Land Use Planning Topics
Sustainability: Urban
References that have links are freely available on the internet.
De Groot, R. (2006). Function-analysis and valuation as a tool to assess land use conflicts in planning for sustainable, multi-functional landscapes. Landscape and Urban Planning, 75(3), 175-186.
In order to reconcile landscape conservation with changing demands on land use and natural resources, it is essential that the ecological, socio-cultural and economic values of the landscape be fully taken into account in planning and decision-making.
This paper presents a comprehensive framework for integrated assessment of ecological services and socio-economic benefits of natural and semi-natural ecosystems and landscapes. The framework can be applied at different scale levels to different ecosystems or landscape-units and basically consists of three steps: (1) Function-analysis: translates ecological complexity into a limited number of ecosystem (or landscape) functions, which, in turn, provide a range of goods and services; (2) Function valuation: includes ecological, socio-cultural and economic valuation methods; and (3) Conflict analysis: to facilitate the application of function-analysis and valuation at different scale levels, it is important to integrate analytical valuation methods with stakeholder participation techniques.
Deakin, M., & Reid, A. (2014). Sustainable urban development: Use of the environmental assessment methods. Sustainable Cities and Society, 10, 39-48.
The need to protect the environment from the wanton ecological destruction of unfettered economic growth and conspicuous consumption is unquestionable. What is still in question, however, is how environmental assessment methods can be used as a means to evaluate the sustainability of urban development. For while the number of environmental assessment methods available to evaluate the sustainability of urban development has increased notably over the past decade, questions still remain as to the integrative and multi-scalar nature of their evaluations. At their most basic these controversies boil down to the question: is the logic of building assessment integrative and can the method(ology) it uses be scaled-up so as to ‘up-the-ante’ and offer city-wide evaluations of sustainable urban development? This paper reports on the work the BEQUEST network has undertaken to develop such an integrative and multi-scalar assessment methodology and sets out the types of assessment methods it is possible to use in ‘upping-the-ante’ and providing such city-wide evaluations.
Geertman, S., Toppen, F., & Stillwell, J. (2013). Planning support systems for sustainable urban development. Heidelberg: Springer.
This book collects a selection of the best articles presented at the CUPUM (Computers in Urban Planning and Urban Management) conference, held in the second week of July 2013 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The articles included were selected by external reviewers using a double blind process.
Seto, K. C., Reenberg, A., Boone, C. G., Fragkias, M., Haase, D., Langanke, T., ... & Simon, D. (2012). Urban land teleconnections and sustainability. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(20), 7687-7692.
This paper introduces urban land teleconnections as a conceptual framework that explicitly links land changes to underlying urbanization dynamics. We illustrate how three key themes that are currently addressed separately in the urban sustainability and land change literatures can lead to incorrect conclusions and misleading results when they are not examined jointly: the traditional system of land classification that is based on discrete categories and reinforces the false idea of a rural–urban dichotomy; the spatial quantification of land change that is based on place-based relationships, ignoring the connections between distant places, especially between urban functions and rural land uses; and the implicit assumptions about path dependency and sequential land changes that underlie current conceptualizations of land transitions. We then examine several environmental “grand challenges” and discuss how urban land teleconnections could help research communities frame scientific inquiries. Finally, we point to existing analytical approaches that can be used to advance development and application of the concept.
Stevenson, M., Thompson, J., de Sá, T. H., Ewing, R., Mohan, D., McClure, R., ... & Wallace, M. (2016). Land use, transport, and population health: estimating the health benefits of compact cities. The Lancet, 388(10062), 2925-2935.
Land Use Tools and Techniques provides current techniques for addressing local land use decisions with the goal of positively impacting local communities and the Southeast Michigan region, and ultimately, in a healthy quality of life of all residents. The handbook is divided into four main sections – Land Development, Community Design, Environmental Protection, and Transportation. Each section is further divided into several specific chapters. Each chapter contains “Keeping it Connected,” noting how issues are interrelated; Planning and Regulatory Considerations; Tools for Implementation, Case Example(s), and Additional Resources. The handbook also includes basic terminology on planning and development, a glossary, bibliography, index, and other available SEMCOG services to assist local member communities. Land Use Tools and Techniques is an updated version of the handbook published by SEMCOG in 1994.
Suzuki, H., Cervero, R., & Iuchi, K. (2013). Transforming cities with transit: Transit and land-use integration for sustainable urban development. World Bank Publications.
In the Netherlands, the individual risk and the societal risk are used in efforts to reduce the number of people exposed to the effects of an accident. In principle, the societal risk for each new land-use plan should be recalculated. Since this is proving increasingly cumbersome for planning agencies, several methods have been developed for SEVESO establishments and establishments for which in the Netherlands a generic zoning policy is used to determine the effects of new land-use plans on the societal risk. The methods give the uniform population density from a certain distance around the establishment at which the indicative limit for the societal risk is not exceeded. Correction factors are determined for non-uniform population distributions around the establishment, non-continuous residence times and deviating societal risk limits. Using these methods allows decision-making without the necessity of repeating quantified risk analyses for each alternative proposal.
Wheeler, S. M., & Beatley, T. (Eds.). (2014). Sustainable urban development reader. Routledge.
Topics covered include land use and urban design, transportation, ecological planning and restoration, energy and materials use, economic development, social and environmental justice, and green architecture and building. All sections have a concise editorial introduction that places the selection in context and suggests further reading. Additional sections cover tools for sustainable development, sustainable development internationally, visions of sustainable community, and case studies from around the world. The book also includes educational exercises for individuals, university classes, or community groups, and an extensive list of recommended readings.
Zhang, X., Wu, Y., & Shen, L. (2011). An evaluation framework for the sustainability of urban land use: A study of capital cities and municipalities in China. Habitat International, 35(1), 141-149.
The urban land use involves more severe sustainability challenges than agricultural land use. An effective approach for evaluating urban land use is essential for meeting this challenge to improve efficient land use management. This approach must fit into a coherent conceptual and analytical framework covering different aspects, including social, economic, environmental and rational land use structure. A major problem with this is the lack of the evaluation approach for objectively evaluating the sustainability of urban land use in practice. In this paper, an evaluation system for the sustainability of urban land use (ESULU) is presented aimed at rectifying this situation. This is based on 13 indicators drawn from previous literatures in consultation with a group of experts in this field. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is applied to assist in identifying the major factors for evaluating the sustainability of urban land use. Examination of the results provides a grouping analysis of the capital cities and municipalities, indicating a general disproportion between coastal and interior urban cities in China. The findings lead to further suggestions and recommendations for central and local government to design relevant policy in achieving the sustainable development of urban land use and planning.
