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Planning is both an interdisciplinary and a collaborative endeavour. A range of disciplines are involved in planning, which arguably all have a specific frame through which they perceive reality and address planning issues. Three main disciplinary frames can be discerned: analytical, design and negotiation. Within this context, increasing usage is made of planning support systems (PSS), which are integrated sets of tools, often digital, aiming to support different tasks in the planning process. PSS arguably have the potential to support the planning process by facilitating interdisciplinary learning processes, involving “frame reflection” by different disciplinary actors. This paper studies this assumption through two case studies in which a PSS was applied in an interdisciplinary setting. It was found that “frame reflection” (double-loop learning) occurred in only one of the two case studies -and that this involved several frictions between disciplines. In the other case study more practical forms of learning were found (single-loop learning) – also valuable for planning. It is concluded that PSS have potential for interdisciplinary learning, particularly where the impact analysis function and a shared spatial language improve the quality of the dialogue. With regard to the latter, however, PSS should be prevented from dominating the discussion as this is something which is particularly problematic for stakeholders with a design frame. In future research, the role of local stakeholders in relation to PSS and interdisciplinary learning could also be taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planning Support Systems (PSS) are geo-information based tools to support planning. Since the term PSS appeared for the first time in the late 1980s it has evolved into a serious academic subfield. In this debate, little systematic attention has been paid to the added value of PSS for planning practice. In particular the perspective of users requires more empirical attention. This paper attempts to fill this gap by answering the question: What is the practitioner’s perception of the added value of PSS? In doing so we first develop a conceptual framework including the most important added values of PSS observed in the literature. Next, we describe an empirical study of the MapTable PSS, a support tool that is relatively frequently used in the Netherlands. Fifteen interviews were conducted and a Group Decision Room workshop was organized in order to systematically gather perceptions of users about the added value of this PSS. Added values that particularly emphasized are improved collaboration and communication among stakeholders, something which resonates with recent trends in planning. The added value of a better informed outcome is, somewhat surprisingly, considered less important. In order to deepen our understanding, we recommend more research in different contexts and with different tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metaplanning can be considered as a necessary step for improving collaboration, transparency and accountability in sustainable and democratic spatial decision-making processes. This paper reports current findings on the operational implementation of the metaplanning concept developed by the authors relying on Business Process Management methods and techniques. Three solutions are presented which implement spatial planning process workflows thanks to the development of original spatial data and processing services connectors to a Business Process Management suite. These results can be considered as a first step towards the development of 2 nd generation Planning Support Systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the embedding of land use and transport instruments—Planning Support Systems (PSS), models and tools—in Dutch planning practice, in order to shed light on how planning practitioners perceive these instruments and to ascertain the reasons and manner of their (lack of) utilization. These insights provide much-needed input to improve support instruments for integrated land use and transport planning, particularly during early planning phases and on the regional level. The research adds to the emerging literature on PSS. It builds on general insights into bottlenecks that block the use of PSS in practice, and employs a user-oriented approach to gain more insight into how users perceive these bottlenecks and how they relate to specific land use and transport PSS. Much of the existing research geared toward improving these instruments has a technical focus on adjusting the intrinsic workings of the instruments themselves. However, the way in which they are embedded in planning practice has remained largely ignored and poorly understood. Based on data from a web-based survey administered to land use and transport practitioners in the spring of 2007, this paper describes how LUT instruments are embedded in planning practice and how they are perceived by the planning actors in land use and transport planning. The findings suggest that a technical focus is insufficient to improve the implementation of these instruments. The key bottlenecks, identified by the survey, actually are centered on "softer issues," such as lack of transparency and poor connections to the planning process. The closing analysis and discussion offer some potential remedies for these shortcomings.

The authors’ hypothesis is that a consequent implementation of Gender Mainstreaming in sustainable urban planning and regional development could increase the potentials of limiting the sealing and reduction of open space. Besides the aspects of economical land consumption a broad and active involvement of stakeholders and the public is implicit for a sustainable land use policy – participation processes have to be realised in a gender and diversity sensitive and integrative way. Can computer-based instruments such as Planning Support Systems contribute to ensure realisation of gender-equitable planning? This paper illustrates conceptional strategies, potential instruments and specific features.

