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Objective: This study aims to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric and literature review to describe the origin and content of research on corporate sustainability reporting in Latin America published in journals indexed in the SCOPUS, WoS, SCIELO, and REDIB databases on corporate sustainability reporting in Latin America and to contribute to its theoretical development and promote the performance and disclosure of sustainability in the region. Methodology: The comprehensive bibliometric and literature review used a quantitative and qualitative approach, with a descriptive scope through a content analysis of the papers' origin and nature according to the established qualitative categories. Originality/Relevance: The research contributes to increasing the body of literature on sustainability reporting research in Latin America and proposes a regional planning research to improve performance and sustainability reports with the stakeholders in the organizations of the region's countries. Results: The results of the analysis of 75 publications in 40 journals show an increase until the 2018 period. Most of the publications were by Brazilian and Colombian authors and journals. The largest number of studies corresponds to descriptive quantitative research based on content analysis of reports prepared according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Studies mainly consider institutional and legitimacy theories. There is also an absence of studies that consider stakeholder theory, address contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and deal with environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting in the Latin American context. Social contributions: A pending research agenda is presented on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability reporting in Latin American organizations as a contribution to the sustainable development in Latin America. Therefore, a regional plan of research is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The evaluation of solid waste management in a municipality is a powerful tool for assessing the efficiency of implemented projects and the execution of activities carried out by managers and other stakeholders. In this regard, this study analyzed the actions of the Municipal Government of Guarujá between the years 2017 and 2021, according to the Regional Plan for Integrated Solid Waste Management of Santos Area Lowlands. Methodology: The present research was conducted using a qualitative approach through document analysis. Information was collected directly from the Department of Environment (SEMAM) and the Department of Urban Services (SEURB) of the Guarujá Municipality. The collected data were analyzed in accordance with the selected bibliographic references and concerning the conclusions drawn for each identified action. Originality/Relevance: This research proposes an innovative approach in studying solid waste management in Guarujá, with a focus on the Regional Plan. Emphasis is given to the importance of integrated management, as well as the need to review the strategies adopted by the municipality, providing an original perspective on the matter. Key Findings: The main results of this study are the significant advancements made by the municipality of Guarujá about planning and implementing public policies to enable solid waste management within its territory. Contributions: Moreover this study points flaws in current legislation and emphasizes the importance of creating Regionalized Solid Waste Units to ensure the effectiveness of regional plans. Consequently, the findings obtained from this research constitute scientific contributions aimed at driving the implementation of more effective and sustainable public policies in the field of solid waste management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) constitute an overarching global milestone for creating a better sustainable future worldwide. The risk component of the agenda under the SFDRR must be better embedded into the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and integrating disaster risk management policy with broader development objectives at national and subnational levels in many countries is still a work in progress. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the progress between the SDGs and the SFDRR in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and its complementary features Design/methodology/approach: Comprehensive and contextualized analyses of the progress of SFDRR and SDGs related to the LAC region need to be fully addressed to examine synergies and trade-offs with the two global agendas. Based on empirical evidence from United Nations global reports, a literature review of DRR and DRM, as well as development planning evidence, this paper addresses the implications of building coherence between the SDGs and the SFDRR in the region. Findings: Interplay and connections of the two agendas are highlighted together with an analysis of coherence among indicators. Despite the richness of several indicators, the examined evidence suggests that derived from the current progress, indicators are unable to completely reflect the dynamics among disaster risk drivers for both the SFDRR and the SDGs in the region. Research limitations/implications: Data availability at UNIDSR as well as at the regional level can limit the scope of the research. When comparing and matching the agendas, results could be further improved upon new releases of data. SFDRR and SDGs have also ground for improvement and countries are doing well but still slow. Practical implications: The paper offers new insights and findings for decision/policy makers in Latina America and the Caribbean. Originality/value: The paper offers an overall understanding of the progress and coherence among SFDRR and SDGs global frameworks and provides insights to identify the gaps and opportunities that need to be addressed to integrate disaster risk reduction into sustainable development planning at national and regional scales in LAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to show the potential value of using the constructivist grounded theory (CGT) methodology in the Urban and Regional Planning discipline. This is done by reflecting on the application of the CGT fundamentals defined by Kathy Charmaz, applied in a doctoral thesis in Urban and Regional Planning. The substantive area of research in which the thesis took place was the practical training experience of planners in becoming professionally registered. The thesis collected primary data through interviews with 14 planners who have undergone the process of practical training to record, document, and analyse their experiences as a prerequisite and requirement of professional registration. The use of the CGT methodology provides valuable insight into the registration process of planners in South Africa and encourages doctoral candidates to use CGT methodology with the aim of generating new knowledge and theory in the built environment. This paper recommends that CGT methodology should be encouraged, particularly when contributing to fields that are under-researched, limited, or nonexistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the predictors of corruption among selected town planners in Ogun State, Nigeria, through the Differential Association-Reinforcement Theory. Questionnaires were used to gather data about corruption, economic situation, job dissatisfaction, lack of commitment, learnt behaviour (criminal or anti-criminal), and reinforcement favourable to corruption among the sample of 81 town planners. Descriptive statistics, bivariate relationships, and a series of Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models were used to analyse the data. Findings show that variables with the highest correlation with corruption are job dissatisfaction, commitment, learnt criminal behaviour, and reinforcement towards corruption. Findings also show that town planners significantly engage more in corruption when higher levels of job dissatisfaction and higher levels of lack of commitment interact with higher levels of learnt criminal behaviour. This study makes an important theoretical contribution to the existing literature as well as to urban and regional planning practice in Nigeria, considering the accountability of townplanning 'officials'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change impact on crop production using different climate model projections varies considerably and it is challenging to choose a suitable climate scenario for risk assessment. This study aims to assess the climate change impact on the wheat crop in nine agro-climatic zones (ACZs) of Uttar Pradesh (UP) in Northern India using the CERES-Wheat crop model, driven by high resolution projected climate from different regional climate models (RCMs). The results show that the vegetative growth period would be shortened across the ACZs and scenarios where higher reductions will be witnessed under RCP 8.5 viz., up to 10 days in the 2050s (2040–2069), and 14 days in the 2080s (2070–2099). Also, in the 2080s shortening up to 17 days will be observed in the total growth period under RCP 8.5. When elevated CO2 concentration was not considered the wheat yields were found to reduce up to 20.5 and 30% under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5, respectively, in the 2050s. In the 2080s, the losses will be more pronounced reaching up to 41.5% under RCP 8.5. With the consideration of CO2, the yield reductions will be up to 14 and 18% under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 respectively in the 2080s. Uncertainty associated with climate model revealed that ACCESS 1-0 and MPI-ESM-LR predicted higher mean yield reductions while CNRM-CM5 has shown a mild effect. Present study concluded that eastern UP is a vulnerable region for wheat production in the 21st century. The results suggest that there is an urgent need for developing suitable adaptation strategies to ameliorate the adverse effects on wheat production in UP through regional policy planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes how the socio-spatial context and institutional factors affect the outcomes produced by greenways. Using the case study approach, it analyses the design and management of two long greenways in Spain: the Girona and Ojos Negros Greenways. Even though the spatial context is relevant, institutional factors have a prominent role in the success of the Greenway. If the greenway is designed and constructed by a single existing stakeholder, it is easier and quicker, but if more stakeholders are involved and there is a specific institution for greenway management, the greenway obtains better long-term outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is imperative to conduct collaborative planning for greenhouse gas and air pollutant control in China. At present, although the country has certain policies, laws, standards, institutions, and theoretical research as the basis for such planning, there are still deficiencies such as insufficient strategic coordination and a lack of effective connections of relevant plans, and the goals and requirements of collaborative control of greenhouse gases and air pollutants have not been fully incorporated into the territorial space planning, regional planning, and industrial development planning. In these circumstances, this study carries out text analysis and normative analysis and finds that the idea of improving the collaborative planning of greenhouse gas and air pollutant control mainly includes two aspects. The first is to strategically coordinate the collaborative control of greenhouse gases and air pollutants and determine its direction and long-term goal. Second, the collaborative control of greenhouse gases and air pollutants should be specifically deployed and arranged through the coordination of relevant plans. However, in order to fully realize the collaborative control of greenhouse gases and air pollutants by relevant plans, the following four aspects need to be guaranteed: ① We should further strengthen the coordination among the main bodies and strengthen unified supervision so as to provide the main body guarantee and supervision guarantee for the collaboration of related planners. ② We should strengthen theoretical research and further expand the scope of research to explore the relation⁃ ship between greenhouse gases (other than carbon dioxide) and air pollutants (including new pollutants). ③ We should formulate and re⁃ vise relevant policies, laws, and standards in a timely manner to assist collaborative planning. ④ We should actively carry out the pilot practice of collaborative control of greenhouse gases and air pollutants to explore the collaborative control mode that can be replicated and promoted and to accumulate practical experience for collaborative control planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Green Belt is one of the most widely known and popular regional growth management policies having been adopted around the world. Drawing upon the regional spatial imaginary and historical institutionalist literature alongside a case study of the West Midlands, this paper conceptualizes the Green Belt as an enduring, regionalizing concept in the spatial vision of planners and professional campaigners. It underscores the continuing importance of planning history and critical junctures in 'framing' the perspectives and aspirations of practicing planners regarding strategic planning. The paper charts the emergence, embedding, and adaptability of the Green Belt as an institution before exploring how strategic vision has continued to be vitally important to planners and campaigners despite the abolition of statutory strategic planning in England in 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Increasing the productivity of surface water, the unsustainable development of agriculture in the boundaries of rivers, and human sewage have reduced the quality of these water resources. Therefore, investigating the amount of pollution and its sources is very necessary for regional planning. This study aimed to evaluate the water quality of the Golin River using WQI and Liou indexes. Materials and Methods: Sampling of Golin river water was performed to check water quality based on (WQI) and (Liou) indices in Najjar village station for one year from April 2019 to March 2020. Results: Water quality, according to the Liou index, during the research period in the sampling station in September and March, was in a good category and other months were slightly polluted. According to the results of the WQI index, water quality in September and March were in the excellent descriptive category, with values of 47.82 and 49.74, respectively, but in other months it was in a good category. In September and March, water quality improved compared to other months because of lower BOD5 due to reduced agricultural activities, and both indicators showed these quality changes well. Conclusion: Due to the lack of stable conditions in water quality affected by seasonal changes and its departure from the category of high-quality water according to the results of the WQI index and also a little water pollution according to the Liou index, the direct use of Golin River water for drinking purposes is recommended and for this purpose, regular purification should be done and accurate