Suburban Development

The image of the city:

Kevin Lynch

The social dimension:

Jan Gehl
Jane Jacobs
Oscar Newman Defensible spaces

The traditional mechanism of urban renewal was heavily criticized by Jane

Jacobs. She stressed the importance to adopt practices that stress social and
economic vitality. For an area to continue to renew itself social interaction must
be facilitated and opportunities for constant social interaction must be provided.
Safety and security feature high any successful environment to work. Sidewalks,
open spaces, neighbourhoods, the local economy and government are
fundamental elements that must work together to achieve good city form. The
first three must possess qualities that that make them safe and secure to work
and these are a clear definition of public and private territories and a gradual
transition between them defining what is called by Oscar Newman a defensible
space, proving for natural surveillance and opportunities for continuous use of
the streets. (death and life of great American cities, Oscar newman defeneisble
spaces)
Urban design is concerned with the design of equitable environments. (peter
calthorpe).

Scale and time:

Christopher Alexander
Leon/Rob Krier

The Visual Dimension:

Although it is true that by changing the physical form of our built environment
will not address social and ecological issues, on the other hand economic vitality,
social stability and environmental sustainability cannot be achieved without
supportive physical framework. This it is fundamental that psychological needs
as well as physical concerns are addressed and it is by finding the right balance
between these two that solutions would emerge. (the regional city pg 5)
(entry of ebeneezer howard.)
Joel Garreau describes how life could be on these former suburban areas with a
high density of office and retail spaces, a major job centre and regional retail and
entertainment become mixed use hubs for commerce and creative enterprise
serving the national and global market of job seekers whilst providing
opportunities for entertainment and recreation. (regional city pg 2, planning at
the edge, edge city by garrue).
The regional city model

Nowadays we live in an aggregation of cities and suburbs. This new structure is

different from Ebeenezer Howards Garden Cities, the Edge Cities described by
Garreu or the Radiant City of le Corbusier. The Regional City model is made from
a constellation with layers of networks of; open spaces, transportation,
communities, economic systems, cultures, infrastructure, land use patterns.
Success of this system thus, depends on the efficient connection that exist
amongst them. Three fundamental elements of this network structure are

building the regions common ground from the system of open spaces.
Cultural diversity (ie.e activities), its physical history and economic
character.
Serving a diversity of communities
Provision of variety of services and modes of transportation systems
making places more complex, inclusive and varied. (regional city pg 6/12).

The processes of developing suburban areas can be achieved by retrofitting

declining areas, unused buildings and obsolete lands such as brownfield or grey
field lands. Their development can be guided with the same urban design
principles to repair the damage brought about by disinvestment, poor planning
and urban decay. (calthorpe). The missing link for many communities has been
the loss the traditional urban design principles namely, (the eco-neighbourhood
principles) to create places that are walkable and human scales, utilising
optimum density and make use of passive technology, utilises water, energy and
waste management strategies, and street and street block that facilitates
pedestrian movement and linking important community facilities. (eco
neighbourhood princples).
Calthorpe identifies three layers making up the network metropolises. These are
the economic region from which the business clusters draws its memebrs and
can extent to global scale, the ecological region, for instance watershed planning
and water managemtn aprpaoches ona regional scale and the social region

Defining suburban development

A term associated with suburban development and sprawl is often referred
to as peri-urbanisation. The peri-urban is defined as discontinuous built
development, containing settlements of each less than 20,000 people,
with an average density of at least 40 persons per km2 (averaged over 1
km cells). (PLUREL project). Secondly a definition for urban sprawl
considers the value of development as a determinant of weather it is
sprawl or not. A typical definition is unplanned incremental urban
development, characterised by a low density mix of land uses on the
urban fringe (Joe Ravetz, 2013)
Urban sprawl may be defined as the spread of urbanisation into the
countryside from designated urban areas. Paragraph 7.6 of the Structure
Plan defines urbanisation as the creation of new built up areas containing
all or most urban uses: houses, shops, offices, factories, and all the built
support facilities which these accumulate. (MEPA, Rural Topic Paper,
2000)

The urban fringe is that transitional area between the very urban and the
very rural, and includes elements from both extremes and may be partly
in the countryside but for the most part it fulfils functions directly related
to urban areas. (MEPA, Rural Topic Paper, 2000)
This was the result of both outward migration from inner areas where
declining quality of life conditions, loss of jobs related to harbour
activities, availability of the automobile, population growth, need for
affordable housing and to control rent prices that were on the rise as well
as industrialisation processes that changed the way rural and agricultural
communities live and the need to locate unwanted land uses outside the
urban area and the result of an injection of foreign direct investment.
(observations).
Defining Neighbourhoods (rfom suburbs to neighbourhoods)
Neighbourhoods
have
complex
identities
and
configurations.
Neighbourhoods however, maintain some common traits and are defined
by their forms, densities and scales. They have to be walkable, clear
boundaries and centres, offer a variety of housing opportunities, and offer
a diverse and human scale that create a strong identity and sense of
community. (the regional city pg 32). Robert Putman

