Local Development Plans Research Articles

Evaluating the integration of transportation planning in municipal official plans

ABSTRACT Municipal official plans are useful for mainstreaming transportation objectives into local development planning and decision-making processes. Using a plan quality evaluation, this article assesses whether and how well transportation planning is integrated in municipal official plans of the 30 most populous municipalities in Canada. The results suggest this integration is weak, with a notable absence of rigorous data to inform transportation content in official plans, and poor monitoring and evaluation of transportation goals and policies. Furthermore, few plans provided details about how transportation-related policies would be implemented.

Urban Resilience and Residential Greenery—The Evidence from Poland

Social distancing and movement restrictions associated with COVID-19 have highlighted the role played by easily accessible greenery at one’s own residence, which is of key importance to people’s physical and psychological wellbeing. The main focus of this study is to provide insights into residential green areas in Wrocław, Poland in terms of knowledge, investment, trends and associated issues, as examined from the perspective of the potential to boost urban resilience. Sixty-six representative multi-family construction projects typical of Central European cities were analyzed. The study is divided into three stages: I—pre-construction (selection of locations), II—construction of a housing estate (clearance of vegetation, number of trees planted, use of pro-ecological solutions), and III—post-construction (monitoring of the condition of green areas by means of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and data from Sentinel-2 satellites). The results highlighted the insufficient use of pro-ecological solutions (green roofs, fountains or ponds) and shortage of woody plants in residential green areas. Their implementation should be included in any strategies for Wrocław’s transformation toward a sustainable post-pandemic city. Furthermore, the main findings of the study also revealed an imbalance between the amount of vegetation cleared vs. vegetation planted during construction and unequal access to high-quality greenery for local residents. Although some positive trends in spatial planning were observed compared to previous studies, two construction projects were implemented in floodplains. NDVI analyses indicate the poor condition of residential green areas; moreover, the change in NDVI for the period 2015–2020 attests to the poor standards of vegetation maintenance. The results of this study suggest that the potential of residential green areas for boosting urban resilience has not been fully utilized in Wrocław. It is highly recommended to implement monitoring of the condition of green areas by means of NDVI and to introduce detailed provisions on the shaping of green estate areas in the Local Development Plans to enhance Wrocław’s resilience. The main findings being presented expand the directions of methods of monitoring residential areas’ conditions in terms of applied landscape research and boosting urban resilience.

Decentralization and Pro-poor Participation in Ghana: Unmasking the Barriers to Inclusive Grassroots Development

Donors have strongly advocated decentralization on the grounds that it broadens the participation of citizens in development processes, thereby increasing government responsiveness to their needs. Although there have been studies seeking to establish the veracity of this claim, they remain weak on two fronts. One, while wealth differentials affect citizen participation, these studies approach citizens as a homogenous group. Two, participation is mostly viewed narrowly—participation in elections. Drawing on empirical data from Ghana’s decentralization reform, this paper addresses these gaps by questioning how pro-poor citizen participation in decentralized development planning has been. I argue that although Ghana’s decentralization was propagated on championing pro-poor grassroots participation in governance and development, in reality, participation is elitist and has failed to reflect the voices of the poor. My findings demonstrate that the participation structures and processes used in local development planning are unfavourable to the poor in many respects. Elite and representative participation is promoted to the detriment of broad citizen participation. This exclusion is resulting in surging apathy of citizens towards the district assemblies—institutions hitherto trusted as their development champions. This paper concludes that the poor will remain voiceless despite decentralization unless the structural barriers to their participation are tackled in decentralization design and praxis.