and continuous evaluations of water quality in Golin River are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work is to study the general characteristics of the so-called pueblos de indios located in the Jauja Valley in the central Peruvian highlands, during the 18th century. We propose that these population units were not homogeneous in nature. Although some of those settlements were rural in essence, others fashioned more urban attributes, and functioned as “de facto villages”, especially those that held the category of “cabecera”. Meanwhile, the confluence of Spaniards and Indians coexisting in the same urban space was more usual than one might suppose and marks a notable characteristic of the region, which would have become into a space of integration by the studied period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent cultural turn in planning has had important influences across the globe. However, insufficient attention has been given to one of the most interesting aspects of the planning-culture nexus, the potential of planning in integrating the social life of regions. That approach, termed cultural regionalism, shaped thinking about regional planning in the U.S. in the 1920s and '30 s, but had essentially disappeared by the 1950s. We explore cultural regionalism through a review of the work of Howard W. Odum and his colleagues and then consider how contemporary planning might benefit from exposure to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the potential for modernization of the state strategic planning system in Ukraine, to form an integrated system. Its purpose was to create a comprehensive definition of state strategic planning, provide an analysis of current structures and procedures in Ukraine, offer directions and principles for modernizing them, and develop an institutional framework for successful implementation. The research used methodologies such as comparative analysis of various approaches and viewpoints on strategic management and strategic planning, hierarchy analysis across different levels of planning documents, and document analysis. Results showed that national level documents should constitute the primary focusing point for other planning documents at regional and sectoral levels such as Ukraine’s 10-year Development Strategy. The study This study examined the potential for modernization of the state strategic planning system in Ukraine, to form an integrated system. Its purpose was to create a comprehensive definition of state strategic planning, provide an analysis of current structures and procedures in Ukraine, offer directions and principles for modernizing them, and develop an institutional framework for successful implementation. The research used methodologies such as comparative analysis of various approaches and viewpoints on strategic management and strategic planning, hierarchy analysis across different levels of planning documents, and document analysis. Results showed that national level documents should constitute the primary focusing point for other planning documents at regional and sectoral levels such as Ukraine’s 10-year Development Strategy. The study [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, most countries in the Global North have developed and implemented urban growth management programs and policies aimed at mitigating the impacts of urban sprawl and achieving a more compact urban form. However, there is substantial disagreement about their effects and effectiveness. In this paper, we systematically review the extensive international literature on growth management to better understand a) the current state of the practice of urban growth management, and b) the determinants of its successful implementation. In contrast to previously available literature syntheses, which focus heavily on North American research, we also consider studies based in Europe and some Asian and Oceanic countries. From this literature, we identify several key factors for successful growth management implementation: a multilevel governance approach, intersectoral policy coordination, a regionally adapted mix of policy instruments, balancing development needs with preservation goals, and the ability to develop positive narratives around growth management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to increasing density-dependent competitions in land use, it is difficult to plan new industrial areas, especially for factories and businesses with a need for large-scaled sites. Economic interest groups demand to plan new industrial areas to keep the region in a competitive position. At the same time, many citizens and local politicians are concerned about new specific land use areas for industries. To locate suitable industrial sites in the catchment area of municipalities with land shortage and a high demand for space and to involve regional stakeholders into the planning process, new regional planning tools are required. The case study about the "Regionale Kooperationsstandorte" planning tool in this paper shows which additional values and challenges the recipients of the plan expect from the new planning approach. Apparently, the new regional planning tool is generally accepted by most of the stakeholders in the Ruhr Metropolis. But specific regulations and particular sites are highly controversial, due to diverging interests of different stakeholders and municipalities or due to changing circumstances, so that it is not possible to reach a consensus on all issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the management of settlement growth in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg from the perspective of informality. Luxembourg is subject to high demographic and economic growth pressures across all parts of the country (capital, old-industrialized South, rural North), which strongly challenges the current planning system. At the same time, there is no formal regional planning, apart from approaches of intermunicipal cooperation, which are mainly voluntary in nature. Drawing on empirical case studies in two high-growth municipalities (Junglinster, Schuttrange), the paper outlines planning decisions in the institutional triangle between municipality, state and private institutions. Informality serves here not only to compensate for a lack of planning control, but also to deal with the country's complex legal framework conditions. The vital interests of landowners come into play informally as well: since parts of the country's wealth emerge from the valorization of property, speculative interests are immanent, and thus block development processes. In this context, the paper addresses elements of a regional growth management that could close the gap that exists between state planning and municipal autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many metropolitan regions face concerns over sprawling development, increased costs of maintaining infrastructure, and loss of green space and farmland. Some metropolitan regions have intentionally created spatial policies to govern development patterns and manage growth within their region. This paper compares the spatial policies applied in three case studies: the Puget Sound region (Washington State, USA), Metro Vancouver region (British Columbia, Canada) and Stuttgart region (Baden-Württemberg, Germany). While all three regions share a vision that can broadly be summarised as transit-connected communities, each metropolitan planning organisation leverages a variety of spatial policies. Based on the unique planning cultures, various governmental actors take on different roles at the local, county, regional and state levels. This paper categorises and compares the multi-level responsibilities for defining, mapping, and