Cabe Report

Social Housing Green
Space in Europe
A CABE Space Design Skills Scholarship
“Turning Mean Streets into Green Streets”
Noel Murphy
2009
Vauban Freiberg Germany
Hammarby Stockholm
CABE
1 Kemble Street
London
WC2B 4AN
Tel: 020 7070 6700
Fax: 020 7070 6777
Email: info@cabe.org.uk

Social Housing Green Space in Europe | Noel Murphy 20092 Noel Murphy 2009 | Social Housing Green Space in Europe 3
Social Housing landlords in the UK now own and manage large
estates and this has increased significantly over the last decade
as stock transfers and the creation of ALMOs has taken the
Housing stock away from Local Authorities and there is a vast
amount of Green
Space within these
Neighbourhoods
which is not
particularly well
designed or
maintained and does
not meet the needs
of the communities
who we expect to
live there. My own
organisation Places
for People Group has
over 60,000 social
rented properties
from Edinburgh to
the Isle of White in
over 200 local
authority areas. We
have as much Green
Space as a medium
sized town or local
authority area, and if
we can improve the
quality of this Green
Space and engage
the residents at the
same time we will
have a much better
chance of creating
sustainable communities with improved Social Cohesion. The
Green Spaces in these neighbourhoods give us the opportunity
for recreation whether passive or active, this is where people
meet and get to know each other.
Social housing in Europe accounts for around 15 Million units of
the available housing (see table below). Social Housing as a
percentage of the housing stock ranges from a high of 35% in
the Netherlands to 6% in Germany. There is no single definition
of Social Housing across Europe. Also the profile of Social
Housing stock differs from countries in terms of age, type of
housing and the percentage located on Estates. Providers and
funders also vary from country to country as do the type of
residents from the very poor to the low paid and middle classes
in general the social sector tends to house either the elderly, the
poor and a disproportionate number of single parent
households.
Project Overview
Background to Social Housing in Europe
Housing Tenure and Size of Sector by Country
Social Housing in the UK houses approximately one fifth of the
countries inhabitants with some 9 million people living in
around 4 Million homes. Very often the Green Spaces in and
around these homes are poorly designed and maintained
leading to a lack of ownership and usage by the residents.
Good design is a key factor in the success of the Landscape of
our Neighbourhoods. Too often the Landscaping has been
designed without input from the people who are expected to
live in these environments and the budgets are vulnerable to
being cut as the cost for the building works inevitably overruns.
Therefore we are left with inappropriate designs delivered with
inadequate budgets, quite often not very well maintained and
with no additional funds for improvements or replacement over
time. It is not surprising then that Social Housing
Neighbourhoods in the UK have some of the poorest quality
environments and this contributes to vandalism, anti social
behaviour and a general lack of respect for the environment and
each other.
The Bijlmermeer is an area in the South East district Zuidoost of
Amsterdam; The Zuidoost comprises four areas, Gaasperdam,
the Bijlmermeer, Driemond and Kantorenpark. The Zuidoost has
a population of approximately 80,000 and provides
employment for around 50,000 people.
The Bijlmermeer was my main area of interest and comprised 9
neighbourhoods in total, 3 low rise, 3 medium rise and three
high rise gallery flat blocks. The original layout for the high-rise
blocks was an Architects utopian dream and was constructed
from 1966 to 1975 and was laid out in Le Corbusier, style
designed around the segregation of functions, so that
residential, business and traffic and recreation were separated.
There are around 12,500 social housing units in 11 storey
apartments. The apartments were spacious and there were
interior walkways and also rooms with communal facilities. They
were constructed in park like surroundings with 80% of the land
given over to landscaped green space, separate from cars and
traffic. The blocks had a hexagonal honeycomb pattern and the
surrounded landscape provided play areas and cycle tracks in a
traffic free environment. Residents could park their cars in car
parks accessed by elevated roadways then walk home under
cover. Shopping centres and social facilities were also part of
the design although these took some time to follow on after
the residential construction.
