Peter Pelzer

The added value of Planning Support Systems: A practitioner's perspective

Abstract Planning Support Systems (PSS) are geo-information based tools to support planning. Since the term PSS appeared for the first time in the late 1980s it has evolved into a serious academic subfield. In this debate, little systematic attention has been paid to the added value of PSS for planning practice. In particular the perspective of users requires more empirical attention. This paper attempts to fill this gap by answering the question: What is the practitioner’s perception of the added value of PSS? In doing so we first develop a conceptual framework including the most important added values of PSS observed in the literature. Next, we describe an empirical study of the MapTable PSS, a support tool that is relatively frequently used in the Netherlands. Fifteen interviews were conducted and a Group Decision Room workshop was organized in order to systematically gather perceptions of users about the added value of this PSS. Added values that particularly emphasized are improved collaboration and communication among stakeholders, something which resonates with recent trends in planning. The added value of a better informed outcome is, somewhat surprisingly, considered less important. In order to deepen our understanding, we recommend more research in different contexts and with different tools.

Planning support systems and interdisciplinary learning

Planning is both an interdisciplinary and a collaborative endeavour. A range of disciplines are involved in planning, which arguably all have a specific frame through which they perceive reality and address planning issues. Three main disciplinary frames can be discerned: analytical, design and negotiation. Within this context, increasing usage is made of planning support systems (PSS), which are integrated sets of tools, often digital, aiming to support different tasks in the planning process. PSS arguably have the potential to support the planning process by facilitating interdisciplinary learning processes, involving “frame reflection” by different disciplinary actors. This paper studies this assumption through two case studies in which a PSS was applied in an interdisciplinary setting. It was found that “frame reflection” (double-loop learning) occurred in only one of the two case studies -and that this involved several frictions between disciplines. In the other case study more practical forms of learning were found (single-loop learning) – also valuable for planning. It is concluded that PSS have potential for interdisciplinary learning, particularly where the impact analysis function and a shared spatial language improve the quality of the dialogue. With regard to the latter, however, PSS should be prevented from dominating the discussion as this is something which is particularly problematic for stakeholders with a design frame. In future research, the role of local stakeholders in relation to PSS and interdisciplinary learning could also be taken into account.

Using MapTable® to Learn About Sustainable Urban Development

Sustainable urban development is a critical issue in the Netherlands. The country is densely populated, which causes conflicts between environmental concerns and spatial development. Environmental policy integration is proposed as a way to improve the integration of environmental values into spatial planning with the help of learning processes. This chapter evaluates the extent to which the combination of a map-based touch table and an area-specific environmental profile are of added value to environmental policy integration. The case study is the application of the map-based touch table, called MapTable® for the development of a sustainable neighborhood in the region of Utrecht, the Netherlands. It was found that MapTable® facilitates learning processes by providing a platform for communication among stakeholders from different backgrounds. Nonetheless, it must be ensured that all stakeholders are equally included, and that the process suits the application of a map-based touch table in combination with an area-specific environmental profile.

Forty years after Lee’s Requiem: are we beyond the seven sins?

This paper ended an initial period of wide enthusiasm in attempting to realise the potential of computer innovations to revolutionise urban planning (Harris, 1960). It was an era when both the planning and the computer domains were strongly influenced by strong positivist ideas about the nature of scientific progress. Planning was mainly a comprehensive�rational, linear but also cyclical process in which experts examined all possible (or politically defined) problems and relevant solutions, which in turn would lead to optimal decisions (Faludi, 1973). Even then this was extensively questioned in academic research that emphasised the limits of human cognitive capacity: that is, information processing (Simon, 1969).

A comparison of the perceived added value of PSS applications in group settings

Research on planning support systems (PSS) is increasingly paying attention to the added value that PSS applications have for planning practice. Whereas early studies tended to have a rather conceptual focus, recent studies have paid more attention to empirics. Although this is a step forward, there is still a notable gap in the literature: a dearth of empirical evaluations of PSS applications from a comparative perspective. This paper addresses this gap, based on an earlier published conceptual framework that identifies the potential added values of PSS applications. The paper also tentatively explores the effect of three explanatory factors: support capabilities of the PSS, usability, and the context. In doing so, it reports on research of four PSS applications in The Netherlands. The research method consisted of questionnaires completed directly after the session, open interviews and conversations with stakeholders, and observations. With regard to added value as perceived by the participants, the findings indicate that learning, both about the object and about others, was a key perceived added value in all four cases, despite differences in context, support capabilities and usability scores. Moreover, although usability perceptions of the PSS applications varied, overall they were relatively positive. Context appears to have a substantial effect on the perceived added value of the PSS application, making it hard to distil the exact effect of the support capabilities and usability perceptions. The effect of context is one of the topics that could be picked up in further studies into the added value of PSS. One way to accomplish this in future research is by comparing a larger number of different PSS applications in different contexts, resulting in a higher n in order to enable correlational analyses and cross-national comparisons to better grasp the influence of the institutional context.

Knowledge in communicative planning practice: a different perspective for planning support systems

Although planning support systems (PSS) have now undergone more than two decades of research and development, this is not reflected in their practical application. In this paper we argue that one of the reasons for this is that too much emphasis is put on the instrument rather than the usage and planning context. A better understanding of the relationship between planning practice and PSS is needed in order to improve the role of the latter. We argue that communicative and analytic approaches to planning should be combined. A key to this is a more careful conceptualization of the concepts of knowledge and planning support. Therefore, we have developed a conceptual framework in which the characteristics and evaluation of knowledge and the role of planning support are central. Combined with the notion of storytelling, we believe that this results in a perspective for PSS that has potential for future applications. We conclude the paper with recommendations for future research.

