Participatory Planning Tools Research Articles

A web-based software tool for participatory optimization of conservation practices in watersheds

WRESTORE (Watershed Restoration Using Spatio-Temporal Optimization of Resources) is a web-based, participatory planning tool that can be used to engage with watershed stakeholder communities, and involve them in using science-based, human-guided, interactive simulation–optimization methods for designing potential conservation practices on their landscape. The underlying optimization algorithms, process simulation models, and interfaces allow users to not only spatially optimize the locations and types of new conservation practices based on quantifiable goals estimated by the dynamic simulation models, but also to include their personal subjective and/or unquantifiable criteria in the location and design of these practices. In this paper, we describe the software, interfaces, and architecture of WRESTORE, provide scenarios for implementing the WRESTORE tool in a watershed community's planning process, and discuss considerations for future developments.

The Importance of Creative Participatory Planning in the Public Place-Making Process

The idea of ‘place’ has long been central to the planning and design practice. Recent trends illustrate increased intervention in the ‘experience’ and ‘feeling’ of places, in order to influence and enhance community dynamics. While place-making is an important tool for experts to utilize in community planning, it should be accompanied by a thorough understanding of the contemporary social dynamics of place and the implications it has for the people who inhabit these places. In this sense, participatory planning forms an integral part of future place-making processes and planning thereof. In this paper, the first aim is to capture the importance of incorporating public perspective into the place-making process when considering future urban planning. The second is to stress the importance of the creative participatory processes to attract stakeholders and enhance their willingness to partake in the participatory planning processes. The third aim is to identify creative participatory planning tools that can be used to enhance participatory planning within the place-making process.

The city model as a tool for participatory urban planning – a case study: The Bilotti open air museum of Cosenza

Abstract. The paper describes the implementation of the 3D city model of the pedestrian area of Cosenza, which in recent years has become the Bilotti Open Air Museum (MAB). For this purpose were used both the data available (regional technical map, city maps, orthophotos) and acquired through several surveys of buildings and "Corso Mazzini" street (photos, topographic measurements, laser scanner point clouds). In addition to the urban scale model, the survey of the statues of the MAB was carried out. By means of data processing, the models of the same statues have been created, that can be used as objects within the city model. The 3D model of the MAB open air museum has been used to implement a Web-GIS allowing the citizen's participation, understanding and suggestions. The 3D city model is intended as a new tool for urban planning, therefore it has been used both for representing the current situation of the MAB and for design purposes, by acknowledging suggestions regarding a possible different location of the statues and a new way to enjoy the museum.

ICT enabled participatory urban planning and policy development

Purpose– The aim of this paper is to present the effectiveness of participatory information and communication technology (ICT) tools for urban planning, in particular, supporting bottom-up decision-making in urban management and governance.Design/methodology/approach– This work begins with a presentation on the state of the art literature on the existing participatory approaches and their contribution to urban planning and the policymaking process. Furthermore, a case study, namely, the UrbanAPI project, is selected to identify new visualisation and simulation tools applied at different urban scales. These tools are applied in four different European cities – Vienna, Bologna, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Ruse – with the objective to identify the data needs for application development, commonalities in requirements of such participatory tools and their expected impact in policy and decision-making processes.Findings– The case study presents three planning applications: three-dimensional Virtual Reality at neighbourhood scale, Public Motion Explorer at city-wide scale and Urban Growth Simulation at city-region scale. UrbanAPI applications indicate both active and passive participation secured by applying these tools at different urban scales and hence facilitate evidence-based urban planning decision-making. Structured engagement with the city administrations indicates commonalities in user needs and application requirements creating the potential for the development of generic features in these ICT tools which can be applied to many other cities throughout Europe.Originality/value– This paper presents new ICT-enabled participatory urban planning tools at different urban scales to support collaborative decision-making and urban policy development. Various technologies are used for the development of these IT tools and applied to the real environment of four European cities.

Development of methods and practices of virtual reality as a tool for participatory urban planning: a case study of Vilnius City as an example for improving environmental, social and energy sustainability

