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Post-Growth City: Economic growth and spatial planning - an intertwined history
When we look critically at the field of spatial development, keeping in mind the knowledge that in the global north, CO2 emissions must be at zero as early as 2030, the sustainable plans we are making now are simply insufficient to meet this ambitious goal.
BURA and Crimson conducted fundamental research into the possibilities for a sustainable and equitable city beyond the economic growth paradigm, and how spatial designers and urban planners can contribute to it; Post-Growth City. This story paints a picture of the connection of urban design with expansion and economic growth, but also that it has been and can be different.
Groei-gedreven stedelijke ontwikkeling
The way we use, design and plan our land in recent decades has become closely linked to the pursuit of economic growth.
Urban development and economic growth have become intimately intertwined. As a result, financial value development and maintaining scarcity have become an undesirable but also common practice. And this does not only apply to private owners who want to make a profit on their land or property. Municipalities, too, often benefit from high land prices.
Urban design is closely linked to expansion and economic growth. In the growth-driven city, spatial-financial logic is the starting point, and profitability is everything. Local area development has become part of a complex system of interests and risks, not limited to the area itself or national borders. The financing and ownership of buildings and land can not infrequently be traced back to internationally operating parties, and the environmental impact of the extraction, operation and transport of building materials also precipitates all over the world. If we want the city to remain inclusive and liveable, within planetary boundaries, urban development must be designed in a fundamentally different way.

Historical perspective: it wasn't always like this
The historical perspective shows, that the current economic system, and the way urban planning operates within it and facilitates it, is not a fixed fact. The intertwined relationship between urban development and economic growth, has emerged through a nexus of (economic) ideals and government policies over the years.

Alternatives for growthism
That the current focus on economic growth is no longer sustainable and at the expense of the environment and the quality of life of an increasing proportion of the world’s population has led various thinkers and organisations to consider alternative models or measures of growth. Where Broad Prosperity bets on a broad trade-off between economic, social and environmental pros and cons, and Green Growth assumes economic growth and development that minimises pressure on the environment and natural resources,
Another, more far-reaching, school of thought that is becoming increasingly dominant in thinking about alternatives to growthism, and which this study builds on, is that of Post-Growth, and by extension De-Growth, which assume that unlimited growth is not possible on a finite planet. And aim at a shift from a focus on quantitative growth of consumption and GDP, to qualitative growth of quality of life.
The Post-Growth City is a city or region that facilitates the growth of all activities and products that contribute to the regeneration of the ecosystem and an improvement of social well-being in a broad sense. And which at the same time is committed to sharply reducing all activities and products, which have a negative impact on the environment and social welfare.