Case Study Of Planning Research Articles

Ecosystem services can promote conservation over conversion and protect local biodiversity, but these local win-wins can be a regional disaster

Ecosystem services programs are rapidly increasing and are seen as a pathway for biodiversity conservation based on the attractive idea that quantified values of the ecosystem services of intact land may exceed any gains from conversion to intensive logging or other non-conservation uses. However, I show that, even when all local biodiversity is protected whenever ecosystem services values create greater benefits from conservation compared to conversion, this may lead to poor outcomes for regional biodiversity conservation. I examine this dangerous idea by re-visiting early planning case studies in the Bateman’s Bay region of NSW. Integration of ecosystem services into systematic conservation planning typically can ensure good regional biodiversity outcomes. However, as we increase the estimated value of ecosystem services in localities, the region reaches a tipping point where the capacity for good regional biodiversity outcomes collapses. This collapse results because the priority ecosystem services sites tend to represent similar biodiversity, contrasting with the biodiversity complementarity required for efficient conservation planning. Recent proposals for spatial planning that continue to focus only on local win-win outcomes highlight the disregard for planning lessons forged 20 years ago in NSW, and promote a dangerous planning framework where we may never know how much biodiversity we have lost.

Controversias, hibridez y diseño urbano: Abrir el candado de la representación y multiplicar los posibles del espacio público

The proliferation of relational approaches in human geography is reanimating urban studies which have shown signs of exhaustion. Diff erent theoretical tools incited from actor-network theory (ANT) and non-representational theory (NRT) are opening the conditions of possibility of the objects of study of our discipline, expanding their political ecologies and challenging the idea of public space conceived as a self-evident container. Moreover, this epistemological crisis coincides with a crisis of political representation that has eroded the notion of delegation, questioning the role of experts in the politics of urban design. In my paper, I study the urban controversy of the plaza de Lesseps in Barcelona, a contentious case study of urban planning which last refurbishment caused an unprecedented process of citizen participation that revealed a profound crisis of representation. In the light of the claims showed for this controversy, I want to rethink the public space, breaking the fence which the notion of representation restricted not only its study but also its design.

Place-based or sector-based adaptation? A case study of municipal and fishery policy integration

ABSTRACTPlace-based adaptation planning is an approach to address cross-sectoral and multi-level governance concerns as well as to build local adaptive capacity in vulnerable resource-dependent communities facing the adverse impacts of climate change. In contrast, sector-based adaptation planning focuses on addressing climate change impacts on individual economic sectors (e.g. fisheries or forestry) or sub-sectors (such as lobsters or timber). Yet, linking sectoral approaches with local adaptation policies is challenging. More effort is needed to identify opportunities for complementary adaptation strategies and policy integration to foster multiple benefits. In this article, we use a case study of fishery sector resources and municipal adaptation planning in Nova Scotia to demonstrate how meaningful entry points could catalyse policy integration and lead to co-benefits across multiple levels and stakeholder groups. Drawing on a fisheries systems and fish chain framework, we identify and assess several entry points for policy integration across sector- and place-based adaptation domains within coastal habitats, as well as harvesting, processing, and marketing sectors. The analysis highlights the multiple benefits of integrating local municipal adaptation plans with multi-scale resource sectors especially towards monitoring ecosystem changes, protecting essential infrastructure, and securing local livelihoods.POLICY RELEVANCEClimate change is having a growing impact on coastal communities around the world, with consequences for sea-level rise, critical habitats, essential infrastructure, and multiple economic sectors and industries. This Canadian case study demonstrates how municipal adaptation initiatives can be complementary to sector-based adaptation at both local and regional levels through various entry points across commodity production chains. Policy integration across place-based and sector-based adaptation processes should lead to multiple benefits such as conserving marine biodiversity, protecting essential infrastructure, and securing livelihoods. Our analysis, which focuses specifically on the fishery sector and coastal communities, shows that these co-benefits may arise particularly in such coastal-marine systems and provide policy lessons to terrestrial systems and other sectors.

