Henning Sten Hansen

The citizens in e-participation

Recent advances in GIS and the Internet have improved the technical possibilities for supporting the public participation through e-Participation systems – e.g. Public Participation GIS. On the other hand there has been too much focus on many technical aspects of public participation with reduced focus on the citizens. Equal opportunities to express their opinions and an open debate between people are the basic foundation for democracy. Therefore the design of participatory processes must take outset in the citizens and their knowledge and commitment concerning the issue to be debated. The current paper presents the results of a survey among actively involved citizens in Northern Jutland County. Our analysis shows a high degree of involvement among middle-age well-educated males with a higher education and income above average. It seems that contrary to the planner’s vision of an open debate among all citizens, the result of a PPGIS service is a debate among a rather limited group.

An Adaptive Land-use Simulation Model for Integrated Coastal Zone Planning

The coastal zone has huge economic, social, environmental, cultural and recreational importance for Europe, and about 20% of the European population lives in the coastal zone. Recently, the coastal zone has got enhanced focus through the European Union recommendation on integrated coastal zone management. The dynamic processes of the coastal zone - both man-made and natural - are interdependent and complex. Plans for the coastal zone should take these processes into account and consider the possible consequences for other interests and the impact on adjacent regions and nations as appropriate Using modelling and simulation, we can increase our understanding of the land-use system and reduce uncertainty concerning decisions. The current paper describes the development of a land-use simulation model facilitating the decision-making process through and adaptive and transparent modeling system.

Empirically derived neighbourhood rules for urban land-use modelling

Land-use modelling and spatial scenarios have gained attention as a means to meet the challenge of reducing uncertainty in spatial planning and decision making. Many of the recent modelling efforts incorporate cellular automata to accomplish spatially explicit land-use-change modelling. Spatial interaction between neighbouring land uses is an important component in urban cellular automata. Nevertheless, this component is often calibrated through trial-and-error estimation. The aim of this project has been to develop an empirically derived landscape metric supporting cellular-automata-based land-use modelling. Through access to very detailed urban land-use data it has been possible to derive neighbourhood rules empirically, and test their sensitivity to the land-use classification applied, the regional variability of the rules, and their time variance. The developed methodology can be implemented easily and thus used as a much needed replacement for the various trial-and-error approaches that are often applied in land-use modelling.

Association between neighbourhood green space and sedentary leisure time in a Danish population

Aim: Sedentary behaviour is a risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular disease etc., independently of level of physical activity. Availability of recreational green space is associated with physical activity, but is unknown in relation to sedentary behaviour. The aim of this study is to examine the association between availability of green space and sedentary leisure time in a Danish population. Methods: The study was based on a random sample of 49,806 adults aged 16 + who answered a questionnaire in 2010, including sedentary leisure time. Objective measures of density green were calculated for each respondent using Geographical Information System (GIS). A multilevel regression analysis, taking neighbourhood and individual factors into account, was performed. Results: 65% of the respondents were sedentary in leisure time for more than 3h/day. We found that poor availability of forest and recreational facilities in the neighbourhood is associated with more sedentary leisure time; OR: 1.11 (95% CL: 1.04–1.19), after adjusting for individual, and neighbourhood, level characteristics. Conclusions: Among adult inhabitants, sedentary leisure time of more than 3h/day was more frequent in neighbourhoods with less green surroundings. Intervention efforts may benefit from emphasising the importance of having recreations options in residential areas to provide alternatives to sedentary activities.

Modelling land-use effects of future urbanization using cellular automata: An Eastern Danish case

The modelling of land use change is a way to analyse future scenarios by modelling different pathways. Application of spatial data of different scales coupled with socio-economic data makes it possible to explore and test the understanding of land use change relations. In the EU-FP7 research project PASHMINA (Paradigm Shift modelling and innovative approaches), three storylines of future transportation paradigm shifts towards 2040 are created. These storylines are translated into spatial planning strategies and modelled using the cellular automata model LUCIA. For the modelling, an Eastern Danish case area was selected, comprising of the Copenhagen metropolitan area and its hinterland. The different scenarios are described using a range of different descriptive GIS datasets. These include mapping of accessibility based on public and private transportation, urban density and structure, and distribution of jobs and population. These indicators are then incorporated in the model calculations as factors determining urban development, related to the scenario outlines. The results calculated from the scenarios reveals the great difference in urban distribution that different spatial planning strategies can produce, changing the shape of the urban landscape. The scenarios visualized showed to outline different planning strategies that could be implemented, creating a more homogenous urban structure targeted at a reduction of transportation work and thus energy consumption. This will lead to less impact on climate from transportation based on a more optimal localization and transport infrastructure strategy.

