Compact city policies: a comparative assessment applying a new definition of “urban”

1. Compact city policies:a comparative assessment applying a new definition of “urban” TADASHI MATSUMOTO Organisation for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD) Presentation at the RSA European Conference 2012 May 15, 2012, Delft, the Netherlands

2. Redefining “urban”: a new way to measure metropolitan areas

3. The OECD has developed a new approach to classifying urban areas 3 billion and counting of the world’s population live in some form of urban area. But around the world we don’t have the same definitions or understandings of what these urban areas are. • The new OECD classification, developed with the European Commission and member countries, identifies urban areas beyond city boundaries, as integrated labour market areas. • It is applied to 28 countries and identifies 1 148 urban areas of different size: small urban, medium-sized urban, metropolitan and large metropolitan • It allows comparisons among the different forms that urbanisation takes (densely populated centres and their hinterlands, sprawling, polycentric connected cities, etc.)

4. Urban systems in a country comprise cities of different size Korea Old measurement method: 3 Large metropolitan regions New measurement method: 45 Functional urban areas of different size Seoul Daegu Busan

5. Two-thirds of the OECD population live in urban areas, but the urban experience is very different in each country • Around 65% of the urban population in Korea live in large metropolitan areas; • In most European countries around 25% of urban population live in medium-sized areas Percentage of urban population by city size (2008)

6. 48% of the OECD population live in the 264 urban areas with a population of at least 500 000 (metro area) and these areas account for 53% of OECD GDP Percentage of population and GDP in metro areas (2008)

7. The urban population keeps growing, particularly in the hinterlands of large metropolitan areas Population growth 2000-2006 by city type and core/hinterland (average yearly growth rates)

8. The most dynamic metro areas are driven by different growth models moderate population growth and high GDP per capita growth high population and GDP per capita growth high population growth and moderate GDP per capita growth moderate population and GDP per capita growth Population and GDP per capita growth in the 61 fastest -growing metro areas (with GDP growth 25% higher than the country average GDP growth)

9. Challenges • Adapt the definition of urban areas to all more countries (data availability) • Develop more indicators with the new definition (data availability) • Apply to policy analysis (gap between the new definition and unit of policy)

10. Compact city policies: an application of the new urban definition

11. Outline of the study • To better understand the compact city concept and the implications of today’s urban contexts • To better understand potential outcomes, particularly in terms of Green Growth • To develop indicators to monitor compact cities • To examine current compact city practices in OECD • To propose key compact city strategies

12. Compact City? Not at a city scale, but the metropolitan scale:

13. Key urban trends: drivers for compact city • Urbanisation and the increasing need to conserve land resources • The threat of climate change to cities • The rise in energy prices • The challenge of sustainable economic growth • Demographic trend: declining population, ageing and smaller households in cities

14. Land is consumed at a faster rate…

15. …than population growth

16. Energy price affects location choice

17. More demands for smaller houses… Average household size

18. …and urban living Percentage of one-person households

19. The contribution of the compact city to urban sustainability

20. Lower expenditure on public service

21. Walkability to local service Distance to the nearest medical facilities

22. Measuring the performance of compact city: proposed indicators

23. Population and urban land growth, 2000-2006

24. Population density on urban land

25. Urban land cover as an indicator of urban development patterns Athens (3.4 million) Atlanta (4.6 million)

26. 3-D density map

27. Density gradient graph Vancouver (Canada) Portland (US)

28. Median commute distance for selected metropolitan areas in Canada, 1996-2006

29. Population living close to transport stations/network

30. Matching local services and homes Melbourne Vancouver

31. Policy practices in use Source: OECD compact city survey

32. The five key policy strategies

33. Key governance strategies • A vision: region-wide, integrated, long-term • Articulate the roles and responsibilities of all key actors and stakeholders in the vision • Vertical and horizontal coordination • Accountability, transparency and reporting

34. Conclusions • Importance of finer definition of “urban areas”, and smarter use of it • Policy design and implementation at these metropolitan level - governance is key (vision, data management, finance, etc.) • Innovative data collection technique (GIS, remote sensing tools, etc.) helps

35. Find out more: OECD (2012), Redefining urban: a new way to measure metropolitan areas, OECD Publishing. www.oecd.org/gov/regional/measuringurban OECD (2012), Compact City Policies: A Comparative Assessment, OECD Green Growth Studies, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264167865-en For more information on OECD work on regional and metropolitan statistics, visit: www.oecd.org/gov/regional/statisticsindicators For more information on OECD work on urban development, visit: www.oecd.org/gov/urbandevelopment

36. Thank you Tadashi.Matsumoto@oecd.org