Learning in urban renewal - PhD project Janneke van Bemmel OTB Delft
by housing associations. The typical dwelling type in these neighbourhoods is a four-storey apartment
block built in the 1950s and 1960s. (Korthals Altes, 2005)
The goals for urban renewal that were set at a national level are not being met. Korthals Altes
(2005, p. 298) states, “The process is stagnating and failing to meet the high government ambitions
for changing the urban fabric, especially in post-war apartment block neighbourhoods”. Although the
ambitious goals put forward in the national policy documents were brought down to a more realistic
level (Remkes, 2002), it remains difficult to fulfil the still sizeable task. Important causes for delay in
the urban renewal processes are the increased complexity of the planning process and planning
procedures (Taskforce Woningbouwproductie, 2002), changing relations between the parties involved
and communication problems (Wassenberg eds, 2002).
These delaying factors have a relation with a shift that took place in the relations between the
actors involved in urban renewal. In recent years, many authors have paid attention to important
changes in the roles and positions of key actors in the field (see, e.g., Andersen & Van Kempen, 2003;
Blanc, 2004; Ball & Maginn, 2005). In the Netherlands, as well as in several other Western European
countries, there has been a shift from a situation of a central steering government towards more
horizontal cooperation in a network of public and private partners. Korthals Altes (2002, p. 1441)
states that the public sector is “playing a more active role in interactions with non-state sectors and is
no longer the centre of decision-making”. The position of the municipality changed from the central
actor that is able to steer other parties hierarchically and financially, to one of the players in a network
of mutually dependent parties with more or less horizontal relations (Klijn 1996; Klijn and Koppenjan,
2004).
URBAN RENEWAL: UNCERTAIN AND KNOWLEDGE INTENSIVE
Urban renewal processes are highly uncertain, as was already briefly explained in the introduction.
Following Abbott (2005:238), I define uncertainty as follows: “Uncertainty is a perceived lack of
knowledge, by an individual or group, that is relevant to the purpose or action being undertaken”.
Uncertainty thus concerns a lack of knowledge and can be reduced by gathering additional
information. However, understanding and reducing uncertainty is not sufficient for reaching
agreement. As Forester (1989) stated: “When uncertainties have been resolved as far as possible,
value differences may remain about a plan” (Abbot, 2005:246). The presence of value differences
indicates that there is ambiguity. Ambiguity concerns a lack of clarity and agreement concerning
values, goals and preferences (Noordegraaf, 1999). Gathering knowledge cannot reduce ambiguity,
because it is unknown which knowledge is relevant. A process of argumentation and collective
interpretation can reduce ambiguity. In complex planning processes, such as large-scale urban
renewal processes, there are several types of uncertainty and ambiguity.
First, there is substantive uncertainty and ambiguity, which refers to lacking factual
knowledge (uncertainty about facts, Klijn en Koppenjan 2005) and different perceptions of knowledge
(ambiguity of conception, March and Olsen, 1976). Factual knowledge is lacking because the