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Participative decision-making can offer a route toward more democratic and legitimate decisions in spatial planning processes. Although more legitimacy is sometimes presented as a result of participative decision-making, this relationship is more complex and not necessarily causal. This paper explores the relationship between the forms of legitimacy and participation by utilising the input, throughput, and output conceptualisation. In our three cases, we find that participative methods impact legitimacy differently. Participation relates to either throughput or output legitimacy depending on the objective of the participative method and process. For instance, participation allows stakeholders to voice opinions and gain insight into which stakes are balanced in spatial projects. These are typical examples of throughput legitimacy. Furthermore, in our analysis, we draw four conclusions. First, that participation often is a means to another end. For instance, it may be used to build support or attract investment in spatial projects. Second, municipalities switch between forms of legitimacy in their decision- making during participation processes. Third, timing and the long time span of projects have a major impact on participation. And finally, the municipality needs to balance multiple agendas. When this complex social, political and spatial context is not included in the equation of municipal participation, it can obstruct participation processes and delegitimise planning decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid suburbanization in China is dramatically reshaping the daily life of urban residents. In China, long-distance commuting, traffic congestion, spatial mismatch and the low quality of life resulting from residential suburbanization are causing widespread concern. This paper compares the changes in time allocation from a time-use perspective, based on two activity-travel survey datasets collected in suburban Beijing in respectively 2007 and 2017. Travelling time to work has increased substantially between 2007 and 2017 and particularly impacted non-working activities. Working and commuting showed to have the greatest impact on time allocated to non-work activities, both in home and out of home, both maintenance and discretionary activities. Furthermore, residents' allocation of time to non-work activities shows to be influenced too by their socioeconomic attributes, such as gender, marital status and household configuration (e.g. extended family). We found that the space–time constraints imposed by household responsibilities leads to greater gender differences in time allocation. This paper provides insight into how urban residents reallocate their time as a result of increasing suburbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planning support systems (PSS), as geo-information technology instruments, have been developed to support planning as urban planning is becoming highly complex. Recent advances in new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the context of smart cities have provided new potentials to enrich PSS-support functions, but they do not constitute a "silver bullet;" in fact, PSS's potential roles in practice are impeded by fundamental and structural factors. This article argues that the evolving perceptions of planning together with the changing roles of PSS in supporting planning provide the foundations for solving these structural restrictions. It presents a genealogical exploration of planning thoughts and associated PSS supports over the past 70 years, which is cross-checked by the results of expert interviews. The analysis indicates that for a factual planning supportive role: (1) the focus on the urban planning issue at hand should be strengthened, since it determines the planning mode and the relevant PSS choice; (2) there is a need for a user-centered, demand-induced approach toward PSS developments in planning, aimed at better serving the real needs of PSS users and planning practices; and (3) and there is also a need for more sensitivity toward contextual factors in PSS developments and applications, since the specific contextual characteristics help to identify the complexity faced by planners and influence the relevant planning rationality and specific PSS to be applied. This article thus highlights the importance of considering planning support as a socio-technical innovation shaped through challenges in urban contexts and the relevant planning approaches applied to handle these challenges. Further recommendations are proposed for PSS developments and applications in future planning practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]