A Critical Reflection on the Experimental Method for Planning Research: Testing the Added Value of PSS in a Controlled Environment

For planning research to successfully generate usable mechanisms for planning practitioners more hypothesis-testing research designs are needed. Currently, the academic field seems more geared toward generating hypotheses, either by observing practice or from theoretical studies. This approach is especially common in research that generates knowledge of planning. In this paper, I map several relevant research designs that allow for such hypothesis testing and discuss their usability in planning research. Then, I particularly focus on the experimental method as a promising design for generating contextualized mechanisms for planning practice. I describe and analyze a study that aimed to develop mechanisms about the added value of knowledge technologies for the quality of planning. Two consecutive experiments are described in detail, after which the usability of the experimental method for planning research is discussed. Reflecting on these experiments indicate that the main strength of this research design is that it allows to create ideal circumstances for falsification (which is virtually impossible in planning practices. The main weakness is the ecological validity of findings, especially when the research is executed with students.     

Spatial Planning in Ghana: Exploring the Contradictions

The purpose of this research is twofold: to explore the complexity of spatial plan preparation and implementation in Ghana using Kumasi as a case study; and second, to examine the contradictions of spatial plans and ‘actual development’ occurring in Kumasi. Using social science research methods (semi-structured interviews) and physical survey (land use plans), findings indicate that spatial planning in Kumasi is a bureaucratic process hijacked by urban planning agencies with limited involvement of urban residents. As a result, urban development is considerably influenced by spontaneous informal development patterns (i.e. self-organization). This phenomenon of self-organization is expressed in a context of uncertainty created by weak spatial planning system which encourages haphazard development. Regrettably, in Kumasi, self-organization is often overlooked by spatial planning agencies as they focused on rigid and exclusionary spatial plans. This paper advocates consideration and integration of self-organization processes in spatial planning efforts to respond adequately to the urban development challenges confronting Kumasi.     

Participative planning at Swiss reinsurance

Reinsurance—the insurance of insurance companies—is very much a behind-the-scenes business. It is not surprising to see that planning seminars and planning literature rarely touch on the problems of developing and implementing corporate planning models in this field. The Swiss Reinsurance planning example might show how sources from various industries and ‘doctrines’ were blended together and built to form a compact medium-term planning ‘package’ for a very specific type of service business.     

资产负债管理多阶段模型研究

综述了资产负债管理多阶段模型及应用的研究状况,评述了相关的研究文献。分别从资产负债管理多阶段模型、银行资产负债管理、养老金与保险公司、金融计划、动态的资产配置以及情景生成几个方面进行了探讨。最后结合我国有关的研究与应用现状,提出一些待研究的方向。     

Educational Landscapes and Urban Development. Contextual and Spatial Interfaces and Linkages

In the broad sociopolitical discussion on education quality within the last decade, it has become apparent that education is gaining importance for urban development, as well as space and the urban context are important dimensions of education. This becomes particularly evident in concepts for local educational landscapes (Ger. Bildungslandschaften). The young field of research on educational landscapes is currently lacking empirical research from spatial and planning sciences. In the paper, the current state of scientific research on educational landscapes in Germany and Europe and first insights to contextual and spatial interfaces and linkages between education and urban development in general are presented.     

Implementing Dementia-Friendly Land Use Planning: An Evaluation of Current Literature and Financial Implications for Greenfield Development in Suburban Canada

The number of people with dementia worldwide will reach 115.4 million by 2050. This accelerating crisis has sparked research on how to design neighbourhoods for those with early dementia, and how to empower them through built environment changes to remain in their community for as long as possible. There are numerous benefits for persons with dementia who continue access to their neighbourhood: physical activity, sense of dignity, social interaction, autonomy and psychological wellbeing. In this paper, I examine 17 recommendations (urban design and land use strategies) identified as ‘dementia-friendly’, within dementia design and planning literature. Each is then examined against the planning frameworks for a mid-size suburban municipality in Ontario and assessed for its financial impact on a base case subdivision using pro forma analysis. The effect on the financial return for a developer was minimal, demonstrating that establishing these recommendations as policy is viable, through regulation and incentives.     

The Use of Telematics Devices to Improve Automobile Insurance Rates

Most automobile insurance databases contain a large number of policyholders with zero claims. This high frequency of zeros may reflect the fact that some insureds make little use of their vehicle, or that they do not wish to make a claim for small accidents in order to avoid an increase in their premium, but it might also be because of good driving. We analyze information on exposure to risk and driving habits using telematics data from a pay‐as‐you‐drive sample of insureds. We include distance traveled per year as part of an offset in a zero‐inflated Poisson model to predict the excess of zeros. We show the existence of a learning effect for large values of distance traveled, so that longer driving should result in higher premiums, but there should be a discount for drivers who accumulate longer distances over time due to the increased proportion of zero claims. We confirm that speed limit violations and driving in urban areas increase the expected number of accident claims. We discuss how telematics information can be used to design better insurance and to improve traffic safety.     

Large-Scale Urban Projects in Smaller Metro Areas: Towards a Broader Conceptual Perspective

Large-scale projects seem to be as popular in urban politics as they are risky in implementation. Existing research shows a certain bias towards studying projects in large metropolitan regions. The paper aims at extending the scope of research on large-scale urban projects by analysing such projects in a smaller metropolitan area. The case of the city region and country of Luxembourg shows that decision-makers in small metropolitan regions also make use of large-scale urban projects as a planning and place-making instrument. The case is also used to explore methodological approaches of examining the symbolic nature and discursive place-making dimension of planning large-scale projects, and proposes a methodological approach based on constructivist grounded theory and situational analysis of discourses.     

Reducing Bushfire Risk by Planning and Design: A Professional Focus

While links between planning and resilience are increasingly touted as fundamental to managing urban settlements, there are limited practical examples. This paper provides an example via regulatory processes, in parallel with the exercise of professional discretion. Using analysis of diverse urban planning proposals in bushfire prone areas of Victoria Australia, a systematic and site-specific approach for bushfire risk assessment is set out. A three-step process is proposed as a basis for delivery of design solutions to manage bushfire risks. The paper concludes by arguing that professional judgement is a fundamental part of bushfire risk reduction within a regulatory framework.     

Do Interactions between Unemployment Insurance and Sickness Insurance Affect Transitions to Employment?

Previous research suggests that there are substantial interactions between the unemployment and sickness insurance in Sweden. Moral hazard arises in the interplay between these insurance systems, as by reporting sick an unemployed person can postpone unemployment insurance expiration and sometimes receive considerably higher benefits. I examine whether these interactions affect the transition rate to employment. To do this I use a reform that greatly reduced the incentives to transfer to sickness benefits. Although there is evidence that this reform effectively lowered the incidence of sick reports among the unemployed, I do not find that the reduced sick report rate in turn affected the transition rate to employment.     

Fear and Urban Planning in Ordinary Cities: From Theory to Practice

The paper complements Abu-Orf's theory about violent settings by setting out a theory of fear in urban planning in ordinary urban contexts around three arguments: spatialization of fear; (modernist) spatialities and the encounter and political economies of urban fear. The three theoretical arguments are used to re-frame the planning history of Chelas, an affordable housing district in Lisbon, Portugal, and debate the way fear shapes, and is shaped in turn by, planning practice. Confirming that (growing) fear in ordinary urban contexts is not just an effect of the contemporary organization of cities, the paper argues for a theorization of fear that combines global (hegemonic) and a local (discursive/contingent) perspectives in the theorization of urban fear, and advocates for the need to put fear, and its capacity to create a crisis in urban policy, at the heart of planners' agendas.     

Are People Willing to Buy Natural Disaster Insurance in China? Risk Awareness,Insurance Acceptance,and Willingness to Pay