Originally there was a waiting list of people wanting to move to
the Bijlmermeer due to chronic housing shortages within
Amsterdam. Straight away there were problems with security,
the interior walkways and the public open space were
considered unsafe, and the lifts and the waste disposal system
did not work properly. Crime rates of drug dealing and robbery
Social Housing Green Space in the UK
I decided to visit the European countries with the largest stock of Social Housing as identified on the table (below left), I met
with a range of stakeholders from senior Town Planning Officers to retired residents, Project Workers and Consultants. My aim
was to try to see what lessons could be learnt from successful Neighbourhoods in terms of the design and management of their
Green Spaces that we could then apply back in the UK. My Starting point was the Netherlands where I visited three diverse
areas, ljborg,Western Garden City and Bijlmermeer.Whilst my purpose was to concentrate on the Green Spaces I was also
considering the context of these spaces in relation to the building Architecture, transport links and different social issues that I
found to be inherently linked together and I have commented on these also.
Study Tour
Bijlmermeer, Amsterdam
The aim of this study was to bring together good practice in Social Housing Green Space from across Europe to see what
lessons could be learned and good practice identified so that we can apply what works to our own Neighbourhoods in the UK.
Netherlands 54 11 35 2,400,000
Denmark 52 17 21 530,000
Sweden 59 21 20 780,000
England 70 11 19 3,983,000
France 56 20 17 4,230,000
Germany 46 49 6 1,800,000
Owner
Occupied %
Private
Rented %
Social
Rented %
Number of
Social Units

Sonder Boulevard in Copenhagen runs for over a kilometre
through the city quarter of Vesterbro. This is a dense urban area
with little if any Green Space around the high density Housing.
It is in situations like this that areas of public open space are
very important to the communities that live beside them as
they offer the opportunity for recreation outdoors that is so
vital to health and well being. The Boulevard has recently been
redeveloped to provide a variety of experiences for the
community living adjacent to it and those who travel along it.
From wildflower and seating areas to ball courts and play
facilities the redesigned Boulevard caters for all age groups and
sections of the community. Those who live in the apartments
close to the Boulevard that have no communal Green Space use
the Boulevard as their garden Through a comprehensive
community participation process the residents of the area have
had the opportunity to place their ideas on the urban space in
the form of basket ball courts, seating areas, walks and small
peaceful gardens. The residents have determined which
activities and uses should be incorporated. This has created
inclusive spaces for everyone and amenity values for the whole
area. Sonder Boulevard in Copenhagen now directs the traffic in
a calmer fashion with reduced speed and widening of the linear
recreational space down the centre of the boulevard. A simple
arrangement of the space with rows of different tree species
along the entire boulevard provides variation, but also allows
future uses to be incorporated in the plan. The trees are chosen
so they flower, spring into leaf and drop their foliage at different
times. Thus the boulevard is always experienced in different
ways, and draws the beauty of nature right into the inner city.
were high and the neighbourhood spiralled into decline with up
to one in four flats unoccupied. Various attempts to improve the
situation were attempted and in 1992 a wholesale renovation
commenced, this meant demolishing some of the high rise
blocks and replacing them with low rise accommodation,
renovating some of the high rise blocks, removing the internal
walkways, putting the lifts on the outside of the structure,
lowering the elevated roads and closing and demolishing some
of the car parks.
The Green Spaces were originally laid out in the English
Landscape Parkland style and accounted for 80% of the land. In
certain areas this ratio will stay but in others where the old
high-rise blocks have been pulled down this will reduce to 40%
of available land so that cars can then be parked in front of
homes. Most of the Bijlmerpark approximately 40 hectares is
being redeveloped into an urban park with sports facilities, with
the remainder being designed as a natural park, some 800
homes are also being constructed around the parks boundary.
The redevelopment of the open spaces includes a clear Green
Belt area, which is easy to maintain, and where people feel safe,
it will also include more private areas for single-family homes.