Abstract: Planning Support Systems (PSSs) are a family of computer based instruments specifically designed to support actors in their complex tasks in the field of planning. There is a gap between the high expectations that PSS developers have about the usefulness of their instruments and the instruments’ application in daily planning practice. PSS academics have proposed several ways to close this so-called implementation gap through a range of software, hardware and orgware approaches. Several of these approaches have been applied in practical planning settings. There is however a lack of consistent and structured reporting on the effectiveness of these approaches in improving PSS performance. Therefore, it is hard to distinguish between successful and less successful strategies, and it is difficult to draw overall lessons. This paper (1) proposes a comprehensive multidimensional framework that operationalizes PSS performance, and (2) analyses how recent PSS implementation studies have reported on this performance. The developed framework, based on literature from Group Model Building and group psychology, is sensitive to a wide variety of performance dimensions and therefore forms a useful guideline for assessing PSS implementation strategies. Studying these in a common framework supports the potential transfer of lessons to other PSS implementations. Most of the analyzed studies only posed hypotheses about which dimensions are improved through a specific strategy, but did not report on measuring impacts. By structurally measuring the effectiveness of a range of strategies to improve PSS implementation, lessons can be exchanged and a consistent body of knowledge can be built. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

If urban development plans were just target patterns to be achieved, conventional data structures in Geographic information systems (GIS) would be sufficient. Urban development plans have a strong spatial component, but recent literature in planning emphasizes that plans are about actions and relationships among them. These relationships include interdependence, substitutability, priority, and parthood. In order to support planning, GIScience should devise data structures and queries to support reasoning with these relationships. This article shows how relationships encoded within each of a set of plans, using a recently developed data model, can be used to infer the relationships of actions among these plans. Simple databases and use cases based on real situations in McHenry County, Illinois are used to demonstrate that these relationships can be encoded and queried. The results demonstrate that previously discovered semantic relationships can be used to discover additional relationships across plans, thereby enriching the decision making. The approach provides a systematic way of structuring the information in plans to support making and using plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There is a growing body of academic literature that deals with the gap between Planning Support Systems (PSS) and daily urban planning practices. Although there are many theoretical ideas about how to improve this situation, there is only limited academic attention for testing these in real world applications. This article discusses the importance of such testing and how this can be done. Four central PSS hypothesized improvement mechanisms are translated into a grounded intervention and tested in three settings of land use and transport strategy-making in the Netherlands. I utilised workshop specific questionnaires, a general ex-post survey and participatory observation. Although small-N, the results seem to indicate a tentative pattern that the hypothesized improvement mechanisms did improve several of the bottlenecks of PSS implementation defined in other studies: it provided a better fit between the PSS characteristics and the strategy-making processes, it increased understanding of the possibilities (and limitations) of PSS and it fostered acceptance (awareness and transparency were only marginally influenced). Important mechanisms for promoting these outcomes include an open constructive critical attitude of both PSS developers and planners, a prototyping process, and placing emphasis on externalisation and internalisation of knowledge. This research example illustrates both the added value of the findings and the methodological problems of a practice oriented research approach. The paper closes with a discussion on the implications for PSS research methods, PSS development and planning and will provide directions for further research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A spatial multi-objective land use optimization model defined by the acronym ‘NSGA-II-MOLU’ or the ‘non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II for multi-objective optimization of land use’ is proposed for searching for optimal land use scenarios which embrace multiple objectives and constraints extracted from the requirements of users, as well as providing support to the land use planning process. In this application, we took the MOLU model which was initially developed to integrate multiple objectives and coupled this with a revised version of the genetic algorithm NSGA-II which is based on specific crossover and mutation operators. The resulting NSGA-II-MOLU model is able to offer the possibility of efficiently searching over tens of thousands of solutions for trade-off sets which define non-dominated plans on the classical Pareto frontier. In this application, we chose the example of Tongzhou New Town, China, to demonstrate how the model could be employed to meet three conflicting objectives based on minimizing conversion costs, maximizing accessibility, and maximizing compatibilities between land uses. Our case study clearly shows the ability of the model to generate diversified land use planning scenarios which form the core of a land use planning support system. It also demonstrates the potential of the model to consider more complicated spatial objectives and variables with open-ended characteristics. The breakthroughs in spatial optimization that this model provides lead directly to other properties of the process in which further efficiencies in the process of optimization, more vivid visualizations, and more interactive planning support are possible. These form directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is broad and growing consensus regarding the central place of integrated Land Use and Transport (LUT) strategy development in establishing more efficient and sustainable urban environments. However, empirical evidence shows that such integration is hard to achieve in daily planning practice, due to many institutional barriers and substantive differences. More specifically, the tools developed to support LUT strategy development have very low implementation rates in daily planning practice. This paper introduces the concept of ‘knowledge generation’ as a potentially useful mechanism for closing the gap between support tools and planning practice. Through two specific Dutch planning cases, we analyze the applicability of this concept in supporting integrated LUT strategy development. The paper