An analysis of green infrastructure in municipal policy: Divergent meaning and terminology in the Greater Toronto Area

The concept of green infrastructure has been rapidly adopted by several disciplines and is increasingly appearing in policy discussions. While the use of the term has recently expanded, there is no single definition of green infrastructure. To date most of the research examining green infrastructure in policy has occurred in Europe and the US, and to a lesser extent Asia, highlighting differences in the term’s meaning between these regions. Green infrastructure has also recently become part of policy discourse in Canada, but it is unclear how widespread its use is or how it is being defined in a Canadian policy context. This study examines inclusion of the term ‘green infrastructure’, and the broader ideas it represents, in municipal policy through a content analysis of 81 municipal plans from the 25 municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area (Ontario, Canada). Examined plans includes those addressing land use, urban forests, stormwater and other relevant sectors. We found that the term appears in 30 % of the examined municipal plans, with three distinct definitions used: living green infrastructure, non-living green infrastructure and ‘greening’ gray infrastructure. Closely related terms (e.g., low impact development) and incorporation of the concept of green infrastructure without using the specific term are more common than direct references to green infrastructure. The variety of terminology and definitions incorporated into the municipal plans raise questions about potential confusion around basic policy goals associated with green infrastructure.     

2023年土地科学研究重点进展评述及2024年展望——土地资源利用与空间规划分报告

研究目的：总结2023年国内外土地资源利用与空间规划领域研究进展,展望2024年国内研究趋势。研究方法：文献调查法。研究结果：2023年国内研究主要集中于土地资源配置的影响与优化、土地资源的生态系统服务价值、绿色低碳土地利用模式、土地利用效益评价、国土空间规划方法、国土空间规划管理和保障制度等方面;国外研究侧重于多类型资源协同配置、土地资源保护效果与路径、土地利用变化的生态效应、土地利用功能评价、可持续的空间规划方法、空间规划管理制度与方法等方面。研究结论：2023年土地资源利用与空间规划领域在土地资源优化配置、生态系统服务价值权衡关系、土地资源保护、绿色低碳土地利用、土地利用评价方法与相关机制、空间规划方法与管理保障等方面取得了一定进展。2024年将重点关注土地资源同其他资源的协同机制、土地利用评价方法、土地绿色利用效率影响机制、土地低碳绿色利用模式、服务中国式现代化与高质量发展的国土空间治理与规划等研究方向。     

A review of spatial planning in Ghana's socio-economic development trajectory: A sustainable development perspective

This study provides a review of spatial planning in the context of Ghana's socio-economic development trajectory. Spatial planning has been integral to the economic policies of the country since colonial rule. Yet, its role has been overshadowed by the domain of socio-economic planning. Drawing from published literature, policy documents, legislative frameworks and interviews, this study reveals the different context and scope within which spatial planning has been implemented in Ghana, and the successes and failures thereof. While the colonial governments employed spatial planning on limited scale and for exploitative purposes, post-colonial governments have implemented broad-based planning grounded in the ‘genuine’ aspiration to promote a spatially balanced development. This study argues that post-independence planning has not been successfully implemented compared to pre-independence planning due to a myriad of factors including rapid urban growth, inadequate staffing, low capacity, lack of institutional coordination, political interference in planning, complex land tenure and evolving land markets among others. Consequently, urban centres in Ghana are beset with problems such as poor environmental conditions, poor infrastructure and service delivery, and uncontrolled growth; and these are inimical to sustainable urban development. The study lauds renewed efforts to transform planning in the spirit of sustainable development through the national urban policy framework and a proposed land use and spatial planning bill; the latter proposes planning based on spatial development framework, and a repeal of an obsolete 1945 planning ordinance that has underlain planning since. It is argued that if supported and harmonised the two initiatives present the best planning framework in the 21st century Ghana.     