Trees and shrubs have been removed to increase security, create
space for play and parking facilities, and the replanting of
specimen groups of trees and shrubs. When the original design
was conceived there was no provision made for places of
worship, so the residents who came to live there made their
own, either in the Green Spaces or the car parks. Nine of the
twenty-one car parks have now been demolished, and most of
the new parking places will be on the streets.
There is a strong presence of public art in evidence in the
Bijlmermeer, which appears to be well received by the residents
and has not been vandalised. Also it is the site of the memorial
garden for the people who lost their lives in the early nineties
when a cargo plane crashed into one of the high-rise
honeycomb blocks. The final death toll has never been known
due to the high number of illegal immigrants inhabiting these
blocks at the time. There has been a memorial garden created
for the people who lost their lives in that accident and this is
well maintained and respected by the residents.
The footprint of the honeycomb block that was hit by the plane
also remains as a memorial.
Charlotte Garden is a housing complex comprising around 200
units adjacent to Nordhavn Station in a suburb of Copenhagen.
Residents and people who live in the local area use the garden,
as a meeting place, and to bring their families to use the play
facilities.
The design of this space is quite stunning and the impact is
striking particularly when you consider it is based on a dune
style of landscape planted mostly with grass species, the idea
behind the design is to reflect the proximity of the sea and to
create movement through the planting and the contours of the
design. It has the sensation of a large outdoor room, when
viewed from one of the surrounding apartment windows the
landscape is constantly changing and unusually for gardens this
far North there is also year round colour as the grasses change
from blue and green to more golden tones. The quality of
materials used in the construction is impressive with steel up
stands used to form the elaborate curves that are a key feature
of the garden. The different and changing spaces are held
together by a series of paths crossing the garden, whilst the
different elements of the garden are accentuated by a change in
materials. The garden was constructed in 2004 at a cost of 1.1
million Euros. The garden has become a place and an outdoor
room loved by the surrounding community.
Bijlmermeer, Amsterdam (continued)
Western Garden City, Amsterdam
Charlotte Garden, Copenhagen Denmark
Social Housing Green Space in Europe | Noel Murphy 20094
In the west of Amsterdam 130.000 people live in 54.000
dwellings. 10.000 Of these dwellings will be torn down in the
following years. Taking until 2015 17,500 new dwellings will be
built instead. Within this city transformation are a number of
innovative housing projects, which attempt to develop a
contemporary image of the garden city. The Western Garden
Suburbs are characterised by broad avenues, waterways, open
space, and dwellings in green surroundings. Tall blocks of flats,
dwellings with shared entrance halls and stairways, and houses
with gardens predominate. Open building blocks are a common
feature. Despite the idyllic layout, the garden suburbs no longer
meet current Housing standards. The district is currently
undergoing a large-scale restructuring. The task is sizeable, a
quarter of the existing stock of 41,000 rental dwellings will be
demolished and replaced by privately owned homes. In addition,
11,000 dwellings will be built. Social and economic renewal will
lead to new programmes, and improving public space is a
priority. An urban- rather than garden-suburb character has
been opted for.
Noel Murphy 2009 | Social Housing Green Space in Europe 5
Sonder Boulevard, Copenhagen Denmark

Hammarby Sjostad, Stockholm, Sweden Augustenborg, Malmo, Sweden
Hammarby is a city district of Stockholm set around a lake in
the South of the city, eventually up to 20,000 people will live
there as it is currently under construction and should be
completed around the middle of the next decade. Hammarby is
a truly inspirational place which has brought together the best
in design and sustainable development. The design of the
district places a strong emphasis on the environment and
sustainability. Throughout the development runs a network of
small parks and Green Spaces. Use of native species like birch
and oak trees along the lake side give structure to this newly
developed site. The whole development has been designed
along principles of working in harmony with nature alongside
the contemporary architecture of the buildings. There is a strong
green infrastructure permeating throughout the district where it
is possible to walk through large sections of the estate without
coming into contact with traffic.. It is a mixed tenure
development which is aiming for a 50 - 50 split between owned
and rented properties. The district is characterised by a sense of
being close to nature due to the lake and the large amount of
Green infrastructure, and around each different block the
landscape provided a different experience, whether this was
play, allotment gardening or areas for quiet relaxation, all
interests appeared to be catered for. There is a high number of
allotment gardens within the blocks and these all appeared to
be in cultivation and well maintained, this was in contrast with
the contemporary architecture but at the same time did not
appear out of place, . I visited the district on late midsummer
afternoon 2009 which is a time of year that Scandinavian
countries particularly celebrate. There where families picnicking
and barbequing in the Green Spaces and a real sense of family
celebration. A number of schemes that I visited across Europe
catered for impromptu celebrations and events by having
communal facilities within the Green Spaces, such as barbeques,
large tables and seating, table tennis tables and this feature
must help to encourage people out of doors to partake in
parties and gatherings and help with social cohesion. Public art
again was very much in evidence throughout the district which
was again another feature in many of the Green Spaces.
Reading the background to the planning and development of
the district the local authority have been very much the driving
force that have shaped the development with strong leadership
aligned to sustainable design principles, again this is a common
factor across the successful European housing schemes that I
have seen.
Augustenborg is district of the city of Malmo in Sweden. There
are currently around 1800 properties there owned and managed
by MKB Housing Association.
It was originally built
in the 1950s and in
the beginning it was a
successful mixture of
housing, employment
and social facilities.
However in the 1970s
the 32-hectare
neighbourhood was
failing. There were
problems with damp
affecting the buildings
and the drainage
system could not
handle the storm
water. The problem of annual flooding from an overwhelmed
sewage system also led to further problems for residents, with
disruption and damage to cars and private property. The estate
continued to suffer a spiral of decline as more people moved
out, flats remained unoccupied and the remaining residents
became marginalised with a high level of unemployment storm
water system has gone through a major change. Augustenborg
now is a model of sustainability with excellent initiatives
around Green Roofs and water harvesting with open storm
water channels leading into ponds have stopped the flooding in
the area and have created a beautiful environment and a richer
biodiversity. There are a total of 6km canals and water channels
in Augustenborg. 90 % of the storm water from roofs and hard
surfaces is led into the open storm-water system in the housing
area. The aim the project was that 70 % of all storm-water
should be captured for the whole of Augustenborg.
As well as Green Roofs and sustainable drainage systems there
is also solar hot water systems and geo thermal heating
systems in place. The Neighbourhood is very attractive now
with any available accommodation quickly being taken. I was
told by one of the housing managers that there can be as many
as 300 people wanting each property as they become available
Barnistan Project, Malmo, Sweden
Close to Augustenberg is one of the most notorious
Neighbourhoods in Sweden with at its centre the Sevedsplan
square. In the past this was a high crime area with lots of drug
related crime and conflict in the Neighbourhood between the
Somalian community and the established Swedish community.
Much work has
been done to try
and improve
social cohesion in
this area and the
most inspiring
project that I saw
was Barnistan,
This is a Somalian
funded project
which aims to
bring greater
understanding
between the
different groups
of residents
through small
scale Horticultural projects such as fruit and vegetable growing,
establishing a community centre and café and public art. The
idea is to increase understanding between the young Somalian
children and youths and the ageing Swedish residents who have
the Horticultural skills, by growing fruit that the Somalian
children can recognise. To create planting areas they have taken
up sections of pavement as well as creating raised beds and
containers out of weld mesh. This project has had a positive
effect on crime in the area, and the community has held events
which have further improved understanding and respect
between all sections of the community.

Tingbjerg, Denmark
Tingjberg is a large Housing Project designed and built from
1950 – 1972 by the famous Danish Architect Steen Eiler
Rasmussen it is located 6km North West of Copenhagen
Denmark. The area is isolated from the rest of Copenhagen with
the road leading to Tingbjerg being essentially a dead end. It
does have many Green areas and is surrounded by the
Vestvolden and Uttersley Mose which are large Green Spaces.
The residents are a mixture of Danes and immigrants with
6,500 inhabitants 42% are Danes, 37% are immigrants and
21% are Danes with immigrant parents. The area has just
undergone major improvement works both to the properties
and the Green Spaces and public realm. The improvements to
the Green Spaces are characterised by very high quality street
furniture and hard landscaping materials, natural play provision
and public artwork.
Berlin
I was particularly interested in the six Housing Estates in the
suburbs of Berlin which are on the UNESCO world heritage list.
These Estates were constructed in the 1920s and are still
vibrant and vital and attractive places to live. In the UK we are
demolishing estates that we have built in the 1960s and even
more recently than this, we have estates that we have built and
then had to demolish without anyone ever living in some of the
properties, due to bad planning and social problems. This cannot
be allowed to happen, and is a terrible waste of resources and
the worst example of unsustainable practice.
Berlin Modernism Housing Estates. consist of six housing
estates that testify to innovative housing policies from 1910 to
1933, especially during the Weimar Republic, when the city of
Berlin was particularly progressive socially, politically and
culturally. The property is an outstanding example of the
building reform movement that contributed to improving
housing and living conditions for people with low incomes
through novel approaches to town planning, architecture and
garden design. The estates also provide exceptional examples of
new urban and architectural typologies, featuring fresh design
solutions, as well as technical and aesthetic innovations. Bruno
Taut, Martin Wagner and Walter Gropius were among the
leading architects of these projects which exercised considerable
influence on the development of housing around the world.
These housing estates in the Berlin Modern Style provide
outstanding testimony to the implementation of housing
policies during the period 1910 – 1933 and especially during
the Weimar Republic,
when the city of Berlin
was characterised by its
political, social, cultural
and technical
progressiveness.
The housing estates
reflect, with the highest
degree of quality, the
combination of
urbanism, architecture,
garden design and
aesthetic research
typical of early 20th
century modernism, as well as the application of new hygienic
and social standards. Some of the most prominent leading
architects of German modernism were involved in the design
and construction of the properties; they developed innovative
urban, building and flat typologies, technical solutions and
aesthetic achievements.
The six Berlin housing estates provide an outstanding expression
of a broad housing reform movement that made a decisive
Freiburg,Vauban, Germany
Freiburg is a suburb of Vauban in the South West of Germany, it
is a new Neighbourhood created on the site of a former military
base, the Neighbourhood has been completed over the last 10
years and houses around 5,000 people. From the planning
stages the idea was to create a truly sustainable development
based around public transport and energy conservation.
The citizens were actively encouraged to partake in the design
process and the developers were encouraged to adopt an
ecological approach and the planning process allowed for
learning while developing so that new ideas and proposals could
be incorporated as the project developed. The first thing that
strikes you when you visit Vauban is the absence of cars, there
are excellent public transport networks with the tram running
through the Neighbourhood with trams into the town every 10
minutes. Car ownership was also discouraged by making it
prohibitively expensive to purchase a parking space in one of
the public car parks
costing around 40,000
euro. Car sharing is
encouraged and free
public transport is
available to those who
participate in the car
sharing scheme. There
are some car parking
spaces within the estate
but these have been
designed so as to
minimise the sight and
presence of cars. This all
contributes to the
Green feel of the estate
with excellent use of
plants particularly
climbers up the built
structures. There are
also larger Green Spaces
and Green Corridors
running through the
estate with play facilities and climbing walls as well as facilities
for very young children. There is a vibrant shopping area and
well equipped cycle repair shop centred in the Neighbourhood.
Vauban is an excellent example of a new development that is
based upon a sustainable model with a great deal of resident
participation. Strong leadership and vision have also been a vital
element to producing this exemplar development.

