WP3 Mapping Underused Assets Tool
Philip Crowe, UCD
30.06.14
Contents:
1.
Introduction
2.
Preliminary Roadmap
3.
Stage A: Defining the project scope
4.
Stage B: Assembly of existing datasets
5.
Stage C: Gathering the required information
6.
Stage D: Data management
7.
Crowd Sourced web mapping application
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1.
Introduction:
Vacant sites within urban areas are often seen as an undesirable consequence of economic, social
and technological fluxes. The EU FP7 project TURAS (Transitioning to Urban Resilience and
Sustainability) explores how vacant sites can help meet current and future challenges facing urban
areas such as climate change, natural resources shortages and stressed ecosystem services.
The inventorising and mapping of vacant or underused sites is a critical step in the systematic
management of land that highlights opportunities for integration with systems such as those for
food, hydrology, and ecosystem services. There are numerous methods of acquiring data and the
process can benefit from community participation as local people are recognized to often have an
intimate knowledge of neighbourhood conditions.
The mapping of underused assets faces numerous challenges from the scale and fluidity of the
data, the resource demands, the multiple stakeholders, the variety of data formats, the
verification and maintenance of data, the accessibility of data, and the ethical implications of
making certain types of information available.
From the literature review (Section 07: Vacant Sites: Opportunities for transformation) and 6 case
studies (Vacant Sites Mapping Report) the mapping of underused assets has emerged as a core
element of WP3 research. WP3 T3.5 aims to develop a tool for the process of mapping
underused assets and also, in collaboration with WP1, to create a tool for civic engagement with
the mapping of underused assets that optimises the potential of this information to build
community capital and address many of the challenges listed above such as verification,
maintenance and accessibility. The next stage of the research therefore involves 3 main elements:
1.
preliminary research into how the mapping of underused assets might be achieved in
order to create a preliminary roadmap;
2.
An experiment using the preliminary roadmap to map underused assets in a defined are
of Dublin;
3.
a workshop on the findings of the preliminary research that addresses identified barriers,
challenges and opportunities for mapping the entire city, and how to create a crowd
sourced web mapping application with a specific focus on building urban resilience.
1
This report records work to date on item 1 by setting out a preliminary roadmap for the mapping
of underused assets in inner city Dublin as a tool for building urban resilience that will be used to
manage active research on a demonstration site in late 2014 (item 2).
The brief for this research is to develop a preliminary roadmap for mapping underuse of existing
buildings and sites, building up profiles and knowledge on the sites. This will include mapping of
built elements such as roofs (with potential for solar gain or biodiversity), blank walls (with
potential for vertical farming or solar gain), underused space (perhaps to the rear or above
ground floor retail), potential for increased density on a site (perhaps from extension horizontally
or vertically), underdeveloped or vacant sites and buildings, left over or underused external
spaces etc..
The section of the Red Luas Line from O’Connell Street to the National Museum in Dublin is to be
used as a pilot, focusing on the line of the Luas and one block either side (in general). It is hoped
that the results can be used to refine and produce a final roadmap as guidance for use in other
areas of the city. It is hoped the exercise will also suggest a generic roadmap to mapping
underuse to be used in other towns and cities.
This research is based on the premise that the best way to learn is by doing. The preliminary
roadmap (item 1) represents the starting point for an action research experiment that is part of
the demonstration phase of WP3 (item 2). Action research is defined by Robson as involving
‘action (solving concrete problems in real situations) and research (trying to further the goals of
science)’,1 involving collaboration between researcher and subject through experiments,
facilitating direct engagement with problem solving and record/assessment of same. Robson
observes that real world enquiry ‘also commonly seeks a potential usefulness in relation to policy
and practice’2.
1
2
Robson, 1993, 60.
Ibid., 42.
2
2.
Preliminary Roadmap
From the literature review (please see Section 07) and detailed examination of 6 case studies
(please see Research on Vacant Sites Mapping Report) it is clear that there are 4 basic stages in
mapping underused assets. Table 1 sets out these stages and lists associated issues.
Stage
Title
Issues
A
Defining the
project scope
B
Assembly of
existing datasets
and information
C
Gathering the
required
information
D
Data management
What area is to be surveyed?
What will the map be used for and by whom?
What information is required?
What definitions and language are to be used?
What datasets or information exists already?
Who controls the datasets?
How often and how are the datasets verified and updated?
Is it possible to use the datasets?
What information needs to be gathered?
By what methods can this information be gathered and by whom?
What skills / expertise are required to gather the information?
What information could the wider community contribute?
Is the information recorded on the map sensitive?
How can the information be verified and maintained?
What format is most appropriate for dissemination of the results?