2022年土地科学研究重点进展评述及2023年展望 ——土地资源利用与空间规划分报告

研究目的：综述2022年国内外土地资源利用与空间规划方面的研究进展，展望2023年国内研究趋势。研究方法：文献调查法。研究结果：2022年国内研究主要集中在土地资源错配、节约集约用地政策与方法、土地绿色利用与低碳发展、土地利用生态环境效应、国土空间格局优化、土地发展权配置等方面；国外研究侧重基于水—能源—食物系统的土地优化配置、土地利用模拟与评价、土地利用低碳化转型、可持续发展下空间规划内容和方法等方面。研究结论：2022年土地资源利用与空间规划在土地资源配置、土地绿色低碳利用转型、土地利用生态环境效应、双碳目标下国土空间格局优化、土地发展权的配置和转移、空间规划理论和方法等研究方面取得了一定进展。2023年将重点关注土地资源配置的障碍因素与解决路径、节约集约用地技术模式创新、土地绿色利用实现机制、土地利用低碳化转型、土地多功能价值与生态评价、土地发展权的配置和转移、空间规划理论和方法创新、空间规划标准体系和立法体系完善等研究方向。     

Biodiversity and Green Infrastructure in Europe: Boundary object or ecological trap?

The concept of green infrastructure is widely used in environmental planning, but so far it has no standard definition. Planners, conservationists and scientists tend to welcome the term because it can serve as a boundary object, providing links among policy makers, developers and different academic disciplines. However, the concept of green infrastructure creates risks for biodiversity conservation in its adoption. It can be used to water down biodiversity conservation aims and objectives as easily as it can be used to further them because of the different ideas associated with it and the multiple interests pursued. In this paper, we address such risks by looking, among others, at the European Union’s Green Infrastructure Strategy and we suggest how planners and conservationists might deal with its growing importance in environmental policy and planning to enhance its value for biodiversity conservation.     

Urban consolidation,strategic planning and community opposition in Sydney,Australia: Unpacking policy knowledge and public perceptions

Australian cities are facing a number of challenges, including a significant growth in population, a growing housing affordability crisis, a greater concern for environmental issues (such as climate change), and shortfalls in transport and other urban infrastructure. In response to these challenges the promotion of a higher density built form has come to represent an urban planning orthodoxy promoted via metropolitan strategies across the country. Despite the dominance of the higher density ideal within policy rhetoric, its virtues remain the subject of significant debate. To date this debate has been played out in academic and policy circles, with limited recognition of the knowledge and perceptions of such policies held by the general public. Debate around public perceptions of higher density housing has been constrained within the not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) discourse which works to position public opposition to higher density housing as either an illegitimate and selfish form of localised protest or a valid example of urban citizenship and democracy. This paper takes a step back from these localised debates around the value of higher density housing to explore public opinions of higher density housing at the metropolitan and suburb scales. Drawing on a survey administered across the Sydney metropolitan area this paper explores the extent to which the public is aware of policies at state and local levels which promote higher density development, the extent to which the public supports some of the underlying principles of higher density housing (such as sustainability, affordability and reduced urban sprawl) and the impact of higher density developments on their suburb. In doing so, the paper develops a typology of support/resistance for higher density housing and associated planning objectives/tools.     

上海市建设用地空间布局的地面沉降环境影响评价

研究目的:研究上海市建设用地空间布局的地面沉降环境影响评价方法和现状。研究方法:以上海市为例,通过选取地基、地面沉降等条件,构建建设用地布局的危险度指标进行建设用地规划的环境影响评价。对建设用地规模和扩展区、交通站网、水电站网等规划进行评价,探讨上海市规划建设用地布局的地面沉降环境影响。研究结果:上海2006—2020年初步规划的建设用地、交通和水电等基础设施,最大限度地避开了地面沉降灾害的高危险度区,整体上较为合理。研究结论:以地面沉降灾害风险为例的建设用地布局环境影响评价对土地利用总体规划环境影响评价具有重要意义。     

Urban greening: A new paradox of economic or social sustainability?

