Modern society since the 1970s has been characterised by an ongoing information revolution which has been led by innovations in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Technological breakthroughs have pushed social organisations to constantly adjust themselves to fit new possibilities and demands. But, in spatial planning, comparing to other fields, the influences of the ICT innovations are still limited due to the ‘mismatch’ between real demands and technology supply and ‘bottlenecks’ in implementations. This research is aimed at improving the technological support practice in spatial planning decision-making by, linking the technology supply with planning demand. This is based on both theoretical debate and practical experiences, to develop a new model for a successful Planning Support System (PSS), and to test and implement it in the practice of ‘sustainable urban regeneration’. In this research, new opportunities have been created from matching the innovations of Web 2.0 internet applications and geo-semantic web services with the standing demand on gathering and exchanging knowledge in spatial planning, which facilitate the shift of decision-making towards a more communicative and collaborative mode. To do this, a new PSS framework was proposed for bridging the ICT innovations and the planning world, focusing on the common interest in the positive combination of technology, knowledge and people. A prototype system was designed, developed and implemented with local authorities in Greater Manchester in a case study of sustainable transport planning. The experiences learnt show that: 1) the contradiction between the limited expectations of the planners and the complex technological facilities that the developers offer affected the motivation to take up innovations in the first place; 2) the wider context of planning decision-making, i.e. the changing ideology of public policy-making, affects the acceptance of ICT innovations in practice, 3) the organisational structure and politics within planning institutions can also limit the diffusion of innovations. Besides, the actors (i.e. initiator, developers and targeted users) in technology implementation are often not clearly defined, which causes uncertainties and misunderstandings in the process. Furthermore, there is a dilemma in that using ICT innovations to facilitate policy innovations also means unexpected changes in daily routine or organisational culture, which most governmental departments are not fully ready and willing to accept. Therefore, it is recommended that future development in PSS should: 1) actively embrace the new technologies and interfaces, 2) find suitable ‘use-cases’ which support knowledge exchange in the multi-level and multi-agent plan-making, 3) follow a task-based approach to produce a useful tool with clearly defined purposes, 4) identify the appropriate actors and partnerships for PSS development and implementation and 5) try to institutionalise PSS development and implementation within the planning authority, to minimise resistance caused by non-technical issues and organizational obstacles.

Students often struggle with collaboration. Successful collaboration requires planning which is often neglected by individuals and groups. Research about whether technological interventions impact online collaborative processes and how these interventions take effect is limited. During the COVID-19 pandemic research about how to support effective online collaborative learning has never been as important for guiding best practices in post-secondary learning contexts. The aim of this qualitative case study was to explore how the quality of planning discussions contribute to group performance and planning challenge perceptions, under the three different planning support conditions. Specifically, the study compared the planning interactions among groups who (a) reported different planning challenge experiences, (b) received different kinds of planning support, and (c) achieved different learning outcomes (group performance). Participants were drawn from 180 undergraduate students enrolled in a first-year course in a university in Canada. Students used an online chat tool to complete a collaborative task and reflect on the process. Extreme case sampling was used to identify groups who perceived planning as problematic (6 groups) and groups who did not (6 groups). Chat transcripts were analyzed for quality and characteristics of groups’ planning discussions. Findings indicate (a) planning was largely neglected by groups, (b) the overall quality of groups’ planning discussions were not calibrated with groups’ perceptions of planning challenges encountered by the group, (c) groups who received the planning support in the form of nominal visualizations engaged in more powerful planning processes during collaboration, and (d) group performance on the task differed between groups who perceived planning problematic and groups who did not. This study contributes to the field by recognizing the deficiency of groups’ planning process in collaboration and providing evidence of the effectiveness of a planning support tool. Recommendations for incorporating collaboration into online learning and instruction during COVID-19 are presented in the conclusion. / Graduate