Community perceptions on tourism development in South Africa: The case of developing a tourism route in the City of Mbombela Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

Tourism is used as a community development tool. It has been incorporated into national development plans. In South Africa, it is incorporated into local economic development (LED) plans. The LED strategy for the City of Mbombela Local Municipality includes the development of a tourism route in the former Umjindi Local Municipality. Through the application of the descriptive research design, we use the Likert scale to investigate perceptions of the community around the area where the tourism route is proposed. A sampling frame was developed by listing all the 224 households who live in the section of the road covered by the tourism route. From the 224 households in the sampling frame, a simple random sample of 89 households was drawn using the SPSS random number generator. A structured questionnaire was used to solicit the perceptions of respondents concerning the economic, socio-cultural, environmental and infrastructural attributes of the tourism route. Although they need to be interpreted directionally, most of the economic, socio-cultural and environmental attributes were significant. Of the infrastructure attributes electricity and water supply were significant. Generally, respondents had positive perceptions of the tourism route. Therefore, we strongly recommend the development of the tourism route with the caveat that sustainability issues need to be paid attention to.

The form-based development plan: bridging the gap between theory and practice in urban morphology

The format of local development plans and site-specific guidance tends to be based on land-use allocations rather than physical form. This approach has serious limitations, especially when dealing with urban design issues. A solution is available in a format that takes the outline of physical form as its starting point with land use as a subsidiary consideration. This approach can be incorporated into spatial planning policy. Furthermore, urban design principles imply perimeter block structures whose approximate sizes are largely predetermined and can be incorporated in site-specific guidance. This paper draws attention to innovation in planning practice in Britain and a particular example is described in detail. Local spatial policy for the town of Chelmsford made physical implications explicit. Planning briefs identifying both the perimeter block form and the location and character of the urban spaces were successful in improving the standard of design of new development.

Ageing, therefore marginal: demographic trends and institutional capacity in marginal Chilean municipalities

In Global South countries, ageing is an incoming phenomenon with socio-spatial implications that are not much explored yet. Global North countries are already facing ageing trends with significant territorial consequences, such as declining populations that contribute to making certain areas marginal. However, different factors may determine the marginality of a municipality or a region in other settings. Drawing on these premises, the paper discusses whether ageing demographic trends contribute to territorial marginality also in a Global South setting. The paper focuses on the case of Chile, a country characterised by significant territorial inequalities and a population that is becoming older. In doing so, it has a twofold purpose: first, examine census data to define what areas are currently experiencing a demographic decline and if these correspond to the areas that national policies define as marginal; second, examine official documents to consider to what extent both national policies and local development plans define ageing as an element of marginality. The decline of population in Chile defines a geography of marginality that complements and expands the one defined in policy strategies, including more areas. In contrast, institutions at different levels are only partially prepared for dealing with the socio-spatial implications of an increasingly older population.

Exploring urban growth–climate change–flood risk nexus in fast growing cities

This study looks at the nexus between urban growth, climate change, and flood risk in Doha, Qatar, a hot-spot, climate change region that has experienced unprecedented urban growth during the last four decades. To this end, this study overviews the main stages of Doha’s urban growth and influencing climatic factors during this period. A physically-based hydrological model was then built to simulate surface runoff and quantify flood risk. Finally, the Pearson correlation was used to verify the potential nexus between flood risk, climate change, and urban growth. Surveying showed that, between 1984 and 2020, urban areas grew by 777%, and bare lands decreased by 54.7%. In addition, Doha witnessed various climatic changes with a notable increase in air temperature (+ 8.7%), a decrease in surface wind speed (− 19.5%), and a decrease in potential evapotranspiration losses (− 33.5%). Growth in urban areas and the perturbation of climatic parameters caused runoff to increase by 422%, suggesting that urban growth contributed more than climatic parameters. Pearson correlation coefficient between flood risk and urban growth was strong (0.83) and significant at p < 0.05. Flood risk has a strong significant positive (negative) correlation with air temperature (wind speed) and a moderate positive (negative) correlation with precipitation (potential evapotranspiration). These results pave the way to integrate flood risk reduction measures in local urban development and climate change adaptation plans.

