From fractions to fragments: Policy to practice through AI-driven multiscale spatial planning for groundwater nitrate management.

Tourism village development through Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) serves as a key strategy for rural economic empowerment. Klampitan Village, Purwoasri District, Kediri Regency, encounters several obstacles including limited human resource capacity, weak digital promotion, and lack of systematic spatial planning for BUMDes development. The community service program aimed to design a BUMDes site plan as a guideline for physical tourism area development and to enhance digital promotion capacity. A qualitative participatory approach was employed through the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) framework for village asset mapping, complemented by SWOT analysis for strategy formulation. Implementation took place from July to August 2025, involving 10 key informants through observation, interviews, and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Data validation was conducted using source triangulation and member checking. The program produced a conceptual BUMDes site plan comprising 11 main sections with economic, social, educational, and recreational functions. Additionally, official BUMDes social media accounts were established as digital promotion channels. Evaluation showed 92% community participation and improved capabilities of MSME actors in utilizing social media for product marketing. These achievements demonstrate that the program not only generated initial plans and facilitation but also established institutional foundations and human resource capacity for sustainable BUMDes management. The resulting site plan and digital enhancement function as initial instruments supporting the acceleration of Klampitan Village toward becoming a tourism village in 2026.

While industrialization and urbanization patterns occur following economic and demographic factors, development control instruments such as permitting are used to channel growth to avoid adverse environmental impacts. Using three years of Environmental Clearance Records (2022-2024), the siting trends of upcoming industrial projects and large residential complexes in West Bengal, India, were studied against the backdrop of existing laws for development control. It was found that more than fifty percent of industrial projects would be coming at locations in a non-industrial neighborhood. About one-third of projects for large residential complexes would be coming up in areas under rural administration lacking supporting civic infrastructure. Thus, the study revealed that while project-level development control instruments (environmental clearance, consent with respect to pollution control, building permit) are functioning as designed, the absence of enforceable spatial plans and concurrent infrastructure development are producing environmental risks. Possibilities for improvement in regulatory architecture were explored. These findings can be generalized to rapidly urbanizing regions where proposed projects outpace civic infrastructure, illustrating that environmental protection requires aligning project approval with location-based, climate-aware spatial planning.

Statecraft financialization in spatial planning. Insights from the deterritorialization of three Milanese large-scale projects

Impacts of climate change and urbanization on soil moisture dynamics have reduced regional flood resilience

Nutrient input of coastal aquaculture may affect growth of mangrove following intermediate disturbance hypothesis: critical thresholds and spatial relationship coupling.

• Caribbean offshore wind energy potential can meet 88% of Colombia’s projected 2039 electricity demand. • 105 TWh/year could be generated at an LCOE below $100/MWh. • Electricity generation potential declines by 46% between the least and most space-restrictive scenarios. • Solid and replicable framework for other understudied offshore wind regions. • Practical insights for policymakers, investors, and developers in the region. Offshore wind resources may be affected by multiple constraints, including technical, environmental and socio-economic factors. The available area for wind energy development can be significantly reduced if these constraints are treated as strict exclusion zones, affecting the potential energy output, the feasibility of project development and in some cases increasing the cost of deployment. This study introduces a framework to evaluate the impact of spatial constraints on the techno-economic potential of offshore wind energy. It demonstrates its application through a case study of the Caribbean Sea in Colombia, a tropical region that unlike most tropical areas, is exceptionally windy and offers promising offshore wind opportunities. We formulated three scenarios with different levels of spatial restrictions and potential offshore activity co-existence, and estimated available area, technical potential, and deployment costs per scenario. Annual energy production maps were generated using wind speeds from ERA5 reanalysis data and a 15 MW IEA reference wind turbine. We also estimated a spatially explicit levelised cost of energy (LCOE) per scenario, considering water depth and distance to shore as key variables. The results show that up to 105 TWh/year could be generated at an LCOE below $100/MWh, exceeding 88% of Colombia’s projected electricity demand by 2039. However, constraints reduce the viable areas for development, leading to a 46% decline in energy generation potential between the least and most space-restrictive scenarios. This framework provides a replicable blueprint for guiding offshore wind assessments in emerging economies, where customised studies are essential for policy decisions, marine spatial planning and infrastructure investment.

• A GIS-based approach combined with a siting algorithm for optimal RE siting. • Incorporating CO2 budgets into the logic of spatial planning for REs. • Current land use regulations allow for the production of carbon-neutral electricity. • Achieving climate protection goals requires substantial changes to the landscape.