BackgroundMultiple channels of sustainable urban development could be managed in the process of an inter-disciplinary cooperation and creative involvement of all stakeholders. The paper aims to verify how the specific methods of virtual reality simulation could be used as an effective tool for setting an efficient participation platform between the stakeholders to improve environmental, social and energy sustainability of urban development in modern cities. The paper is based on the case study of Vilnius City.MethodsThe article shows how innovative tools could facilitate better cooperation based on more balanced approaches in participatory urban planning by chronological review of traditional public involvement practices and structured analysis of emerging public participation techniques. As each discipline involved in sustainable urban development covers specific socio-economic, environmental, economic and creative competence fields, it is essential to develop a comprehensive tool for public participation that is well accessible, reliable and efficient.ResultsThe provided analysis of research theories and practical applications of public involvement through virtual simulation in the case of Vilnius City shows that virtual reality and spatial modelling integrated on gaming platforms under the conditions of widespread information and communications technology (ICT) applications could be developed and used as an innovative, involving and efficient tool for facilitating wider and more effective public involvement in the planning and design of urban environment and so increase social and environmental sustainability of urban development process. The application of this method for planning public spaces leads to more efficient use of environmental resources also reducing the need for primary energy and using it more rationally.ConclusionsThe analysis of using virtual urban simulation (VUS) method for representing, analysing, referring and improving urban design projects reveals that virtual applications can make public participation more accessible for citizens of the community and improve reliability of its results thus having direct impact on the planning process and its outcomes in terms of more sustainable impact on environmental and economic development of urban community.

Assessment of Water Supply, Sanitation and Drainage Facilities of South Begunbari Slum, Dhaka, Bangladesh Through Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) Method and Proposing Upgrading Schemes

This paper presents techniques of assessing the present state of water supply situation, sanitation condition and drainage system of an area by using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) method. South Begunbari Slum, Dhaka has been selected as the study area for this study. Several participatory planning tools have been adopted in course of the study for determining the present scenario of the previously mentioned utility facilities in the selected study area. Finally some recommendations have been specified to develop the overall condition. Local people’s participation has been ensured to the maximum limit during the study. Bottom-up approach of planning through PRA method has been demonstrated here. Existing scenario, local peoples vision and assessment of the prescribed needs with regards to the country standard has been also performed.

Mapping Local Solutions to Entrenched Transport Problems: Key Lessons Regarding the Use of Geographical Information Technologies in Community Mapping with Disadvantaged Communities

AbstractThere is an increasing interest in the use of information technology as a participatory planning tool, particularly the use of geographical information technologies to support collaborative activities such as community mapping. However, despite their promise, the introduction of such technologies does not necessarily promote better participation nor improve collaboration. In part this can be attributed to a tendency for planners to focus on the technical considerations associated with these technologies at the expense of broader participation considerations.In this paper we draw on the experiences of a community mapping project with disadvantaged communities in suburban Australia to highlight the importance of selecting tools and techniques which support and enhance participatory planning. This community mapping project, designed to identify and document community‐generated transport issues and solutions, had originally intended to use cadastral maps extracted from the government's digital cadastral database as the foundation for its community mapping approach. It was quickly discovered that the local residents found the cadastral maps confusing as the maps lacked sufficient detail to orient them to their suburb (the study area). In response to these concerns and consistent with the project's participatory framework, a conceptual base map based on resident's views of landmarks of local importance was developed to support the community mapping process. Based on this community mapping experience we outline four key lessons learned regarding the process of community mapping and the place of geographical information technologies within this process.

Principles and guidelines for good practice in Indigenous engagement in water planning

Summary Indigenous rights, values and interests relating to water have been identified by Australia’s National Water Commission as a national priority area, requiring greater understanding, research attention and government action. Yet Indigenous water values are rarely addressed in water planning, despite objectives in national policy requiring Indigenous participation and the identification of Indigenous social, spiritual and customary values in water plans. Water planners are presently equipped with a very limited number of engagement tools tailored to the water resource management context to redress the historical neglect of Indigenous interests. In an Australian research project focused on water planning, seven participatory planning tools were employed in three Australian case studies with different social and hydrological characteristics to improve the way in which Indigenous values are elicited and incorporated and to enhance the status of Indigenous knowledge in water planning. The results from the two Murray Darling Basin (MDB) case studies reveal the many ways in which Indigenous values have been adversely affected by recent water resource developments and concomitant water scarcity. In the third case on the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory, where land title to the entire water planning area is vested in Indigenous traditional owners, methods were refined to ensure engagement and generate capacity to manage the development of a solely Indigenous-owned, first-generation Water Management Strategy, in collaboration with a range of stakeholders. This paper describes the needs and aspirations of Indigenous people, the engagement strategies employed to elicit Indigenous knowledge, assess Indigenous values, and incorporate the results into three developing water plans. In addition, it outlines a set of general principles to guide water planning in other regions and thereby to improve Indigenous access to water.