A characteristics of these communities is that they mark a shift from the

communities of place to communities of interests that physically might
not live in close proximity to each other but share social interaction
between them because of common interests. Urban neighbourhoods
means different things, they mix persons and activities and combine many
aspects of living, public, private, work or home. (calthope pg 33)
Jane Jacobs argues that places functions because they manage to draw
together people of similar interests and facilitate interaction. This
successful neighbourhoods have to offer diversity of social classes,
income groups, building types and economic and social activities. (death
and life and peter calthorpe pg 40). Satisfying the social dimension of
neighbourhoods is an essential quality for place to continue to renew
themselves. (jane Jacobs) Building social capital is a fundamental element
and this must be achieved by finding the right balance between
community of interest and community of place, a balance between the
office community and the residential community (Putnam in calthorpe pf
33).
Communities of interest define themselves by the communalities they
share and thus the physical concerns are played down which can be
damaging for communtieis of place. Oldenburg in (calthorper pg 36)
writes the substitute community of the office is one where there is no
place for children, unlike the residential community.

Peri-urban is defined by the PLUREL project using the term rural-urbanregion. The basic spatial types are:
1. Urban area
a. Urban core: central area containing largely public and
commercial facilities
b. Inner urban area: high density development with mixed uses
c. Suburban area: lower density development attached to inner
urban areas with local amenities like local shops and gardens.
2. Peri-urban
a. Urban fringe: zone around the edges of the built up area with
low density development with a scattered pattern with large
open spaces, co nsists of large open spaces like gold courses,
farmland, nature reserves and urban woodlands, urban
concentrations around transport hubs.
b. Urban periphery: zone around the main built up area including
small settlements, industrial areas and agricultural land uses.
3. Rural hinterland: area around peri-urban that is however accessible
by practical commuting time (Joe Ravetz, 2013)
Factors in dynamic changes of the peri-urban:

Gordon Cullen

Environmental Design:

Ebeneezer Howard and Ian Bentley Ecological design

Historical background
Drivers and issues of peri-urbanization.
In modern developed words the peri-urban is a zone of chaotic
urbanisation leading to sprawl. The peri-urban can be seen as both a
fringe in between urban and rural areas as well as a multi-functional
territory. Peri-urban areas are classifies into two distinct segments. The
urban fringe and the urban periphery.
Typical features of such area are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Low population density as defined by urban standards

Scattered settlements
Dependency on transport for commuting
Fragmented communities
Lack of spatial governance

Dynamics within these zones that will be addressed are the physical,
socio-economics and political dynamics to understand the drivers of periurbanization. (Joe Ravetz, 2013)

Territorial cohesion policies are meant to address the disparities between

the peri-urban areas and economic and population centres so they can
better compete. Another issues is urban sprawl in the form of low density,
discontinuous and dispersed urban development is now a common
phenomenon throughout Europe. With mass transport systems and the
use of private cars the the country side close to towns become a potential
place for living and recreation. (Joe Ravetz, 2013)
The result and combination of a number of market forces allowing affluent
people to move out from cities and even due to policies. This is the
formulation of suburbs. In American cities you had this large mass
migration. These demand certain amenities like schools, market shops,
petrol station. This fuels large type typologies next to residential areas.
(retrofitting suburbia)
Industrial/warehouses also abandoned the cities and we start having office
park like smart city. So from a suburban we start forming an urban fringe,
the edge. Industries had cheaper prices and easy highway access. These
edges cities become occupied by a car depended workforce that
impoverishes the sense of place when they leave their city to go to work.
(Zammit, 2014)
There exists different types of urban sprawl like ribbon development.
Furthermore political pressure may also result in more development than
required as everyone want to own his own piece of land rather than rent
it. (Zammit, 2014)
What we notice is that the rural urban continuum is almost absent in the
southern area were there is heavy industrialisation and large suburbs with
residential areas. In the northern part this urban rural transition can be
much more evident and perhaps this area works better than the south.
The reason why in the north there is this continuum is because of the
presence of urban professionals living their and commuting to the urban
core for work. This area can be called suburban nowadays. This is called
ex-urbanisation. Another concept describing the form of urban rural
dynamics is counter-urbanisation where migration happens from the inner
cores of the cities towards the periphery of development, a tendency of de
concentration. Apart from migration other forms of peri-urbanization
exists like movement for commuting or recreation and other behavioural
changes (like golf-courses). (Joe Ravetz, 2013)
1. Population growth, economic and space demand:
Demographic and social dynamic are driven by migration factors that
depends on the attractiveness of the rural, urban areas for jobs and
quality of life, transport and communications. The ageing population will
also effect housing demand and supply. This was evident in post war
period with migration from the harbour areas to the outer suburbs leading
to expansion as well as the economic growth and ageing population.

