The Place Quality Quadrant Model helps organising and making decisions about place quality instruments.

Governments need place quality instruments to develop and secure place quality. In contrast to generic instruments in spatial planning, these instruments are specifically aimed at place quality. Quality instruments can differ in terms of their focus. They can be creative, financial, legal, convivial, visual etc. However, they are always aimed at place quality.

In 2021, the United Nations Habitat program URBAN MAESTRO investigated the use of design governance instruments throughout Europe using the ‘European Typology of design governance tools’. We (José and Sandra) participated in this research by writing an expert paper and participating in masterclasses. The analyses of how Dutch place quality advisory practices use formal and informal instruments, pointed us toward the assumption that place quality advisory practices are a meta-instrument for place quality governance (click here for the expert paper).

Urban Maestro’s ‘Typology of design governance tools’ specifically inspired us to provide further insight into the landscape of Dutch place quality governance instruments. There appear to be similarities and differences with the European typology, which is primarily based on the British situation (Carmona, 2017). Following our research into Dutch place quality advisory practices, we presented ‘The Quadrant model for Place Quality Governance Instruments’ in 2022. This year, we are testing the Place Quality Quadrant Model in cooperation with the Dutch community of place quality practices. Below, you find the first version of the Quadrant model that came about thanks to exchanges with WING, the Regional Taskforce on Place Quality Fryslân (Aanjaagteam omgevingskwaliteit Fryslân) and the Place Quality Support Team of Libau in Groningen (Steunpunt ruimtelijke kwaliteit) .

Place Quality Governance

We define place quality governance as the targeted design of policy, planning and design processes for the transformation of space, in a network of cooperating actors, with the objective of maintaining,  improving or developing place quality as a public interest.

Place quality governance requires place quality instruments, specifically aimed at promoting environmental quality. The Dutch Environment and Planning Act offers opportunities to design coherent place quality policy using various place quality instruments. It is important to take the broadening of the concept of quality into account while organizing instruments. The place quality scope of a process or project can vary from narrow (visual quality), broad (spatial quality) to integral (environmental quality). In addition to the broadened scope, we identify a changing relationship between citizens and government, to new place quality instruments.

Place Quality instruments

The Place Quality Quadrant Model helps governments and practices in planning and design to explore which quality instruments are already being used and which are additionally required. In addition, it can help to bring consistency to the place quality policy.The place quality quadrant model distinguishes between place quality instruments with a formal or informal character and between place quality instruments aimed at quality result or quality culture.

  • Informal instruments influence the decision-making processes in an informal way, including the activities that precede these processes.
  • Formal instruments are formally embedded in decision-making processes and therefore offer a certain degree of legal certainty and/or process certainty.
  • Quality culture instruments strengthen the general support for and involvement in place quality maintenance and development and contribute to a culture in which place quality is part of thinking, acting and decision-making.
  • Quality delivery instruments influence place quality of physical space.

 

The Place Quality Quadrant Model is still under development. We will post updates here.

Date published: 220622

Date adjusted: 230623