Tool or Toy? Virtual Globes in Landscape Planning

Virtual globes, i.e., geobrowsers that integrate multi-scale and temporal data from various sources and are based on a globe metaphor, have developed into serious tools that practitioners and various stakeholders in landscape and community planning have started using. Although these tools originate from Geographic Information Systems (GIS), they have become a different, potentially interactive and public tool set, with their own specific limitations and new opportunities. Expectations regarding their utility as planning and community engagement tools are high, but are tempered by both technical limitations and ethical issues [1,2]. Two grassroots campaigns and a collaborative visioning process, the Kimberley Climate Adaptation Project case study (British Columbia), illustrate and broaden our understanding of the potential benefits and limitations associated with the use of virtual globes in participatory planning initiatives. Based on observations, questionnaires and in-depth interviews with stakeholders and community members using an interactive 3D model of regional climate change vulnerabilities, potential impacts, and possible adaptation and mitigation scenarios in Kimberley, the benefits and limitations of virtual globes as a tool for participatory landscape planning are discussed. The findings suggest that virtual globes can facilitate access to geospatial information, raise awareness, and provide a more representative virtual landscape than static visualizations. However, landscape is not equally representative at all scales, and not all types of users seem to benefit equally from the tool. The risks of misinterpretation can be managed by integrating the application and interpretation of virtual globes into face-to-face planning processes.

Capacity Building - A tool for Up-scaling Decentralised Sanitation Infrastructure Provision

India is home to almost one-third of the world's population that survive without adequate sanitation facilities. Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA) in collaboration with the Consortium for DEWATS Dissemination (CDD) Society, has developed for the last 10 years, integrated solution packages for the provision of basic urban sanitation facilities. The customised packages include all or part of key sanitation elements like: toilets, decentralised wastewater treatment systems (DEWATS), health and hygiene education, solid waste management, drainage system, stakeholder participation measures. Over the last decade, with the support of its network partners CDD Society has been successful in delivering around 400 sanitation systems in South Asia. Due to the rapid growth of its population, India may require 1.3 million sanitation systems alone in the coming years. One of the key issues in meeting this huge target is the lack of trained professionals and implementing agencies. To upscale the efforts in delivering basic needs services in the sanitation sector, the Basic Needs Services (BNS) Network has started the establishment of a capacity building institution for decentralised sanitation solutions called Centre for Advanced Sanitation Solutions (CASS). CASS aims at providing the entire range of knowledge and skills required for the implementation of integrated sanitation solutions such as technical know-how for designing toilets, decentralised wastewater treatment systems (DEWATS), drainage systems, solid waste management and drinking water source protection; social support measures include health and hygiene education, community-based participatory planning tools as well as project management related aspects. For town and city managers, CASS will offer planning support for city and town-wide sanitation programmes. Furthermore, sanitation related R&D activities, knowledge management and exhibition is offered under CASS's ‘One-Stop-Shop’ concept; all components of sanitation are provided under one roof. This paper presents the basic components of the capacity building strategy developed by CDD/BORDA focusing on target groups, development of knowledge units (training module) and the didactical approach.

Social landscape: Ten years of planning ‘valuable landscapes’ in Estonia

This paper gives an overview of theme planning on designating valuable landscapes in Estonia (1999–2003) and traces its impacts through the decade up to the present. We claim that in addition to the mapped list of valuable landscapes and their attributes as we have described them, this planning exercise called forth changes in society as well as in landscapes and their appreciation. As the project applied participatory planning tools unprecedented in post-communist Estonia, the Estonian word for landscape ( maastik) is now being used more in everyday language, according to the way its meaning altered in the process.

Participatory Planning and Community Development: An E-Learning Training Program

The main goal of this article is to provide guidelines for all community actors on the acquisition of participatory planning tools. There is a growing need for experts capable of participatory interventions to act as social catalysts to promote local well-being and empowerment. Thus, under an ecological approach, 21 young graduates from different fields (architecture, psychology, environmental planning), public administration officers and social organization managers, all residing in Southern Italy, were offered individual and group empowerment training modules through a multidisciplinary training experience with e-learning features. These consisted of 1,500 hours of didactic activities including online cooperative experiences and field interactions directed toward acquiring participatory planning and community mediation tools. Our experience indicates that it is possible to promote participation and acquire skills through online training. Online training has shown itself to be a useful and successful tool for promoting skills in the field of social planning.

Deciphering the Public Interest: Contingent Valuation as a Participatory Planning Tool

This paper considers the increased application of contingent valuation (CV) methodology as a tool for measuring collective preference. Such an approach could help decipher the public interest regarding large urban development projects and confront the challenges raised by the use of unclear public interest rhetoric in the context of contemporary boosterism. The CV methodology is compared to more traditional means of evaluating public preference (political processes and traditional public participation). The literature offers two approaches that apply CV methodology in a participatory planning context. A critique of each is provided, and a new alternative is proposed for enhancing participatory planning through the use of CV.

Can structured planning frameworks fulfill the needs of Cambodia’s rural poor?

