- Shared Terms for spatial Quality of strategic Projects   574 kb by    Goethals, Marleen | marl.goethals@skynet.be    Short Outline Two main research questions are addressed: - which are the terms for defining spatial quality? - how do these terms become shared? An analytical framework will be elaborated and applied to the project of the Oosterweel link in Antwerp. Abstract In strategic projects, administrations for urbanism and spatial planning aim at directing spatial developments towards quality on multiple scale levels according to principles of sustainability. However, uncertainty on whether spaces are qualitative and developments sustainable raises difficulties and delay in the development process, as well as discomfort about the results. This research aims at the construction of an operational framework for the description, stimulation, monitoring and implementation of spatial quality in strategic projects. This research investigates the origination of shared terms when defining the project and determining the conditions for the spatial quality (Hajer, Sijmons en Feddes 2006), i.e. mission statements that were agreed upon by all partners. A quick overview of contemporary European practices demonstrates that various trajectories can lead to spatial quality. This research refuses to reduce these into a simple rule of thumb, or a fixed procedure for urban planners. On the contrary, a detailed analysis of such complex trajectories will allow us to identify ‘landscapes’, in which types of projects and types of processes are combined. This virtual ‘map’ will lead to suggestions for a more conscious use of quality terms in the discussion of strategic projects, enabling decisions, implementation and follow-up of the project’s ambitions. Two main research questions are addressed: - which terms are used for the determination of spatial quality? These findings will be related to theories about methods, origins and scope of evaluating space and urban design. - how did these terms came to be shared by all parties involved? Therefore, the processes eventually leading to a consensus between the parties about qualitative project ambitions will be investigated. In this paper, this analytical framework will be elaborated and applied to the project of the Oosterweel link in Antwerp.. Keywords Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2007: Urban Trialogues   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper