Understanding and Planning for Freight Movement in Cities: Practices and Challenges

ABSTRACT

Planning for freight presents a perpetual challenge for governments. Understanding freight flows has attracted increasing research attention, though such knowledge can be difficult to translate to address problems in planning practice. This paper critically assesses the challenges of understanding and planning for urban freight movement, especially with reference to achieving more sustainable outcomes. In doing so, we elucidate guidance for broader analytical and policy approaches suited to meeting diverse public interest objectives. We review the literature with specific reference to the nature of policy problems, while collating existing conceptual knowledge for broad urban land use types.     

Let the Citizens Map—Public Participation GIS as a Planning Support System in the Helsinki Master Plan Process

Current public participation methods are laborious, reach few participants and are ineffective at gathering usable information for planning. This situation leads often to mistrust and dissatisfaction in the process and outcome. This article identifies the critical conditions for meaningful use of public participation GIS (PPGIS) tools to support the making of master plan in Helsinki. With PPGIS tools, residents’ insight of their living environment can be reached and utilized along the planning process. The results are divided to conceptual and empirical points. Whereas the conceptual points emphasize better understanding of the locus of the PPGIS tools in planning process, the empirical findings reveal new ways to study how residents’ perceptions align with the plan proposal. Though new tools, data and analysis can support representativeness, independence, early involvement, influence and transparency, planners and residents need more understanding of the benefits of these tools. The study indicates that though planners found the collected data and the analysis valuable, they still lacked the skills and institutional motivation to use the data effectively. The results point out that when PPGIS tools can be integrated to the mainstream planning practices, the tools have the ability to evolve to a more comprehensive participatory planning support system.     

Enhancing knowledge construction processes within multicriteria decision analysis: The Collaborative Value Modelling framework

This paper proposes a new Collaborative Value Modelling framework, that combines Delphi and multicriteria decision conferencing, to build widely informed evaluation models. Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is commonly used to help decision-makers and other stakeholders in complex evaluation contexts. Further to the technical soundness and meaningfulness of the methods and tools used, it is critical to design adequate social processes to promote shared understanding around key evaluation issues while capturing multiple stakeholders’ values and perspectives. Multicriteria decision conferencing processes have been typically adopted for collaborative modelling using MCDA methods in decision conferences with relatively small groups. Such a socio-technical approach has proven to be effective, in a variety of contexts, in creating a collaborative environment that enables surfacing individual beliefs, identifying common concerns, managing eventual value conflicts and promoting agreement in group model building. But, extending this framework to broader participatory contexts requires a different design of the social process, in order to ensure that model building captures the full panoply of points of view. This challenge can be tackled by enhancing multicriteria decision conferencing with an all-embracing (Web-)Delphi participatory process. We depart from the existing collaborative knowledge acquisition methodology to design, with the Delphi method, a participatory knowledge construction process that elicits and analyses individual judgemental knowledge from a (very) large and diverse number of stakeholders. The knowledge acquired is then digested by a small group of key-players, in a subsequent decision conferencing, to collaboratively develop a widely informed multicriteria evaluation model. This new Web-Delphi-decision conferencing social setting has been tested already in real complex evaluation contexts using a specific multicriteria method, the Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique (MACBETH), to develop a variety of value modelling activities. We call this socio-technical design the Collaborative Value Modelling framework. Here, we describe its real use to support the construction of value functions, focusing on how the judgemental knowledge collected flows between the participatory and collaborative stages of the framework. Results validate that enhancing MACBETH decision conferencing with an ex ante Web-Delphi process fosters higher participation and collaboration in multicriteria modelling.     

Empty Signifiers of Transformation in Participatory Planning and the Marginalization of Black People in South Africa

There is no doubt that participation as a development paradigm for the transformation of planning in South Africa took off in the early days of democracy with a revolutionary zeal. The mood of transforming planning practice from apartheid planning associated with top-down authoritarian modernist systems towards bottom-up post-apartheid democratic systems was marked by the emergence of a deluge of African metaphors such as indaba, lekgotla, simunye, tswele pele, etc. These metaphors immediately entered the scene of planning and policy documents, and this was seen largely as signifying the increased participation of black people marking moments of inclusion, transformation and empowerment. However, the legacy of apartheid planning still pervades through the work that planners do and its arresting impact remains unabated in South Africa. This paper explores the emergence of these African metaphors in participatory planning and their implications on the transformation of planning in South Africa. The paper advances the argument that African metaphors of participation have acted as empty signifiers of transformation for black people in the integrated development planning process. While the metaphors are used to construct politically sellable image for participatory processes, participation has gained ideological traction to support Eurocentric and globalist traditions of urban change. Participation reflects a new way of thinking about order, peace and development, and the African metaphors are not instrumental in changing the Eurocentric and global capitalist logic presiding over the constitution of law, theory and the technical instruments of planning.     