implementing spatial policies. With this focus, the paper provides an international comparative perspective on approaches, context, and contents of multi-level growth management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metropolitan regions result from spatial rescaling processes and region formations and are considered as "soft spaces of governance", referring to international debates on the "new regionalism". This paper addresses the criticism that the focus on competitive metropolitan regions distracts from the need for action on classic spatial planning issues. For this, the paper examines and discusses the institutional integration of regional planning in the German metropolitan regions and the activities of regional growth management as well as the regulatory intensity of regional plans based on a group comparison of metropolitan regions. As a result, the thesis of an institutionally fragmented regulatory growth management by regional planning can only be confirmed for a few metropolitan regions, where no relevant institutions and instruments are implemented in the core area. Regarding the "soft" instruments of growth management, the situation is very different. Here, the action potential is not yet fully utilized, even in metropolitan regions with strong institutional cores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Germany and Switzerland, land use and urban sprawl there has been a central topic of public debate for several years. Cantonal structure plans in Switzerland as well as state and regional plans in Germany contain binding regulations for managing settlement development. Studies that examine the implementation of these regulations are lacking. This paper analyses the implementation of selected instruments of supra-local spatial planning for managing settlement development in Germany and Switzerland using the Policy Arrangement Approach. The case study covers the regions Oberland (Bavaria), Südlicher Oberrhein (Baden-Württemberg) and the cantons of Zurich and St. Gallen. The results show that actors implement spatial-planning instruments in situative negotiation processes in which they exploremargins and alternatives. Central to these processes is a regional specific overlapping of (i) interlinkings of formal and informal instruments, (ii) the interplay between local autonomy, supra-local control and superordinate context factors, and (iii) the overlapping of supra-local and regional discourses. The results show that the Policy Arrangement Approach helps to better understand how spatial planning works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen energy leads us in an important direction in the development of clean energy, and the comprehensive utilization of hydrogen energy is crucial for the low-carbon transformation of the power sector. In this paper, the demand for hydrogen energy in various fields is predicted based on the support vector regression algorithm, which can be converted into an equivalent electrical load when it is all produced from water electrolysis. Then, the investment costs of power generators and hydrogen energy equipment are forecast considering uncertainty. Furthermore, a planning model is established with the forecast data, initial installed capacity and targets for carbon emission reduction as inputs, and the installed capacity as well as share of various power supply and annual carbon emissions as outputs. Taking Gansu Province of China as an example, the changes of power supply structure and carbon emissions under different scenarios are analysed. It can be found that hydrogen production through water electrolysis powered by renewable energy can reduce carbon emissions but will increase the demand for renewable energy generators. Appropriate planning of hydrogen storage can reduce the overall investment cost and promote a low carbon transition of the power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mastering urban change information is of great importance and significance in practical areas such as urban development planning, land management, and vegetation cover. At present, high-resolution remote sensing images and deep learning techniques have been widely used in the detection of urban information changes. However, most of the existing change detection networks are Siamese networks based on encoder–decoder architectures, which tend to ignore the pixel-to-pixel relationships and affect the change detection results. To solve this problem, we introduced a generative adversarial network (GAN). The change detection network based on the encoder–decoder architecture was used as the generator of the GAN, and the Jensen-Shannon(JS) scatter in the GAN model was replaced by the Wasserstein distance. An urban scene change detection dataset named XI'AN-CDD was produced to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm. Compared with the baseline model of the change detection network, our generator outperformed it significantly and had higher feature integrity. When the GAN was added, the detected feature integrity was better, and the F1-score increased by 4.4%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What drives participation in collaborative planning? How does this vary across different institutional contexts? Public managers must navigate emerging challenges in public service provision; perceived risk and capacity to act can play a pivotal role, shaping managerial behavior. In water management, for example, issues stemming from climate change and water‐intensive growth create new concerns about continued water supply. Strategic decisions may improve local public service provision, but can also have cascading effects on other systems, as water is a mobile—and subtractable—resource. Many public water systems have participated in collaborative planning to overcome collective challenges for this reason, but participation is not feasible for all prospective participants. Using data from administrative records and surveys, we fit a binomial logistic model to examine the roles of capacity and perceived risk among water service providers as drivers of participation in collaborative planning forums. By evaluating this relationship in California and North Carolina, we find similar results across unique institutional contexts: participation in regional water planning is associated with perceived risk to water supply from changing climatic conditions, but not from perceived risk of changing patterns of demand. Also, system capacity—as measured by the size of the population served—corresponds to increased likelihood of participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the American-Yugoslav Project in Regional and Urban Planning Studies (AYP) to explore the Ford Foundation's role in the international circulation of urban planning expertise during the Cold War. In operation in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1966–1976, AYP was a foundation-funded collaboration between Ljubljana's Urban Planning Institute of SR Slovenia and a succession of American universities: Cornell, Wayne State, and Johns Hopkins. Its goal was to bring the American regional planning expertise to Yugoslavia and Europe. Using the lens of network-building, the article highlights the geopolitical motivations of Ford's presence in socialist Yugoslavia before tracing the professional trajectories of AYP's founding members, American geographer Jack C. Fisher and the Slovenian architect Vladimir Braco Mušič. It then analyzes the project as an exemplary 'networking instrument' that connected numerous urban planners across Europe, in turn facilitating the transfer of American cybernetic techniques to Yugoslavia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies on transport equity have analyzed disparities in access to destinations between different population groups. In this study, we challenge this disparity approach and propose an alternative: analyzing accessibility insufficiencies. We argue that disparity analyses fall short on two accounts. First, they are based on group averages that inherently hide in-group variation. Second, they compare accessibility levels between groups without addressing whether these levels actually allow people to engage in daily activities. The proposed sufficiency approach avoids the former and addresses the latter by setting an explicit sufficiency threshold for accessibility. Empirical analyses for 49 of the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas confirmed the problematic nature of disparity analyses. In line with most literature, our disparity analyses show that disadvantaged groups are virtually always better served by transit than their more advantaged counterparts. Yet a systematic sufficiency analysis reveals large inequities in accessibility, regardless of the exact sufficiency threshold employed. Our outcomes underscore the need for researchers and planning practitioners to move away from seemingly neutral disparity analyses toward equity analyses of insufficiencies. Though this move implies inevitably normative, and thus politically difficult, decisions, such analyses enable professionals to systematically identify transport inequities as input for regional transport plans. They may also be used to prioritize already proposed interventions based on their contribution to a reduction in accessibility insufficiencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies of the impact of scenario usage in regional planning have shown limited results: Municipalities may not follow recommendations of the regional plan, and regional agencies themselves may ignore unpopular contingent futures. Though helpful, studies on scenarios and their direct impact on local plans may overlook important but less noticeable ways in which scenario planning can shape local and regional planning practice. To address this gap, we investigated scenario planning processes in three U.S. metropolitan areas with varying types of regional planning agencies and different scenario planning histories. Our work involved a review of three regional plans, 52 local plans, and nine confirmatory interviews. We found that the normative and exploratory scenarios common in regional planning rarely influence local comprehensive plans, especially in suburban municipalities. However, we also found that the regional scenario plans influenced planning practices and norms across the regions in ways that did not appear in plan documents. Our findings suggest that regional scenario planning can help practitioners identify new challenges, creatively engaging the future and shaping regional agencies, but such outcomes require institutional coordination, potentially executed by the regional agency performing technical assistance. Planners should consider how the groups that guide scenario plans can be de facto political bodies, advocating for better planning practices. To make the regional scenario plan effective at the local level, regional agencies should institutionalize local partnership building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes urban industrial transformations occurring in five New York communities. We question whether recent major projects on former industrial sites in Upstate New York succeeded at creating long-term, well-paying and high-skilled jobs for their host cities and towns. It is argued that although it is difficult to convert former 20th century industrial sites to 21st century advanced manufacturing requirements, state and localities should not abandon existing industrially zoned land in favor of out-of-town greenfield industrial developments. A comparative discussion of the case studies according to a fourfold criterion (land, labor, capital and triple bottom line) is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates whether and how regional public transport plans in Sweden address issues of social justice. Drawing upon a theoretical and analytical framework based on Young's concept of domination and using a critical discourse analysis conducted on regional transport plans in three Swedish regions (Skåne, Stockholm and Västra Götaland), we identify discourses potentially resulting from and reproducing domination dynamics. The analysis highlights the centrality of economic growth goals and the framing of public transport users as customers not involved in the decision-making processes, which contradicts the declared justice and sustainability aims of the plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regional ecological positioning of one area is based on the region's ecological orientation by the country or a larger region. Combined with the region's natural geographical features, ecological background, main ecological problems, regional ecological structure, pattern, process, function and service, etc., the position of a certain area in ecological space, structure, process, function and sendee, etc. is determined through the analysis and research. Regional ecological positioning is an important prerequisite and core basis for regional ecological impact assessment. However, in the current regional ecological impact assessment, most of them have not analyzed and studied the regional ecological positioning. Due to the lack of research on regional ecological positioning, it is rare to apply the research results of regional ecological positioning to the establishment of regional ecological objectives and the construction of index system. Regional ecological positioning does not guide the direction of regional ecological protection and construction well, and there is a general tendency of regional ecological positioning being one-sided and slogan-based. This paper analyzes the necessity and importance of research of regional ecological positioning, puts forward the technology framework of study on regional ecological positioning. With regional ecological positioning research in planning ecological impact assessment of the Chengdu - Chongqing Economic Zone as an example, how to carry out the study on the regional ecological positioning and how to apply the results of the study on the regional ecological positioning in regional ecological impact assessment are explained and illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prospects for aligning transport, spatial, and development planning at the regional level in Slovenia are presented in this article. We focus primarily on assessing the possibility of linking and interweaving the contents of documents provided for existing legislation, as well as legislation that is in the preparation phase. First, we present the general factors of differentiation and connection between the documents of the considered areas of planning. Then, we present the substantive factors of differentiation and the connection between the documents at the state level. In the next chapter, we present emerging technologies and transport services and their inclusion in spatial, development, and transport planning in national documents and regional development programs. In the last part of the article, we present the final findings and proposals for the substantive integration of the preparation of transport, spatial, and development planning documents at the regional level in Slovenia. The article was prepared in the framework of the CARE4CLIMATE project - boosting greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2020 with a view to 2030 - promoting sustainable transport, energy efficiency, renewable energies, and sustainable, climate-protecting land use in the transition to a low-carbon society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial planning and development use various visualisation methods. Technological advancements in visualisation techniques have allowed imaging to shift from 2 to 3D dimensions. 