(article plurel)The topic paper prepared by mepa also point out that
illegalities such as dumoping or illegal development, small landholdings,
contested tenure rights. Changing agricultural practice, proximity to
highways and commercialisation also define the Maltese peri-urban area.
(MEPA, Rural Topic Paper, 2000)
Furthermore, economic growth and job dependencies on construction
workforce requires areas to be built. A factor in Malta that may have
contributed towards this expansion was Malta accession to the EU where
people to exchange their older currency with the new one invested in
property. Furthermore the increased ownership reduced the rent prices in
inner urban areas leading to people with lower incomes to move in thus
poverty issues and lack of maintanance are created. (Joe Ravetz, 2013)
Furthermore environmental effects such as the rising temperatures in
summer in inner land areas may lead to migration to seashore
settlements as happens in Malta. Furthermore flooding in urban areas may
also cause peri-urban expansion s people seek to move out. Therefore
providing the adequate water management infrastructure can reduce the
pressure on the outer areas. (Joe Ravetz, 2013)
Furthermore household sizes and morphology, quality of outdoor spaces
and community facilities also effects growth of peri-urban development.
Moreover transportation and related infrastructure also encourages periurban development as their has been a change to a car and highways
network pattern. (Joe Ravetz, 2013)
Figure 2.2
2. Expansion as a result of changes in economies of scale
(housing affordable prices)
Expansion can lead to an agglomeration of settlements with polycentric
settlement forms. (Joe Ravetz, 2013). Furthermore to gain access to large
labour and economic markets there is tendency to located commercial
development in between cities as for example Zejtun, Zabbar, Luqa that
lie between the conurbation and other coastal areas and even within the
conurbation itself. Tourism also effects development. With higher touristic
concentration towards the northern part of the conurbation this may lead
to the further expansion of the urban areas towards the north. This makes
the peri-urban ideal.
Housing provision was always a problem and it was only until 1950s that
Government implemented the first large scale physical intervention, one
of which was the construction of Santa Lucia in 1958 followed by new
housing estates at the edge of settlements in 1960s. Between 1970s and
1980s the Home Ownerships Scheme was launched were plots of land
were distributed on temporary emphyteusis for terraced development. In
1990s there is a shift from greenfield development to brownfield
development in urban areas. Furthermore there is a projected decrease in

the population around the Grand Harbour area. This is a result of a

declining workforce in the dockyards, social preference for quieter
suburban areas, vacant properties and second homes. Mosta, Zabbar,
Birkirkara and Rabat took the role of regional centres after world ware 2.
This peripheral development have rise to unsustainable transport
patterns. Traffic mainly flows from the periphery of the conurbation
towards the grand Harbour and in reverse in the afternoon and evening.
Integrated development for territorial cohesion in these areas is
fundamental for the management of these zones. The result is that in
finding such relationships in the sustainability triangle is that we and
control and improve chaotic urban sprawl. (Joe Ravetz, 2013)
3. Political and cultural forces
The following point look beyond physical land use as the dynamic shaper
of the peri-urban and these factors, mainly private driven development
are:

Financial commodity
Place of dependency and colonization
Business/science park investors with images of greenfields and fast
road connections (like university)
The peri-urban is marketed to attract the creative enterprise
Illegal activities can also sometime be seen to take place as illegal
dumping, scrap vehicles and free festivals in these areas.

Other dynamic forces are the division between people with different levels
of income agglomerated together or the ecological and landscape
diversity that offers many types of connections and relationships (Joe
Ravetz, 2013)
Figure 2.3/2.4
4. Radical restructuring of the peri-urban
These mentioned process can either happen abruptly or in transition.
(example post war era) A city can change therefore not just in its function
or physical form but also in its role and identity over a period of time and
from a commuter suburb it may become a multi-functional area.
(Joe
Ravetz, 2013)
5. Policy context
Other factors that influence urban sprawl are the spatial governance
requirement imposed that determine plot sizes for land uses and the
allocation of other ecosystem services and whether this development is
meant to the public interest or for private profit. (Joe Ravetz, 2013) In
Malta we had the home ownerships schemes that later become the
building development (temporary provision) act. This resulted into many
suburbs being build around existing urban edges. Furthermore in Malta we

have a two tier planning system with rural and conservation regulations
that are very strong and the in between we apply an ad-hoc approach and
less restringing development.
Policies prohibiting coalescence in certain areas has been set up. This can
beneficial and the in between land can be used for economic activities to
make use of the location advantage and at the same time protect the
individual identity of each locality. In Malta to prevent this Strategic open
gaps has been identified that prevent any development taking place in
between settlements to protect coalescence of urban areas and
settlemetns ODZ, protect the character of the setting of ODZ settlements.
Planning at the fringe has not necessarily been for the fringe.
Containment strategies were designed with objectives in mind that were
spatially unrelated to the fringe. Rather we focused on protecting the
countryside, conserving the inner urban area and prevention of urban
coalescence. Secondly planning was more reactive rather than proactive
as very often space was managed in an adhoc way. This means that
planning should be more integrated and inclusive to serve the multifunctional purpose of the fringe. (e.g. is green belts) (Nick Gallent, 2006)
The impact of the urban sprawl in past decades has influenced the extent
of urban fringes in varying forms from one location to another. Vacant
land within development limits used for agricultural purpose is marked as
urban area since it might be possible developed. From these analysis we
can conclude that locally a number of typologies exists:

Governance structure in Malta was decentralised in 1992 with the introduction of

the Local Councils and the introduced legislation made it mandatory that local
election should be held every five years.
The waterfront ribbon development is often synonymous with water edged cities.
This tendency to follow the natural dynamic and sense of flow created by the
water edge and aligning growth to it is a very common response. How the town
and the water edge interact determines the character of the city form, a natural
coastline that gives a rural character to the settlement.
In past years affordable housing was addressed by creating isolated building
blocks of subsidized housing rather than mixed used-neighbourhoods and
implementing regional fair-share housing prices. (the regional citiy pg 5) Sprawl
was a post-war strategy advocated to create affordable housing and located
unwanted uses in places knitted together by car. (regional city pg 5).
Large scale development are often difficult to be implemented on land with small
lot division. The multiple ownership makes it quite difficult to assemble a large
plot of land to a comprehensive scheme development especially when the
scheme is for non-profit purposes. Thus large greenfield (ODZ) and brownfield
land would them be destined for development or redevelopment.

