various responses to, self-organization dynamics in a hierarchical institutional environment.

In this paper, we explore the route beyond the conventional, linear attitude within planning and its rationality debate. We combine our theoretical reasoning with a multiscale approach and with fractal-like argumentation which results in a frame of conditions which is supported by the outline of a theoretical conceptual simulation model which would also allow non-linear, iterative simulations of the urban space. The understanding of autonomous non-linear spatial development has a direct impact on planning. Addressing the underlying thinking behind Haken's synergetics we develop a framework within which the interdependencies between different levels of scale are key. We are aware that bottom-up and top-down processes often have a mutual influence on one another. We therefore propose a conceptual simulation model for planning where conditions have an impact at various levels of scale. In coherence with the idea of the 'dynamic behaviour of the system after a planning decision was made', this feedback gives us information on the surviving and non-surviving planning scenarios and decisions and is reminiscent of systems which are open to self-organizing pattern formation. Our reasoning with regard to planning and decision-making and their multilevel consequences is strongly influenced by the arguments presented in complexity studies.

The article introduces the concepts of robustness and flexibility into the discussion on spatial quality to unpack the approach adopted by the Dutch province of Friesland in pursuit of their ambition to stimulate spatial quality. The analysis of how robustness and flexibility are manifested in Friesland, respectively the capacity to counteract negative impacts on spatial quality and the capacity to progress to more enhanced forms of spatial quality, reveals a multi-component, dynamic and selective approach. Multi-component refers to the combination of regulations, the building of purposeful organizations and teams and deliberate actions to influence spatial development projects and plans. It is dynamic because the approach is adapted to the dynamics of the multilevel governance system wherein the province and its actions are embedded. It is selective because spatial quality is reduced to a limited set of factors, decision-making is done by a selected set of actors and some measures tend to address a limited set of themes. The findings suggest that stimulating spatial quality strongly depends on how spatial quality is conceptualized and formalized in the arena of politics and planning, negotiated in multilevel decision-making processes alongside decisions on whether to make resources available for this purpose.

A key issue in the development of China's growing megacities in the transport-related environmental costs due to rapid urban expansion. In light of this issue, the authors examine the impact of urban form on commuting patterns on the city fringe of Beijing. Based on household-survey data, the results of the analysis suggest that the forms of land use adopted in the suburbs have a significant impact on commuting distance when a worker's socioeconomic characteristics and the level of transport accessibility are taken into account. Sprawling expansion, characterized by a low degree of self-contained development and low-density land use, tends to increase the need for long-distance commuting to the central urban area. In contrast, compact urban development in the suburbs, particularly in the peripheral constellations of Beijing, would reduce the probability of long-distance commuting. The current trend in improving transport accessibility on the city fringe is likely to lead to further long-distance commuting. In particular, huge road projects could cause more traffic congestion in the centre. The findings suggest that land-development management on the city fringe could have significant implications with respect to containing the dramatic costs to the environment entailed by transportation in the context of the rapid process of motorization. Reducing travel needs through the integration of land use and transport-infrastructure provision is likely to be the key to sustainable urban expansion.