Evaluating a Planning Support System’s Use and Effects in Urban Adaptation: An Exploratory Case Study from Berlin, Germany

Sadie Mcevoy,Frans H M Van De Ven,Jill H Slinger,Reinder Brolsma

doi:10.3390/su12010173

Sadie Mcevoy, Frans H M Van De Ven + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12010173

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Abstract

Planning Support Systems (PSS) are increasingly used to support collaborative planning workshops in urban adaptation practice. Research has focused on developing such tools and evaluating their use in workshops but has not measured tools’ effects over time on real planning processes, on the participants involved, and on the final outcomes. The role that tools play in adaptation planning, therefore, remains unclear. A longitudinal case study was made to evaluate a PSS, the Adaptation Support Tool (AST), in a design workshop for sustainable urban water management, in Berlin, Germany. The case study also served to test the evaluation framework and generate insights regarding systematic evaluations of tools in planning processes. The case study was carried out over eighteen months, to capture both the details of the workshop and its longer-term effects on the project and participants. Our results show that the AST’s most evident effects were (1) contributory and less tangible in nature (e.g., supporting learning), than directly causal and concrete (e.g., affecting planning decisions), and (2) a function of the process and context in which the workshop took place. This study demonstrates that making systematic, longitudinal evaluations are valuable for studying the role of PSS in urban adaptation planning.

Highlights

The unique challenges of climate change for cities have been recognized for some time and have inspired the burgeoning field of research and practice in adaptation planning [1,2], a complex undertaking, involving existing structures and infrastructures, interconnected urban systems, and myriad public and private stakeholders [1,3,4]
The tool was central to the results achieved in the design workshop
Our results have shown that the design workshop was perceived positively and that participants enjoyed working with the one another and the tool in collaborative adaptation planning

Summary

Introduction

The unique challenges of climate change for cities have been recognized for some time and have inspired the burgeoning field of research and practice in adaptation planning [1,2], a complex undertaking, involving existing structures and infrastructures, interconnected urban systems, and myriad public and private stakeholders [1,3,4]. Engaging stakeholders in the planning process is widely viewed as necessary to address the complexity and multi-actor nature of urban adaptation [1,6,7]. To this end, collaborative planning workshops are often held in the preliminary phases of a project, with the intention of building relationships between stakeholders, exchanging knowledge and views, clarifying problems, and identifying mutually acceptable and technically viable solutions [6]. Tool’s library provided a shared vocabulary to communicate about measures Map interface provided shared spatial language and focus for discussions Co-design effective and efficient for stakeholder communication Participants reported tool helped them communicate, understand others

Results

Discussion

Conclusion