Evaluating Citizen Advisory Boards: The Importance of Theory and Participant-Based Criteria and Practical Implications

The role of risk communication and public participation in environmental and public policy decision making has significantly increased over the last 15 years and remains an important social policy issue. In spite of this emphasis, government officials and participants in the process continue to struggle with what makes for "good" public participation. This study used two frameworks--one theoretical and one participant-based-to evaluate two U.S Army Restoration Advisory Boards (RABs). The theoretical framework explores the extent to which the RABs facilitate Habermas's idealized conditions of speech as related to fairness. Not surprisingly, we found that the two RABs do not consistently foster the idealized aspects of fairness suggested by Habermas. The participant-based criteria were elicited through interviews with participants from the various stakeholder groups represented on the RAB, direct observation of RAB meetings, and a review of RAB-related documents. We found that participants' value outcomes (the results of participatory processes) and not just the process itself, which is the focus of the theoretical framework. We also found that participants in the various stakeholder groups had different perceptions of the goals of the participatory process, which were closely related to their notions of success. Our results illustrate both the complexity and importance of using multiple frameworks for evaluating participatory efforts and the need for more systematic evaluation.     

Learning through communicating with the public

Abstract

In 2012, ETH Zurich, in collaboration with Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA), organized a travelling exhibition on the theme Darum Raumplanung (Spatial Planning: Here’s Why!), which was hosted by 37 Swiss cities (with 42 stops in sum) over the last three years. Through this exhibition and its parallel events, such as grand openings, guided tours, debates, visits in schools and a website, we wanted to raise public awareness of the public’s responsibility, both individual and collective, for the living spaces and the environment. Guided tours for adults, as well as for primary and secondary school students, were conducted by undergraduate planning students and recent graduates of a master’s programme in planning. We discovered that planning students had gained considerable experience in communicating with the public through this exercise.     

Improving Participation in Green Infrastructure Planning

Green infrastructure is a strategic planning concept that is able to address environmental, social and even economic problems by supplying a variety of benefits for society. Especially in times of public financial crises and spatial transformation, it is important to ensure that those services are high quality to guarantee that they will provide the intended benefits by integrating stakeholders’ knowledge and experience into green infrastructure planning. Active stakeholder participation leads to legitimate and informed future planning that accounts for society’s needs. This paper investigates participation approaches of six green infrastructure investments in Belgium, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. The major aim is to explore how and when participation should take place to optimize participation in green infrastructure planning. This is achieved by surveying the stakeholders involved and conducting stakeholder discussions to identify their views on the participation approaches employed and their integration into the planning process. We found that stakeholders were generally satisfied with how they were involved but desired a broader and more tailored mix of approaches. Furthermore, we found several Arnstein gaps, which lead us to conclude by suggesting recommendations that are helpful for successful participation in green infrastructure planning.     

Livability of Urban Public Spaces in Northern Swedish Cities: The Case of Umeå

This study explores how winter conditions are taken into accountin urban planning in the city of Umeå in northern Sweden. Snowand harsh winter conditions are to some extent considered in urban planning in most northern towns in Sweden. Besides that, snow and ice could also be elements in the city attracting people and contribute to the design of public spaces. Current plans and interviews with planners were complemented with participatory observations. The results show that public spaces designed for both winter and summer seasons are preferred.     

Multicriteria decision support in local energy planning: An evaluation of alternative scenarios for the Sustainable Energy Action Plan

One of the major challenges for the implementation of local energy planning is the successful development of a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) by the local authorities (especially within the framework of their participation to the Covenant of Mayors’ initiative). This aspect constitutes a decision making problem, since the local authorities have to identify the best fields of actions and opportunities for reaching their long-term CO₂ reduction target. However, the already available methods and tools do not offer an integrated framework for the SEAPs’ development and especially the selection of sustainable Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and Rational Use of Energy (RUE) technologies. In this context, the aim of this paper is to present a participatory supportive framework for the implementation of local energy planning. At the first level, the proposed approach incorporates the development of alternative Scenarios of Actions (using knowledge-based process, participatory approach and aspiration level). At the second level, a direct and transparent multicriteria decision support is introduced, in order to evaluate the feasible Scenarios. It includes the application of a multicriteria ordinal regression approach and an extreme ranking analysis method for the estimation of the best and worst possible ranking position of each Scenario. The results from the pilot appraisal of the methodological approach to a “real” problem are presented and discussed. The adopted approach contributes to the selection of the most appropriate combination of RES/RUE actions, supporting in this way the local authorities to the development of their SEAP.     