URBAN DECLINE AND CHALLENGES OF REVITALIZATION PROJECT: A STUDY OF MARTIN QUARTERS KARACHI

With the emergence of the housing problems in Karachi, new housing schemes are being launched on the city’s outskirts. Instead of launching new housing in the suburbs, this research aims to study one of the existing dilapidated areas within the city and considering redevelopment as an alternate to eviction. This research revolves around the qualitative approach that involved surveys of Martin Quarters, focused gathering discussions and on-site meetings with involved stakeholders. A total of 50 respondents were picked using the multistage random sample method. The analysis is based upon the perception of householders about the revitalization of the area and examining the actual planning of government quarters that aimed to house federal employees in Karachi in the first phase of development of Karachi in 1947-1957 and current planning techniques used by people guided by traditional ways of living. The paper finds that the land on which Martin Quarters are situated is an expensive land of State that is being wasted due to the low-density settlement and also occupied illegally by many residents. Furthermore, it is improperly planned and growing haphazardly due to the increase in the population of the city and is at risk of decay and chaos. The paper concludes that the revitalization of Martin Quarters by the government is only a solution to stop the decaying of this area and it will benefit the general masses by enhancing accommodation capacity. Keywords: Street Vendors, Local Economic Influencer, Business Safety for Vendors, Planning for Local Economic Development

The Cultural Ecosystem Services as an Element Supporting Manor Landscape Protection

Nowadays, agricultural landscapes of suburban zones may undergo rapid urbanization that destroys their identity. This phenomenon is particularly problematic for areas connected compositionally with historical residences. The aim of the research is to determine a framework for urban policies appropriate for cultural landscapes of agricultural origin associated with significant historic palace-garden complexes. As an example of such a landscape, the area around the historic Wilanów residence was chosen for study. The research focused on the degree of preservation of the agricultural surroundings of this historic site, the directions of contemporary urban policies towards it, and its potential to provide cultural ecosystem services to local residents and tourists. The research showed that the character of the landscape under study is changing—apart from cultivated fields, wastelands have appeared, indicating a gradual abandonment of agricultural use. The analysis of local spatial development plans confirmed that many fragments of the landscape are not sufficiently protected, which causes their degradation. The study of the potential of this area to provide cultural ecosystem services using statistical methods proved its many values: aesthetic, cultural, educational, spiritual, recreational, and touristic which predestine it to perform Urban Green Spaces and Informal Green Spaces functions. The research was compared to the findings of other authors, studying analogous landscapes. Based on our results, general guidelines were developed for further protection and maintaining function of cultural landscapes of agricultural origin associated with significant historic palace-garden complexes in similar situations to that of Wilanów.

Obowiązek jednoznacznego określenia przeznaczenia terenów w planie miejscowym w kontekście interpretacji pojęć nieostrych lub o szerokim zakresie znaczeniowym. Glosa do wyroku NSA z dnia 13 lutego 2020 r., II OSK 893/18

This commentary discusses the case of the assessment of the plan’s compliance with the study of land use conditions and directions of land development, the issue of interpretation of the concepts of the blurred definitions and general clauses, and in the context of all provisions, the essence of the local plan and its effects on the addressees of this act. Refraining from repeating the planning procedure to the extent necessary is a significant violation of the procedure for preparing the local plan and results in the annulment of all the provisions of the local plan relating to the areas designated in the plan for which the violation occurred. The obligation to specify the intended use of the land in the local spatial development plan means the necessity to specify the method of its future development and use through such expressions that clearly indicate what function a given area is to perform. This does not mean, however, that the same area cannot have different purposes in the plan, and thus it is unacceptable to establish different functions for one area. The condition for such a solution is to establish that these functions are not mutually exclusive and are not contradictory. The above argumentation indicates that it is unacceptable to use multi-significant terms in the text part of the plan that may lead to inconsistent results of their interpretation and pure arbitrariness of legal uses.

Voluntary gold certification programs: A viable mechanism for improving artisanal and small-scale mining in Peru?

