Relevance to MATRA Themes
Legislation and Law
The project has an intention to explore the potentials for the improvement of the existing Croatian spatial planning legislative framework through the introduction of a new model that could influence the legislative process. As explained earlier, overproduction of plans in a strictly hierarchical order, restriction instead of more development planning approach, planning activity limited to institutions and professionals involved in a process and non – transparency of the process finally result in the system’s inefficiency to create conditions for the development activities and at the same time advocates the public interest.
The new model for the spatial/coastal development that the project proposes imposes a new form of a relationship between the actors involved in a spatial planning process, fostering the culture of a dialogue. At the seven locations along the coast, cooperation between the selected teams of architecture/urban planning and management professionals, NGO’s and self-governments would result in a Pilot Project as an answer to concrete problems at a concrete location. In doing so, a project has a tendency to impose the project orientated approach instead of plan oriented approach which has been proved inefficient in terms of creation of appropriate solutions for the development of coastal communities. Finally, seven Pilot Projects would be further developed in a form of an urban plan which is, as legally obliged document, part of existing spatial planning regulatory framework. Nevertheless, the ambitions behind the project are not related to the introduction of a new law, whereas hyper production of new legislation is in itself one of the causes for inefficiency of existing system.
That is why the project partly relies on present structures, aiming to challenge the existing spatial planning legislative framework to reconsider the proposed method to become a legal instrument if proved to be operational.
Public administration
A theme of public administration within the project is tackled by one of its objectives to position the decision-making process for the coastal development close to the local level. The project introduces a method that strengthens accountability, legitimacy, transparency and the democratisation of the coastal development process.
The method is formulated through a new form of cooperation between the actors involved in a process of spatial planning that enables local municipalities to steer the development of their communities in a sustainable way, taking into account social, environmental and economic prosperity. Support for local municipalities to demarcate and present development strategies that would equally represent public interest and economic potentials is presented through a creation of a framework for the new relationship between the representatives of the self-government and citizens. The project aims to take actions that would enable citizens to formulate their needs and projections on a spatial development issues. In order to enable them to precisely delineate the problems of their communities that could be tackled by the spatial transformations, civil society represented through the local NGO’s would undertake training aimed to develop tools and methods to recognize the main components of the policy and create action plans. At the same time, a process presents the strengthening of the institutional capacities of the local NGO’s. The project teams would work together on a concrete problem at the location, coordinated by the Berlage Institute and CoastLine office, intermediate structures, to facilitate a new kind of relationship between government and citizens. The process will enable citizens and local municipalities to explore the potentials of the cooperation and open dialogue. In addition, the project anticipates introduction of parallel actions that would influence NGO’s and local municipality’s capacity to participate in public discussions aimed to putthe accent on critical spatial problems.
Environment
The environmental concerns are an inevitable part of the coastal development process, where the natural, historical and cultural resources are endangered by the process of mass colonization of the coast. The project’s intention to present a strategy for a coastal development through locations with a critical environmental condition implicates its ambition to reconsider an integral approach that tackle environmental and planning problems.
Designated locations present critical points where major environmental problems obstruct desired development or where a good environmental quality is being put in jeopardy. The project proposes an integrated bottomup approach which allows identification of environmental problems, as well as solutions for them, ensuring active involvement and participation of stakeholders in the decision-making process. However, the project also anticipates active participation of NGO’s in spatial research and programming whereas one of the preconditions is the knowledge on environmental issues. In order to enable them to perform such a task the project anticipates environmental education and building and strengthening of environmental and nature conservation organisations.
Housing
Concerning the issue of urban regeneration, funding and planning has been put high on the agenda of the coastal cities that are turning into the providers of the ingredients of the urban tissue basics for leisure and hotels and tourism market, as the global trends in the occupation of a coastal space are imposing.
Along the Croatian coastline, historical urban public spaces provide cultural foundations and the urban historical infrastructure present its identity within the European cultural context. Urban settings represent a unique example between intact nature and public urban spaces. Regarding the present condition of expected accelerated development, the nature of the future strategies for the urban regeneration would be crucial for the maintenance of the relationship between the landscape and the urban grid, as well as the hierarchy of public urban spaces, that is capable of anticipating considerations about new urban entities.
Therefore, it is one of the objectives of the project that through seven paradigmatic examples presented in a from of Pilot Projects delineates a strategy the coastal development capable to articulate concepts of new urban spaces in the times of social transition. Those concepts should anticipate Croatian’s coastline rich historical textbook. A proposed method for the coastal development enables local communities to carry out a reconstruction of its historical cities where the newly established contemporary urbanity would be in a very sophisticated and dynamic relationship with the past and where the shift from private to public and vice versa would be creative and functional. Involvement of the leading world experts in architectural theory and practice as well as architectural teams chosen from the Croatian selector of IARB, Vedran Mimica from Berlage Institute would assure that proposed solutions would have the high values in terms of transformative impact both on the built environment and the contemporary architectural culture.
In addition, the project anticipates an integrated approach and participation on a local level, components of the UNHabitat Agenda.
Culture
The project contributes to the development of a cultural infrastructure, especially in the light between the government and the cultural sector, positioning the architectural practice into new form of relationship with governmental structures. Through a new form of communication with local self-governments and NGO’s in a process of research and programming of seven specific locations at the coast, architectural practice explore new models of education and encourage open dialogue with a public, and in return validates its position, professional tools and production.
Installation of the new body for the steering of the coastal development process, CoastLine office at the CAA, in a form of a research institute that explores the coastal phenomena within a global and local context presents a long-term involvement of architectural practice into the decision-making process on coastal development. Another strength of the project is the fact that it builds on existing relationships in the architectural field between Croatia and the Netherlands, and fosters the growth of knowledge and experience in the Croatian architectural community. At the same time, it establishes a new relationship between Dutch and Croatian architectural audience, by the participation of Croatian architectural teams from seven coastal locations at the Mare Nostrum, a research project within the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam. The exhibition will present the results of extensive research on coastal development in the different regions, by invited teams of curators and architects. At the Biennale, Croatian architects would have an opportunity to exchange the knowledge and experience with Dutch and international audience on alternative approaches for a coastal development.
The added value of input from the Netherlands
The Netherlands is a country with a long tradition of successful spatial planning policy, environmental consciousness, concern for a public space and transparency of a decision-making process which leads to a better quality living environment and ensured a good utilisation of scarce space as well as a fair distribution of benefits.
The Dutch experience in an effective general policy on public space as well as to keep decision-making powers as close as possible to the local level, promoting public participation democracy results in creative and sustainable solutions for improving the living environment. Dutch policy on public space has already produced a number of projects directed at civil society participation and supervision, when solutions call for the involvement of several parties.
Successful development of the project relies on a willingness of all the actors to accept the consensual views on working method. The principles of consensus building are firmly embodied in the Dutch spatial policy which when taken as a model would make a good example of how to influence the successful implementation of a project which requires that all the parties involved broadly agree on the seriousness of the state of affairs and that they are willing to seek solutions together.
In a dynamic, transitional economy, spatial policy must cope with uncertainty and changing circumstances and be capable of delivering a wide range of public and business environments. Therefore, partnership between a Dutch institute engaged with real urban conditions world-wide, Berlage Institute and Croatian representative of architectural and public sphere involved in a process of coastal development, Croatian Architects Association would generate a power to produce a project of national and local signifiance, that harness the postive forces driving economic and social coastal development using spatial concepts that can be modified over time.