published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Urban Planning and Environmental Management / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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This thesis serves the following purposes: (1) to understand the importance of green space values, (2) to understand the importance of the use of values in the decision-making process, and (3) to employ and evaluate a technique called the structured value referendum to elicit values (including green space values) that are important in making a land use decision. Green space is any area that is predominantly undeveloped witJiin the urban environment. Although the importance of green space has been widely recognized since the 1960s, there still exists a limited appreciation for green space functions. The lack of comprehensive values incorporation that includes green space values in land use decision-making processes is a primary cause of green space loss. In order to understand the importance of green space loss and the lack of values incorporation in decision-making, a general concept of value is established. Development of a taxonomy exposes green space's economic, social, ecological, and sustainability values, and helps to underscore their importance in decisional settings. A general discussion on values elicitation reveals that their incorporation into decision-making processes can help set priorities, promote a better understanding of the issue, and lead to the development of more effective decisions. Despite these assets, inclusion of a comprehensive set of values rarely occurs in decision-making processes involving green space, and green space values are often ignored. There are, however, value elicitation techniques that can be used to account for green space values. One technique that has yet to be examined extensively for its effectiveness in aiding land use decision-making processes is the structured value referendum (SVR). The SVR is a voting-based structure that can elicit a full range of values. A literature review and case study evaluate the SVR. In the case study, a referendum based on a land use decision mvorving 100 acres in Richmond was designed and distributed to a random sample of200 voters. The results of the case study could aid Richmond public officials in making a decision for the best use of the land. This case study also reveals that the SVR approach is an effective and feasible means for eliciting values and aiding decision makers in making comprehensive land use decisions that involve green space.

<p>The contribution of local knowledge to land use planning and sustainable utilization of natural resources is enormous, yet often overlooked by conventional top-down approaches of regional integrated land use plans. The rich knowledge of local land users contribution to implementation of top-down plans is very important. This study investigated the importance of environmental criteria analysis in sustainable land management through engaging the community at local level, using Salambala Conservancy in Katima Mulilo Rural, Lusese Village in Kabbe and Mayuni Conservancy in Linyanti constituencies, Caprivi region, North East Namibia as case studies.</p>

The problems of land resources degradation as a result of misuse of arable land for non agricultural development and lack of appropriate methods and guidelines for land resources assessment are currently evident in Eritrea. These problems, have called for an urgent need for an appropriate land resources assessment in Eritrea. In response to this, a land capability classification in the areas around Asmara city that covers about 11742.7 ha was conducted. The intended aim was to properly assess the potential of the land resources in the study area and classify the capability of the land so as to designate the land according to its capability and foster appropriate land use. All the available natural resources in the study area were carefully assessed. A detailed soil survey was conducted and soil units were examined, described, classified and mapped out. Several criteria for the limitations were selected from the reviewed literature mainly USDA and RSA Land Capability Classification systems and in consultation with the soil survey and natural resources experts of the Ministry of Agriculture in Eritrea. In formation on land and soil characteristics, and the specified limitations and criteria were captured in a spatial digital format and then analysed within a GIS. Based on the specified parameters, different land capability units, subclasses, classes and orders were identified and mapped out. Finally, the sub classes were grouped to create,land capability classes ranging from Class I to Class VII and consequently the capability classes were grouped and mapped out at the level of land capability orders. The results revealed seven land capability classes (Class I to VII). Class III land in the study area covers 4149.43 ha (36.9 percent of the total area). The largest portion of this class is found in the central, southern and south eastern parts of the study area. However, classes I and II are very limited and cover 1562.95 ha (13.9 percent) of the study area. These classes are found mainly in the southern and central parts of the study area. Most of the gentle and steep sloping lands in the north and north eastern parts of the study area are classified as classes IV and VI. These classes have an area of 2652.08 ha (23.6 percent) and 2594.87 ha (23.1 percent) of the study area, respectively. Classes V and VII are very limited. These classes cover 221.53 ha (2 percent) and 57.55 ha (0.5 percent), respectively. The largest portion of class V land is found in the central part of the study area. Class VII land is mainly confined to the north eastern, western and southern corners of the study area. Four land capability orders were arrived at ranging from (high to moderate potential to non-arable land). The high to moderate potential arable lands are largely found in the southern and central parts of the study area. These lands cover 5715.39 ha (50.8 percent) of the study area. However, low potential arable (marginal productive) and non-arable lands have a considerable area of 2652.08 ha (23.6 percent) and 2652.42 ha (23.1 percent) of the study area, respectively. The largest portion of these lands is found in the north, north eastern and eastern parts of the study area. A small portion of the lands in the study area is classified as seasonally wetland. This land has an are~\ of 221.53 h~{2 percent) of the study area and is mainly found in the central part of the study area. It was concluded that nearly 50 percent of the land in the study area is classified as of moderately to high agricultural potential whereas the rest of the land is classified as marginal to non-arable land. However, the steady growth of demand for land for nonagricultural development due to the increasing population that depend on farm production in the study area, renders the prime arable lands as too limited to support the current population in the study area. Hence, protecting the prime arable lands and properly using such lands based on their sustained capacity can only secure the livelihood of the community. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