The Association between Access to Public Transportation and Self-Reported Active Commuting

Active commuting provides routine-based regular physical activity which can reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Using public transportation involves some walking or cycling to a transit stop, transfers and a walk to the end location and users of public transportation have been found to accumulate more moderate physical activity than non-users. Understanding how public transportation characteristics are associated with active transportation is thus important from a public health perspective. This study examines the associations between objective measures of access to public transportation and self-reported active commuting. Self-reported time spent either walking or cycling commuting each day and the distance to workplace were obtained for adults aged 16 to 65 in the Danish National Health Survey 2010 (n = 28,928). Access to public transportation measures were computed by combining GIS-based road network distances from home address to public transit stops an integrating their service level. Multilevel logistic regression was used to examine the association between access to public transportation measures and active commuting. Distance to bus stop, density of bus stops, and number of transport modes were all positively associated with being an active commuter and with meeting recommendations of physical activity. No significant association was found between bus services at the nearest stop and active commuting. The results highlight the importance of including detailed measurements of access to public transit in order to identify the characteristics that facilitate the use of public transportation and active commuting.

An overview of the challenges for public participation in river basin management and planning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the challenges for public participation in river basin management and planning and to develop a set of guidelines for a successful public consultation.Design/methodology/approach – The current paper describes and analyses the requirements and expectations regarding public participation in river basin planning and identifies some obstacles and recommendations for the process.Findings – The research carried out identified a wide range of challenges for the practical implementation of the public involvement in river basin planning as stated in the Water Framework Directive. The involvement of the public is critical for a successful implementation of the Water Framework Directive. Hence, public participation is greatly emphasised in the Directive. Article 14 of the Water Framework Directive requires that Member States encourage involvement of all stakeholders into the implementation process, especially into the River Basin Management Planning.Pract...

Building a multimodal network and determining individual accessibility by public transportation

The increased availability of transit schedules from web sites or travel planners as well as more disaggregate data has led to a growing interest in creating individual public transportation accessibility measures. However, used extensively, standard GIS software does not have direct capabilities to integrate transit schedules into multimodal networks and measure space–time-based accessibility. This has caused authors to either simplify travel time elements or develop tools to overcome these challenges. In this paper we aim to describe and implement a method that enables integrating time-table data from a travel planner into a multimodal network model using simple SQL (structured query language) programming and standard GIS. The method presented here integrates all parts of travelling by public transportation from individual home addresses to all reachable transit stops within different travel time thresholds. The method is used successfully to create a multimodal travel-time network model of the Capital Region of Denmark comprising bus, train, light rail, metro, and ferry as well as integrating walking or cycling to stops. Here, the individual accessibility is defined as accessibility areas. The accessibility areas are created at morning rush hour for a study population of 29 447 individuals and a few examples of accessibility areas are presented. The results show a big difference in individual public transportation accessibility in the region. In addition, how the transit network is accessed, whether it is at the nearest stop or at all stops within 1 km walking distance or 3 km cycling distance, leads to very different accessibility areas.

Defining Neighbourhoods as a Measure of Exposure to the Food Environment

Neighbourhoods are frequently used as a measure for individuals’ exposure to the food environment. However, the definitions of neighbourhoods fluctuate and have not been applied consistently in previous studies. Neighbourhoods defined from a single fixed location fail to capture people’s complete exposure in multiple locations, but measuring behaviour using traditional methods can be challenging. This study compares the traditional methods of measuring exposure to the food environment to methods that use data from GPS tracking. For each of the 187 participants, 11 different neighbourhoods were created in which the exposure to supermarkets and fast food outlets were measured. ANOVA, Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) test and t-tests were performed to compare the neighbourhoods. Significant differences were found between area sizes and the exposure to supermarkets and fast food outlets for different neighbourhood types. Second, significant differences in exposure to food outlets were found between the urban and rural neighbourhoods. Neighbourhoods are clearly a diffused and blurred concept that varies in meaning depending on each person’s perception and the conducted study. Complexity and heterogeneity of human mobility no longer appear to correspond to the use of residential neighbourhoods but rather emphasise the need for methods, concepts and measures of individual activity and exposure.

Open Government Data --- A Key Element in the Digital Society

During the last decade several initiatives have worked towards open and freely available data. First, the success by the OpenStreetMap and partly the free use of Google Maps have been a revelation for many users, both in the public sector as well as in the private sector. Additionally, several legal frameworks like the EU directive on Re-use of Public Sector Information and the INSPIRE Directive on geographic information have in various ways encouraged the re-use of public sector information. As a consequence, a minor group of European countries have launched their own open government data projects, and the current research focuses on the role of open public sector information as a major step towards a digital society by analysing the background, extent and expected impact of the Danish open government data initiative.