Walking several kilometers every day to fetch clean drinking water is not a common experience to most policymakers. For many Cambodian women, however, this is a daily reality. This time-consuming activity places a high extra burden on these women's already heavy workload and often hampers their development as well as that of their families. The Cambodian government, supported by national and international organizations, has made efforts to alleviate the workload of these women by developing more water wells and creating a better maintenance of the existing ones. Cambodian government officials are usually not familiar with the situations in Cambodia's rural areas; therefore the decisions they make do not always meet the real needs of the Cambodian poor (Ramaekers, 2004). Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning (IRAP) is a participatory planning tool for rural development of which the main objective is to help draft plans that will improve access to Basic Minimum Needs (BMN) such as clean drinking water for the rural poor. The IRAP process endeavors to address three priority-setting questions related to rural accessibility, transport, and infrastructure: What should be done? Where should it be done? How should it be done? The planning procedure not only involves water supply as a sector. Roads, education, health centers, and markets are four other sectors included in the tool. The approach to the planning of infrastructure works can be considered as demand-driven,

Geographical visualization: A participatory planning support tool for imagining landscape futures

The geographical visualization of urban and regional landscapes is a powerful technique for engaging actors involved in decision-making processes. Tools developed can empower professional and citizen alike to make better-informed decisions. The paper reports on collaborative research being undertaken to develop and apply a range of 3D geographical visualization products to enhance both planning and scientific communication processes. In this paper we discuss some developments and applications of 3D geographical visualization tools and work being undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of such tools for solving spatial planning problems. The paper concludes by discussing the lessons learnt in undertaking a cross-disciplinary approach to developing and applying landscape visualization tools and offers some future research directions with respect to technical specifications and the usefulness of geographical visualization as a participatory planning support tool.

Geographical visualization: A participatory planning support tool for imagining landscape futures

The geographical visualization of urban and regional landscapes is a powerful technique for engaging actors involved in decision-making processes. Tools developed can empower professional and citizen alike to make better-informed decisions. The paper reports on collaborative research being undertaken to develop and apply a range of 3D geographical visualization products to enhance both planning and scientific communication processes. In this paper we discuss some developments and applications of 3D geographical visualization tools and work being undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of such tools for solving spatial planning problems. The paper concludes by discussing the lessons learnt in undertaking a cross-disciplinary approach to developing and applying landscape visualization tools and offers some future research directions with respect to technical specifications and the usefulness of geographical visualization as a participatory planning support tool.

Participatory rural energy planning in India — a policy context

The problems of fuel insufficiency, over exploitation of biomass resources and poor reliability and quality of energy services available to the rural masses of India continues despite numerous initiatives by the government. These initiatives have largely been in the form of national level rural and renewable energy programmes aimed at improving people's quality of life and reducing the existing pressure on the natural resource base. The programmes have met with limited success on account of several reasons. One of these is the absence of a mechanism for ensuring the genuine participation of the local inhabitants. With this weakness in mind, the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) and the University of Waterloo (UW) undertook a joint research project (1994–1997), aimed at developing participatory planning and intervention design methodologies and tools to facilitate public participation and feature a meaningful role for women in rural energy planning. This paper presents the policy implications and recommendations of the work.

Evaluation of the orphans reunification project in Eritrea

As a result of the 30-years war of liberation with Ethiopia, Eritrea has been faced with a ruined infrastructure, devastated economy and damaged social fabric. A large number of children were orphaned (up to 90,000) due to the war. Since 1994 The Orphan Reunification Project has assisted some 13,768 orphans and their extended families (6947) with economic assets to shore up their vulnerability. This article reports on some key findings of a major evaluation of the project, conducted jointly by the Government of the State of Eritrea, UNICEF and two international NGOs. The evaluation focuses on: (a) the impact of the main strategic intervention alternative of direct economic support to target families; (b) the psychosocial status or outcome of the reintegrated orphans; (c) the outcome of the projects capacity building component; and (d) the cost-effectiveness of the project.Findings from the evaluation suggest that direct economic support, particularly provision of livestock to farm households, has led to a further increase in assets. The evidence clearly shows that the status of assisted orphans compares favorably with that of non-orphans, thus indicating that the psychosocial integration between the host families and the orphans has been successful. Although orphan boys were indicated to be slightly better off, the gender differences were not dramatic. Substantial evidence also suggests that the project has built capacities of the relevant government ministry on a number of key areas—research skills and appreciation of the importance of solid operational research before social interventions, participatory planning, monitoring and management tools, community mobilization and advocacy for child protection. Finally, the reunification project is found to be significantly more cost-effective, psychosocially acceptable and sustainable than the alternative strategy of keeping the children in orphanages.