Interactive Hazards Education Program for Youth in a Low SES Community: A Quasi‐Experimental Pilot Study

A pilot study of an interactive hazards education program was carried out in Canberra (Australia), with direct input from youth participants. Effects were evaluated in relation to youths’ interest in disasters, motivation to prepare, risk awareness, knowledge indicators, perceived preparedness levels, planning and practice for emergencies, and fear and anxiety indicators. Parents also provided ratings, including of actual home‐based preparedness activities. Using a single group pretest‐posttest with benchmarking design, a sample of 20 youths and their parents from a low SES community participated. Findings indicated beneficial changes on a number of indicators. Preparedness indicators increased significantly from pre‐ to posttest on both youth (p < 0.01) and parent ratings (p < 0.01). Parent ratings reflected an increase of just under six home‐based preparedness activities. Youth knowledge about disaster mitigation also was seen to increase significantly (p < 0.001), increasing 39% from pretest levels. While personalized risk perceptions significantly increased (p < 0.01), anxiety and worry levels were seen either not to change (generalized anxiety, p > 0.05) or to reduce between pre‐ and posttest (hazards‐specific fears, worry, and distress, ps ranged from p < 0.05 to < 0.001). In terms of predictors of preparedness, a number of variables were found to predict posttest preparedness levels, including information searching done by participants between education sessions. These pilot findings are the first to reflect quasi‐experimental outcomes for a youth hazards education program carried out in a setting other than a school that focused on a sample of youth from a low SES community.     

Planning reform beyond planning: the debate on an integrated Environment and Planning Act in the Netherlands

Land-use plans serve a dual function. On the one hand, they are programmes for future development, plans for action. On the other hand, they have a regulative function in relation to construction and land use. This paper investigates how the interplay between these functions is playing a role in the current debate about the new integrated Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet) in the Netherlands. Initially, the government proposed abolishing local land-use plans and replacing them with a system of by-laws. However, this proposal did not survive the debate on this bill. This paper will shed light on the relationships between planning and regulation by analysing that debate.     

Refocusing the Focus Group: AIRing as a Basis for Effective Workplace Planning

Organizations commonly make use of focus groups for planning purposes while giving little thought to the dimensions on which those groups are formed. This paper argues that the dimensions of group formation have a significant effect on the ultimate success of any planning exercise. This is because in all organizations people necessarily self‐categorize as members of groups that shape the way they think and act at work. However, there is often a lack of fit between the way organizations categorize employees and the way those employees categorize themselves. To the extent that there is a lack of fit between imposed and self‐identified categories, we argue that organizations will fail to effectively harness group resources. Any planning strategy that makes use of groups should organize people in terms of identities that are most relevant to their work in order (a) to have an impact on the way people think and act and (b) to ensure that people have (and feel that they have) the opportunity to provide input that is relevant, useful and important for the organization. The paper discusses a technique, AIRing, that allows organizations to address this issue effectively. This is the first stage of the ASPIRe negotiation‐based planning model (Eggins et al., Social Identity at Work: Developing Theory for Organizational Practice, pp. 241–260, Philadelphia, PA: Taylor & Francis, 2003; Haslam et al., British Journal of Management, 14 (2003), pp. 357–369).     

Using Surveys in Public Participation Processes for Risk Decision Making: The Case of the 2003 British GM Nation? Public Debate

This article takes as its case study the “GM Nation?” public debate, a major participation process on the commercialization of agricultural biotechnology, which occurred in Britain during the summer of 2003. We investigate possible self‐selection biases in over 36,000 open questionnaire responses on the risks and benefits of genetically modified crops and food obtained during GM Nation? A comparison sample of equivalent responses from a statistically representative sample (n= 1,363) of the British general public obtained shortly after the conclusion of the debate is reported. This comparison shows that the GM Nation? open responses were indeed not fully representative of British “public opinion” regarding agricultural biotechnology. Rather, such opinion is not a unitary whole, but fragmented, with considerable ambivalence coexisting alongside outright opposition to GM agriculture. The methodological implications for multistage participation processes are discussed: in particular, the need to anticipate outcomes of complex design decisions, and to include representative public surveys as standard where measures of broader public attitudes to risk are an important objective.     

A Methodology for Integrating Tsunami Inundation Modelling into Land Use Planning in New Zealand

Guidance has been produced for land use planners and decision-makers on how tsunami inundation modelling can be included into land use planning. The process of developing the guideline included exploring the difficulties in integrating physical science models into land use planning with a focus on tsunami. These difficulties included addressing uncertainty and reconciling planners' needs with the capability of the modellers. The guidance was based on two key questions. (1) How can tsunami modelling be incorporated into land use planning? (2) What information do planners need from modellers to improve planning and policy for tsunami? The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the guideline, with the aim of assisting others in producing similar guidance for implementing tsunami modelling into land use planning. The guideline includes tsunami basics, a decision tree for including tsunami risk into land use planning, which forms the basis of the guideline.     

e-Participation: Comparing Trends in Practice and the Classroom

This article reports an assessment of the growing use of Internet-based public participation methods, e-participation, in planning practice and university-level planning education in the USA. After documenting results from case study reviews of practice and a web-based survey of planning faculty, a comparative analysis reveals that academic programs are incorporating a range of e-participation tools; however, there is a need to increase curricula content to mirror trends in planning practice. The article concludes with recommendations on how to build on the strengths and to address the weaknesses observed in this study to better prepare students for the demands of planning practice.     