Cities globally have incorporated sustainable development into their planning, and led the way in responding to the world’s ecological crisis by “going green”. Urban green space accessibility is considered as the key to urban sustainability progress, not only environmentally, but also economically and socially. However, previous research rarely considers the latter two dimensions together. This study therefore joins the sustainability discussion from a new perspective, in particular the debate concerning the value of urban green spaces and whether and how they contribute to the variegated sustainability agenda? Based on data for 76,595 residential housing units in New York City, measuring the economic gains and equity losses from current urban green space accessibility reveals a paradox in sustainable development where the economic and social benefits of urban green space accessibility are seldom compatible, tending to involve a trade-off of some kind. In response, it is proposed that the spatial patterns of land use can represent a step towards multifaceted aspects of sustainability, with the provision of numerous small green areas that are “affordable and accessible” throughout the city being a more appropriate policy agenda than a few vast parks. Such a policy approach, it is argued, will provide a ‘win-win’ situation in terms of simultaneously contributing to both economic prosperity and the social justice of sustainability. This research also provided evidence for the institutional-driven countries such as China on how to learn from western experiences on planning land use patterns that are sustainable for individuals.     

瑞士绿色经济对四川秦巴山区发展的启示

瑞士在历史上是个资源匮乏和经济欠发达的农牧业国家。瑞士发展的初期基础与当今中国西南部山区较为类似。对瑞士绿色经济发展历程进行分析和总结,从理论和实践角度剖析瑞士成功经验。结果发现瑞士成功经验包括:高效的循环经济模式、科学的发展方向指导、有力的政府政策支持和长远的发展目标推进。进一步以四川秦巴山区为例,通过现有政策梳理、瑞士发展模式研究、比较优势分析等研究手段,形成一套针对区域实况、突出绿色循环、借鉴发展经验、实现发展创新的政策建议。瑞士绿色农业山地成功经验对中国"绿色赶超"起到了重要的启示作用,为发展绿色循环经济政策的可行性提供依据支持。     

Water in the city: Green open spaces,land use planning and flood management – An Australian case study

With increasing worldwide recognition of the influence of urban development on the hydrological functions of water, there is growing pressure for urban planning to play a greater role in water resources management. Planning for green open spaces in particular can play an important role, as they support important ecosystem services, including those that assist in flood management. It has been argued that interconnected and strategically planned networks of green open spaces should be planned for early in land use planning and design processes, with consideration of water-related ecosystem values and landscape functions in concert with land development, growth management and physical infrastructure planning. Although there is growing recognition of the importance of green open space planning for water sensitive cities and supportive planning measures, there are few analyses of the actual inclusion of this recognition in plans and strategies, or the presence of related actions and planning mechanisms. This paper addresses this gap by comparatively analysing the approaches taken to regional green open space planning in three Australian capital city-regions. Findings indicate the acknowledgement of relationships between flood regulation and green open space planning and various associated planning mechanisms. However, there is limited explicit integration of flood management and green open spaces planning, and significant on-ground barriers to enabling this integration to occur given the legacy of past planning decisions and the lack of information to support implementation. The paper concludes with recommendations for further research to assist planning for green open spaces as an ally to ecosystem services relating to flood management.     

Balanced national development strategies: The construction of Innovation Cities in Korea

Korea has had a long tradition of centralized planning systems for national development. National spatial planning has played a crucial role in achieving the rapid economic growth and in stimulating the regional development that have been achieved over the last 40 years. However, as the national spatial planning has mainly been concerned with the creation of effective physical environments for economic development in certain areas, the concentration of political, economic and social activities has intensified in those areas, especially in the capital region. Despite the implementation of various policy measures, attempts to mitigate this concentration in the capital region have not been successful in achieving balanced national development.     

Measuring urban sprawl and exploring the role planning plays: A shanghai case study

Measuring the degree of urban sprawl largely depends on the local context and available data. This research establishes a multidimensional index which combines city expansion, urban compactness and urban form to measure sprawl. Urban planning, as part of the state-led growth approach, has exerted dramatic impact on city growth in China. Recent studies have discussed the role of planning in city growth. However, measuring the impact of planning on sprawl, has not been conducted. Taking Shanghai as a case study, this paper builds a multidimensional index to measure the spatio-temporal characteristics of urban sprawl in Shanghai from 1990 to 2010. It finds that urban sprawl was more serious in 2000s than in the 1990s, and the sprawl also presents spatial heterogeneity within different areas of the city. While quantifying the role of planning in urban sprawl, this study adopts the Geo-Detector based on spatial variation analysis of the geographical strata in order to assess the impact of planning on urban sprawl. It finds that planning is strongly correlated with urban sprawl, in other words, urban sprawl is kind of a "planned sprawl" in Shanghai. The research concludes with future planning policies necessary for a more sustainable and compact development pattern.     