Who should control the data?
The following sections of this report take each stage (A-D) in turn and elaborate on the pertinent
issues generally and also specifically in relation to the demonstration site.
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3.
Stage A: Defining the project scope.
The extent of the area to be surveyed will influence the methods and resources used.
The end use and users of the map will dictate what information is required and in what format.
From the literature review and case studies it is clear that similar mapping exercises are used for a
range of activities. For example, the management of taxes / grants, generating statistics, strategic
planning.
The mapping can be used to reveal opportunities for:
!
experimentation / supporting micro-enterprise / incubation units;
!
enhancing social and ecological conditions;
!
building community and social capital;
!
improving the public realm.
!
Specific uses can include:
!
creating productive landscapes (food, energy);
!
spaces to support ecosystem services such as biodiversity / air pollution removal / carbon
sequestration and storage / stormwater retention / heat mitigation;
!
integrating / connecting / supporting sustainable transport initiatives;
!
recreation and retreat spaces.
Definitions are problematic and should be explicitly and unambiguously stated.
The most simple definition of what is to be mapped in this research is unused or underused space
in the city. This is understood to include:
•
Vacant buildings / awkward spaces difficult to occupy / vacant portions of buildings;
•
Vacant sites / sites subject to landbanking or under legal dispute / contaminated sites /
sites affected by inertia from owners;
•
Irregular shaped plots left over after development / ambiguous green space / inbetween
spaces / sites with difficult topography;
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•
Underused walls / roofs / yards / car parks and hardstanding / gardens;
•
Space not currently being used to its full potential and space not being used for its
intended purpose.
The language used to describe unused or underused spaces is generally very negative: derelict,
vacant, abandoned etc.. It is suggested that positive language that emphasises the opportunity
for transformation latent in these spaces is more appropriate in the context of urban resilience.
Therefore unused or underused spaces should be described as a type of opportunity asset.
Please refer to the literature review Section 07: Vacant Sites: Opportunities for transformation,
and the Vacant Sites Mapping Report.
For the mapping of the Red LUAS Line demonstration site the following project scope is to be
used:
Stage A
Defining the project scope
What area is to be
surveyed?
What will the map be used
for and by whom?
What information is
required?
The section of the Red Luas Line from O’Connell Street to the
National Museum and one block either side.
The map is for general and unspecified use.
The aim is to make the map accessible to all.
Identification of unused or underused assets.
Knowledge and profile for each site in relation to location,
ownership, status, history, ecological value, cultural value etc..
What definitions and
language are to be used?
Unused or underused space in the city.
Language to emphasise the transformational potential of these
sites: opportunity assets.
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4.
Stage B: Assembly of existing datasets
Many existing datasets will contribute to the identification of underused assets and to building up
profiles on sites. For example, a site with no rates being paid, or a house with no census record of
habitation, would indicate vacancy. However, the necessary information may not be readily
available, accessible, or reliable. It is critical to identify who controls the data and ascertain the
reliability in terms of verification and maintenance processes. The format of the files used is also
critical in terms of co-ordination.
The mapping will bring together multiple dynamic datasets that collectively provide an up to date
image of opportunities for using the existing urban fabric more efficiently.
The following 4 tables record datasets that might be considered useful for the mapping of
unused or underused sites in Dublin. The datasets may be useful for one or more of 3 reasons:
1.
to identify what is an underused asset;
2.
to provide information to build up a profile of that asset;
3.
to suggest what uses might be appropriate (from multiple overlays).
Each table records who is in control of the dataset, details on verification and maintenance, and
the file type. The datasets are listed in 4 categories: Baseline data; Property details data;
Environmental data; Heritage data. These tables will be used and developed in the action
research on the demonstration site in Dublin.
Dataset:
Potential source
Baseline data:
OS map
Aerial photography
3D data
Streetview
Remote sensing data
Population stats
Land use zoning
Green open space
Utilities – gas
Utilities – electricity
Utilities – telecom
Water and drainage
mapping
OSi / DCC / UCD
OSi / Google Earth
DCC / UCD
Google
LANDSAT
CSO
DCC
DCC
Bord Gais
ESB Networks
Eircom / ntl / others
DCC
Contact details
Availability /
accessiblilty
Verification /
Maintenance
File type
licence
open
[email protected]
open
open
DCC intranet
DCC intranet
DCC intranet
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Publicly owned property
Building condition data
OPW property register
(new)
DCC Derelict site register,
Buildings at risk register.