Facilitating PSS Workshops: A Conceptual Framework and Findings from Interviews with Facilitators

Recent research has emphasized the importance of workshops as a venue where planning support systems (PSS) are used in planning processes. Empirical studies of these workshops have previously largely overlooked facilitation, in particular the role of a moderator (steering the discussion) and/or a chauffeur (steering the PSS). Drawing on existing facilitation research, we identify four main categories of facilitation interventions: substantive, procedural, relational, and tool-related. We use these categories to develop a novel conceptual framework for facilitation at PSS workshops. We test and develop this framework through semi-structured interviews with eight experienced facilitators of PSS workshops in the US and the Netherlands . The interviews confirm the validity of the intervention categories, but also revealed a wider range of PSS-specific workshop outcomes. We conclude that successful facilitation of PSS workshops requires two different types of facilitation interventions: some to encourage PSS use, and others to prevent PSS domination of the group discussion. Facilitating PSS workshops is mainly about finding the delicate and context-dependent balance between these two extremes.

Geodesign in Practice: What About the Urban Designers?

This paper acknowledges the great potential of Geodesign. It notes, however, that barriers exist for urban designers to use GIS-based tools. An experiment we conducted with students and interviews with practitioners seem to confirm this claim. We identify four main barriers for the usage of GIS-based tools by urban designers: (1) impotence to handle unquantifiable issues, (2) (perceived) restriction of creativity, (3) limited possibility for fuzziness, and (4) existing habits need to be changed. Based on the interviews, we provide tentative solutions to overcome these barriers. The paper concludes by pointing out future research directions, in particular into a holistic user perspective of GIS-based tools in combination with Geodesign.

Een nieuw mobiliteitstijdperk.

Zondag 29 mei 1955. Op deze zonnige eerste pinksterdag maakt Nederland kennis met een nieuw fenomeen: de file. Zoveel dagjesmensen trekken eropuit dat Oudenrijn, Nederlands eerste verkeersplein, de stroom auto’s niet meer aankan. Bijna zestig jaar later staat dit Utrechtse knooppunt nog altijd in de nationale File Top 50. Bar weinig nieuws onder de zon dus, wat eigenlijk voor ons gehele mobiliteitssysteem geldt. Ons mobiliteitssysteem – de manier waarop we ons als samenleving van dag tot dag verplaatsen – kan met recht een buitengewoon stabiel systeem genoemd worden. Ga maar na: marginale technische wijzigingen daargelaten rijden we al zo’n honderd jaar in dezelfde auto’s rond, en de bijbehorende infrastructuur kennen we ook al decennia in ongewijzigde vorm. Ook op het gebied van openbaar vervoer is er al meer dan een generatie weinig substantieels veranderd. De aanleg van een paar hogesnelheidslijnen wellicht, maar daartegenover staan talloze bussen die nog steeds door stadscentra rijden. De in het verleden behaalde resultaten zijn blijkbaar zo succesvol gebleken, dat er sindsdien nauwelijks nog behoefte is geweest aan systematische veranderingen. Het lijkt er echter op dat die stabiliteit van ons mobiliteitssysteem in de toekomst niet langer zal gelden. We citeren: ‘De huidige trends in energieaanbod en -gebruik zijn onhoudbaar – economisch, milieutechnisch en sociaal. We kunnen én moeten een andere weg inslaan dan die waarop we ons nu bevinden.’ En: ‘Als we er niet in slagen om ons beleid en ons gedrag te veranderen, dan ziet de toekomst er behoorlijk grimmig uit. Een diepgaande culturele verschuiving naar duurzamere consumptie is noodzakelijk.’ Het zijn geen teksten van marginale milieuclubjes, maar citaten uit recente gezaghebbende rapporten van het Internationaal Energieagentschap en de OECD uit respectievelijk 2011 en 2012.

Redactioneel: Blinde vlekken

gebruiken als afspreekplaats voor seksuele handelingen. De bezwaren werden gehonoreerd. Het Oosterpark blijft ook ’s nachts open, mits de gebruikte voorbehoedsmiddelen netjes worden opgeruimd. Vrijwilligers die het park schoonmaken hadden namelijk geklaagd over de vele condooms in de vijver. Voordat ik me in het park ging verdiepen was deze situatie me onbekend. Blinde vlekken gelden net zo goed voor de eigen achtertuin als de roestende staalovens van Charleroi. Het wegnemen van blinde vlekken gaat niet zonder slag of stoot, want mensen zijn in veel gevallen bewust blind voor ongemakkelijke zaken. Wetenschappelijk onderzoek kan bijdragen aan het verhelpen van blindheid. In deze AGORA een aantal fascinerende voorbeelden. Neem de Klassieker van Louis van den Hengel. Hij laat zien hoe het werk van Michel Foucault ons helpt te refl ecteren op het idee van seksuele vrijheid. “Hoe meer we opbiechten over seks, hoe meer macht we toekennen aan de instituties die het seksuele leven beheersen.” Vrijheid is zowel in relatie tot stadslucht als seksualiteit een ingewikkeld concept. Geen twijfel is er over de vrijheid van de samenstellers van dit themanummer. Zij nemen met verrassende en soms expliciete invalshoeken een aantal van onze blinde vlekken omtrent seksualiteit weg.