This exploratory research utilized a qualitative focus group of seven participants to see what insights older lesbian women provide toward impacting understanding of their perceived isolation, perceived invisibility, health needs and access to social services that are congruent with LGBTQ+ culture. The participants were recruited through snowball sampling. After the completion of the data collection, data were thematically analyzed and color coded. The significance of this study was to gain greater insight into the specific needs and areas of concerns of a vulnerable population. This greater insight may lead to social workers’ being able to provide better services for lesbian women. The major themes derived from the data were separated by access, homophobia, invisibility, social support, and health. Sub-themes included: quality of healthcare, support system, community involvement, political climate, coming out, need for LGBTQ+ specific services, discrimination (sexism/homophobia), finances, relationship status, health issues and social limitations, quality of life, planning, invisibility.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Claude A. Keithley / Planning Support Systems allow planners to create alternative development scenarios to forecast a more accurate and precise future trend of development in their communities. The software What If?™ has been developed and introduced in the planning profession since its first release in the 1990’s. This report evaluates the software What If?™ based on the planning decision-making process. The report provides three aspects of evaluation: technical, empirical, and subjective. In addition, the paper will be also providing an overall understanding of the analytical capability of What If?™, and an overview of its operating procedures.

This thesis focuses on the application of scientific information and planning support system (PSS) technologies to community planning and decision-making processes. Years of scientific research and recent technologicaladvances have produced a wealth of information and increased accessibility to this information. Technological advances have also enhanced the types of analysis that can be done to support planning and decision-making processes. However, having the capability to access this wealth of information and perform advanced analyses does not necessarily mean it results in incorporation of the data and analysis into. the planning or decision-making process. The main objective of this research is to devise a methodology to evaluate the role and impact of PSS technologies and scientific information on community level planning and decision-making processes. The methodology consists of six areas of focus: (l) issue of concern; (2) characteristics of the planning and decision-making process; (3) relevance of science to the issue; (4) capabilities ofthe PSS system; (5) roles and capabilities of the planners and decision-makers; and (6) impact of the science. The methodology is applied to Walden, Tennessee as the town goes through the process of creating a conservation-oriented zoning ordinance.

This thesis focuses on the application of scientific information and planning support system (PSS) technologies to community planning and decision-making processes. Years of scientific research and recent technologicaladvances have produced a wealth of information and increased accessibility to this information. Technological advances have also enhanced the types of analysis that can be done to support planning and decision-making processes. However, having the capability to access this wealth of information and perform advanced analyses does not necessarily mean it results in incorporation of the data and analysis into. the planning or decision-making process.The main objective of this research is to devise a methodology to evaluate the role and impact of PSS technologies and scientific information on community level planning and decision-making processes. The methodology consists of six areas of focus: (l) issue of concern; (2) characteristics of the planning and decision-making process; (3) relevance of science to the issue; (4) capabilities ofthe PSS system; (5) roles and capabilities of the planners and decision-makers; and (6) impact of the science.The methodology is applied to Walden, Tennessee as the town goes through the process of creating a conservation-oriented zoning ordinance.

The concept of ecosystem services is getting more used in planning. One important type of cultural ecosystem services is recreation, which has to be consumed where it is provided in contrast to services that can be transported to the beneficiaries. This creates a demand for users to move to the site of the service, making accessibility an important characteristic of the service. In a sustainable region the access to different services, including recreation, has to be considered in planning. With general transit feed specification data available, storing spatial information and time tables for public transport, the possibility to create time table dependent travel time models emerge. This study utilizes a prototype tool for a geographic information system software to create a network model using time tables to calculate travel times between different origins and water related, cultural ecosystem services via the public transport network in Stockholm County, Sweden. This allows for mapping of spatial variation of access within a region, and by combining this with current census data and population forecasts potential visitors to different recreational sites now and in the future can be estimated. By consulting regional planners in the design of the study the results were made useful for the study area Stockholm County as planning support system.

The aim of this project is to improve the planning support system LEAM for use in Stockholm, as well as to use it as a tool in investigating which factors drive development in the Stockholm region, and how this can be used to guide future development to be as sustainable as possible. The details of the data assembly and modifications made for the improvement of LEAM Stockholm are included in this report, together with suggestions for further improvements. Four different scenarios for development in Stockholm were tested during this project, and the results of these scenarios are included here. Based on these scenarios, transportation (road) networks and growth limitations imposed by the planning authorities (no-growth zones and municipal density targets) were found to be those drivers which have the biggest effect on directing the urban growth. These drivers could also be used effectively in guiding urban development for improved watershed management and reduced urban greenhouse gas emissions.

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