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Ecological Sustainability and Urban Green Space |
RINGKØBING
PAPERS |
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Urban Density
and Green Structure Case Studies Ringkøbing
-DK Stocksbridge
-UK Social
Impacts of sustainable Housing Helsinki -
Espoo -SU Political
Instruments Norway
- N Planning &
Management
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RINGKØBING CASE STUDY - LANDUSE PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
Management of green space in practice
The responsibility of the management of green space is spread widely. The following description focuses on the management carried out in the parks department. The management practice of the Ringkøbing Co-operative Housing Society, a selected home owner association and an association for allottment gardens are also discussed below. The organisation of management in the municipality
A parks department in Ringkøbing is not, likewise in many other municipalities, an independent department. The management of green space is part of the Roads Department. The Roads Department, together with the Planning Department and the Department of Environment, make up the Technical Administration.
The Planning Department prepares local plans for new housing areas developed on land owned by the municipality. But in reality it is the Roads Department that develops the area. It establishes the common green space and makes the detailed decisions, in particular on the choice of plant material to be used.
The title "parks department" is used in this paper for that part of the Roads Department that deals with the management of green space. The parks department comprises one person who is responsible for the administration and a leader of a field staff of 8 persons.
The management is organised in 3 categories according to area use and level of management:
• Parks • Other areas with limited management (natural/semi-natural areas) • Sports grounds etc.
Alkjaer Lukke is the central park of Ringkoebing (approx. 4 ha). In addition, there are 5 small park areas which are managed intensively.
The area along the coast of Ringkoebing Fjord, which is actually not part of the city zone, is the major park of "other areas". A small wood on the urban fringe north east from Rindum (called "the dog woods"), also not in the city zone, and a few very small areas in Ringkoebing are in the same category.
The biggest area category is sports grounds. It covers around 46 ha.
Besides these 3 types of area categories the parks department is responsible for green space for institutions of the municipality, on contract. The management of these areas is administered by the institutions themselves, but most of them use the parks department for the actual work.
The size of the green space managed by the parks department has not changed much during the past decade. Parks and sports/playgrounds, not including "other areas", constitute about 68 ha.
As described earlier, the only position available for staff with a professional park management background is vacant. The current staff of the parks department have other backgrounds, but receive training through short courses and on the job. Reading relevant literature is used as a means of solving specific problems. In addition, the department has a good relationship with a local plant nursery, which provides plants and expertise.
As referred to earlier, management plans or a comprehensive green structure plan are not available. It has so far been difficult for the staff to get a full view of the management task, as the former head gardener left no written material. The technical administration is aware of the need for a new head gardener and of the need to buy in professional help to prepare management plans, so as to improve the situation. The parks department hopes, therefore, for a larger budget. The budget for managing green areas has been constant for years.
Management is now carried out practically without pesticides. Instead weeds on pavements are suppressed by gas burners and more weeds are tolerated. Wood chips are used to prevent weeds in flowerbeds and under trees, etc. The wood chips are partly made on site by the branch and wood waste and partly brought from the recycling centre. The herbicide Round Up is still accepted for hogweed. Restricting the use of pesticides is one of the reasons behind the parks department's hopes for a raised budget. Using gas or manual processes involve more manhours.
As previously mentioned, the recycling of organic matter is limited to the use of wood chips. The current compost contains too many weeds. Household compost from institutions etc. or sludge from the treatment plant is not used as a nutrient in the park areas. Industrial fertilisers are used instead.
The use of salt on paths and roads is very limited. The parks department has recorded no damage on woods and other plants as a result of using de-icing salt.
No special efforts have been made to integrate ecological aspects into the management of green areas, apart from the reduction of pesticides and the use of wood chips.
Owing to the present situation caused by the lack of a new municipal head gardener, the parks department seems to be at a point of stagnation. There is room for no new proposals or ideas for change. A change in the direction of less intensive management in a few areas has been the only new approach. It covers a change of grass management, for example, of road verges from lawn to meadow, cut only a few times a year. This initiative has not influenced new public recreation areas which traditionally comprise lawn, trees and bushes.