Types of suburban development - amorphous, ribbon, parcel, comprehensive

development, leapfrog development
Typologies home ownership schemes etc
Identifying typologies of peri-urban areas based on its ecological, social, economic and institutional
characteristics for the suburban area of Smart City: ( from the impact assessment this shows clear the
typologies of suburban locations
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Agricultural areas
Industrial Zones
Areas that have high level of commuting
Area with high level of summer residences
Areas with permanent residents
Area with newly established younger generation residents that have different life styles etc.

These typologies exist in various settlements and are united by the physical fabric of the settlement.

Characteristics skyline, block morphology and typology (the more of the same
tradition type Peter Calthorpe etc) vs the neo liberal type of smart city.
Three types of suburban tissue can be read from the diagrams namely, static
tissues, the planned subdivision of plots, campus tissue, such as free standing
apartment complexes, or shopping complexes that are those along the Lagoon,
and elastic tissue, the most transformable type situated on the outskirt areas
along the main transportation routes. (retrofitting suburbia pg 198).
Industrialisation in Malta begin in the 60s/70s and this happened in the southern
region of Malta. The survived industrial suburbs of today were those located
along major transportation networks and adjacent to planned communities.
These employment hubs were important for Malta as they provided much of the
export base to stimulate economic growth and prosperity. Nowadays many
industrial parks are evolving into technology office parks. This was the result of
the expansion of the service industry locally and the need to expand abroad by
foreign investors. Networking and the internet made possible working from
remote locations that offered cheaper and more affordable office prices.
This shows that suburbs have a history of accommodating segregated services
such as manufacturing plants, warehouses and other environmentally
incompatible land uses with the existing uses in urban areas. This shift in
workforce is a reflection of the economic shift from agriculture to manufacturing
in the 60s and 70s and 80s. Today, outdated suburban workplaces are being
transformed again into mixed use business districts that reflect the social
preference of a particular class, the nature of work and the expansion of a
service economy. (retrofitting suburbia pg 203).
Smart City marks a shift in urban renewal and derelict sites shifting from discrete
parcel development outside problematic areas with a single-use perspective,
attribute to a lack of integration of policies and interventions efforts creating
disjointed and separate uses to a mixed use multifunctional redevelopment of
existing brownfield site. (planning on the edge). The digital turn has overturned
the remoteness of Xaghjra, the vibrant rural and urban setting have attracted
many who have the opportunity to choose wherever they want. They have
relocated themselves in places that have high speed internet connection use and

safe and low speed street environment along walkable streets, enabling private
hangouts in their cars or along the waterfront with a highly civilized culture. This
means that retrofitting suburban development along the edge has to deal with
an auto-oriented monoculture.
To address these issues and retrofitting suburban development have to face
challenges for instance the shortage of public spaces and pedestrian
infrastructure and the need to operate across multiple parcels. Additional
challenges to retrofitting suburban development include the possible rise of
neighbourhood resistance, auto-dependent infrastructure, demographically
homogenous population. Transforming them into walkable neighbourhoods is
conducive of place making by shaping multiple buildings in concert with the
public realm. This necessitates the use of design codes and infrastructure for
walkability. (retrofitting suburbia) (planning on the edge) Weather this can be
effective or not we will study Smart City Malta and the case study of Xghajra.
This polycentric development offers opportunities for business to locate
themselves at locations with varying formats and costs whilst reducing the
length of suburban commutes. This approach however is problematic as it
increase the automobile dependence but at the same time can be attractive
because it offers ample parking spaces and a healthier environment compared to
other urban and central areas while still being competitive and productive.
(retrofitting suburbaia pg 207). These place are attractive for a number of
reasons. They offer opportunities for government and developers to redevelop
declining existing site in development areas in between peripheral locations and
central urban districts at relatively cheap prices for retrofitting and
redevelopment. Mixed used development thereof are seen as opportunities to
address traffic congestion on arterial roads by reducing vehicular travel time and
commute lengths, creating more compact more urban conditions. Companies,
especially those competing in global markets such as information technology are
not dependent by the footfall of people on the streets as there services can be
reached via internet platforms and this are less constrained upon the locations of
their businesses and can foster environments that can be more attractive for the
younger workforce and skilled workers and convenient for the management
team.
Small communities, slightly isolated and segregated, with a diverse population
but nonetheless technically advanced are highly sought after by IT companies.
The geographical position of Malta, usage of social media by the local population
makes Malta a prime destination of research and innovation in IT. Infrastructural
investment is the catalyst t6hat would make this possible as these companies
would assess our road network, electricity distribution and communication
facilities for the viability of their projects. (times of malta, testing one, two three,
malta has all the right elemtns to become a test bed for all innovation says Ian
Vella.
August
7
2015
Friday)
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150807/business-features/Testingone-two-three.579694 The World Economic Forum has ranked Malta as 29 th in the
Network Readiness from 143 countries listed.
The elemtns that created this decentralisation is the decentralisation of
corporate business services brought about by the demand and need for business
in the suburbs and peripheral location of the city region that owns its roots from

previous dencentralisation of manufacturing plans in peripheral locations.

