In response to the growing challenges of sustainability, liveability, and accessibility in peri-urban regions, this thesis aims to understand how the principles of the 15-minute city model can be implemented to peri-urban contexts through the lens of public values. While the 15-m
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In response to the growing challenges of sustainability, liveability, and accessibility in peri-urban regions, this thesis aims to understand how the principles of the 15-minute city model can be implemented to peri-urban contexts through the lens of public values. While the 15-minute city, originally conceptualised for urban areas, aims to localise all daily needs within a 15-minute walk or bike ride, translating it to car-dependent peri-urban areas is neither straightforward not possible within the current confinements of the concept. This research bridges that gap by exploring how a human-centric, value-based approach can inform the spatial adaptation of proximity-based planning principles in peri-urban regions, specifically focusing on the Dutch municipality of Ede.
Peri-urban areas have been overlooked in urban planning for a prolonged period of time. Characterised by highly dynamic spatial and social conditions, these areas suffer from relevant urban challenges such as car dependency, reduced access to amenities, population growth, and political distrust. All highlighting the urgent need for renewed attention towards this landscape.
To implement the relevant planning principles behind the 15-minute city in the peri-urban landscape through the lens of public values, two key frameworks are integrated together. The Public Value Sphere framework (Herzog, 2021) and the Human Needs framework (Cardoso et al., 2022) bridge the gap between the planning principles and public values, which have been specifically defined in this context. The former provides five public value sphere for the peri-urban context; economic opportunity, ecological quality, social equity, liveability, and health/safety. Each sphere encapsulated spatial public values that relate to the built environment.
The latter, rooted in Max-Neef’s theory of Human Scale Development, distinguishes between ‘needs’ and context-specific ‘satisfiers’. Be identifying diversity, proximity and accessibility as the core 15-minute city principles their five ‘needs’ are distinguished as Inclusiveness, mixed-land use, sustainability, walkability, and connectivity. By relating the concept of public values to the ‘satisfiers, this thesis constructs a conceptual framework that allows public values to spatially translate 15-minute city principles.
Empirical data extracted from focus-groups, organised for the InPUT project, a co-creation workshop with a specially developed pattern language, and a final round of digital feedback from participants formed the participatory process that enabled the specification, operationalisation and translation of public values into a spatial strategy. This pattern language serves as a tool for the designer to communicate with citizens and let them articulate their desires.
By mapping the (mis)alignment between perceived values and desired spatial outcomes, this thesis offers insights into how humans act, think, and communicate desires. The result is a set of context-specific spatial interventions that guide the implementation of 15-minute city principles through five main identified public values. It demonstrates how spatial interventions based on public values can contribute to a just and sustainable transition of the peri-urban landscape.
Ultimately, this research calls for a shift in the urban planning from time-based planning to value-based planning approach that priorities the human perspective through meaningful participation. In this approach, it is the role of the designer to understand the meaning people associate with spatial interventions and thereby understand underlying public values of stakeholders through identifying the ‘why’ behind peoples choices.
In doing so, the role of the designer becomes one of a translator, capable of identifying, articulating, and translating the public values that often remain implicit in spatial discussions. It starts with a simple question: “Why?” A question that reframes the urban planning process not as a search for the most desired solutions, but as a practice of finding values.