3D optical illusion, which converts information recorded in the digital form into a three-dimensional presentation, can be a new tool for presenting spatial development solutions. Since a optical illusion is a direct spatial presentation, it requires neither specialist preparation nor spatial imagination. For this reason, it can become an effective means of visual communication with the public in the area of spatial planning and development. This article shows an example of the imaging of a model element of spatial development (a building) using the 3D illusion technique. Collected opinions of the test group of viewers confirm the usefulness of this tool. The presented 3D visualisation effect evoked positive reactions among the viewers. The use of the hologram technique in spatial planning and development appears to be justified and is an interesting research trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslides are considered to be a significant risk to life and property all over the world in general and in Vietnam in particular. Spatial prediction of landslides is required to reduce the landslides risk and to plan the development of hilly areas. In this regard, the accurate landslide susceptibility maps are very useful tool for decision-makers to identify areas where new landslides are likely to occur for planning timely adequate remedial measures. For the development of landslide susceptibility maps, seven hybrid models were developed namely AdaBoost-LMT (ABLMT), bagging-LMT (BLMT), cascade generalization-LMT (CGLMT), dagging-LMT (DLMT), MultiBoostAB-LMT (MBLMT), rotation forest-LMT (RFLMT) and random sub-space-LMT (RSSLMT) with logistic model trees (LMTs) as a base classifier. The model's performance and validation were assessed through various statistical indices, such as sensitivity (SST), specificity (SPF), accuracy (ACC), area under ROC curve (AUC), RMSE and k index. The results show that all these models are performing well for the prediction of landslide susceptibility in the study area, but the performance of the RSSLMT model is the best (AUC: 0.816). In this study, open-source data has been used for the development of landslide susceptibility maps Along National Highway-6, passing through Hoa Binh province, Vietnam. These approaches can be applied also in other hilly regions of the world which are susceptible to landslides for better landslides prevention and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicle electrification has the potential to revolutionize transport systems globally by enabling a pathway toward lower-cost, zero-emission transport options. Heavy vehicles are poised to potentially be one of the greatest beneficiaries due to their high operating costs. Here a facility location problem approach is adopted to analyze a sample of deidentified truck trip data, providing initial insights into charging network configurations that could support a short-haul electric truck fleet using the case study of South East Queensland. The charging network scenarios include up to 10 optimally-located public sites. The results suggest that a relatively modest public charging network should be sufficient to support the majority of short-haul electric trucks operating in similar regions internationally, in line with other studies that have found that the majority of short-haul electric truck charging is likely to be carried out at depots. Additionally, in outlining limitations of this study, we highlight the need for greater cooperation between researchers, policy-makers and industry to secure access to high-resolution truck trip data to more accurately plan regional charging networks, and freight decarbonization more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The worldwide trend of migration from the peripheral rural areas ("rural exodus") to the central areas of a region raises the question of how to deal with it in some regions of Austria. On the one hand, the loss of population always represents a loss of importance for a municipality, whereas on the other hand, a strong influx puts a strain on the central areas and the increased land consumption poses a challenge for the environment and spatial planners. Depending on the region, this can have various causes, whereby specific pull factors of the central areas as well as a set of push factors of the surroundings are relevant. Within the framework of a study lasting several years and using a mix of selected methods, an attempt was made to work out or characterize those aspects of the female rural lifeworld that represent the decisive factors for shaping the further life paths of women. In this context, the economic structure and organization proved to be particularly important factors for successful economic and land use development, sufficient natural resources, and environmental quality for housing and quality of life as well as a potential for a leisure economy, good accessibility, and infrastructure in terms of transport development and information and telecommunication technologies (distance to the higher-level economic centers is a significant obstacle to development). Finally, cultural values, social trends, and human capital with the existing gender-specific role patterns also play a certain role in the consideration of migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marxist scholarship has documented the implications of 'neoliberal' reforms to public services. This scholarship often considers these reforms as class projects which have disciplined working populations and created new opportunities for capitalist profit-making. But in this article, we shift emphasis to the internal dysfunction that shapes states' pursuit of market-oriented policy agendas. We place closer focus on the specific levers through which marketising reforms are implemented, noting the conflicting pressures they unleash, and the cracks this may open through which a more democratic agenda can be advanced. Taking the French hospital sector as an example, we show how attempts to expand and intensify competition in public services have coincided with attempts to decentralise governance to the regional level. While ostensibly part of the same 'reforming' policy agenda, marketising policies have a strongly centralising logic which has in practice undermined efforts to develop meaningful regional planning. These institutional tensions have catalysed new political currents, as the relationship between public authorities and private sector actors has become more overtly conflictual. We argue that Marxist theorists of the state need to pay closer attention to the often dysfunctional relationship between different branches of the state, and that in the context of neoliberal public service reform, the tensions between central and regional states are particularly salient. We conclude that opponents of the marketisation of public services need to pay attention to the contested and ambiguous nature of 'decentralisation': while it is often a rhetorical cover for marketisation, there are opportunities for the left in demanding more meaningful and authentic forms of regional planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regions as socio-economic systems face various challenges caused by global processes including world market fluctuations, large-scale migrations and environmental problems. Identifying the factors capable of throwing a regional system off the path of sustainable development