The management of green space on institutions
The management of green space of institutions in the municipality is often bought from the parks department. 3 of the 8 staff are permanently occupied with the contracted work in the institutions. It is mainly lawn mowing which is contracted. The smaller areas close to buildings etc. are usually handled by staff from the institutions themselves.
Pruning, planting and establishing new green areas in the institutional grounds is also often done by the parks department. Staff also advise institutions about such activities. The problem from a management point of view is that the institutions are likely to have a short timescale. The priority is management tasks which are needed straight away, and they cut down on, for example, pruning and planting. Consequently the quality of green areas around institutions may decrease in the long term, and may unnecessarily result in the need for an expensive total renewal later on.
This is a general problem of decentralising the economic responsibility to institutions whose primary aims and knowledge relate to issues other than green areas. This problem must be linked to the fact that green areas around the institutions make up a big part of the green space available for public use. In Ringkøbing the total institutional areas amount to about 71 ha. Ringkoebing Co-operative Housing Society (RCHS)
The RCHS has around 800 tenancies in Ringkøbing, one third of which are in housing blocks and two thirds in semi-detached houses. It is administered by a central committee and professional administration and by 21 local divisional committees in Ringkoebing. The committee members are elected from the tenants.
The management of common green areas is organised in 4 teams (2 teams of 2 and 2 teams of 3 persons), centrally organised for a total of 1,000 tenancies in RCHS. Each team covers the management of specific local areas, including other normal services for its tenants. The staff usually consists of skilled workers i.e. carpenters or blacksmiths. They may enrol on short management courses, but no special effort is made to educate them in the management of green areas.
Management of green areas takes two fifths of the total budget for the administration and management of the tenancies. Around the housing blocks there are only common green areas. There has been no interest in making small utility gardens or ground floor patios in the common grounds. The semi-detached tenancies contain small gardens.
Each local committee was offered the option of organising the management of green areas themselves, at a lower rent. But all the committees chose the centrally organised option except for one, which tried to share the management tasks among the tenants. This failed and the municipality requested a better management, which was then organised by the administration in the RCHS.
The management has not followed the municipal policy of not using pesticides. Round Up is used, although not much. Some of the teams have no-one skilled in the use of pesticides, which makes them dependent on other teams, and this reduces the use further.
They use little chemical fertiliser. Organic matter from composting is not recycled in the common green areas but taken away. The process is considered too time consuming, in addition, composting of household waste is not working in the apartment block developments. Here they have, however, started to sort the organic household waste from the "grey waste" as required by the municipal refuse collection. The municipality offers to collect all organic household waste separately, but this means no reduction in charges unlike for those housing areas participating in home composting. Sorting is still financially worthwhile for the RCHS, however, because fewer containers are needed for grey waste. The containers for organic household waste are collected free by the municipality.
Up to now the sorting of waste is not working perfectly, maybe because it is much more difficult for the residents to get rid of organic waste. It has to be carried down the stairs to a centrally placed skip, while the grey waste can just be dropped down the rubbish chute. The amount of grey waste has dropped about 20 % since the sorting started. In the semi-detached areas 30%-40% of the tenants participate in the home composting of the organic waste.
Composting garden waste is not taking place through the management of common green areas. One district tried, but it was too much work. Some of the management teams have wood chips from pruning for use in flowerbeds etc.
It is said that nowhere is tap water used for green areas. Rainwater from roofs and paved areas is not infiltrated locally. It is drained to the municipal sewer system. Cheaper local infiltration in the sandy soil has not been considered in new building projects.
There is no organised communication between the municipality and the RCHS about the management of green areas. But the central administration of the RCHS is aware of the policy and management of the municipality.
The administration is evaluating the management of green areas in each division once a year and sometimes makes suggestions for change. But the local committee has a high level of autonomy and decides the more detailed management issues; for example, the administration suggested that the management of parts of a huge lawn be changed to cutting it only a few times a year. But the local committee did not want that, believing that it would make the dandelions flourish. Home owner associations and others
As mentioned previously, the municipality hands over the management of common green areas within housing areas to the home owner associations. Therefore, the municipality has very little control over the management and, for example, cannot force the home owner associations to follow the policy of management without pesticides. But the municipality can make sure that the areas are maintained. There are, however, only a few examples where the municipality has been involved due to lack of maintenance. One of these examples is in a local area of the RCHS.