After the Wenchuan earthquake (magnitude 7.9, May 12, 2008), intensive debates on how China should establish a natural disaster insurance system were initiated among researchers, policymakers, and insurance professionals. Our focus was the social aspects of disaster insurance, explored in China through a nationwide survey. Our questionnaires investigated people's risk awareness, insurance acceptance, their opinions on governmental measures for disaster management, and their willingness to pay for disaster house insurance. We analyzed the results at both regional and individual scales. We found that the integrated hazard index and respondents’ experience of insurance (considered objective factors), and their opinions on the importance of insurance and government responsibility (considered subjective factors) showed strong correlation with the regional overall acceptance of disaster insurance. An individual's decision to participate highly depended on his/her experience of both insurance and disaster and his/her opinion on the importance of insurance as a coping mechanism. Respondents from poverty‐stricken or less‐developed counties were not necessarily more reluctant to accept natural disaster insurance, though they exhibited relatively lower ability to afford insurance. In general, respondents had correct perceptions of natural disasters in their areas; however, people from regions with a greater multihazard threat showed less willingness to accept disaster insurance because they tended to expect the government to undertake to cover losses and considered insurance to be less important. People's willingness to pay for an assumed disaster house insurance was also investigated and analyzed. We consequently discuss the policy implications for developing a disaster insurance system in China.     

Collaboration with Caveats: Research–Practice Exchange in Planning

Abstract

Researcher and practitioner collaboration in urban planning is both critical to good outcomes and problematic to achieve in reality. Collaboration has the potential for new partnerships, better research problem definition, improved research design and greater impact on practice and policy. However, politics, stakeholder agendas and funding bodies bring pressures and constraints, for which research professionals require a broader set of skills to manage. We examine researcher–practitioner collaboration as part of an action research project on urban greening in Australia. Focusing on a stakeholder engagement workshop, we examine the mechanisms used to overcome barriers to research-practice exchange. We find overt consideration of common barriers to access and use of research when planning collaboration exercises can help facilitate more productive engagement, creating spaces for mutual understanding and generating shared objectives. However, we also find that efforts at collaboration challenge traditional research practices, involve tensions and caveats, and require a different mode of researcher engagement.     

社保投入有利于企业提高劳动生产率吗？——基于“中国企业—劳动力匹配调查”数据的实证研究

现有文献认为,社保投入对企业劳动生产率存在成本效应、激励效应两种不同的影响。由于大样本数据的缺乏,现阶段对于社会保险企业投入的讨论大多停留在其对企业生产的抑制效应。然而,本文运用随机分层抽样的"中国企业-劳动力匹配调查"(CEES)数据,就社保投入对于企业劳动生产率的影响效应、影响机制进行了创新性地实证研究。基准回归表明,在充分剔除选择性偏误的前提下,社保投入对于劳动生产率的激励效应更强。随着人均社保投入每增加10%,企业劳动生产率平均提高3.5%。进一步地,实证研究发现:人力资本、创新精神与管理效率是社保投入对于企业劳动生产率产生激励效应的重要渠道;其中,与人力资本、创新精神相比,管理效率更为重要。与大部分基于发达经济体微观数据的实证研究有所不同,本文发现:对于现阶段我国经济而言,社保投入对企业生产要素投入的成本挤出效应并不明显,社会保险通过激励员工从而促进企业生产率的发展。     

Municipal Budget Management and the Generation of Urban Sprawl. A Case Study of the Lombardy Region (Italy)

ABSTRACT

The paper describes one of the Italian sprawl drivers: the circle triggered by the use of urban charges to solve budget problems. From 2005 to 2018, Italian municipalities could use urban charges to solve normal budget problems: they could plan new urban areas to provide new urban charges, new building and services, and they could manage old and new services at the expense of normal budget. The planning of unnecessary urban areas was effectively influenced by budget problems. The paper illustrates this issue during a period without open data sources in order to improve land management and environmental sustainability.     

Getting Professionals to Plan: Pressures, Obstacles and Tactical Responses

It has long been accepted that professional services gain their business on the basis of their own reputation or through client referral. It was almost an unspoken rule not to market their services, but in today's climate there is a need to break from this mould. In order to understand change in professional services, an in-depth survey was conducted covering 25 legal firms and 25 accountancy firms. This survey looked at three aspects: the pressure to conduct strategic marketing planning; the obstacles to such planning; and the tactical responses to these obstacles. The one-to-one interviewing method chosen brought forth genuine and sometimes surprisingly frank responses. The potential benefits of strategic marketing planning are examined, together with the difficulties of adopting such an initiative. The outcome of this research highlights a series of implications for theorists and practitioners, with suggestions of areas for further study.     