focuses on the developed strategies, how these differ from current practice, and how knowledge generation supported their development. We argue that socialization produces shared strategies and that effective socialization needs to be supported by efficient mutual exchange between tacit and explicit knowledge. We conclude by discussing the implications of this argument for the wider practice of LUT planning integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Issues related to sustainable urbanisation are best addressed when coordinated within a strategic framework and facilitated by a system of policy formulation that combines local opinions with scientific insights. This implies that planning for sustainable urbanisation has the potential to minimise climate change threats. While there is a pressing need for this potential to be realised globally, the current level of success in fast growing cities of the developing world is very limited. An approach to overcome this limitation has recently been successful in Dhaka, one of the fastest growing global megacities. It involved the identification of a strategic framework for the city. This framework was then combined with a locally-informed model of sustainable urbanisation to produce the Dhaka Metropolitan Development Planning Support System (DMDPSS). This paper discusses the climate change adaptation and mitigation issues that can be addressed through such a method in Dhaka, using a scenario-based approach. Two alternative development options (constrained and unconstrained) are constructed and analysed. A common set of indicators are used: first to evaluate which alternative is more sustainable; and then the mitigation and adaptation issues addressed. Results show that the ‘constrained’ scenario, which includes a series of development limitations, is both more sustainable and can address more mitigation and adaptation issues than the other alternative. The scenario analysis, however, is only a part of the strategic framework needed for Dhaka. Indeed other factors, such as dissemination of facts and issues, and the ease and equity of communication in the community, are critical both for progress towards sustainability and to enhance community resilience to climate change. The paper concludes that the optimum combination of adaptation and mitigation measures can be identified in fast growing cities by using systems, such as the DMDPSS, based on the core principles of sustainable development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Planning Support Systems (PSS) are geo-information based tools intended to support planners in planning tasks such as information handling, communication and analysis in planning processes. They can be useful tools in helping planners to handle the ever-increasing complexity of planning. However, PSS technology is trapped in a vicious circle created by the large mismatch that exists between the supply of and the demand for PSS. Despite their many promising characteristics, PSS have not yet become widely used in planning practice; lessons must be learned on how to effectively develop and apply PSS. Without such experience, it becomes difficult to pursue the improvement of PSS technology, which in turn means fewer lessons can be learned. This paper aims to narrow the gap between supply and demand by providing lessons for planners, PSS developers and researchers of PSS development and use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: One of the key barriers to integration of land use and transport planning is the lack of a “common language” (i.e. tools, instruments, indicators) that can support planners from both domains in developing shared visions and integrated strategies. Many of such tools and indicators have been developed in recent years, but not so many are implemented in practice. In this paper a new, participatory development approach for planning support systems (PSS) is proposed, termed “mediated planning support” (MPS) that addresses bottlenecks blocking this implementation. It is founded on insights from knowledge management, system dynamics and software innovation and is applied in the Greater Region of Amsterdam. This paper discusses the evolution of the PSS, highlighting the most useful elements which can be applied in other land use and transport planning projects. It offers insights for practitioners and researchers interested in land use and transport planning integration and for professionals that are dealing with supporting planning with information and technologies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Debate regarding suburban sprawl in urban studies is contentious. It is fair to say that the phenomenon is not fully understood to satisfaction in the academic, policy, or planning communities and there are a host of reasons why this may be the case. Characterization of sprawl in the literature is often narrative and subjective. Measurement is piecemeal and largely data-driven. Existing studies yield contrary results for the same cities in many cases. The partial appreciation for the intricacies of sprawl is problematic. In practice, city planning agencies and citizen advocacy groups are scrambling to suggest and develop “smart growth” strategies to curb sprawl, without a strong empirical basis for measuring the phenomenon. Yet, sprawl is extremely popular with consumers. In this paper, we develop an innovative approach to diagnosing sprawl, looking across the full range of its characteristic attributes in a comprehensive fashion that is robust to some well-known challenges. This proves to be very useful in sweeping the parameter space of the phenomenon, enabling the visualization and valuation of sprawl surfaces across attributes, allowing us to check the pulse of a developing city. We apply the work to Austin, TX, a controversial exemplar of American sprawl, with the surprising result that sprawl and “smart growth” are found to co-exist and co-evolve. This raises questions about relationships between the two, with consequences for planning and public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although urban plans may appear simple once completed, they are the outcomes of a highly complex decision-making process. This complexity makes it difficult to develop Planning Support Systems (PSS) that are comprehensive, flexible, intelligent and, yet, understandable to users. Great improvements are within reach, however, when observing the advances being made with regard to component-based software engineering and development and the role that multi-agent technology can play in this respect. This paper intends to bring this to mind and introduces a conceptual framework for PSS to describe how using a multi-agent paradigm as structuring principle could further both the intelligence and flexibility of such systems in terms of operation, functionality, usability, extensibility and adaptability. The framework is structured as an agent organization consisting of three types of agents: ‘interface agents’ to improve the user–system interaction; ‘tool agents’ to support the use and management of models; and ‘domain agents’ to provide access to specialized knowledge. As the agents are linked to specific system components, data