Zimbabwe is made up of eight provinces, fifty-seven districts and as many Rural District Councils. In each district there is at least one Growth Point although some may have up to two or more. A Growth Point is a 'town or City in the making' and is usually, but not necessarily the capital of a district. Rural District Councils, which form the local administrative authority and have administrative responsibility over the land that falls within their jurisdictions, are often located at these Growth Points. These local authorities liaise and interact closely with central government, which is made up of Ministries and Departments with different functions, which somehow hinge on the administration of the land. This makes the linkages and land information flows, based on land records crucial. The legacy of the history of separate development introduced and left systems of government, which are complex and hinder a free flow of information within central government and also between central and local governments. These linkages and interrelationships are mapped and traced with a view to streamlining information flows in order to eliminate or minimize flaws . While the efforts of decentralisation towards this goal are recognized, the shortcomings have been cited and the thesis makes some recommendations based on a research undertaken with the cooperation of Gokwe Rural District Council at Gokwe Growth Point. The thesis recommends strengthening the local capacity by assisting their efforts to computerise their records and eventually develop that into a fully integrated local Land Information System that should eventually be linked to the National System. / Thesis (M.Sc.Sur.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

This creative project has provided an example of a community participatory planning process in a small town setting. In this study the process specified by The Small Town Planning Handbook by Daniels, Keller And Lapping (1988) was compared to and supplemented by other contemporary small town and general planning literature. The specified process was designed to be a self help means for a small town to plan and subsequently compile an abbreviated town plan ("Miniplan"). The process was then applied to the Town of Lynn, Indiana as a case study. This study includes discussion and analysis of the study process as it occurred and resulted in several lessons learned. The most significant conclusion is that small towns cannot entirely plan on a self help basis. A visiting planner (eg. circuit rider or consultant) or a trained facilitator is necessary to guide the process. The resulting town planning study document (plan) is appended to this study for reference. / Department of Urban Planning

Land use/land cover (LULC) information is essential for a plethora of applications including environmental monitoring and natural resource management. Traditionally, field surveying techniques were the sole source of acquiring such information; however, these methods are labour intensive, costly and time consuming. With the advent of remote sensing, LULC information can be acquired in an economical, less tedious and non-time consuming manner at shorter temporal cycles and over larger areas. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of multispectral remote sensing data and the Random Forest (RF) algorithm to improve accuracy of LULC maps in heterogeneous ecosystems. The first part of this study used moderate resolution SPOT-5 data to compare the performance of the RF algorithm to that of the commonly used Maximum Likelihood (ML) classifier. Results indicated that RF performed significantly better than ML (66.1%) and yielded an overall accuracy of 80.2%. Moreover, RF variable importance measures were able to provide an insight on the bands that played a pivotal role in the classification process. Due to the fact that moderate resolution satellite data was used, both classifiers seemed to experience some difficulties in discriminating amongst classes that exhibited similar spectral responses such as Eucalyptus grandis and Pinus tree plantations, young sugarcane and mature sugarcane, as well as river and ocean water. In that regard, the next section attempted to address this shortfall. The second part of the study used high resolution multispectral data acquired from the WorldView-2 sensor to discriminate amongst six spectrally similar LULC classes using the advanced RF algorithm. Results suggested that the use of WorldView-2 data together with the RF ensemble algorithm is a robust and accurate method for separating classes exhibiting similar spectral responses. The classification process yielded an overall accuracy of 91.23% and also provided valuable insight into WorldView-2 bands that were most suitable for discriminating the LULC categories. Overall, the study concluded that: (i) multispectral remote sensing data is an effective tool for obtaining accurate and timely LULC information, (ii) moderate resolution multispectral data can be used to map broad LULC categories whereas high resolution multispectral data can be used to separate LULC at finer levels of detail, (iii) RF is a robust and effective tool for producing LULC maps that are less prone to error. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

<p>The contribution of local knowledge to land use planning and sustainable utilization of natural resources is enormous, yet often overlooked by conventional top-down approaches of regional integrated land use plans. The rich knowledge of local land users contribution to implementation of top-down plans is very important. This study investigated the importance of environmental criteria analysis in sustainable land management through engaging the community at local level, using Salambala Conservancy in Katima Mulilo Rural, Lusese Village in Kabbe and Mayuni Conservancy in Linyanti constituencies, Caprivi region, North East Namibia as case studies.</p>