Improvements in communication technology and accessibility via major arterial
roads made this possible. (globalizing cities, Marcuse).

Theory
Kevin Lynch
Jane Jacobs and Jan Gehl

Sustainability Impact Assessment

Scope/Introduction
Urban renewal programs would require physical changes and interventions of the
physical fabric of the urban landscape that can affect the quality of the area.
Commitment to achieve sustainability is essential to improve the quality of life
and satisfy basic needs for present generation without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs. The scope of a Sustainability
Impact Assessment (SIA) for specific applications and development would inform
us on possible available options and issues related to sustainability development.
Information about sustainable development is combined with other impact
assessments and together with cost benefit analysis shows how problems have
been solve or mitigated. (reference pls??????)

Scope of SIA
Baseline Indicators / Background
The Proposed Development and its Context
The main site occupies an area of 33.6 hectares of land and includes the
formerly known as the Ricassoli Industrial Estate, some agricultural and
disturbed land. A satellite was also proposed and covers 4.1 hectares of
agricultural land disturbed land and a military installation. The eighteenth
century military flankless fort of St Rocco does not form part of the scheme and
no lies abandoned and in a dilapidated state. Other land uses included
agriculture, hunting and trapping site, private dwellings in Zabba and Xghajra, a
former suburb of Zabbar, the Mediterranean Film Studio, Tank Cleaning Facilities
and the coast. The topography of the area consist of a series of valleys some of
which had their profile altered considerably as a result of the 1979 Industrial
estate. The proposal entailed the formulation of a masterplan that was prepared
by Colin Buchanan. The masterplan includes a sustainability strategy and
addresses the following factors:

Land use designations

Environmental constraints identified in the EIA
Transport and parking provision
Site topography
Site infrastructure
Development of Codes and guidelines
The overall strategy relating the scheme to the surrounding areas (EIA
report non technical summary)

The proposed development seeks to retain the largely rural setting of the area
with 33% of the scheme dedicated to public spaces that would include
promenades streets and squares and landscape areas and include a number of
features namely, the lagoon, great steps, technology plaza, conference centre,
community centre, mews and water gardens. The large part of land use
designation would be commercial and business related uses that would amount
to 46% of the scheme, whilst the remaining 25% would be dedicated to
residential uses. (EIA report non technical summary) The project is designed well
in synergy with the natural systems and existing infrastructure. The investors
took the initiative by making the development sustainable in terms of energy,
water management and waste use by the inclusion of the LEED for
Neighbourhood Design program.
Peter Calthorpe stress the importance that these outer areas development be
reintegrated with inner and first ring suburbs and old city centres to address
congestion and unsustainable use of the car. (regional citiy pg 5). Diversity in
transportation choices is essential for the successful development of our regions.

Policy Documents and Plans

The relevant policy documents are the Structure Plan, The South Malta Local Plan
and Grand Harbour Local Plan and the Creativity Policy for the Maltese Island and
the FAR Policy. Smart City is envisioned as an ICT Hub providing access to the
European market. The upgrading of employment nodes and opportunities, and
de-industrialisation processes aim to restore the environmental degradation,
induce employment and economic growth, free areas from industrial accretion
and secure and enhance the residential, touristic and recreational potential of
the area with a predominately rural character and setting. Consideration also
need to be given to the road and open space network by improving road safety,
air and water quality for pedestrians and integrating the segregated open space
network especially along waterfront areas and other recreational areas.
Amenities that respond to present market needs are lacking in this area as a
result outward migration of knowledge works especially those in ICT indicate the
area has a poor proximity to amenities and accessibility to services. (evidence
from statistical data, baseline study, and morphological analysis)). The
employment led urban regeneration plan aims to create economic diversity and
independence with this region, facilitating access to employment, supporting
services and creates a culture of partnership and cooperation.
Other sustainability objectives raised by development scheme would include the
efficient use of energy systems, adoption of renewable energy techniques, waste
minimization water management, focus development on already existing
brownfield sites, construction processes, and car dependency. Thirdly social
sustainability criteria identified does deal with relevant issues however
community involvement and the lack of identifying what jobs the regional
residents can take are not mentioned even though this raise hopes and optimism
for prospective students and workers.