Combining land-use planning and tenure security: a tenure responsive land-use planning approach for developing countries

There is tenure insecurity around land ownerships and land rights in most developing countries. There are also many land-use planning projects being implemented in these countries. Often, land-use planning exists in these countries but is not formally linked with tenure security. This study argues that combining them by conducting land-use planning in a way that promotes tenure security presents a new approach. A central premise for the rationale of this intervention is that processes of land-use planning may inadvertently increase tenure security. By way of methodology, it evaluates land-use planning case studies from Africa, Asia and South America. It uses the three case study examples to build a case for making tenure security one of the major planned outcomes of a land-use planning process and provides a detailed framework for operationalising the concept. Its main contribution to the literature is that it introduces the concept of tenure responsive land-use planning.

An intelligent spatial land use planning support system using socially rational agents

ABSTRACTThis research presents an intelligent planning support system based on multi-agent systems for spatial urban land use planning. The proposed system consists of two main phases: a pre-negotiation phase and an automated negotiation phase. The pre-negotiation phase involves interaction between human actors and intelligent software agents in order to elicit the actors’ social preferences. The agents employ social value orientation theory, which is rooted in social psychology, in order to model actors’ social preferences. The automated negotiation phase involves negotiation among autonomous software agents, the aim being to achieve consensus about the spatial problem on behalf of the relevant actors and using the information obtained.This study employs a computationally effective Bayesian learning technique, along with social value orientation theory, to design socially rational intelligent agents who work on behalf of real actors. The proposed system is applied to a real world urban land use planning case study. Human actors participate in a pre-negotiation phase, and their social preferences are elicited by intelligent software agents through a number of interactions. Then, software agents come together to engage in an automated negotiation phase and eventually reach an agreement on the spatial configuration of urban land uses on behalf of the actors. The results of the study show that the proposed system is effective at performing an automated negotiation, plus that the final plan – which is the output of the automated negotiation – produces higher social utility and better spatial land use configurations for the agents.

Robot path planning optimization for welding complex joints

In robotic welding, the planning and generation of the motion of the welding torch are crucial in welding complex joints. This paper presents an approach for optimal robot path planning of the centroid pass in welding a Y-joint. Relevant data associated with the welding passes is defined and managed to facilitate robot path planning and generation. With properly selected welding torch inclination angles and welding pass segmentation techniques, a solution space containing a number of robot paths is generated to account for functional redundancy and different welding robot configurations. A solution with minimum joint movement is determined using a beam search algorithm as the optimal robot path for each welding pass segment. A case study of robot path planning of the centroid pass of a scaled-down Y-joint is simulated and discussed.

Clarifying relationships between participatory approaches, issues, processes, and results, through crosscutting case analysis in Japan’s environmental, energy, and food policy areas

Participatory public engagement approaches such as Consensus Conferences, Deliberative Polling®, and Planning Cells have been used to try and resolve environmental disputes in Japan; however, the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches have not been analyzed adequately or comprehensively. This paper evaluates practical applications of each of the above participatory approaches and conducts a crosscutting analysis of these applications to evaluate how effectively each approach provides scientific information to participants and to consider how the quality of deliberations that occur during these processes affect their outputs. Based on existing classification of participatory processes, and methodology for public involvement in US environmental decision-making, this study compares and contrasts the processes and outcomes of 25 participatory planning case studies in Japan. After compiling a case inventory of participatory approaches, the features of one approach are documented using qualitative analysis, and the aspects of four other approaches are confirmed using crosscutting analysis. In so doing, the likely strengths and weaknesses of each approach are suggested as follows. When discussions require an understanding of scientific knowledge, the Consensus Conference tends to be more suitable than the DP approach. If the consensus of participants is expected, the Consensus Conference is also thought to be suitable. But through a DP process or Simplified Planning Cells approach, we can know the quantitative portion of each opinion through results of ballots. In sum, new participatory approach that incorporates strengths of the Consensus Conference and the Simplified Planning Cells into Local Environmental Planning is needed. Thus, the quality of consensus building could be improved.