will allow decision-makers to find effective remedies. In Russia, the transition to sustainable development has been complicated by a high degree of interregional differentiation of development and resource potential, as well as limitations in the regional strategic planning system. This study identifies significant differences in the extent to which the development of Russia's regions is sustainable, the factors contributing to these differences and the ways in which strategic planning may help move in the direction of greater sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and its member countries are potentially vulnerable to external disturbances, including environmental, economic, and social shocks. Regional policy emphasizes interventions to ensure long-term growth and development in the face of potential disturbance. Current emphasis is placed on mitigating the impact of climate change, including the creation of the SADC Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan. However, the need for long-term adaptation and associated policy is evident to reduce regional vulnerabilities. Research is an important source of evidence to support policymaking, with specific importance to institutions in developing regions such as the SADC and during times of global change and disruption. SADC development policy related to resilience outcomes ought to be informed by research. This paper investigates the extent to which existing research supports regional resilience policymaking. Objectives include investigating available research on resilience in the SADC, identifying potential limitations, and delineating areas of future research to be considered by researchers that contribute to knowledge and evidence creation. A bibliometric review and selective content review of existing research were utilized. Relevant publications for the aforesaid analysis were delineated using the source concepts "resilience", "adaptation", "adaptability", and "Southern African Development Community" (or "SADC"). Using the SCOPUS database, bibliometric data of 65 publications were imported into the VOSviewer application (v.1.6.17). Keyword occurrences and network and overlay visualizations were applied to identify the research themes underlying current research. The findings, which were supported by the selective content review, indicate that existing research focuses primarily on environmental and social disturbances, while the applicable regional planning scale and development policy are considered to a limited extent. Areas of future research ought to create evidence that is thematically relevant to policy areas and applicable to policy interventions, which necessitates increased research on economic disturbances, a broadening of existing themes to the appropriate regional planning scale, and consideration of explicit regional development objectives and policy. Transdisciplinarity ought to be central to future research on the diverse disturbances facing the region, while researchers ought to leverage knowledge-creation opportunities catalyzed by SDG implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distribution and sentiment characteristics of tourists directly reflect the state of tourism development, and are an important reference for tourists to choose scenic areas. Sensing the tourist distributions and their sentiment variations can provide decision support for the development planning of scenic areas. In this study, we crawled tourist social media data to explore tourist distribution characteristics and the patterns of tourist sentiment variations. First, we used web crawlers to obtain social media data (tourist comment data) and the location data of China's 5A scenic areas from the Ctrip tourism platform. Second, SnowNLP (Simplified Chinese Text Processing) was optimized and used to classify the sentiment of tourists' comments and calculate the sentiment value. Finally, we mined the distribution characteristics of tourists in 5A scenic areas and the spatio-temporal variations in tourists' sentiments. The results show that: (1) There is a negative correlation between the number of tourists to China's 5A scenic areas and tourist sentiment: the number of tourists is highest in October and lowest in March, while tourist sentiment is highest in March and lowest in October. (2) The spatio-temporal distribution of tourists has obvious aggregation: temporally mainly in July, August and October, spatially mainly in the Yangtze River Delta city cluster, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city cluster, and Guanzhong Plain city cluster. (3) Tourist sentiment cold/hot spots vary significantly by city clusters: the Yangtze River Delta city cluster is always a sentiment hot spot; the northern city cluster has more sentiment cold spots; the central city cluster varies significantly during the year; the southwestern city cluster has more sentiment hot spots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of economy, China's cities and villages have been changing with each passing day. The planning and updating of traditional settlements have become an important topic in the development of our country. By studying the theory of space syntax, the author extracted the technical method of updating traditional settlements. We chose a traditional settlement as the research object. Based on the regional function of traditional settlements, the spatial structure of the region has been used to plan and update the area. The method designed in this paper can effectively update and transform traditional settlements. This is of practical significance to the progress and construction of our society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The actual status of the current regional environmental planning is difficult to obtain through traditional statistical methods, and it is necessary to use remote-sensing identification technology to collect information. Based on the NPP/VIIRS technology, this study uses the NPP/VIIRS technology to identify and analyze China's regional environment. Moreover, on this basis, this study conducts a dimensional analysis of regional environmental planning, verifies the feasibility of the technology, and promotes the development of the technology in environmental planning. In addition, this study links light intensity and carbon emissions based on night-light data and traditional energy consumption data. Finally, from the perspective of time and space continuity, new solutions and research methods are provided for many problems existing in traditional carbon emission research, which in turn provides a solid scientific foundation and theoretical basis for the formulation and implementation of carbon emission reduction strategies. The research results show that the method proposed in this study has certain effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased reclamation activity has adversely affected the conservation of coastal environments. The interactions between reclamation activities and their interference with the natural and functional properties of coastal zones increase the difficulty of marine spatial planning and eco-environmental management. In this study, an evaluation method for describing the intensity of the reclamation activity (RAI) based on regional planning theory and human–marine coordination theory was proposed, and a quantitative evaluation index system was constructed. The method was applied to Shandong Province in China via geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis. The results reveal that there was an obvious increase in the RAI from 1974 to 2021, with the total reclamation scale index and coordination of reclamation activities index being the most prominent. In addition, it