Globally, artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) provides a livelihood for approximately 20 million people directly and millions more indirectly. Despite its economic contributions and job creation for rural communities, the sector continues to be overlooked in local, regional, and national sustainable development plans. Voluntary gold certification programs, created and administered by international NGOs, have emerged as one response to tackle the social and environmental issues associated with the ASGM sector. Although voluntary gold certifications are gaining more traction, their impacts remain unclear. Focusing on Peru, the country with the greatest number of certified artisanal and small-scale gold mining organizations (ASMOs), this paper examines the practical impacts when certification is achieved and identifies the shortcomings. Based on interviews with gold certification staff members and members of certified ASMOs, as well as site visits to certified mining operations, we demonstrate that gold certification programs are driving ASMOs to implement better environmental management and health and safety practices. Certified ASMOs are also benefitting from the economic incentives of selling gold internationally, and they are investing the premiums they receive from certifications into projects that benefit their workers and the mining town. Still, the reach of certification programs remains limited, with only a fraction of miners working for certified ASMOs. This article concludes that although gold certification programs have the potential to improve environmental protection and contribute to rural development, there are challenges that will have to be overcome for small-scale mining organizations to achieve and maintain certification status.

Public Policy of the Republic of Guinea

Under the UNFCCC, climate change is defined as climate change that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity, modifies global atmospheric composition, and adds to the natural variability of climate observed over comparable time periods. This definition is different from that of the IPCC, which says that climate change refers to any change in climate whether it is human or natural. Vulnerability is the degree to which a system is sensitive to the adverse effects of climate change, including climate variability and its extremes. It is a function of the nature, magnitude and rate of the climate change to which the system under consideration is exposed, the sensitivity of this system and its capacity for adaptation.Vulnerability is thus a function of physical and socio-economic characteristics. One of the characteristics of Guinea is the very marked contrast between the different natural regions in terms of socio-economic conditions, population density, rainfall and hydrological regimes, relief, soil distribution, and wildlife. Flora. The populations of these different zones are to varying degrees, exposed to poverty (53% of the population live below the poverty line), to variability and to climate change (droughts, floods, extreme temperatures, disruption of the rainfall regime, etc.).Guinea, as a party, is receiving support so that, like other least developed countries, lacking the capacity to address the proven vulnerability of its resources and socio-economic groups, it is preparing its NAPA. This work falls within this framework and aims to outline urgent and immediate adaptation measures, any delay of which will cause increased vulnerability or increased cost. The document produced is the National Action Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change PANA. The document produced is structured as a foreword by His Excellency the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Environment, Waters and Forests, an introduction, five chapters, a conclusion, a list of bibliographical references and appendices.The first chapter provides the national context for NAPA: physical presentation, socio-economic aspects, and environmental constraints, institutional and legal framework.The second chapter deals with the NAPA framework. It outlines the climatic risks identified during the regional public consultation workshops, describes their consequences on means and modes of existence, and indicates their trend in the four natural regions. It establishes the vulnerability of socio-economic groups presents the predictable trends of each climate risk and ranks them in order of sensitivity. It shows the integration of NAPA into sectoral development policies and synergy with other multilateral environmental agreements. Finally, this chapter briefly presents the purpose, objectives and constraints of the implementation of the NAPA.The third chapter deals with basic needs for adaptation. Several options have been proposed by natural region. The in-depth analysis of these has allowed them to be grouped into thirteen adaptation options that have been weighted, prioritized and ranked according to six criteria including adaptability, coherence with local development plans, synergy with multilateral environmental agreements. . Keywords: Public Policy, Republic of Guinea DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/12-11-03 Publication date: June 30 th 2022

Adopting Open Government in Local Development Planning: A Study on Bekasi Regency