Finally, the allotment areas, designated in the municipal structure plans as "green areas", are under no particular management directives, only regulations relating to the size and restriction of use of small sheds, etc. The association itself takes no account of ecological factors.
Other environmental issues of relevance to sustainable planning and management of green space - water, waste energy
Only a brief review of aspects of general policy governing environmental issues is given here. The handling of water and household waste is dealt with specifically in papers by Morthorst and Reeh (see menu).
Energy In Ringkøbing and most of the smaller townships of the municipality, district heating is now based on natural gas, which has reduced the emission of C02. But the major factor in this reduction is the intensive exploitation of wind energy for electricity. About half of the electricity is produced in that way, concentrated in 2 windmill parks. It is mainly private individuals and the electricity utilities that have erected the windmills, but the municipality has also erected a windmill, which supplies the treatment plant.
The focus on home composting of organic waste means that it is recycled locally and not used for bio gas. Only a minor part of collected organic waste (2% of households) is used for bio gas.
An environmental plan for Ringkøbing - Aims
The Municipal Structure Plan (1997-2009) involves the preparation of a plan for the environment. This aim was already mentioned in the former plan (1993-2005), but it has not yet been achieved. The environment plan should contain cost-benefit evaluations of resources used for environmental protection and improvement, and guidelines for their more efficient use in the future.
Among other environmental aims, the municipality is intent on being a good example to companies and the public in general. This aim is to be achieved through the evaluation of each institution. A clear understanding of the green image of the municipality will make it easier to demand that the companies show more interest in environmental issues.
One way of developing a "green image" is to ensure that all results are included in annual reports about environmental issues. This was also an aim of the former Municipal Structure Plan (1993-2005), but as for the environmental plan, this has not yet been fully achieved. However, the report "Environment - status and visions in the municipality of Ringkøbing, 1996" is an example of how to involve the public in the work actually being done by the municipality. This could be developed further in annual reports about environmental issues in Ringkøbing.
As a part of the Rio Summit on the environment and development (1992), it was stated that local agendas should be made for an improved environment in the 21st century. The local Agenda 21 was started in Ringkøbing following a public debate about the Municipal Structure Plan (1997-2009). The municipality had selected its housing policy as the major theme to be discussed at three meetings concerned with the planning process, but some associations and private individuals also argued for more focus on environmental issues.
The Office for Energy and Environment (OEE) in Ringkøbing County was one of these associations. This association works for better information and public discussion about environmental issues and receives financial support from a government programme. The OEE had previously made many suggestions to the municipalities in Ringkoebing County about how to improve the environment and involve more people in the process. A plan to start the local Agenda 21 was among the suggestions. It also raised funds to employ a "green guide" to support the work with Agenda 21 and local initiatives in 5 municipalities. But 3 of the 5 municipalities, including Ringkoebing, did not want to pay their contribution towards the salary for a "green guide", which was a condition for receiving the funds.
The municipality did not want to mix discussions about housing and the environment during the debate about the new municipal plan. Instead they promised to begin work on the local Agenda 21 later on. An Agenda 21 group was established representing 6-7 different associations, with an employee of the municipal administration serving as secretary. It was decided to start 3 working groups in line with the interests of the participants:
- A weekly city market with ecological or biodynamic fruit, vegetables, meats etc. - Information about unnatural chemicals in food, perfume, soap etc. - Improvement of public transport and reduction in the use of energy, including green accountability for the municipality. This work is still in the preliminary stages, so what will actually result is not yet known. The municipal administration hopes that the work with local Agenda 21 will provide ideas and new visions to supplement the ordinary work in the administration. On the other hand the administration does not want the Agenda 21 group to be a pedantic non-democratic model as seen in the ordinary political control of the elected city council. This concern might have caused initial hesitation in starting the local Agenda 21.
The development of a local Agenda 21 has received no finanicial support, except for secretarial help.
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