Dataset:
Potential source
Property details data:
Ownership / property deeds
Rates data (commercial)
Registry of deeds
DCC
Property tax (residential)
Utilities billing data
DCC intranet
Contact details
Co-ordinates
Planning applications
DCC
https://www.geodir
ectory.ie
DCC intranet
Dataset:
Potential source
Contact details
GSI (Geological survey of
Ireland)
OPW
http://www.gsi.ie
Environmental data:
Contamination data
Ground permeability data
Hydrological system
File type
Availability /
accessiblilty
Verification /
Maintenance
File type
Availability /
accessiblilty
Verification /
Maintenance
File type
http://www.floodma
ps.ie
http://www.npws.ie
http://www.biodiver
sityireland.ie
Biodiversity mapping
NPWS (National Parks and
Wildlife Service)
Habitat mapping
NPWS
Ecosystem services
mapping
Trees in the city
Urban agriculture,
community gardens
UCD?
UCD
Dublin Community
Growers
[email protected]
http://dublincommu
nitygrowers.ie/map/
Dataset:
Potential source
Contact details
Heritage data:
Nature conservation sites
Archaeological zones and
sites
Protected structures
Architectural Conservation
Areas
Verification /
Maintenance
ratesoffice@dublinci
ty.ie
01 222 2171
DCC / Revenue
Bord Gais / ESB / Eircom /
ntl etc..
Revenue
MyHome / Daft /
myplan.ie
Geodirectory
Tax delinquency data
Property market data
Availability /
accessiblilty
http://www.npws.ie
http://www.biodiver
sityireland.ie
DCC
DCC
DCC intranet
DCC intranet
DCC
DCC
DCC intranet
DCC intranet
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There may also be information, including survey work, which is not publicly available. This could
be from a local authority, community groups, or student projects. For example, Dublin City
Council have already accumulated material on the Red Luas Line between O’Connell Street and
the National Museum that may contribute information to the mapping:
•
North City Historic Trail (DCC proposal)
•
Analysis of Smithfield (student project)
•
USEACT Local Action Plan Review Café: Tracking the City – Activating a Necklace of
Animated Urban Sites and Buildings along the LUAS Line North City (DCC report)
•
Report of World Café Consultation Event on Smithfield Community & Cultural Quarter
(DCC report)
•
Briefs on Vacant and Underutilised Sites (DCC reports)
•
Photographic Survey from Middle Abbey Street to Collins Barracks (DCC report)
•
Public Realm analysis (DCC report)
•
“The Dig”: Proposal for a community park (Fieldwork and Strategies report and proposal
on an OPW site for DCC)
•
#SmithfieldSays: A Comprehensive Campaign and Strategy to Facilitate Public Realm
Conversations Using Social Media, 2014 (University of Southern California, Sol Price
School of Public Policy, project report)
•
Previous studies on the Markets area: HARP, Markets Area Draft Framework Plan 2006,
Dublin City Markets (MRC Consortium)
•
Markets area: Proposed Retail Market for Dublin, Part 8, DCC proposal, August 2014.
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5.
Stage C: Gathering the required information
Identification of underused assets and information on individual sites is extracted from the
datasets in Stage C. This can be very resource intensive. Methods used include data analysis,
visual interpretation using aerial imagery, ground-truthing (walking the streets), and crowd
sourced data.
A principle method for identifying sites, including roofs, is visual interpretation using aerial
imagery. There are some drawbacks or limitations to this such as the range of typologies of site to
identify, tree canopies obscuring the ground, and estimating property boundaries. However,
once an established method and access to a dataset has been confirmed there is little specialist
expertise required.
Initial data gathering can be verified on the ground by visual inspection. This is commonly
referred to as ‘ground-truthing’. This is only practical where resources and scale permit.
Communities are well placed to make a significant contribution to data gathering, helping to
make the mapping sustainable and to meet some of the challenges discussed previously. For
example, communities can contribute to the gathering of information, the verification of data, the
maintenance of data, and identifying and implementing initiatives for re-use.
Please refer to the literature review Section 07: Vacant Sites: Opportunities for transformation,
and the Vacant Sites Mapping Report.
The following table records initial responses to the issues identified in relation to gathering the
required information for the mapping of the Red Luas Line demonstration site:
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Stage C
Gathering the required information
What information needs to
be gathered?
The identification of unused or underused assets.
Site boundaries and area, ownership, site qualities, structures,
statutory status, history, orientation, environmental data,
restrictions, challenges etc..
Visual interpretation of aerial imagery, data analysis, ground
truthing, crowd-sourcing.
As a student project as part of the Masters in Regional and Urban
Planning, UCD.
Spatial awareness, knowledge of the city/area.
Process management.
By what methods can this
information be gathered
and by whom?
What skills / expertise are
required to gather the
information?
What information could
the wider community
contribute?