European states have set ambitious targets to meet their climate goals and decarbonize their energy sector. These included development plans for the marine environment, knowing its potential in harnessing Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) through wind, wave and tidal resources. The latter is becoming highly attractive due to its predictability, reliability and potential to answer communities' energy needs, but it is still associated with several challenges that are often overlooked. This paper aims to identify the barriers and drivers for tidal energy development in Ireland following the recent policy changes. This is done through semi-structured interviews with key local and regional stakeholders in the ORE field, which are analysed following Braun and Clarke's Thematic Analysis approach. The main challenges for tidal energy development revolve around the uncertainties and dynamic nature surrounding the existing regulatory framework in terms of marine spatial planning and planning processes, in addition to the technology's high cost, limited competitiveness and lack of resources in state agencies and departments. Moreover, community objections, socio-economic interests and supply chains issues play a key role in project delays. Nevertheless, the technology offers undervalued advantages in terms of its predictability and reliability, particularly in remote and island communities. Interviews revealed the need to provide better clarity and faster action at all levels of the ORE value chain. This cannot happen without providing incentives, enhancing awareness and community participation, and ensuring environmental sustainability. As the identified barriers represent typical challenges encountered in other country-cases, Ireland can learn from leading EU and international countries to enable projects’ commercialization, and can also lead by example for similar island nations. • This paper examines the barriers and drivers for tidal energy development using the Republic of Ireland as a case study following the Government decision to shift from a developer-led to a plan-led approach. • A thematic analysis approach through semi-structured interviews with key public and private stakeholders in the ORE field was followed. • Tidal Energy offers undervalued advantages such as predictability and reliability, particularly in remote and island communities. • Qualitative interviews highlighted the need for more clarity at all levels of ORE development in future years, and underscored the dynamic and interconnected nature of ORE policies in Ireland. • Ireland is well positioned to learn from EU and international experience to enhance tidal and ORE potential and lead as an example for other island nations.

The rapid urbanization intensifies the conflict between land use and ecological protection. While existing studies acknowledge the role of ecological networks in mitigating human-land conflicts, most focus on one-way impact analyses and neglect the dynamic feedback mechanisms between land use change and ecological network evolution. This study develops a bidirectional feedback framework integrating ecological networks and land use simulation. By quantifying the ecological network's constraint effect, we adjust the development probabilities in land use simulations, update predicted land use patterns, and synchronously update the ecological network structure. Through iterative feedback, we identify core areas critical to regional ecological security. Results reveal a strong feedback mechanism between land use change and ecological network structure, with spatially differentiated mutual influences. The bidirectional feedback suppresses construction land expansion near ecological networks, redirecting development to distant areas. Applying the framework to Huanggang City, we identify 2257.55 km2 of key ecological source areas and 20.56 km2 of core ecological corridors as future ecological security core areas (FESCA). This study advances dynamic feedback analysis of ecological network-land use co-evolution, offering scientific insights for regional spatial planning and ecological conservation.

A systematic review on integration of sustainable development and spatial planning in the context of urban growth of Dhaka megacity

Wind energy infrastructures drive habitat loss and fragmentation for threatened Orthoptera: spatial planning needed in developed landscapes

The study analyzes flood susceptibility in the Banat Hydrographic Area (Romania) using an integrated GIS framework based on MCDA–AHP multicriteria analysis and the multitemporal evaluation of static and dynamic factors for two scenarios (2005 and 2023). The results highlight differences between the two scenarios, mainly driven by variations in precipitation: although the moderate class remains dominant (~56% of the area), the share of high and very high susceptibility classes is lower in 2023 (~6%) compared to 2005 (~17%), accompanied by an expansion of the low susceptibility class (~26% to ~37%). Validation using flood extent data from April 2005 shows that approximately 99% of the affected area falls within the moderate, high, and very high susceptibility classes (χ2 = 9475, p < 0.001). The multitemporal analysis indicates high stability (75% of the territory), while 25.35% exhibits transitions toward lower susceptibility classes. Dynamic factors show differentiated roles: precipitation exerts a dominant regional control (95.44% of the area), while LULC changes contribute locally. The differences between scenarios should be interpreted as a model response to climatic variability rather than as structural changes in intrinsic susceptibility. The approach provides a reproducible framework for susceptibility assessment and supports spatial planning and risk management.