was found that 2007–2017 was the peak period of infilling reclamation in Shandong Province. The natural coastlines are mainly occupied by enclosed mariculture and saltern, which should be strictly managed. The proposed index system can effectively identify the spatiotemporal characteristics of the reclamation intensity and can be used to efficiently determine management priorities. It provides a theoretical basis for regional reclamation management and can be conveniently adopted by management departments for coastal environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of scenic resources is imperative in national park planning, and 3S technology has been applied for this purpose because it effectively leverages modern geo-informatics technology. We investigated the scenic resources in the Yesanpo National Park based on 3S technology. The Nearest-Neighbor Index, Kernel density estimation, imbalance index, and geographical concentration index in modern geography were introduced into the spatial distribution evaluation of scenic resources, and here, for the first time, the spatial combination index of scenic resources was proposed as one of the quantitative analysis indices of spatial distribution of scenic resources. Moreover, the spatial combination distribution characteristics of scenic resources were analyzed quantitatively and graphically. The characteristics of the spatial distribution of scenic resources in the Yesanpo National Park were as follows: The spatial distribution type of scenic spots in the Yesanpo National Park is a clustered type. The spatial distribution of the scenic resource groups in the Yesanpo National Park was extremely imbalanced and highly concentrated. Based on the identification of scenic resources, we evaluated the scenic resources of each area and propose sustainable development plans for each area. This evaluation method can be applied to similar national parks to promote the quantitative and graphical evaluation of the spatial distribution of scenic resources and provide support for the decision-making processes related to national park planning and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and rising sea levels, which threaten many Asian and other coastal cities, have returned the question of adaptation to unstable marine surfaces to the global discussions about urbanization, as was illustrated by a recent United Nations (UN) roundtable. As de facto counterproposals to hydroelectric dams and similar regional development projects, floating or elevated structures reject land reclamation and terrestrialization processes. Consequently, the rapidly growing number of offshore structures, which often constitute unconventional settlements, have contributed to an amphibious transformation of Earth's surface in the course of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. This amphibious transformation meant that both terrestrial and aquatic places have turned into human habitats. This article asks how and why today's leading environmental-political strand in large-scale marine urbanization emerged from the waters of Tokyo Bay. It investigates Japanese star architect Tange Kenzō's 'Plan for Tokyo 1960' (1961) and world-renowned American designer R. Buckminster Fuller's floating design called 'Tetrahedronal City' (1966). Emphasizing the important role that Asian cities have played in shaping global urbanization ideas and practices, Tokyo Bay became a node in the global cybernetics revolution that moved urban design into the information age. Tange's and Fuller's evolution-inspired cybernetic designs used the post-war communication technology revolution to replicate, through artificial communication networks, the biological communication systems that enable organisms to interact with their environments. Applying communication technology to recreate, in floating or elevated structures, the biological processes of growth, adaptation, mobility, and autonomy became the central environmental-political strand for large-scale marine urbanization and reducing its ecological footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Motivation: Localization is an elusive target of international development, aimed at strengthening local ownership through equitable partnerships and redistribution of resources and decision‐making. While this is a long‐standing objective, it remains unachieved. In light of these limitations in global governance, the transformative potential of Agenda 2030 is questioned. Purpose: This article observes policy shifts triggered by Agenda 2030 by analysing its domestication in institutional and national contexts in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. By asking "Can Agenda 2030 bring about localization?" the article examines the policy potential of Agenda 2030 to transform the traditional international development paradigm, as David Slater theorized in 1993. Methods and approach: The article offers interpretive policy analysis and presents insights drawn from 172 interviews and 11 focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted with international and national civil servants, civil society actors, and academics in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, as well as headquarters and regional offices of selected United Nations and donor agencies. Findings: Agenda 2030 emerges as a legitimate framework that creates new policy avenues of national agenda‐setting and multi‐stakeholder co‐ordination. Across all three national contexts, Agenda 2030 was integrated into national agendas, considered to be central development anchors that, however, largely depend on change‐resistant donor structures. This is intensifying critiques of development paradigms among development practitioners, particularly from historically disadvantaged countries. Policy implications: While triggering meaningful shifts in development agenda‐setting, Agenda 2030 has not resulted in political commitments to transform inequitable global development mechanisms that would enable its achievement. Key bottlenecks, in fact, are found not in the insufficient implementation of countries receiving official development assistance, but in the lack of institutional reforms to donor and global governance mechanisms. Political, rather than policy, solutions are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current, extended socio-environmental crisis, the interface research-policymaking in landscape planning has evolved, seeking responses to pressing global dynamics (e.g., climate change, international migration fluxes, etc.) and critical local demands (e.g., recognition of community-based initiatives, "public governance" of landscape interventions, etc.). Depending on contextual conditions, different political agendas and legal frameworks shape the interplay between knowledge production mechanisms and practices on landscape. The evolution of the interface research-policymaking involves the interactions between structured research policies and informal knowledge generation processes, the (ideological) use of participation in the actions on landscape and the redefinition of power equilibria in the planning arena. Exploring the experiences of landscape planning developed in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy (i.e., territorial plans involving landscape conservation norms, regional landscape plans, "integrated landscape projects"), the research shows the need to readdress landscape governance and policymaking towards inclusiveness, fostering knowledge co-production initiatives at all levels and (re-)thinking power as a complex factor of change in the relationships between planning authorities, academia, communities and citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]