Berlin (continued...) Aalborg, Denmark, City project
Malakoff, Nantes, France
contribution to
improving housing
and living conditions
in Berlin. Their quality
of urban, architectural
and garden design, as
well as the housing
standards developed
during the period,
served as guidelines
for social housing
constructed since
then, both in and
outside Germany.
The six Berlin housing estates are exceptional examples of new
urban and architectural typologies, designed in the search for
improved social living conditions. Fresh design solutions and
technical and aesthetic innovations were incorporated by the
leading modern architects who participated in their design and
construction. The six properties were selected out of the
ensemble of housing estates of the period existing in the city,
on the basis of their historical, architectural, artistic and social
significance and the fact that, due to their location, they
suffered little damage during World War II. Even though minor
reconstruction and interior changes were carried out in the post
war period, restoration works within the framework of the
protection law of 1975 and their current state of conservation
achieve a high standard of integrity and authenticity.
Adequate protection is ensured by the legislation in place,
especially by the Berlin Law on the Preservation of Historic
Places and Monuments (1995). The properties, buildings and
open spaces, are in a good state of conservation. The blocks are
typically arranged around a Green centre which in some cases
has been turned into allotment gardens for the residents which
were attractive to look down on and were obviously well
tended by the residents.
Aalborg East was planned and developed in the mid-1960s as a
greenfield development some 6-8 kilometers to the southeast
of the Aalborg city centre. The area was planned in the
modernist tradition with separate zones for social housing,
detached housing, shopping, services, sports and recreation, and
industry, separated by extensive green areas.
The dominant housing type in Aalborg East is two-storey social
housing blocks, which in combination with atrium houses make
up two thirds of the area's present day housing. The rest of the
housing stock is detached housing and low rise-high density
student housing.
As a 60s development, Aalborg East has a highly segregated
traffic system with a hierarchy of roads from arteries to housing
lanes and bicycle and footpaths which cross the roads at split-
level. While the major roads constitute barriers between the
different zones of development, the paths constitute the only
direct connections between them. While the majority of the
workplaces in Aalborg East are light industrial and
administrative, there is only very little commerce and services
and the area has no distinct commercial or shopping area. Most
of the people working in Aalborg East live outside the area. The
15.000 inhabitants of Aalborg East therefore have to go outside
of the area for working and shopping.
Aalborg East contains three primary schools, 15 kindergartens, a
number of youth clubs and sports facilities, a public library, a
cultural facility, and a number of community buildings. There is
a number of social facilities, such as a retirement home,
serviced homes for the elderly, and daycare facilites for the
mentally ill. South of the area lies the Aalborg University main
campus.
Demographically, the child and youth population of Aalborg East
is above the average of the Municipality of Aalborg, and so is
the number of single parent households. It also has a highly
culturally mixed population with many immigrant residents,
including refugees, particularly from Somalia, who make up 7-
8% of the residents.
The suburb of Malakoff is directly adjacent to the city centre of
Nantes but has suffered from effectively being cut off from the
rest of the city by the river, the high speed TGV, line and a main
road. This has led to the area becoming disconnected from the
main City and the general decline of the area as it became an
undesirable place to live and increasingly ghettoised. The area is
now undergoing a complete re modelling both of the 6,500
mostly high rise properties and also the Landscaping of the
entire estate, the planners and designers have ensured that
there is a significant amount of Green Space in and around the
development and through extensive consultation with the
residents have designed an appropriate landscape that caters for
all sections of the community. Including areas for active play
and passive recreation. The designers have specified large
specimen planting which gives structure and maturity to the
new Landscape, although costly there is less risk of damage
from vandalism and the planting has an instant impact.

Le Plessis Robinson, France
Le Plessis Robinson is a suburb about 6 km South West of Paris.
It has undergone a transformation over the last decade to
improve the quality of life for the residents whilst at the same
time managing resources to achieve a sustainable development
working towards carbon neutrality. The first thing that strikes
you when you visit this area is the high quality planning and
maintenance of the public realm which is truly outstanding.