The synergistic and mutually reinforcing relationship between the development of the new energy industry and comprehensive land consolidation is crucial for integrating ecologically fragile areas into the national “dual carbon” goals and supporting regional high-quality development. Based on a systematic literature review, field investigations in typical regions, and multi-case comparative analysis, this paper analyzes the challenges and opportunities for the new energy industry in ecologically fragile areas as well as the mutually reinforcing mechanisms between new energy industry development and land consolidation. On this basis, it explores pathways for comprehensive land consolidation in coordination with new energy development. Building on local practices, it further identifies five typical models. The results show the following: (1) The development of the new energy industry in ecologically fragile areas faces multiple challenges, including a fragile ecological environment, inadequate infrastructure, a mismatch between resource supply and demand, and land use conflicts. Against the backdrop of the energy transition, breakthroughs in key technologies, and the guidance of territorial spatial planning, the value of wind and solar resources in these areas are becoming increasingly prominent, offering broad prospects for the new energy industry. (2) The development of the new energy industry and comprehensive land consolidation in ecologically fragile areas are mutually reinforcing. Factors such as resource endowment, ecological constraints, new quality productive forces, and investment and financing mechanisms interact and integrate with each other, resulting in diversified synergistic pathways. (3) Based on the priorities of new energy industry development and the primary objectives of consolidation, five models are identified: Ecological Restoration-led Model, Resource Development-led Model, Industrial Collaboration-led Model, Technological Innovation-led Model and Integrated Development Model. Each model has distinct priorities and applicable scenarios. This study will provide a reference for new energy development and sustainable development in ecologically fragile areas, including desertified and Gobi desert areas, coal mining subsidence areas, and areas rich in wind, solar, and hydropower resources.

Rural territories characterised by dispersed settlement systems face mounting challenges related to demographic decline, economic fragility, ecological degradation, and the erosion of local knowledge systems. In this context, rural self-sufficiency has re-emerged as a strategic objective; yet it remains inadequately operationalised within spatial planning and territorial assessment practices. This paper proposes a bioregional framework for operationalising rural self-sufficiency in dispersed territories, integrating ecological, morphological, socio-productive, cultural, and governance dimensions across multiple spatial scales. The framework is structured around a tiered system of 108 indicators, hierarchised into priority, secondary, and aspirational levels, combined with a multi-scalar territorial reading articulated through five nested frames—ranging from municipal systems to local productive units. Rather than constituting a mere checklist for immediate quantitative evaluation, the indicator system functions as a structured diagnostic universe, enabling progressive operationalisation based on data availability and governance capacity. To bridge the gap between diagnosis and action, the framework introduces 34 strategic drivers and 28 spatial artefacts, conceived as reversible and context-sensitive interventions. The framework is demonstrated through the case of Arbo (Galicia, Spain), illustrating its capacity to structure territorial diagnosis and articulate coherent pathways from analytical interpretation to strategic spatial intervention. The proposed approach contributes a replicable methodological tool for bioregional and rural planning in dispersed settlement systems. The study contributes to advancing bioregional planning by demonstrating how extensive indicator universes can be rendered operational through selective tiering and multi-scalar deployment.

With increasing demand for natural gas, the construction of natural gas extraction-related facilities has increased significantly. Accurate identification of these facilities is crucial for guiding spatial planning and evaluating environmental impacts. Existing research has primarily concentrated on offshore facilities, with limited attention to onshore facilities. This scarcity stems from identification challenges due to their dispersed distribution and complex environments. To address this gap, this study proposes a method combining a multimodal convolutional neural network (CNN) with object-based segmentation for onshore facility extraction. Experiments were conducted in northern Sichuan, China, with high-resolution Chinese satellite images, GF-2. Performance was compared between machine learning and CNN using sequentially cropped imageries. The proposed method achieved a precision of 59.97%, a recall of 94.87%, and an F1-score of 73.49%. The high recall indicates that most facilities were successfully detected, and the F1-score reflects the overall performance. These results suggest that the proposed method can effectively extract onshore facilities. Compared with machine learning and CNN using sequentially cropped imageries, the F1-score of the proposed method increased by 20.16% and 51.49%, respectively. The experimental results reveal that the proposed method can accurately identify onshore facilities, offering a scientific basis for assessing the environmental impact of greenhouse gases.