规避农副产品原材料产出不确定风险的商业保险策略

为了保证产品质量、降低生产成本，许多农副产品制造商选择自己种植原材料以满足农副产品的加工生产。然而，农作物的产出易受不利事件（如各种自然灾害）的影响而具有不确定性。这种不确定性可能导致最终产品产出不足，严重时甚至引发财务危机。为了应对潜在风险，农副产品制造商可向金融机构购买商业保险。本文建立了单周期农副产品制造商的计划产量决策模型，通过研究制造商购买商业保险的边界条件及最优商业保险策略，分析商业保险策略在制造商规避原材料产出不确定风险时所具有的价值。研究结果表明：（1）只有保费的安全因子低于外部融资的单位惩罚成本时，制造商才会购买商业保险；（2）最优商业保险策略与计划产量无关；（3）最终产品单位净收益越低，商业保险的价值反而越高。     

Citizens' Anti-highway Revolt in Post-Pinochet Chile: Catalyzing Innovation in Transport Planning

During the last third of the 20th century, citizens throughout North America and Europe organized protests against urban highway projects, influencing urban transport planning in ways that shape its evolution to this day. With the globalization of car-centred urban planning models, some similar movements have emerged in developing countries. What, if anything, can they tell us about citizens' role in innovation to achieve more socially just, good and livable cities? Using a multidisciplinary approach grounded in planning theory and a local adaptation of participatory action research methods, this study explores lessons from an anti-highway movement in Santiago, Chile (1997). This study contributes citizens' perspective on crucial issues within the philosophy and history of city planning, examining shifts in governance that can significantly influence the potential for change in planning and city systems, even under adverse conditions. Is improving participation just a matter of ‘getting the process right’? This experience indicates that it requires re-formulating frameworks to encompass democratization, fostering multi-scalar, self-generating civil society organizations, and focusing on the role of organized citizens, rather than individuals, as they act on policy ecologies. The evidence from this Santiago case supports Portugali's argument that planning is both a profession, exercised by especially trained ‘experts’, and a skill exercised by citizens working from their everyday expertise. This example explores the mechanisms through which, even in a relatively hostile environment, self-generated citizen organizations may play a significant role in contesting business-as-usual debates and achieving innovative policies favouring greater equality and sustainability.     

The social organization of terminal care in two pediatric hospitals

Some of the characteristics which distinguish social planning from planning in the private sector, or in publicly owned industry, are identified. A survey of OR investigations (both tactical and strategic) in the area of urban planning supports the case that the mainstream OR contribution does violence to the nature of the system under study. In particular, problems are formulated in terms of (or transformed into) single objectives, to be optimized; aspects of the social world are subject to wholesale quantification, with resulting distortion; models make implausible data demands; project definition and execution reinforce the ‘scientisation’ of political debate; problems are formulated on the assumption of a single hierarchically powerful decision-maker; and problems are formulated as if they must be solved in toto at one point in time. It is suggested that we should look to the converse of these qualities for new directions in the application of operational research in urban planning. Some examples are given of techniques and approaches which exhibit these alternative characteristics.     

Externalities in the wildland–urban interface: Private decisions,collective action,and results from wildfire simulation models for California

Property damage from wildfires occurs from spread into built-up areas, the wildland–urban interface. Fire spread occurs as embers from one burning structure ignite neighboring ones—but mitigation reduces the chances that fire spreads. In this study, we use a simulation model with realistic parameters for a neighborhood in California to illustrate patterns of marginal benefit from mitigation. We extend existing models of fire spread in two novel ways. We show how to describe the no-regulation equilibrium and social optimal levels of mitigation by incorporating data on a key factor, the distribution of house values in the community. We incorporate insurance in the model and show that it improves homeowner decision-making and insurance premium regulation. The fire spread simulations show that under plausible parameter values, there is a pattern in which mitigation's marginal benefit is low at low levels of community mitigation, rises to a maximum, and then falls quickly to a low level. We argue that the maximum marginal benefit is a guide to achieving optimal mitigation in a community. Owner mitigation decisions will depend on the distribution of house values in the neighborhood and other factors. In an illustration, we use the distribution of house values in a California community to illustrate the mitigation owners will choose under independent (Nash) investment decisions, and the efficiency-improving actions involving regulations or insurance premium subsidies that can lead to the social optimum.