Regional Land Use Planning Research Articles

Modeling Global and Local Aspects of Spatial Structure Explicitly in Land-Use Optimization: The Case of Mek’ele City, Ethiopia

Urban spatial structure remains the center of quest and modeling. The decentralization concept is among the leading literature discourses that guide spatial analyses. In line with the decentralization discourse, the application of land-use optimization as a modeling method has grown significantly. Despite decentralization dominating the contemporary spatial analysis literature, no study so far explicitly declares an end to the centers (and subcenters). While centers (and subcenters) are alive, the land-use optimization has never taken this macro-morphological structure into consideration. This case study frames land-use optimization within the agglomeration and decentralization concepts based on the view that no single conceptual framework addresses spatial analysis sufficiently. On a theoretical level, the link is between coarse morphological assumption (basis of economic geography) and decentralization (basis of sustainable built environment). The paper blends these dual theories, one governing urban macro-morphological structures and the other governing decentralization literature. On a methodological modeling level, it blends centers and other discretized uses. Optimizing four objectives across the complete centralization through multiple centers of gravity to complete the decentralization of urban spatial structures applying Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II, the case study findings justify the importance of explicit modeling of the macro-morphological element. It has been observed that multicenter urban forms perform well above both the single center and the dispersed scenarios. It is, therefore, argued that an appropriate approach to land-use optimization is modeling both the macro-spatial element and fine spatial elements. The result further indicates that local land-use planning regulations place the structure of city in a suboptimal state.

Effects of urbanisation on ecosystem service values: A case study of Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Anthropogenic activities have significantly reshaped the environmental landscape and altered land composition, thereby negatively affecting the structures and functions of ecosystem. Paradoxically, complex conditions and procedures of ecosystem operations generate a range of goods and services on which humans rely upon to thrive. This study examines the land-use transition and ecosystem service value changes in Nha Trang, Vietnam in order to understand and quantify the impacts of urbanisation patterns on ecosystems. Changes in the value of ecosystem services were acquired based on modified value coefficients from previous studies and land-use/land-cover information derived from Landsat satellite imagery in the years 1990, 2000, 2011, and 2020. The results show a significant decrease in ecosystem service value associated with the expansion and densification of urban areas over the past 30 years. Total annual value increased from 148.7 million USD in 1990–172.2 million USD in 2000 due to the success of forest rehabilitation efforts, followed by a decline to 149.3 million USD in 2020 because of the rapid development of urban agglomeration at the expense of cultivated land. Drawing from the outcomes, we suggest that the priority of regional land-use planning should be given to ecosystem-based approaches rather than inadequate urban expansion. Hence, guidelines to incorporate the ecosystem service concept into urban planning are proposed to promote climate-resilient city management and sustainable development.

Sustainable mobility transitions in suburbia – exploring (dis)connections between transport planning and daily mobility

ABSTRACT The development of low-carbon cities calls for a restructuring of their suburban hinterlands, and regional land-use and transport planning has become an instrument to achieve this. However, this restructuring has several social implications and is lived by people, who are expected to develop more sustainable practices. There are disconnections between planning practices and people’s everyday practices, of which the literature has provided little to explore and solve. This paper deals with this by studying how regional low-carbon transport strategies are implemented, translated, and lived in a suburban context, and discusses how disconnections between scales of mobility transitions might be bridged.

A land-use benefit evaluation system with case study verification.

In regional land-use planning, many different demands for often-limited land resources must be weighed against each other. Analysis of the benefits of different land-use types is of great significance in land-use design. However, a good evaluation methodology does not exist. To facilitate a comparative analysis of land-use benefits, this paper presents an evaluation system consisting of four steps: (1) Connotation dissection to determine the land-use benefits, (2) construction of a land-use benefit classification system to summarize a limited number of land-use benefit types by an inductive method, (3) land-use benefit valuation, which includes a biophysical model, direct and indirect market valuations, and The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity value conversion method, and (4) case analysis of the evaluation results according to local conditions. Empirical results from a case study of Mentougou District, Beijing, China, show that (i) the evaluation results of land-use benefit groups provides information on each land-use type and the spatial distribution of land-use benefits in Mentougou District, (ii) the topography of Mentougou District has an important influence on economic and ecological land-use benefits, and (iii) there is a synergistic effect of economic and social land-use benefits.

Vulnerability in a Populated Coastal Zone and Its Influence by Oil Wells in Santa Elena, Ecuador

The oil industry requires studies of the possible impacts and risks that exploration, exploitation, and industrialization can cause to the environment and communities. The main objective of this study was to assess the vulnerability caused by oil wells of the Salinas and La Libertad cantons in Ecuador by proposing a multi-criteria spatial analysis methodology that would aid in land-use planning and management. The proposed methodology relates the variables of distance, identification of gas emission from oil wells, permeability, and the state of oil wells (DIPS). The methodology consists of: (i) the diagnosis of oilfield wells; (ii) environmental considerations of productive wells, wells in temporary abandonment, and wells in permanent abandonment; (iii) the vulnerability assessment of both intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of the wells; and (iv) the development of a vulnerability map and recommendations for land management. The results showed 462 wells in the study area, of which 92% were shown to be located in urban areas. Of the total, 114 wells were considered to be productive wells, 89% of which are in urban areas. The vulnerability map identified the areas to be addressed, which coincided with coastal and urban areas associated with oil production. Our main recommendation is to elaborate land-use planning regulations and build safety infrastructure around the wells to guarantee their distance from houses, beaches, and tourism-development sites. The vulnerability map was shown to serve as an essential diagnostic for decision making in managing oil territories, especially in coastal areas.

Spatial and Temporal Evolution of Ecosystem Service Value in Shaanxi Province against the Backdrop of Grain for Green

The Grain for Green Project (GGP) has influenced Shaanxi Province’s land-use pattern, resulting in a shift in ecosystem service value (ESV). Exploring the spatial and temporal evolution of the pattern of land use and ESV in Shaanxi Province, before and after the project’s implementation, can give a theoretical foundation for regional land-use planning. For this study, we used the transfer matrix and the value equivalent approaches to investigate the influence of project implementation on the spatial distribution and evolution of patterns of land use and ESV in Shaanxi Province based on four periods of land-use data from 1990 to 2020. The results suggest the following: (1) Farmland, forestland, and grassland were the most common land-types in Shaanxi Province. Farmland, forestland, and grassland in Shaanxi Province were all altered dramatically over the research period due to the GGP. Farmland was turned mostly into forestland and grassland, and forestland and grassland areas progressively grew. (2) The ESVs in Shaanxi Province were USD 3802.82, 3814.90, 3836.20, and 3806.50 billion in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020, respectively. The most value was supplied by hydrological management, while water resources provided the lowest value. Forestland and grassland were the most valuable land-types in high-value locations, whereas built-up land was the most valuable land-type in low-value areas. (3) While the GGP has increased the ESV of forestland and grassland, it has harmed the acreage of other land-types, resulting in a decline in the total ESV in Shaanxi Province.

Towards an Integrated Approach to Urban Decarbonisation in Practice: The Case of Vitoria-Gasteiz

How can local authorities effectively approach the decarbonisation of urban environments? Recent efforts to redirect cities into a less energy-intensive model have been mostly approached from a sectoral perspective, with specific energy policies and plans being issued without deeply considering their ties with other urban aspects. In this sense, well-established urban planning procedures have not been part of those, with the consequence of barriers in the implementation phase of those energy plans. The Cities4ZERO methodology was developed to guide effective integration between urban planning and energy policies, plans, and practices. It provides a holistic approach to strategic municipal processes for urban decarbonisation in the mid-long term, which includes key local stakeholders’ engagement into integrated energy planning processes, as well as tools for effective energy decarbonisation modelling. This paper analyses the application of the Cities4ZERO decarbonisation methodology on its strategic stage in the development of Vitoria-Gasteiz’s Action Plan for an Integrated Energy Transition 2030 (APIET 2030). It suggests that in order to accelerate urban decarbonisation, it is critical to: (a) foster interdepartmental collaboration; (b) allow for flexibility on the land-use planning regulations; (c) back decisions with detailed urban-energy models; and (d) truly engage key local stakeholders in the planning and implementation processes.