The Open Space Network

The open space network, of which the shoreline is a part of, is an essential
element in that it provides physical and psychological support by providing

spaces for natural processes, knitting together segregated communities, provide

a sense of ownership and create an attachment to place, a sense of belonging
and spaces for the community. The area is designated as a mixed used area to
address neighbourhood and liveability issues. Retail, residential uses, lodging,
work and home space, recreational areas, shops, community and leisure facilities
are all envisaged in the plan. The density, skyline, general massing and the
streetscape should all be given due consideration to improve the quality,
diversity and distinctiveness of the area. The (retrofitting suburbia pg 211)
incorporation of residential spaces into working and retail environment is not
new in Malta. The residents have a vital role in supporting the retail and
enlivening the development in the work after hours.
Nonetheless, despite the mix of uses and incorporation of high density
development they cannot suffice without exogenous forms of employment and
have been attributed to create sprawl by keyring investment and jobs away from,
the city, inducing gridlocked traffic on arterial roads and forcing autodependency even for internal trips due to the location of the development within
the region itself.
A well designed public space all have benefits that companies can benefit from.
Well-managed and designed public spaces attract footfall and increase the
number of people visiting the retail areas and injecting the space with life and
other social activities that are spontaneous and optional. Successful strategies
for public spaces are to create a healthy environment that enable accessibility
and safe movement that stimulates the local economy, provide recreational
activities, enhance biodiversity, and provide opportunities for social interaction.
(CABE the Vale of public spaces). A good public realm would certainly have a
socio-economic impact as housing prices would be on the rise. This would be
advantageous for existing residents but prospective buyers would have to dig
deeper into their pockets and therefore highlights the need to provide affordable
accommodation. (gentrification).
The public spaces have to be designed with appropriate landscaping, lighting,
seating and other amenities that reinforce the village identity and give a sense of
place. Maintaining a strict building hierarchy in the main spaces is important to
create a sense of focus within the square and a sense of enclosure. Otherwise a
range of building typologies should contribute to make the spaces more
interesting focusing on architectural qualities rather than open space qualities.
(achieving sustainable urban form pg 277) The layout adopted have to be legible
enough for ease of orientation. The proposed plan consists of a radial structure
with concentric radial street network offering views to the lagoon and sea. This
was accomplished by the formulation of design and form based codes. This
layout also favours walkers and cyclists and combined with traffic calming
measures such as shared spaces aims to reducing travel speed that connects the
periphery of the scheme to the central Lagoon and embellished by designated
boulevards in areas that could generate higher vehicle movements and lack
open space character and identity.

Land Uses
This is important as it will tell you how to make the transportation plans and road
network, should include kalkarar are as well and esiting routes. Incporating a
ferry terminal would be ideal.

Demographic Analysis and Trends this will address socio-economic

changes over the years
The population of Xghajra reached 1,614 by the end of 2013.
Censiment data and the demographic topic paper(2011) highlights the
disparities and inequalities of the South Harbour Region that lags behind other
regions such as the West and North that have better third level education, higher
economic prospects, higher wages per capita and better accessibility to more
quality jobs and quality of life and other services. Achieving better territorial
cohesion and equity with a better distribution of opportunities in peripheral and
remote location and recasting social policy around the notion of a
developmental welfare state to address urban fabric issues of social and
infrastructural problems to reduce socio-spatial segregation. (Pike, local and
regional development). Such territorial cohesion policies were already existing in
the Structure Plan however their effective implementation did not occur.
In 2015 Malta is experiencing a lack of office space.
By 2018 Smart City was meant to be fully operational, however this was not the
case. Why and what went wrong?
Many of the residences in Xghajra over the last decade were purchased to use as
second homes. This is mere speculation of property prices as from census data
many of them are not used as their primary home. It is not known how many of
them were sold to people working at smart city.
The south harbour region has long time experiencing outward migration and loss
of population as a result on the continuous deindustrialisation processes that
resulted in loss of jobs and that had previously effected the quality of life of the
residents. The various social classes have limited opportunities to work in higher
end and up scale national jobs that offer better working conditions and more
attractive salaries particularly in this region. The quality of open spaces also
have a negative effect on the urban fabric. The need to provide opportunities for
social interaction is important to guarantee social inclusion and improve the
quality of life.

(in this section interviews with key people have to be developed)

Case Studies Analysis

Norrby Sweden development.
Social Assessment
The Xghajra village was initially a temporary summer residence, was mostly rural
and with only few farmers residing permanently there. The total population totals
about 1,614 people and this goes up in summer to about 5000. As reported in
the Social Impact Assessment the population living on the outskirts of Zabbar
and Kalkara used to work at the Kalkara Industrial estate or the Malta Film studio
or cultivated fields in the vicinity. (eia report pg 440).
Nowadays the area is used extensively for leisure purposes. Hunting and birds
trapping areas can be observed during the hunting seasons and people walking,

cycle or sit at the waterfront. A range of cultural events and shops are available
at the Lagoon are a major point of attraction and entertainment.