This paper aims to assess the adoption of open government principles in local government development planning. The study used constructivist research design which emphasizes using theory as guidance for analyzing the problems. Interview and document study techniques were used to collect data, while NVIVO version 12 plus was used in data processing and analysis. Research results showed that there has been a decline in community participation in development planning due to the perception that there are stark differences between contents of programs during the planning and implementation phases. Transparency in development planning is implemented in all programs at the subdistrict level, while at the district prioritized programs are deliberated in closely sessions that involve local government executives and the local legislature. As regards collaboration in development planning, results showed that pursuing and projecting own respective interests rather those of the public. Increasing open government principles in the development planning process requires intensive and regular communication and coordination among stakeholders, which makes ICT a key ingredient that should be form an integral part of the design and deployment process. This research recommends further research related to open government that should delve deeper into participation and transparency concepts as components of open government principles.

Robust Extraction of Soil Characteristics Using Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS

This research utilized various methods for extracting soil characteristics from Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS imagery in the Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam. In this study, the Object-Based Oriented Classification (OBOC) method was used to extract information about land cover (focusing on rock outcrops) on the basis of the TGSI, NDVI, and NDBI indicators. The soil moisture information was determined by examining the correlation between the Land Surface Temperature (LST) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The findings indicated that 40 locations in the study area were covered with rock outcrops, with a Kappa index of 85.10%. In addition, soil moisture varied markedly from the sandy coastal regions, urban areas, and hilly and mountainous areas on the study area’s surface. The extracted soil information can serve as a foundation for local socio-economic development planning.

Energy Supply System Modeling Tools Integrating Sustainable Livelihoods Approach—Contribution to Sustainable Development in Remote Communities: A Review

The fulfillment of the sustainable development goals of the United Nations (UN) in remote communities undoubtedly goes through the consequent development of the energy supply system (ESS). Structuring a procedure for modeling the ESS, according to development requirements, is vital for decision making. This publication reviews the main methods for designing local development programs that apply a sustainable livelihoods approach and a group of modeling tools for ESS. The necessary criteria are verified to structure a model that integrates the expectations of sustainable development, through the indicators of sustainable livelihoods (SLs), with the requirements of the ESS and the use of available renewable energy resources. In the review carried out, it is found that the methods of analysis and planning of sustainable local development are disconnected from the models for energy planning. On the other hand, the relationship of the indicators for calculating SLs with the characteristics and behavior of energy demand with respect to time is verified. The main criteria, parameters, and optimization methods necessary for the design and expansion of ESS in hard-to-reach areas are also discussed. Lastly, the necessary elements are proposed to be validated through a future study case for the dimensioning and expansion of ESS in hard-to-reach communities, integrating the analysis of development programs based on SLs.

Location of photovoltaic farms in the absence of a local spatial development plan

Depletion of fossil fuel resources is no longer just a pessimistic vision of the future. The economy’s demand for electricity continues to grow steadily and, given the dwindling resources of traditional energy sources, makes humanity look for alternative solutions. Harvesting energy from renewable sources is becoming commonplace, solar energy being one of them. The development of technology provides more and more new technical solutions, and photovoltaic installations in the form of farms are gaining popularity in Poland. The quantity of electricity generated from them depends on many factors, i.e. not only the efficiency of the cells as such, but also the size of the area covered. In the light of the existing regulations, projects based on the development of photovoltaic systems with an area of not less than 1 hectare are classified as projects that may potentially have a significant impact on the environment, which entails the need to conduct an environmental impact assessment procedure and then obtain a building permit by the investor. The possibility of obtaining a building permit for a photovoltaic farm installation depends on obtaining a decision on land development and management conditions or a decision on the location of public purpose investment. At this stage, administrative bodies are faced with the need to decide how the required arrangements are to be made between administrative bodies. Legislative acts in force in Poland do not seem to regulate this issue in a sufficiently clear manner. This study analyses the above issue from the point of view of the existing provisions of the Spatial Planning and Development Act.

Socioeconomic effects of a bottom-up multifunctional land consolidation project

Taking agricultural land out of production or shifting from crop production to permanent grassland have recently been proposed in Denmark as general measures for contributing to greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. One of the particular features of such measures is the creation of co-benefits, as taking agricultural land out of intensive production may affect a range of ecosystem services and economic goods, such as reduced nutrient loads and emissions of GHGs, improved biodiversity, and improved recreational opportunities. In this paper, we present results from an ex ante socioeconomic Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) with the purpose of assessing whether the expected benefits of a bottom-up local development plan for multifunctional land use in the catchment of Lake Glenstrup in Denmark will outweigh the expected costs. After quantifying the wide range of impacts, we apply benefit transfer to value them within the CBA framework. Among the primary effects are reduced emission of GHGs, reduced leaching of nutrients, increased recreational options, and opportunity costs from agriculture. The results indicate that the initiatives could lead to a net social gain of 1.4 mil. €. We perform a sensitivity analysis which shows that the choice of the spatial extent of the recreational effects has a large impact on the results, which range from 0.4 to 5.2 mil. €. Also, the shadow price of reduced GHG emissions play a major role. Finally, a distribution analysis shows that especially farmers bear the majority of costs, whereas other stakeholders enjoy most of the benefits.

Building and Biologically Active area Indices in Developers’ Investments – Theory and Practice

Abstract Development activity in Poland is regulated by many legal provisions, but one of the most important acts for the implementation of developers’ projects is the Act of March 27, 2003 on spatial planning and development. The Act includes, among others, procedures for the preparation and scope of local spatial development plans. One of the parameters significant from the point of view of housing development which these plans define is the minimum and maximum intensity of development and the percentage of biologically active space that should be preserved on a property covered by the investment project. The article adopts two research goals. Firstly, it is an attempt to verify, using examples of selected developers, whether they, as profit-oriented entities, decide to develop the property as much as possible or to keep more undeveloped space, which is a more desirable phenomenon from the environmental point of view. Secondly, an attempt will be made to determine how developers in Poland create a biologically active surface in their projects. Based on desk research, it was found that, among the discussed cases, there is no evident tendency to maximize the permissible built-up areas and the created biologically active areas are sparse and not diversified.

Assessment of Awareness on Climate Change among Public and Private Universities of Lahore

As everything in this world evolves or changes, so does our climate. Scientists have now proved that climate change is happening at a much faster rate than before. Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable continents to climate change impacts. Pakistan is considered as 7th most vulnerable country to climate change. Recently in Lahore, many major events occurred due to climate change like the occurrence of smog. The present study was conducted in 4 different tertiary institutions of Lahore, Pakistan. A descriptive survey design was specially employed for this study which used a stratified random sampling method for selecting the students. Moreover, a structured questionnaire titled climate change awareness was developed for collecting data from the students based on their level of awareness. According to this survey, 49.1% of the students know about the policies government is making regarding climate change. 62.5% of the respondents agreed that they have the necessary information to prepare for the impacts of climate change. The result of the findings showed a moderate level of awareness about climate change among the students. Awareness of climate change is an important ingredient for the successful implementation of climate change policy in the country. By improving the climate services and raising awareness about climate change and once it starts to grow it can be integrated into local, national, and sectoral development plans.

Budowa domów rekreacji indywidualnej a zasada zrównoważonego rozwoju

Construction of individual recreation houses and the principle of sustainable development The article analyzes the issue of conditions for the construction of individual recreation houses and their influence on the realization of the principle of sustainable development. While the construction works may be carried out through a pre-construction notification of works, which is a faster and more informal procedure, the location of individual recreation houses is regulated by general conditions. This means that such development must comply with the local zoning plan. In the absence of such a plan, the location takes place on the basis of a decision on land development conditions. The implementation of the principle of sustainable development and the requirements of environmental protection is performed under the local spatial development plan. In reference to the decision on the conditions of development, the realization of this principle occurs to a much lesser extent.