Transferability of 34 red-listed peatland plant species models across boreal vegetation zone

Red-listed species are negatively affected by habitat degradation and fragmentation. They usually have small populations and may be affected by local extinctions which makes species distribution modeling (SDM) challenging. Although SDM has been used extensively for biodiversity protection and regional land-use planning, the transferability of SDM between regions is still at the developmental level. We show a first attempt to demonstrate model transferability for red-listed plant species over boreal regions. We modeled the distribution of 34 red-listed boreal peatland plant species at national and regional levels, using multiple streams of environmental data in Finland. The objectives were: (1) to evaluate how environmental characteristics explaining species distribution differ between three regions covering five vegetation zones (subarctic, northern, middle, southern boreal, and hemi-boreal vegetation zones); (2) to assess the performance of one national and three regional species distribution models (SDM: northern, middle, and southern regions); and (3) to test whether the regional models can be transferred to other regions and discuss alternative methods to improve transferability. The maximum entropy (maxent) algorithm was employed to predict suitable habitats for the assessed species. An SDM performance was measured with the area under the receiver operative characteristics (AUC), true skill statistics (TSS), and the continuous Boyce index (CBI). Three conclusions are relevant. First, the environmental variables explaining species distribution differed significantly (p < 0.05) between the three regions. Second, the internal measure of accuracy measured as cross-validation of AUC, TSS, and the CBI was quite similar in both the national and regional models, which indicates that realistic species distribution maps could be generated from all models. Last, the external measure of accuracy (i.e. transferability) in the regional models was lower than the internal measure of accuracy, which indicates that a good regional model could not automatically ensure good performance when transferred to another region. To improve the transferability of the regional models, we suggest the normalizing of environmental variable values. The data-driven evaluation of red-listed plant species provides an approach that can be used in biodiversity and nature conservation.

Practical Efficient Regional Land-Use Planning Using Constrained Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm Optimization

Practical efficient regional land-use planning requires planners to balance competing uses, regional policies, spatial compatibilities, and priorities across the social, economic, and ecological domains. Genetic algorithm optimization has progressed complex planning, but challenges remain in developing practical alternatives to random initialization, genetic mutations, and to pragmatically balance competing objectives. To meet these practical needs, we developed a Land use Intensity-restricted Multi-objective Spatial Optimization (LIr-MSO) model with more realistic patch size initialization, novel mutation, elite strategies, and objectives balanced via nominalizations and weightings. We tested the model for Dapeng, China where experiments compared comprehensive fitness (across conversion cost, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), ecosystem services value, compactness, and conflict degree) with three contrast experiments, in which changes were separately made in the initialization and mutation. The comprehensive model gave superior fitness compared to the contrast experiments. Iterations progressed rapidly to near-optimality, but final convergence involved much slower parent–offspring mutations. Tradeoffs between conversion cost and compactness were strongest, and conflict degree improved in part as an emergent property of the spatial social connectedness built into our algorithm. Observations of rapid iteration to near-optimality with our model can facilitate interactive simulations, not possible with current models, involving land-use planners and regional managers.

Assessing bank erosion hazards along large rivers in the Anthropocene: a geospatial framework from the St. Lawrence fluvial system

Over the past decades, riparian land-use changes coupled to the multiplication of river infrastructures have enhanced vulnerability issues for societies and ecosystems located along large rivers. Exposure to geohazards is also changing due to the ongoing climate change, underlining the need for flexible management strategies for riparian environments. In this perspective, GIS-based mapping allows integrating a wide range of environmental data. However, such datasets are often incomplete and not homogeneous over large geographical scales, which can be problematic for the implementation of regional land-use planning strategies. Using the St. Lawrence fluvial system (SLFS) (Québec, Canada) as a case study, this article reports and describes a high-resolution approach to map position, characteristics and erosion susceptibility of natural and artificial riverbanks from a combination of field-based, remote sensing and local knowledge-derived data. This approach allowed identifying erosion-prone sites and highlighting dominant erosion processes and spatially constrain them along the SLFS. The proposed geospatial framework constitutes (1) an initial portrait of the riverscape that will allow an effective implementation of future monitoring and process-based studies; and (2) a first step in supporting land-use planning stakeholders in the selection of appropriate measures to ensure a greater resilience of riparian communities and ecosystems.