Modeling the drivers of urban land use changes in Lusaka,Zambia using multi-criteria evaluation: An analytic network process approach

Curbing the historically unplanned urban development in African cities crucially demands that the drivers of urban land use (urban-LU) changes are comprehended. However, this has become a complex decision problem for African urban planners and policy makers owing to the interconnections among urban-LU drivers and the complicated mixed development of planned and unplanned areas. Therefore, this study presents a new framework to model drivers of urban-LU changes in Lusaka, Zambia for the last 50 years using ground questionnaire surveys and the analytic network process (ANP). The study considers the growth of six urban-LUs, namely, unplanned high density residential (UHDR), unplanned low density residential (ULDR); planned medium-high density residential (PMHDR), planned low density residential (PLDR), commercial and industrial (CMI); and public institutions and service (PIS). The results revealed that socio-economic (55.11 %) and population (27.37 %) factors have been the major drivers of urban-LU changes while political factors (13.07 %) have also played a role. The role of biophysical factors (4.44 %) has been insignificant. The ANP model ranks UHDR (1st) and CMI (2nd) areas as the fastest-growing primarily driven by interactions amongst migration, economic opportunities, social services and land market. The growth of PMHDR, PIS and PLDR areas, ranked 3rd, 4th and 5th, respectively, has been largely driven by plans and policies and the political situation. The growth of ULDR areas is ranked (6th) as the lowest. The study discusses the urban planning and land use policy implications and suggests several strategies including strengthening of the local planning authority; improvement of the land tenure policies and delivery systems; establishment of satellite economic zones to decongest the city; investment in both green and blue infrastructure; and timely policy reviews.     

科学发展观下的土地利用规划方法 ——北京市东三乡之“反规划”案例

研究目的：探讨基于“反规划”思想的土地利用规划方法和将生态基础设施与土地利用规划相结合的具体途径,以促进土地资源的可持续利用。研究方法：景观安全格局分析方法、GIS空间分析方法。研究结果：（1）以北京市东三乡为例,提出了运用“反规划”理论和景观安全格局方法,通过建立不同安全水平的生态基础设施,进行土地控制分区,并制定相应的土地管理导则;（2）依据不同生态过程的景观安全格局和土地控制分区,调整各土地利用类型的空间布局,提高土地利用效率。研究结论：基于“反规划”思想的土地利用规划方法符合土地生命系统的内在机制,能够充分发挥土地资源的综合效益,可以为新一轮土地利用规划提供理念和方法上的借鉴,也是实现精明保护与精明发展的有效工具。     

2021年土地科学研究重点进展评述及2022年展望 ——土地资源利用与空间规划分报告

研究目的：总结2021年国内外土地资源利用与空间规划方面的研究进展,展望2022年国内研究趋势。研究方法：文献调查法。研究结果：2021年国内研究主要集中于土地资源优化配置、绿色低碳土地利用模式、土地利用转型、土地利用效率、国土空间规划体系建设和技术方法等方面;国外研究侧重于水土资源耦合研究、土地资源保护、跨学科土地利用数据应用和海洋空间规划等方面。研究结论：2021年土地资源利用与空间规划在土地资源优化配置、绿色低碳土地利用模式、土地效益评价方法、国土空间规划体系的理论和方法等方面取得了一定进展。2022年将重点关注土地要素配置优化、低碳土地利用模式、土地混合利用、国土空间规划新技术、乡村规划、规划公众参与机制等研究方向。     

The struggle to achieve holistic landscape planning: Lessons from planning the E6 road route through Tanum World Heritage Site,Sweden