Public Knowledge of and Involvement with Metropolitan and Local Strategic Planning in Australia

Despite academic and practitioner debate surrounding public involvement in planning, little is actually known about the extent to which the public is aware of the planning process. The focus of this paper is the examination of the underlying, latent public knowledge of the planning system in Australia. This latent knowledge (or more accurately, the absence of this knowledge) emerges as a barrier to public involvement. This paper examines public perceptions of the importance of metropolitan and local strategic plans, knowledge of these plans, the main sources of this knowledge, and the extent to which the public is likely to become involved with strategic planning process. The paper concludes that despite large segments of the population viewing strategic planning as important, only a small proportion is actually aware of the plans themselves, while an even smaller proportion is likely to become involved in the planning process.     

Land use planning: An optimizing model

An optimizing model for comprehensive land use planning (OPTPLAN) is described. Multiple objectives and constraints on desired growth patterns are considered simultaneously in arriving at optimal acreages of ten land use types in several regions within a county or city. Objectives are (i) minimization of conflict between different land uses, (ii) minimization of travel distance of new trips to the existing transportation network, (iii) generation of a fiscally sound plan, and (iv) minimization of environmental impact. Constraints are on each type of land use based on population and employment projections, projected mix of residential dwelling units, local commercial and institutional land needed per thousand persons, location and extent of new industries, open space requirements per thousand population, and natural resource considerations. Application of the model to Du Page County, Illinois is shown.     

Children and Planning: To What Extent Does the Scottish Town Planning System Facilitate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?

Children are often not given explicit attention in land use planning outside of allocating space for schools, parks and playgrounds. This is problematic as children both use and navigate beyond these settings, and findings from research on and with children report how they are frequently marginalized in society. This is partly affected by the way town planning systems treat children's spatial needs and participation. Therefore, this article investigates whether and how the Scottish town planning system acknowledges children, particularly in light of the internationally recognized rights set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It uses critical discourse analysis of key Scottish planning policies, along with a survey of Scotland's planning authorities to ascertain the extent to which children are provided for and participate in the system. It argues that children's rights are not widely acknowledged or incorporated into town planning policy and practice, and suggests this must be addressed to achieve greater social justice and support Scotland's commitments as a signatory of the UNCRC.     

The Practice of Scenario Planning: An Analysis of Inter‐ and Intra‐organizational Strategizing

Strategic activity is often punctuated through the application of strategy tools. Despite widespread use, a lack of understanding exists regarding the impact such tools and their practices have on an organization's strategy process. Of the growing body of research tackling the phenomenon, none appears to extend beyond an intra‐organizational setting. Acknowledging the importance of multi‐organizational partnerships, particularly in the public sector, in this paper an attempt is made to help fill this void through examining the application and effect of a scenario planning process at an inter‐organizational level. Conceptualizing scenario planning as a practice of simplexity, where complexity of thought combines with simplicity of action, an in‐depth, longitudinal case study is used to demonstrate the importance and interaction of sensemaking, storytelling and organizing in creating meaning within strategizing activities at the inter‐organizational level. However, also demonstrated is the relative weakness of the output of the scenario planning process ? the stories ? as a boundary object capable of transferring knowledge and meaning to the intra‐organizational level. Through empirical and theoretical integration a model is developed presenting the flow of practices and artefacts used in sensemaking within inter‐ and intra‐organizational strategizing.     

Labour Participation of Higher Education Students

The aim of this article is to shed light on the determinants of the decision to participate in the labour force while studying, and of the intensity of this participation as measured by the wages earned by students. We show that students react to their future expected economic benefits associated with their chosen course of study. In this sense, our results confirm Lévy‐Garboua’s (Revue française de Sociologie XVII: 53–80, 1976) thesis of working as an adjustment variable for the variations in the expected rate of return of discipline. Our results indicate that the decision to work while studying and its intensity depend on students’ socioeconomic status and material needs, as well as external financial resources. Altogether, our results suggest that the equity and internal efficiency implications of such a social bias in the labour force participation behaviour might not be too important, but that some public interventions might nevertheless improve the overall external efficiency by allowing students to spend more time on more valorizing activities rather than unskilled and low‐paid jobs.