Densification in suburban Germany: approaching policy and space through concepts of justice

In many countries, densification is a central goal of land policies to promote sustainable development. However, while these policies intervene in existing built-up structures and thus affect diverse and complex arrangements of property rights, it remains unclear how they are applied by actors. We argue that an explicit normative point of view is required to better understand this application. To this end, we measure densification in space and interpret the allocation through the lens of justice. Using an automated GIS approach, we analyse the suburban region of Frankfurt, which is covered by a regional land-use plan with ambitious densification goals.

Spatiotemporal patterns and drivers of ecosystem service supply and demand across the conterminous United States: A multiscale analysis

Land-use and land-cover changes associated with urbanization have significantly influenced biodiversity and ecosystem functions, as well as the supply and demand of ecosystem services (ESs). Assessing ESs and exploring their drivers are critical for regional land-use planning and ecological sustainability. In this study, the supply-demand matrix approach was used to quantify ES supply, demand, and their gap at multiple scales across the conterminous United States from 1940 to 2011. A new integrated measurement framework was proposed to offset ES deficits by identifying an optimal land-use conversion strategy. We focused on exploring the scale and spatial effects of the impacts of various drivers on ESs using ordination and regression analysis. The results showed that the expansion of developed land led to decreased ES supply and increased ES demand during the past seven decades, generating growing ES deficits at different scales, especially in highly urbanized metropolitan areas. To alleviate or offset ES deficits, promoting the intensive utilization of developed land and converting cropland, pasture, and barren land into forests would be the optimal land use strategies. Moreover, the drivers of ESs exhibited not only scale dependence but also spatial heterogeneity. The smaller the scale, the more diverse the drivers. The natural and socioeconomic drivers explained less variation at the metropolitan scale than at the state scale. Economic factors were key drivers for ESs at the state scale, while social factors were key drivers at the metropolitan scale. The regression coefficients for the drivers of ESs in the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model showed remarkable spatial heterogeneity. The GWR coefficients might have important implications for decision making in ES management. Localized and efficient land-use strategies and management policies are needed to reduce the ecological footprints of urban areas and thus achieve regional sustainability.

Land-use and transport planning – A field of complex cause-impact relationships. Thoughts on transport growth, greenhouse gas emissions and the built environment

The notion of integrated land-use and transport planning is linked to hopes that it may be possible to reverse the traffic-inducing effects of interactions between the built environment and transport, and to use planning interventions in land-use and transport provision to effectively contribute to the reduction of transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. However, the targeted design of mixed-use and compact structures on the local and regional level is superimposed by societal and spatial trends that make large-scale mobility politically desirable or necessary. Against this background, the aforementioned hopes appear clearly exaggerated. Written from a German, at times also a wider European perspective, this paper develops the following argument. Land-use and transport are indeed interrelated, but the historical transport growth we face is mainly driven by other societal factors, such as economic growth, the spatial division of labour, large-scale societal integration, and gender equity. In addition, the effects of land-use on transport are uncertain due to limited knowledge on cause-impact relationships. Even in cases where cause and impact can be established, the impact of planning is limited. We conclude that the scope of integrated land-use and transport planning on the local level should not be overestimated so as to avoid false hopes and corresponding failures. This type of planning can hardly be justified by arguments related to the prevention of carbon dioxide emissions, but is useful in pursuing other urban development goals, such as ensuring accessibility without the use of cars, providing a healthy and livable environment, and – to a lesser extent – shifting travel to other modes and, indeed, reducing it overall. Local and regional land-use and transport planning should be justified by realistic and achievable goals, while at the same time highlighting that it has little effect on the general increase in distances travelled and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Conversely, we conclude that the necessary reduction of emissions within the transport sector must be tackled by interventions on the national and supranational levels, rather than expecting or demanding success from largely ineffective, more local interventions and the actors involved with them.

Global prioritisation of renewable nitrogen for biodiversity conservation and food security

The continuing use of petrochemicals in mineral nitrogen (N) production may be affected by supply or cost issues and climate agreements. Without mineral N, a larger area of cropland is required to produce the same amount of food, impacting biodiversity. Alternative N sources include solar and wind to power the Haber-Bosch process, and the organic options such as green manures, marine algae and aquatic azolla. Solar power was the most land-efficient renewable source of N, with using a tenth as much land as wind energy, and at least 100th as much land as organic sources of N. In this paper, we developed a decision tree to locate these different sources of N at a global scale, or the first time taking into account their spatial footprint and the impact on terrestrial biodiversity while avoiding impact on albedo and cropland, based on global resource and impact datasets. This produced relatively few areas suitable for solar power in the western Americas, central southern Africa, eastern Asia and southern Australia, with areas most suited to wind at more extreme latitudes. Only about 2% of existing solar power stations are in very suitable locations. In regions such as coastal north Africa and central Asia where solar power is less accessible due to lack of farm income, green manures could be used, however, due to their very large spatial footprint only a small area of low productivity and low biodiversity was suitable for this option. Europe in particular faces challenges because it has access to a relatively small area which is suitable for solar or wind power. If we are to make informed decisions about the sourcing of alternative N supplies in the future, and our energy supply more generally, a decision-making mechanism is needed to take global considerations into account in regional land-use planning.

Identifying conservation priorities for threatened Eastern Himalayan mammals.

To augment mammal conservation in the Eastern Himalayan region, we assessed the resident 255 terrestrial mammal species and identified the 50 most threatened species based on conservation status, endemism, range size, and evolutionary distinctiveness. By using the spatial analysis package letsR and the complementarity core-area method in the conservation planning software Zonation, we assessed the current efficacy of their protection and identified priority conservation areas by comparing protected areas (PAs), land cover, and global ecoregion 2017 maps at a 100 × 100m spatial scale. The 50 species that were most threatened, geographically restricted, and evolutionarily distinct faced a greater extinction risk than globally nonthreatened and wide-ranging species and species with several close relatives. Small, medium-sized, and data-deficient species faced extinction from inadequate protection in PAs relative to wide-ranging charismatic species. There was a mismatch between current PA distribution and priority areas for conservation of the 50 most endangered species. To protect these species, the skewed regional PA distribution would require expansion. Where possible, new PAs and transboundary reserves in the 35 priority areas we identified should be established. There are adequate remaining natural areas in which to expand current Eastern Himalayan PAs. Consolidation and expansion of PAs in the EH requires strengthening national and regional transboundary collaboration, formulating comprehensive regional land-use plans, diversifying conservation funding, and enhancing information sharing through a consolidated regional database.

Crecimiento urbano y potenciales conflictos entre usos del suelo en el municipio de Luján (Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina). Modelado espacial 2016-2030

El impacto de la urbanizacion sobre el uso del suelo rural es una tematica de gran relevancia actual, principalmente cuando se analizan las regiones en la cuales este proceso influye en la actividad productiva primaria y en las condiciones naturales que brindan importantes servicios ambientales. En Argentina, la ecorregion Pampa Ondulada (Region pampeana) es una de las principales zona agroproductivas del mundo. En ella existe un notable crecimiento urbano a traves del Gran Buenos Aires y ciudades de tamano intermedio. El presente trabajo, mediante la utilizacion del analisis espacial cuantitativo con Sistemas de Informacion Geografica, modela hacia futuro (2016-2030) el crecimiento urbano en el Partido de Lujan y su impacto en las zonas de aptitud agroproductiva y de conservacion ambiental. Los resultados obtenidos pueden considerarse una herramienta de gran importancia para la toma de decisiones espaciales en la definicion de lineamientos en la planificacion regional de los usos del suelo.