Since the EU introduced the European Landscape Convention (ELC) in 2000, the landscape has received growing attention in spatial planning and environmental impact assessments. To promote implementation of the ELC, the Swedish National Heritage Board proposed its Landscape Vision 2020, which addresses the goal of a ‘holistic landscape policy’. This study examined challenges and benefits brought by such a holistic approach to handling landscape protection/management within four issues in planning practice, namely cross-sector cooperation, local participation, integrating culture and nature, and bridging past and future. The analysis focused on a controversial road project passing through a World Heritage Site in Sweden. The results showed that the four issues were closely interlinked. In the case study, a new wave of cross-sector cooperation at authority level was observed, but it was also found to dominate the entire planning process and eventually limit the achievement of the other three issues. In conclusion, this study identified institutional culture and political context as key explanatory factors for understanding how the ELC and a holistic landscape view can be implemented in national practice.     

Land ownership in the United Kingdom: Trends,preferences and future challenges

The relation between population, land use and land ownership has been little explored by academic researchers, and the redistribution of land ownership has largely disappeared from political debate. This article, while recognising the fragmented and limited data available on land ownership, seeks to summarise the broad changes in land ownership during the past century, distinguishing the three main types: private, state and communal tenure, as well as freehold and leasehold tenures. After considering the effects of the spatial planning system upon land use, it addresses some critical emerging issues, such as environmental protection, risk assessment, and housing land supply, and suggests some future directions for land ownership and the role of the state.     

Urban green space qualities: An integrated approach towards GIS-based assessment reflecting user perception

For city dwellers urban green space is the primary source of contact with nature. Qualitative green space is increasingly perceived as an important factor for quality of life in urban areas and a key component of sustainable urban design and planning. In this study, the relation between different features of urban green spaces and perception of green space qualities was analyzed by combining the outcome of a survey on green space perception with GIS-based spatial metrics. A survey has been conducted among residents of the Brussels Capital Region and surroundings to assess the relative importance residents assign to different qualities of urban green spaces and how they value these qualities within visited spaces. Quietness, spaciousness, cleanliness and maintenance, facilities and feeling of safety are identified as important qualities of public green spaces, while naturalness, historical and cultural value are perceived as less important qualities. A GIS-based model was developed to infer naturalness, quietness and spaciousness as perceived by users of public green spaces from green space properties. Using variables describing biological value, land-cover composition, green space area and shape, good correlations were obtained between GIS-based assessment of naturalness and spaciousness and how green space users perceive these qualities. The model proposed may be useful for simulating green space development and improvement scenarios and assess their impact on perceived quality. Thus it may serve as a spatial decision support tool for improving the quality of urban green spaces.     

Good governance and strong political will: Are they enough for transformation?

By the year 2050, more than 70% of the world’s population will be living in cities. The rush to the cities, along with subsequent increased consumption patterns, has dire consequences, for the ecological systems that sustain human life. Some find hope in the potential that cities can be built differently, that green infrastructure and denser forms of development, will satisfy human needs while decreasing the stress on valuable resources and mitigating consequences of climate change. Some say that “strong political leadership and robust governance” is critical for this need to drive sustainable urban transitions. However, are “political will” and “good governance” enough or is the issue more complicated than this? Using a critical political economy approach this paper shows the fundamental difficulties that arise when attempting to transition urban centres to “smarter”, more “sustainable” and “resilient” cities. Ultimately, the paper argues that “good governance” and “strong political will” are inadequate for understanding the requirements for transformation.     

大数据视角下国土空间规划编制的弹性和效率理念探索及其实践应用

研究目的:基于大数据视角开展国土空间规划编制提升弹性、增强效率的理念探索与实践应用研究。研究方法:借助互联网LBS数据(人口迁徙和人口热力),分别在宏观和微观两个尺度进行区域人口流动格局分析和存量建设用地潜力评估。研究结果:(1)规划编制理念应推动双向驱动决策机制,从经验判断走向数据支持;(2)人口迁徙和热力数据在宏观和微观场景中的实践应用有助于空间规划编制实现提升弹性、增强效率的目标。研究结论:大数据技术方法在国土空间规划编制落实区域协调发展、乡村振兴、可持续发展等国家重大战略中具有重要作用,应得到进一步研究。