The mixed tenure development caters for around 20% Social
Housing in one of the most attractive Housing environments
that it is possible to create.
There are seven parks and 50 hectares of Green Space which
gives the development a rural feel within an urban setting.
There is a theme of water running through the development
and the original wetland habitat of the area has been preserved
with stunning landscape architecture. This truly is an
inspirational development and shows what can be achieved
when the right principles are adopted and due consideration is
given to the impact that such a development can bring.
The attention to detail in the hard landscape materials used is
truly remarkable as well as the inspirational planting schemes.
The district is an attractive place to live and work and has
excellent transport links to Paris being only 20 minutes away.
There is also a vibrant commercial sector within the
neighbourhood providing jobs and attractive propositions for
businesses as the land prices are cheaper than being in Paris
itself.
This appears to be a truly sustainable development from the
drawing board up as well as being a desirable place to live both
for social housing and home owners. A lot of this is about how
the place looks and feels to walk through, and this is the
challenge for the designer and the planners to try to recreate a
similar effect in Salford or Newcastle, which we know is
possible.
Each country and scheme had it’s own unique reason for being
special but I was able to identify some common themes which I
felt could apply to all the schemes that I visited. These were:
• Visionary and strong leadership
• Thorough and appropriate consultation
• Find the “Glue People”
• Robust design with quality materials
• Sustainability
• Innovation
• High standard of maintenance
Visionary and strong leadership has been a common factor in
the majority of the schemes I visited, from the Berlin schemes
of the 1920s to Augustenborg in Malmo there had been
resistance to the ideas behind the developments and the driving
force behind these projects whether a Local Authority, Architect
or Town Planner had to overcome considerable resistance to see
the project to fruition.
Thorough and appropriate consultation is also a key factor in
the success of these Estates. It is probably the most difficult
element of the planning process and this is why it is so often
not done well resulting in designs that are not sustainable or
owned by the community and therefore do not last much
beyond the first couple of years after completion.
One of the terms used by NIRAS Consultants in Denmark who
are experts in Green Space consultation was the term “Glue
People” these are the natural born community leaders who have
respect from the community in which they live and who are
very influential in getting the community to accept new ideas
and who “Glue” the community together. It is very important
that these people are identified in the consultation process and
that their skills are harnessed to cascade the information and
ideas down through the community.
Social Housing Estates in any country can be challenging
environments for plants and hard Landscape materials and
features, it is important that the materials specified are robust
and of the best quality if the design has a chance of survival.
Some of the newly planted schemes I visited such as
Hammerby and Malakoff had utilised large specimen plants and
trees, as well as giving instant impact they can also withstand
vandalism better than smaller specimens. The play equipment
and street furniture, benches etc was also of the highest quality
meaning that it would last longer and even though initially
more expensive would present better value for money over
time.
Sustainability had also been addressed on many of the schemes
from the green roofs and water harvesting schemes in
Augustenborg Sweden, to solar power and energy efficient
design in Freiburg as well as the many community gardening
and allotments that were present on these schemes. The Green
Spaces on these Estates provided many opportunities for
sustainable living as well as the benefits to community
cohesion that these activities also brought. In particular
community gardening and public art had been used as hooks to
engage the community and delivered many benefits over and
Lessons Learnt
When planning my itinerary and choosing the schemes that I wanted to visit I was hoping to find the magic ingredients that
make these places so special and loved by the communities that they serve, and then to be able to apply this information
through my own work to improve the Green Spaces for our residents back in the UK.

above the physical or aesthetic gains that these features or
activities had brought to these Estates.
Innovation was also a feature in the design of these schemes
right through from innovative consultation techniques to the
Universty of Aalborg and their work on GPS tracking of people
to understand how they use and move around Green Spaces. Dr.
Thomas Randrup from NIRAS associates in Copenhagen has also
developed a formula for valuing Green Spaces dependant on the
scale and experiences that an individual Green Space can bring.