The University of Houston’s Liaison Services Advisory Board: A case study in leadership development and succession planning

The University of Houston’s Liaison Services Advisory Board: A case study in leadership development and succession planning

Enhancing reliability of thermal power plant by implementing RCM policy and developing reliability prediction model: a case study

This paper presents the implementation of RCM policy in thermal power plant as a case study for strategic planning of maintenance schedules to resolve the problem of forced outages, long downtimes and poor reliability. Development of a model has also been done using ANN technique to predict the enhanced value of reliability. RCM has been proved to be beneficial in various industrial sectors but power generation sector lacks in exploring its use especially in the region where case study has been performed. RCM is a seven step criteria which has been grouped into three major structured steps—define, analyze and act. Justifying the define step, outage data acquisition has been done and Pareto analysis has been performed to prioritize the few vital components prone to failures. This is unique innovative aspect of this case study. Reliability evaluation and failure mode and effects analysis has been performed to validate the analysis step. Poor reliability of the units indicates urgent need of appropriate maintenance policy. As per the act step, structural decision logics have been designed for the components using RCM++ software. The benefit of application of RCM in terms of enhanced reliability has been shown by developing an ANN model. The verification of this model has been done using F-test, the results of which reveal that the differences in variance of actual and ANN outputs are not significant. The predicted values of reliability have shown vast improvement.

Operationalizing Giddens’s Recursive Model of Accountability

ABSTRACTThis article contributes to the accountability studies literature by reporting on an attempt to operationalize a recursive concept of accountability grounded in Anthony Giddens’s theory of structuration. The approach developed for this research focused on felt accountability—the subjective experience of being accountable—and on the role of ontological (in)security in shaping accountable actors’ conduct. Case studies of tsunami hazard-mitigation planning in three coastal counties in Oregon provide a preliminary empirical test of the analytic framework. Findings from analysis of documents and semi-structured interviews of local officials involved in mitigation planning confirm the viability of the approach and generate implications for continuing research and for policy and practice. Further development of the approach and framework has the potential to advance richly descriptive and explanatory empirical accountability research and to provide usable insights for the practice of accountability in public organizations.

Behaviour change towards active mobility influenced by policy interventions in East London.

INTRODUCTION In order to increase the levels of physical activity in urban population, it is essential to know how a behavioural change towards active mobility can be produced and what factors influence people in their choice to walk and cycle. There is evidence to support that changing the built environment has the potential to influence walking and cycling behaviour. METHODS / RESULTS A framework to assess the process of behaviour change towards active travel modes (walking and cycling) and understand its determinants has been designed and will be tested with preliminary results in a case-study area. A longitudinal survey with the goal of 2,000 participants in 7 European cities will provide the core data for the preliminary analysis (the survey will still be open until the end of 2016). The conceptual framework used for this assessment is based on the Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change, which describes five stages of change. The questionnaires feature specific questions for the stage of change diagnosis of the participants and other attitudinal and behavioural questions. This provides the opportunity to assess the potential impacts of policy interventions in the relatively short term before the population can actually act upon change. The framework includes spatial analysis, which will be presented for the case-study of the post-Olympic regeneration plans in East London. Different levels of intensity of exposure to built environment interventions will be defined in a unique dose-response model in regards to the distance, number and quality of interventions that every group will be exposed to. Conclusions Understanding the relative importance of the factors influencing mobility behaviour will help to determine the most promising policy avenues for the change towards walking and cycling. This on-going study puts together a unique mix of theories and methods in order to explore the bridges between behavioural change science and policy making.

Intuitionistic fuzzy multi-criteria decision making framework based on life cycle environmental, economic and social impacts: The case of U.S. wind energy

Intuitionistic Fuzzy Set theory can be used in conjunction with environmentally extended input–output based life cycle assessment (EE-IO-LCA) models to help decision makers to address the inherent vagueness and uncertainties in certain sustainable energy planning problems. In this regard, the EE-IO-LCA model can be combined with an intuitionistic fuzzy set theory for a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) application with a set of environmental and socio-economic indicators. To achieve this goal, this study proposes the use of the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution method to select the best wind energy alternative for a double layer MCDM problem, which requires expert judgments to simultaneously apply appropriate weighting to each life cycle phase and sustainability indicator to be considered. The novelty of this research is to propose a generic 9-step fuzzy MCDM method to solve sustainable energy decision-making problems using a combination of three different techniques: (1) an intuitionistic fuzzy entropy method to identify the individual importance of phases and criteria; (2) an IFWGA operator to establish a sub-decision matrix with the weights applied to all relevant attributes; and (3) an IFWAA operator to build a super-decision matrix with the weights applied to all of the life-cycle phases considered. This proposed method is then applied as a case study for sustainable energy planning, specifically for the selection of V80 and V90 onshore and offshore wind turbines to be installed in the United States. It is strongly believed that this methodology will provide a vital guidance for LCA practitioners in the future for selecting the best possible energy alternative under an uncertain decision-making scenario.