Model of Numerical Spatial Classification for Sustainable Agriculture in Badung Regency and Denpasar City, Indonesia

Increasing number and activity of the population to meet the needs of their lives greatly affect the utilization of land resources. Land needs for activities of the population continue to grow, while the availability of land is limited. Therefore, there will be changes in land use. As a result, the problems faced by land degradation and conversion of agricultural land become non-agricultural. The objectives of this research are: (1) to determine parameter of spatial numerical classification of sustainable food agriculture in Badung Regency and Denpasar City (2) to know the projection of food balance in Badung Regency and Denpasar City in 2020, 2030, 2040, and 2050 (3) to specify of function of spatial numerical classification in the making of zonation model of sustainable agricultural land area in Badung regency and Denpasar city (4) to determine the appropriate model of the area to protect sustainable agricultural land in spatial and time scale in Badung and Denpasar regencies. The method used in this research was quantitative method include: survey, soil analysis, spatial data development, geoprocessing analysis (spatial analysis of overlay and proximity analysis), interpolation of raster digital elevation model data, and visualization (cartography). Qualitative methods consisted of literature studies, and interviews. The parameters observed for a total of 11 parameters Badung regency and Denpasar as much as 9 parameters. Numerical classification parameter analysis results used the standard deviation and the mean of the population data and projections relationship rice field in the food balance sheet by modelling. The result of the research showed that, the number of different numerical classification parameters in rural areas (Badung) and urban areas (Denpasar), in urban areas the number of parameters is less than the rural areas. The based on numerical classification weighting and scores generate population distribution parameter analysis results of a standard deviation and average value. Numerical classification produced 5 models, which was divided into three zones are sustainable neighbourhood, buffer and converted in Denpasar and Badung. The results of Population curve parameter analysis in Denpasar showed normal curve, in contrast to the Badung regency showed abnormal curve, therefore Denpasar modeling carried out throughout the region, while in the Badung regency modeling done in each district. Relationship modelling and projections lands role in food balance in Badung views of sustainable land area whereas in Denpasar seen from any connection to the green open spaces in the spatial plan Denpasar 2011-2031. Modelling in Badung (rural) is different in Denpasar (urban), as well as population curve parameter analysis results in Badung showed abnormal curve while in Denpasar showed normal curve. Relationship modelling and projections lands role in food balance in the Badung regency sustainable in terms of land area, while in Denpasar in terms of linkages with urban green space in Denpasar City’s regional landuse plan of 2011-2031.

The TUM Accessibility Atlas: Visualizing Spatial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Accessibility to Support Regional Land-Use and Transport Planning

In recent years, the city of Munich has become more crowded due to its strong job market and its popularity as a tourist destination, resulting in a shortage of affordable housing and a strained transport network. It became evident that the city of Munich could not solve these problems alone, and would need close cooperation with neighboring municipalities that considered the various stakeholders. In 2007, this resulted in the formation of the Metropolitan Region of Munich, home to nearly six million people from 27 counties and 6 large cities, and includes 158 participating institutions. In 2009, the TUM Accessibility Atlas was developed for this newly formed region after numerous discussions with a variety of regional stakeholders who described their needs in assessing land-use and transport measures. The major task of this tool was to meet these needs and support this diverse region find a common regional identity.

Analysis of Subak Landuse Change Due to Tourism Accomodation Development in North Kuta Sub-district, Badung Regency, Indonesia

Subak is a traditional irrigation management system in Bali which governs the distribution of irrigation water into rice fields. The problems that occur in Subak in North Kuta Subdistrict is the high landuse change of rice field due to the rapid development of tourism and in the Region Spatial Plan is mostly designated as land for non agriculture. The aim of the research is to find out the Subak landuse change into tourism accommodation during the last five years, as well as knowing the area of Subak which located in the area of agricultural lands food crops related to landuse planning regulation of Badung Regency.The research methods included analysis of satellite imagery, literature studies, field survey, analysis of Subak landuse change, analysis of the subak in the area of the agricultural land food crop.Subak landuse change into non rice fields in the North of Kuta as uch as 538.88 ha during the last five years. The change of rice fields into tourist accommodation as much as 92 accommodation. Subak which is within the area of farmland of food crops 548.35 ha and outside the area of farmland 459.04ha.

Regulating Supermarkets: The Competition for Space

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the case for a proposed competition policy law reform. If implemented, the reform would roll back land-use planning regulation, so that supermarket businesses have greater freedom to regulate privately where and with what format they site their stores. With planning regulation reduced, the check on this greater freedom to site will be competition regulation; this regulation should also be light touch. Competition policy continues to insist that we shall be better off if public regulation defers to the market and private regulation.