Morphological Analysis
Block sizes, walking distances, density and mixed uses (shops etc.), street form
and design, transportation modes and frequency, parking facilities, facades,
open spaces and their amenities and qualities.
The pre urban condition of fields and rural area and the altered topography
strongly influenced the pattern of the propose schemes and this can be seen
from the figure ground analysis and geographical sheets showing the
topography. (pg 198 retrofitting suburbia and suburban form) The site is bounded
by the sea and the settlements of Santu Rokku and Il-Wileg to the South and
Xghajra to the east and is located 1km south of the Grand Harbour. The coastline
rise from sea level from Ricasoli area to about 10m above sea level at the
Lagoon Area. By time the coastal area have been fortified to monitor enemy
approaches towards Valletta. Fort St. Rocco and Fort Rinella have been built
under the British rule in the 19 the century. The latter is home to the film
industry in Malta whilst the former lies disused and abandoned. The highest point
of the site is a hill at 37.5m above sea level while the lowest point is 7.5m above
sea level. (EIA report pg 710)
Instead of separating pedestrians and cars, home places and workplaces and
buildings from street the proposed plan proposes a tree lined median and shared
spaces with pedestrian friendly boulevards and sidewalk fronted open spaces
between buildings that are aligned with them. 3m wide sidewalks, trees and 10m
interval, extensive paved areas and integration of public parks and public art
(technology plaze for instances), together with water infrastructure, energy
efficient development and waste reduction measure in the street network and
built fabric should mark the shift from high-speed, car priority streets and
utilitarian building to providing quality streets, better accessibility and a healthier
environment. (adopted from retrofitting suburbia pg 182 ut not copied.)
Integration should not be limited with the immediate surroundings but to areas
beyond the boundaries. Knowing it is impossible to connect in all directions the
developments massing is concentrated (density) not adjacent to the waterfront
but further inland towards the existing suburban area and development
concentration. In fact the proposed node at the welcoming square extends
further inland towards Zabbar, St Rocco area and Cottonera so it better connect
these places beyond the boundaries of the development. The location of the
public spaces alongside the main route as hinges and nodes increase the
visibility and connection to the larger context. (movement economies) Road
junctions are used as public spaces and aid sustainability with water features
and functions as a gathering spaces with water and landscaping features that
identifies the arrival at Smart City. In addition all views from the streets termite
into the sea and Lagoon area that is the focal point and landmark element.
The main innovation in these type of plans that differentiates them from
conventional zoning is the use of form-based codes, design guidelines based on
typo morphology that recognises the fact there are no definite set of typologies.
They work based on the subdistrict the building is in and by the type of street

each lot faces, the street frontage and by use and lot. (see case Brenda sheer
and retrofitting suburbia pg196)
Do a skyline assessment like martina did.
The satellite town, outside the main scheme

Building Typologies and character:

Courtyard Blocks
Tower Blocks
Terraces and traditional sprawl development pattern accompanied by a social
assessment of the site.

The Economic Dimensions

Employment, education, workforce, value of good urban design.
The Social Dimension
Dealing with the legacy of the past and the challenges to protect and conserve
the meaning and symbolic capital of past development in new schemes is always
a challenging act.

Literature consulted for sustainability appraisal:

1. Shaping Neighbourhoods
2. Urban Regeneration and Social Sustainability
3. Sustainable Urbanism Urban Design with Nature
Environmental Assessment

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Social
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Efficient energy use and orientation

Use of renewable energy
Reuse, recycling and minimizing water waste
Water harvesting
Development Location and site layout
Construction system adopted
Policy tools, LEED
Urban Management
Topography
Cultural Heritage
Marine Environment
Assessment
Address community needs and foster community participation
Address educational problems
Address social inclusion

The principles/objectives to be applied in retrofitting at a strategic level

identified, namely would be: (adopted from retrofitting suburbia, policy
frameworks and geographical analysis of likely issues using space syntax.)

Create an integrated transport and land use strategy that favours transit
ridership of vehicular use in a walkable street pattern
Promote compact growth to reduce travelling
An efficiency and feasible transport strategy
Increase interconnectivity, green and public spaces creating safe and
secure pedestrian environments, affordable housing and variety of
typologies and diversification of income groups.
Develop a polycentric region with multiple nodes, fostering employment,
cultural activities and social events.
Design must be water and energy efficient, makes use of existing heritage,
minimize waste and adequately located and oriented.

Appropriate indicators have to be adopted for monitoring the process of

development. These must be obtained from existing targets and plans so as to
embed the development into the regional framework and must be accompanied
by other performance indicators deemed relevant to the site.

Assessment
SWOT and PESTEL Analysis
Strengths

Enhanced urban image and provision of public spaces and other

community and services that improve quality of life
Stringer local and regional identity
Provision of better quality employment opportunities
Retrofitting sustainability in suburban developed site of Xghajra and other
adjacent areas of the periphery of Zabbar.
Improved liveability and better provision of services
Predominately rural setting and character

Weaknesses

Lack of skilled employees in the region for proposed uses

Low population density for existing scenario
Pedestrian Movement and footfall is considerably low
Existing scenario has a high impermeable surfaces
The first construction phase entails the development of the centre and
then growing it incrementally. This could be a weakness as the first phase
would ideally involve the construction of a better situated landmark or
area.
Educational opportunities/initiatives not foreseen in development plan.
Apprenticeship and university led programs and research carried out in
collaboration with companies are not provided.
Fort St. Rocco not part of masterplan

Opportunities

Area designated for potential high rise buildings

Area can develop from an industrial region to a post-industrial region
Fort St. Rocco can be part of Master plan.
Provision of port facilities to better connect the site and provide global
transport and berthing opportunities
Increase of FDI
Improvement of quality of life and quality of open spaces
Providing an incentive for more social opportunities and inclusion
Achieve better territorial cohesion and equity with a better distribution of
opportunities in peripheral and remote location and recasting social policy
around the notion of a developmental welfare state
Fort St Rocco and existing tank cleaning facilities can be used for
aquaculture activities that create educational visits and events and
recreational and leisure areas and activities together with fish farms.