flows in the system take the form of agent communication, while the interaction between agents enables a smooth integration of system functionality. Furthermore, the consistent definition of agents as human-like specialists facilitates users’ understandability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Suitability assessments of candidate locations for a particular land-use are typically uncertain, as future changes in land-use patterns may have an impact on performances while these changes are hard to predict. Most planning support tools for location decisions do not take such uncertainty into account. To address this problem of uncertainty, we propose a ‘Bayesian decision network’ approach. In this approach, the possible courses of actions, causal knowledge and preferences of a decision maker are represented in a network of causal relationships between a set of variables. Uncertainty about future land-use developments, which may influence outcomes of location decisions, can be represented as conditional probabilities in these networks. However, estimating these probabilities for a given study area is not a trivial problem, as the space of all possible future scenarios is approximately infinitely large. In this paper, we propose and test a sampling method for this estimation purpose. As an illustrative case, we specify a decision network model of a retail location planning problem, investigate parameters of the sampling method and explore the extent to which different ways of coping with uncertainty affects outcomes of decisions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper describes a support tool that incorporates environmental aspects in local spatial planning processes. The tool aims to support the work of local authorities and urban planning offices, especially with regard to identifying options in the early phases of the planning process. The tool has been developed and implemented in a Geographical Information System (GIS) and evaluated for a case study in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The results show the importance of communicative aspects for these kinds of tools, especially for tools that aim to stimulate several disciplines in working together. The results also show that geo-information tools can easily become too complex, and turn out to be ‘black boxes’ for participants in the planning process. Therefore, it is important to keep these tools as simple as possible, and to make clear how the results of the planning process will benefit from their use. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As small island developing states work towards economically and environmentally sustainable development, they lack many of the financial, technical, and information management resources available in larger, more developed countries. The ability to acquire geographic information and integrate it into decision-making processes is particularly difficult. Yap, a member of the Federated States of Micronesia, exemplifies many small island developing states in its effort to develop an informational infrastructure. This paper describes the early steps of on-going work by Yapese scientists, governmental agencies, and non-governmental organizations, and Queens University of Charlotte to start a successful GIS program. It is intended that this program will contribute to a future planning support system. Early application of Yap''s GIS has resulted in a dramatic reduction in area of an invasive grass (Imperata cylindrica) and increased knowledge and use of GIS by Yapese decision-makers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Urban land-use planning and management are in constant mutation throughout the world. With sustainability as a goal, the use of participative GIS is becoming more and more in demand. Given the willingness of local authorities to test participatory models and instruments, this paper presents an original implementation of information and communication technologies to support public participation. A system for monitoring urban functionalities (SMURF) was created for supporting participatory planning and management in African cities. The software instrument consists of a geographic database and of spatial indicators, for sharing information, editing information, and evaluating city development. To collect and update data, the model begins with the gathering of the data from each stakeholder, who, in return, gets a better knowledge of the land and a planning support tool. However, the implementation of these technologies presents several challenges: create an adapted interface, elaborate a relevant set of data and indicators, manage the data, and institutionalize the instrument. After an introductory presentation of the context and use of information technologies for the management of African cities, this paper focuses on SMURF and its components. It then shows the experimental application of the software in the city of Thies, Senegal, before concluding with a more general discussion on the relationship between technology, information, knowledge, and participation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper incorporates the results of applying benchmarking and information systems to strategic city management. The main objective is to put forward a methodological proposal for diagnosis, which, alongside other types of urban research, will provide valuable information or knowledge for city planning. City benchmarking enables us to make a comparative identification of those key elements that will help guide future lines of strategy to be implemented, as well as serving as the basis for evaluating the results. This is possible in the analysis phase by using basic descriptive statistics and readily interpretable graphic representations. The final part of the research presents the most significant results of the comparative evaluation of municipal diagnostic indicators applied to the regional context of Andalusia, using the capital of the province of Granada as a referent city. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Traditional approaches of building spatial decision support systems based on a GIS environment have not fully addressed the issues of model sharing and reusing among different application systems. This paper aims to design a ModelObjects, an object-oriented model management component, that can be incorporated into an urban planning support system (PSS) to manage analytical models and to help users to build new models by reusing existing model resources in the system. The architecture of ModelObjects component and its essential functions are defined. Procedures for model generalization, representation and decomposition are developed according to object-oriented concepts and methods. These procedures can be adopted to decompose urban planning models into a set of model components and elements, and these model components can be used as the `building blocks'' of the model library. Finally, we examine how ModelObjects and its associated procedures and techniques are implemented in a prototype PSS to facilitate the construction, retrieval and execution of analytical models in the planning process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]