Building consensus for network power? Some reflections on strategic spatial planning in the North West region of England

This case study of collaborative regional spatial planning in the North West region of England seeks to understand if ‘network power’ provides a sufficient incentive for the politically stronger and institutionally established players (particularly local government) to adopt a more flexible approach to consensus building. An observed failure in this respect, due to the overwhelming strength of the parochial interests of local government under network governance, leads to a suggestion to incentivise greater collaboration and consensus building at the strategic level through what has been termed ‘meta-governed citizen power’.

Marine Spatial Planning advancing the Ecosystem-Based Approach to coastal zone management: A review

Planning a sustainable future for coastal populations requires the effective implementation of ecosystem management frameworks that explicitly incorporate human activities. A coupled framework of the Ecosystem-Based Approach with Marine Spatial Planning has been discussed and promoted by coastal managers for more than a decade. The proposed framework supports a balanced approach between development needs and the natural environment. This paper presents a qualitative review of Marine Spatial Planning case studies to gain insights into methodological approaches that account for human systems as components of the coastal environment. A total of twelve Marine Spatial Planning case studies were evaluated. Their use and integration of the Ecosystem-Based framework was assessed through a linguistic scale linked to a score of fuzzy numbers. Two management issues of interest were highlighted: how social, economic and environmental values were integrated into the spatial planning analysis; and how cross-realm connectivity was addressed by planning teams. Although the majority of case studies claimed to use the Ecosystem-Based Approach as the guiding framework, mixed results were observed. Relevant features of the Ecosystem-Based Approach were rarely included; such as the standardization of pressures from human activities, the integration of frameworks to assess ecosystem services and the implementation of Precautionary and Adaptive Management approaches. Important knowledge gaps were observed with regards to the assessment of social values, including the lack of spatial representation of ‘social connections’ to the marine environment and the lack of economic estimates of non-market values. Terrestrial and catchment units were not included in the majority of case studies; however, water quality management was used as a key element for the consideration of transboundary impacts. This comparative study reveals major differences in how coastal managers understand and integrate Ecosystem-Based Approaches with Marine Spatial Planning.

Building local capacity in the arts

ABSTRACTThe importance of place-based funding and local policy initiatives is evident in policy literature internationally with concepts of creative cities and cultural regeneration building in prominence since the 1990s. Such literature makes the case that investment in arts and culture will bring broader social and economic benefits at a local level, but in practice investment and research has prioritised a small number of metropolitan arts venues and mega events over a larger rural or community-based infrastructure. This paper in contrast explores two case studies of cultural planning in small towns. It analyses the relationship between policy and practice in these specific community contexts and considers the role of participatory decision-making in developing a local arts infrastructure. The findings suggest that locally based initiatives can build capacity and engagement with the arts. But it further argues that this requires long-term commitment and investment, to facilitate shared decision-making between professionals and public.

공간구문론을 이용한 Frank Lloyd Wright 주택작품의 공간 구성 분석 연구 - 유소니안 주택 작품들의 평면도를 중심으로 -

The aim of this study is to analyze the organization of ithe internal space of Usonian houses that were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright between the 1930s and the 1950s. The Space Syntax Program was used to analyze spatial structure of these Usonian houses. The research range has been done on 9 case studies of Usonian house floor plans, which were designed from the 1930s to the 1950s. The shape of unit floor plans of Usonian house are usually in various L types, - types and transformed types etc.. The research results are as follows : 1) The service space(Kitchen etc.)is located at the center of house and it plays a role in separating the private space(bedroom etc.) and public space(living room etc.). 2) All of the bedrooms of Usonian houses have common characteristic : they are connected by a galley(corridor). 3) The organization of the inside space of most of these houses showed a tendency segregation space. 4) The galley inside space of Usonian house is the most integrated space in the house 5) The living room of the 1930s houses was analyzed as segregation space but it of 1940s and 1950s houses was analyzed as integration space 6) Although bedrooms are connected by galley, which is the highest integrated space of the inside space, this space is analyzed as a segregated space.