Indonesia, as the country with the highest number of active volcanoes worldwide, faces significant challenges from volcanic hazards. Mount Merapi, one of the most active volcanoes, is surrounded by intensive tourism and residential development, which increase the region’s vulnerability. This study integrates DEMNAS-based topographic analysis and the Land Change Modeler (LCM) with the Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP)–Markov Chain algorithm to examine land-use dynamics and risks to tourism in the Opak Oyo Watershed. Multi-temporal Landsat imagery (2004, 2014, 2024) was classified using the CART algorithm, achieving an overall accuracy of 94.5% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.928. The results show that between 2014 and 2024, the area of built-up land increased by 47.12 km², while that of forests declined by 127.76 km², indicating strong anthropogenic pressure. The validated LCM model projected that by 2034 built-up land will expand to 228.13 km², increasing by 46.04 km² (3.53%) compared to 2024, while agricultural land is predicted to decrease by 100.14 km² (–7.67%). Forest areas are projected to increase by 90.75 km² (6.95%), reflecting ecological rehabilitation scenarios. Tourism risk analysis shows that a significant number of tourism sites are located within KRB III (a high-risk zone), where projected building expansion overlaps with areas exposed to pyroclastic flows and lahar hazards. The findings highlight that integrating topographic constraints with predictive land-use modeling provides a robust spatial framework for sustainable tourism development in volcanic regions. The approach supports risk-informed zoning, environmentally sensitive land allocation, and long-term spatial planning strategies in Mount Merapi and other hazard-prone landscapes.

Urban forests are strategic components of urban green space systems because they provide ecological, recreational, and educational functions that collectively support sustainable urban environmental quality. This study aims to formulate an ideal model of an urban forest concept as a sustainable educational tourism site based on empirical findings derived from visitor perceptions and the ecological conditions of the Pekanbaru Urban Forest. The research employed a simple mixed-method approach dominated by descriptive quantitative analysis involving 96 respondents, complemented by ecological observations and in-depth interviews with site managers. The results indicate that cleanliness and comfort received positive assessments (scores 4.21 and 4.12), whereas environmental education facilities (3.88), educational activities (3.45), and promotional efforts (3.22) fell within the moderate to low categories. These findings highlight a significant gap between the ecological potential of the area and the development of its educational functions. A synthesis of empirical data and theoretical insights produced six components of the ideal urban forest concept: (1) adaptive ecology, (2) environmental education facilities, (3) interpretive trails, (4) sustainable educational tourism programs, (5) inclusive accessibility, and (6) collaborative governance. Policy analysis further demonstrates that strengthening the educational function aligns with the mandates of Law No. 26/2007 on Spatial Planning, SDG 11.7 targets regarding inclusive green spaces, and the Pekanbaru Strategic Environmental Assessment (KLHS) emphasizing the enhancement of environmental quality. This study concludes that the integration of ecological planning, educational development, and collaborative governance forms the essential foundation for positioning urban forests as centers of sustainable environmental learning

Construction materials testing laboratories play a strategic role in ensuring the quality of infrastructure development. The implementation of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 as a quality management system is a crucial instrument to guarantee technical competence and the validity of test results. However, the effectiveness of this standard's implementation in achieving strategic performance in government laboratories remains underexplored. This study was conducted at the Construction Materials Laboratory Unit (UPTD) of the Department of Public Works and Spatial Planning (PUPR), North Sumatra Province, with the objective of evaluating laboratory performance through the integration of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) approach. A mixed methods design was employed with purposive sampling involving 60 respondents—30 internal personnel and 30 external service users. Data were collected through questionnaires, structured interviews, and document-based observations. Multiple linear regression analysis of 16 ISO-related variables identified three significant predictors of performance: Traceability Investment (β=0.044), Method Validity (β=0.023), and Management Transparency (β=0.030). Four additional variables with strong beta coefficients derived from interviews and observations were also considered in defining strategic objectives. The BSC-based performance evaluation yielded an overall score of 77.35% ("fairly good"), with the highest contributions from the customer and financial perspectives. The resulting evaluation model offers a practical reference for strengthening accountable and sustainable governance in public laboratories. Future research is recommended to apply this model to government laboratories of varying scale, complexity, and organizational structure in order to assess its external validity and contextual adaptability.

Aim of the study The study aims to substantiate the role of land consolidation as an effective instrument for spatial planning and sustainable development of territorial communities in Ukraine. Specifically, it focuses on the context of post-war recovery and land-use transformation, identifying the necessary organizational and legal foundations for introducing land consolidation to ensure growth in the agricultural sector. Materials and methods The theoretical basis comprises scientific works on land consolidation by domestic and international scholars, legislative acts, and analytical data on territorial development. The methodological framework employs a systematic approach, utilizing structural-logical analysis and synthesis to examine the interactions within the land management system. Results and conclusions The study demonstrates that land consolidation is a pivotal mechanism for overcoming fragmentation, improving land-use efficiency, and strengthening rural development in Ukraine. It enhances agricultural productivity, supports environmental protection, and upgrades land administration systems. The analysis indicates that modern consolidation must integrate social, economic, and ecological priorities, aligning with spatial planning and ensuring community participation. Given post-war challenges and the lack of a comprehensive legal framework, implementing land consolidation is crucial for effective reconstruction, sustainable land management, and the long-term resilience of territorial communities.