Threats

Area risking social exclusion

Weak legibility of connection to arrive to site (site can benefit from a
landmark building)
May cause gentrification
The site was and still is characterised by low productivity
The fact it is an employment led regeneration processes means the
development will take longer to complete. (why not high tech led
development)

Does it address local needs and provide that so much sought local
distinctiveness

The Density policies stipulate a net are of 120 sq meters for residence however
this not sustauibnale by Farr arguyment
Gentrification processes.

Marine Assessment
For land reclamation to be feasible environmentally the seabed has to have no
environmental important whatsoever. This can be evidenced from the reports on
smart city and by the fact that the sewage treatment plant discharges waste into
this area. The south east Malta area was identified as an area with considerable
potential for land reclamation. The highlighted advantages in the Land
Reclamation Report 2005 were the following; the area disposes of limited
protected nature areas and has limited environmental and ecological significance
in light of the existing uses and alterations to the site that occurred throughout
the years, shallow waters, nearby development such as tourism, businesses and
residential uses could benefit from shore development and land reclamation as
this would leave a socio-economic impact and generate activities in this area, the
coastline is already inhabited in parts but also contains illegally dumped
material. (the disadvantages are being turned into an opportunity). The area
presents little disadvantages thereof being the existing commercial uses such as
fish farms and tank cleaning facilities the latter can be relocated offshore.
(The coastal area has been declared as ODZ land
Feasibility studies for the proposed land reclamation should address the
economic viability of the proposed land uses, the environmental constraints, the
technical feasibility of constructing artificial land and the provision of suitable
material for construction. A social impact assessment would assess the effects
on employment, business and residential areas and their likely effect on prices.
The creation of shoreline activities such as a marine would improve the
connectivity of the area with the world and other regional locations as well add
more activity and potential for commercial enterprises and establishment.
(movement economies). (funding can be obtained form the EU).
The Structure Plan requires that Marine Conservation Areas be contiguous with
protected land areas and categorised accordingly, data on MCAs be collected and
used to direct decision making.
The Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP): aquaculture, blue biotechnology
Socio-economic- aqua cultural centre is a learning hub for visitors and residents
alike and a spot for research conducted by universities (maritime authority
school is in Kalkara so this area can be an extension for it perhaps to relate
studies on fisheries etc.). The sea ferries can ease traffic loads from congested
areas of Fgura and Zabbar, further intensification of development may create
unwanted traffic loads on nearby areas and increase trips significantly in addition
to those already envisaged from Smart City. Therefore the sea connection would
be beneficial for this area.

Socio-cultural processes marine activity is a globalised market that can

generate touristic activities, the proposed university at South East of Malta is an
added asset for this site and has more potential to develop further. Furthermore
this can leave an impact of the property prices and socio-economic processes.
Codes and Covenants for land reclamation design codes for land reclamation
Peri-urban urban land uses relationships.

Proposals
(proposals) In practice this would mean provision of employment hubs in the
regional context, local and regional connectivity via proposed link road with the
South Harbour Link Road and enhancement of the waterfront and promenades
along the coast as an important recreational, environmental and strategic asset.
Location of tall building as per Edmund bacon.
educational values and direct community involvement
We have not witnessed many retrofits of industrial and office parks. This is due to
the life space of office and industrial enterprise and the buildings constructed for
them. Generally the site ideally for development and re development are those
within greater accessibility, industrial zones and office parks zoned land on major
arterial roads with transit access.
The Open Space Strategy codes based on districts and street types
Marine facilities and land reclamation this would be justifiable under the
premise of Malta expanding marine sector and enhancing the connectivity of the
site regionally and worldwide. Furthermore the tank cleaning facilities are
envisaged to be relocated to a floating platform outside the shore to open up
land for recreational uses. This would make access to the site more significant
and valuable less time consuming as this would be related also to activities not
found elsewhere in other ICT hubs and facilities therefore increasing the
attractiveness of the site and expanding the sector to maritime related activities
as a means to create better coastal activities. The use is therefore justified with
the need or local services demand for berthing, facilities that are altogether
lacing in this area and in need of expansion. This would increase support for the
area and activities along the shoreline. Construction material can be used for
land reclamation purposes as this area has lot of fill material used for the
construction of the reclaimed land.
Transportation Strategy:
Clean Vehicles and vessels: alternative fuel infrastructure, implementing the
Green Vehicle Initiative and other H20/20 initiatives promoting clean and energy
efficient transport, pursuing global standards for electric cars and implementing
the priorities identified under CARS 2020.
Financing retrofitting proposals for St Rocco can be achieved through Tax
Increment Financing (TIF) strategies were the authorities shoulder part of the
costs.

Questions: what led to the formulation of smart city Malta, what makes
investors come this location, are there complaints by those living there and he
residents.