Coastal Restoration as Contested Terrain: Climate Change and the Political Economy of Risk Reduction in Louisiana

Although many studies have examined the effects of structural factors and institutional interests on risk estimation practices, little is known about the political dynamics surrounding divergent responses to risk reduction measures. This article examines the political economy of risk reduction, using a case study of Louisiana's coastal restoration planning and decision‐making process. Specifically, the article draws on documentary evidence, long‐term ethnographic field observations, and semistructured interviews to investigate the proliferation of risk conflicts and disputes surrounding the 2012 Louisiana Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast, the latest long‐term risk‐reduction plan to slow coastal erosion and achieve a sustainable coast. As I point out, coastal restoration in Louisiana is contested terrain where a variety of contentious groups struggle to influence and control debates over climate change risk and coastal erosion risk reduction. By examining the proliferation of contested risk definitions and risk reduction strategies in Louisiana, I aim to provide new insight into the organizational and institutional forces that shape positions on risk, the political‐economic forces that create and allocate risk, and the social construction of community identity and culture through risk debates.

Feasibility Study of Songao's Low Carbon Town Planning, China

For the past two decades, low-carbon planning has been one of the main energy planning topics of research at both city and district scales. The attention has for long been on energy consumption reduction by alternative means (such as renewable energies), smart grid systems and measures of CO2 emission reductions and climate change mitigation and adaptation. For developing countries like China, achieving these in a short period is a challenging task. For low carbon planning, there are measures of sustainability, mainly environmental, that can be considered at three scales of ‘target plan’, ‘masterplan’ and ‘construction phase (or implementation)’; some of which are purely focused on energy sector and achieving low-carbon built environments. In here, some of these are studied as part of a feasibility study of a small-scale low carbon town planning case study in Zhejiang Province, East China. This paper is based on a research case study and is divided in to three sections, case study introduction, case study analysis, results and discussions. The conclusions are made based on outcomes of the conducted feasibility study for the case of Songao's low carbon town planning. More importantly, this study highlights the importance of feasibility study for low carbon planning projects and also argues in favour of pre-assessment case of research prior to planning and implementation phase.

Planning and the making of a propertied landscape

Although property is a basic ingredient of planning, its repercussions on the profession have rarely been considered. Building on the critical analysis of property, I argue that planning is giving in to the “property effect,” the unquestioned assumption that natural and built landscapes are propertied. Looking specifically at one case-study of land-use planning in Tibneen (Lebanon), I show planning interventions replicate inequalities embedded in property relations, maintain the dominance of propertied representation of the landscape, and limit possible claims over natural and built landscapes to those formulated within the framework of the ownership model. Consequently, land-use planning determines the possible futures of particular towns and regions through the institutional structures of the property regimes in place and within the historically and geographically contingent political-economies where these regimes operate.

The nature of running: On embedded landscape ideals in leisure planning

This paper examines the importance of urban and peri-urban forests for development and planning for fitness running in Sweden in the 1960s–early 1980s. By doing so, it questions the conception of running as being independent of specific places and as an activity which does not interact with the landscape. The paper first describes the early development of fitness running in Sweden, which was facilitated by the establishment of illuminated tracks, locker rooms, parking spaces, etc., in forests and parks, investments which still affect where and how running is performed. The location of these facilities can be taken to reveal the importance of certain landscape ideals within planning, in particular the idea of the forest as the natural place to run. The case study of leisure planning in the city of Malmö (1960s–1980s) is then used to illustrate the materialization of the national forest ideal and the establishment of infrastructure for running. The paper concludes with a discussion on the forest ideal and argues the need to challenge an embedded division between nature and culture in future planning for recreational running.