Photographs; memories; knowledge of ownership; ecological
information; historical information such as previous plans or
initiatives etc..
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6.
Stage D: Data management
Data management presents many challenges including verification, maintenance (keeping the
information up to date), IT resource requirements, and accessibility.
The mapping of vacant sites or underused assets inevitably relies on datasets commonly
controlled by local authorities. However, the mapping process and data management can be
carried out inside the local authority or outside by a separate or related entity. For example, many
issues related to the interim or permanent re-use of these underused assets are legal, and so in
several US examples such as Grounded in Philly the initiative is co-ordinated by a joint venture
between a legal advocacy group and a community land advocacy group that builds online
organising platforms (596acres). The joint venture can act as an honest broker between
stakeholders.
The following table records initial responses to the issues identified in relation to data
management for the mapping of the Red Luas Line demonstration site:
Stage D
Data management
Is the information
recorded on the map
sensitive?
The mapping process will generally only access information that is
already in the public domain and only makes information more
easily accessible. An aggregation of information on a site or of an
area can reveal opportunities and potential challenges.
How can the information
be verified and
maintained?
Certain DCC GIS layers are automatically updated, such as the
location of planning applications, and these can contribute to
indications of the status of sites.
Verification and maintenance can be integrated into the general
work of the DCC planning and architecture departments.
Verification and maintenance can be assisted by an online crowdsourced web-mapping application, where local communities can
contribute information.
In relation to building community capital, and therefore urban
resilience, the mapping should be available to all on an online
crowd-sourced web-mapping application. This acknowledges that
local people have knowledge of their area, allows people to
connect with one another over a site or an idea, and provides a
What format is most
appropriate for
dissemination of the
results?
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Who should control the
data?
facility for building up a profile and value for the site that is not
purely economic.
Initial signals from DCC are that a 3rd party should manage the
data. This would require DCC to issue/share data on a permanent
and real-time basis.
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7.
Crowd Sourced web mapping application
The above roadmap is in effect research into how the mapping of underused assets might be
achieved in a defined area of Dublin. It is hoped that this exercise will reveal barriers, challenges
and opportunities for mapping the entire city.
Following the preliminary scoping exercise it is proposed to organise a workshop to be attended
by all relevant stakeholders in order to try and achieve consensus on a way forward in terms of
removing barriers and realising the potential of the mapping. The workshop will also focus on
how to achieve the final dissemination tool – a crowd sourced web mapping application, similar
to Grounded in Philly and other tools in the US, but with a specific focus on building urban
resilience.
A pilot web based crowd sourced mapping application for connecting communities and spaces in
the city is being developed between WP1 and WP3. The results of the mapping of underused
assets will form the base map for the pilot application.
The website will communicate, verify, maintain and build on the information gathered. The
website will facilitate contact between interested/relevant parties and link to guidance and advice
on how underused assets might be used to build urban resilience (from TURAS and elsewhere).
The aim of the web mapping application would be twofold:
!
To encourage the communities and stakeholders to contribute information on underused
assets in the city;
!
To encourage the optimal and efficient use of these underused assets and therefore the
urban fabric.
The data that can be added by local communities such as photographs, historical and ecological
information, will assist in developing a connection with place and a sense of pride, making visible
layers of meaning including ecological, social, historical and cultural values.
The aim of the mapping is to bring together multiple dynamic datasets that collectively provide
an up to date image of opportunities for using the existing urban fabric more efficiently. There
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are potentially multiple benefits to this including reducing urban sprawl, promoting the
localisation of services, food and energy, and building community capital. The information
provided gives a headstart to interested parties seeking to engage with space and the city.
Critically, the website will provide the opportunity for citizens to connect and work collaboratively
on an idea for a particular site.
A number of precedents exist for this web-based tool:
569acres (New York) http://596acres.org
Grounded in Philly (Philadelphia) http://groundedinphilly.org
Living Lots NOLA (New Orleans) https://livinglotsnola.org
LA Open Acres (Los Angeles) http://laopenacres.org
3000 Acres (Melbourne) http://www.3000acres.org
Life in Vacant Spaces (Christchurch) http://livs.org.nz
Opportunity Spaces http://www.opportunityspace.org
Many of these precedents are built from the same coding that was originally developed for
596acres and made freely available online. The Dublin version of these websites, which is to be
specifically for building urban resilience, uses this coding and will be the first example of the
coding and concept being used in Europe. It is hoped that the Dublin experience will encourage
other cities, including partners in TURAS, to develop their own site using the lessons learnt, tools
and templates from WP3.
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Bibliography:
Robson, C. (1993) Real World Research: A Resource for Social Scientists and PractitionerResearchers, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd..
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