As you can probably see from the photographs all of the
schemes I visited were maintained to very high standards,
whether this was undertaken by external Contractors or the
Housing organisations in-house workforce, or there was
evidence of residents involvement is maintenance as in
Augustenborg where the residents were offered a reduction in
their service charges if the maintained areas of the estate.
Maintenance is a very important consideration if the Estates
are kept looking their best the residents also have more respect
for their environment. Managers need to ensure that there are
sufficient budgets available to keep these areas maintained to
the highest standard and also that there has been consideration
given to future replanting and repairs to hard Landscaping.
How will I promote my findings
and how will I bring good practice
to my industry?
I am currently bringing forward a comprehensive Green Space
strategy for my organisation, Places for People. This will draw on
my experiences gained from the CABE scholarship and guide
our Green Space policy for the next ten years. I have also
become involved in the early design stages of our development
programme in influencing the design of the Green Spaces
around our new build portfolio. These are significant schemes, in
Brooklands on the outskirts of Milton Keynes we are building a
development of 2,500 units including a school and a
community centre. We also have a site in early planning stages
in Harlow which will eventually see the construction of over
20,000 properties in a mixed tenure community and I will be
involved in the planning stage as this project develops over the
next ten years.
I am keen to share the best practice that I have seen, aligned
with what I think will be the first Green Spaces strategy for a
Housing organisation that I hope will be adopted by others to
raise the standards of design and maintenance of Green Space
for a significant proportion of the UK population. The most
important factor that I think I
can bring is improved social
cohesion by involving the local
communities in this process.
Many thanks to all that assisted me with this study,
including;
Mathew Frith London Wildlife Trust
Noel Farrer Landscape Architect
Sarah Gaventa CABE space
Helen Beck CABE space
Lasse Flygare [lasse@barnistan.info]
Sille Askefrø Bjørn (SAB) [SAB@niraskon.dk]
Sille Askefrø Bjørn
chefkonsulent arkitekt maa
telefon 8732 3203
mobil 2920 7449
e-mail sab
NIRAS Konsulenterne
Åboulevarden 80
8100 Århus C
www.niraskon.dk
Camilla Richter-Friis van Deurs [Camilla.Deurs@karch.dk]
Camilla Richter-Friis van Deurs
Ph.D. studerende, arkitekt MAA
Center for Byrumsforskning
Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole
Philip de Langes Allé 10
1435 København K
Tlf.: 32 68 66 48 / 32 68 66 67
http://www.karch.dk
Åse Dannestam [Ase.Dannestam@mkbfastighet.se]
MKB Fastighets AB (publ)
Box 50405
202 14 MALMÖ
Besöksadress:
Augustenborgsgatan 3
Tel vx: 040-31 33 00
Fax: 040-31 34 80
www.mkbfastighet.se
Thomas Barfoed Randrup (TRA)
[TRA@niraskon.dk]
Petter Åkerblom [petter.akerblom@sol.slu.se]
Martin Søberg [mas@sla.dk]
Martin Søberg
Head of Communications
Art Historian Mag.Art.
Arne Juul (AJU)
[AJU@niraskon.dk]
Oord C.V. van der
[C.vanderOord@dro.amsterdam.nl]
Haan (PVB), Joop de
[HaanJde@zuidoost.amsterdam.nl]
F.Blom@wonen.amsterdam.nl
Morten Weeke Borup [mwb@ghb-landskab.dk]
Morten Weeke Borup
Arkitekt MAA
Partner
GHB Landskabsarkitekter a/s
Frederiksholms Kanal 18 A
1220 København K
Tlf.: +45 33123738
juliane [juliane.bailly@gmail.com]
Simon @ Supersonic Travel London
Experiences from GPS tracking of visitors in three Public
Parks in Denmark based on GPS technologies
Paper presented at the International workshop SPM2008 in
Tartu, Estonia
http://www.ut.ee/spm2008
Lessons Learnt (continued...) References and Acknowledgements

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