- Urban planning needs in european growth regions    554 kb by    Aminossehe, Sherin | aminoss@dircon.co.uk    Short Outline The Thames National Park - A framework for growth areas and regions Abstract The needs of growth areas are frequently not considered in a holistic manner and projects spring up piecemeal in regions without any coherent plan. The Thames Gateway, the most publicised of all the growth areas, is currently straining under a bureaucratic maze of organisations with no overall vision. Our proposal for a new type of national park for this area challenges the traditional perceptions of spatial planning and has already captured the imagination of politicians and journalists in the UK. It proposes that a design led approach and a “green infrastructure” should be put in place and the very start of planning new communities. This paper examines the “greenprint” for such a region and proposes a new type of national park for the Thames Gateway that challenges the stereotypes for such areas but turning into a place where people truly want to live. The paper argues that by looking at other examples from around the world lessons about management, funding, stewardship and design can be learnt that can be translated and implemented into the Thames Gateway. It will discuss the alternative proposal for the Gateway from its inception to propositions for its implementation that include changes required in the policy environment, consultation methods for the all stakeholders, management of regions and the financing of large scale projects. Keywords Regions, Thames Gateway, National Park, infrastructure Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2004: Management of Urban Regions   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper