1,682 research outputs found
Planning Support Systems: Progress, Predictions, and Speculations on the Shape of Things to Come
In this paper, we review the brief history of planning support systems, sketching the way both the fields of planning and the software that supports and informs various planning tasks have fragmented and diversified. This is due to many forces which range from changing conceptions of what planning is for and who should be involved, to the rapid dissemination of computers and their software, set against the general quest to build ever more generalized software products applicable to as many activities as possible. We identify two main drivers – the move to visualization which dominates our very interaction with the computer and the move to disseminate and share software data and ideas across the web. We attempt a brief and somewhat unsatisfactory classification of tools for PSS in terms of the planning process and the software that has evolved, but this does serve to point up the state-ofthe- art and to focus our attention on the near and medium term future. We illustrate many of these issues with three exemplars: first a land usetransportation model (LUTM) as part of a concern for climate change, second a visualization of cities in their third dimension which is driving an interest in what places look like and in London, a concern for high buildings, and finally various web-based services we are developing to share spatial data which in turn suggests ways in which stakeholders can begin to define urban issues collaboratively. All these are elements in the larger scheme of things – in the development of online collaboratories for planning support. Our review far from comprehensive and our examples are simply indicative, not definitive. We conclude with some brief suggestions for the future
PSS Users and Harley Davidson Riders: : The importance of consumer identity in the diffusion of sustainable consumption solutions
This is the peer-reviewed version of the following article: Catulli, M., Cook, M. and Potter, S. (2016), ‘Product Service Systems Users and Harley Davidson Riders: The Importance of Consumer Identity in the Diffusion of Sustainable Consumption Solutions’, Journal of Industrial Ecology, which has been published in final form at 10.1111/jiec.12518. Under embargo. Embargo end date: 2 December 2018. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. © 2016 by Yale UniversityThis paper sets out an approach to researching socio-cultural aspects of Product Service Systems (PSS) consumption in consumer markets. PSS are relevant to Industrial Ecology as they may form part of the mix of innovations that move society toward more sustainable material and energy flows. The paper uses two contrasting case studies drawing on ethnographic analysis, Harley Davidson motorcycles and Zip Car Car Club. The analysis draws on Consumer Culture Theory to explicate the socio-cultural, experiential, symbolic and ideological aspects of these case studies, focusing on product ownership. The paper shows that ownership of Harley Davidson motorcycles enables riders to identify with a brand community and to define themselves. Owners appropriate their motorcycles through customization. In contrast, Zip Car users resist the company’s attempts to involve them in a brand community, see use of car sharing as a temporary fix and even fear contamination from shared use of cars. We conclude that iconic products such as Harley Davidson motorcycles create emotional attachment and can challenge PSS propositions. But we also suggest that somewhat standardized products may present similar difficulties. Knowing more about socio-cultural aspects of PSS may help designers overcome these difficulties.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio
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Product Service Systems Users and Harley Davidson Riders: the importance of consumer identity in the diffusion of sustainable consumption solutions
This paper sets out an approach to researching socio-cultural aspects of Product Service Systems (PSS) consumption in consumer markets. PSS are relevant to Industrial Ecology as they may form part of the mix of innovations that move society toward more sustainable material and energy flows.
The paper uses two contrasting case studies drawing on ethnographic analysis, Harley Davidson motorcycles and Zip Car Car Club, one a case of consumption involving ownership, the other without. The analysis draws on Consumer Culture Theory to explicate the socio-cultural, experiential, symbolic and ideological aspects of these case studies, focusing on product ownership.
The paper shows that ownership of Harley Davidson motorcycles enables riders to identify with a brand community and to define themselves. Owners appropriate their motorcycles through customization. In contrast, Zip Car users resist the company’s attempts to involve them in a brand community, see use of car sharing as a temporary fix and even fear contamination from shared use of cars.
We conclude that iconic products such as Harley Davidson motorcycles create emotional attachment and can challenge PSS propositions. But we also suggest that somewhat standardized products may present similar difficulties. Knowing more about socio-cultural aspects of PSS may help designers overcome these difficulties
An aesthetic for sustainable interactions in product-service systems?
Copyright @ 2012 Greenleaf PublishingEco-efficient Product-Service System (PSS) innovations represent a promising approach to sustainability. However the application of this concept is still very limited because its implementation and diffusion is hindered by several barriers (cultural, corporate and regulative ones). The paper investigates the barriers that affect the attractiveness and acceptation of eco-efficient PSS alternatives, and opens the debate on the aesthetic of eco-efficient PSS, and the way in which aesthetic could enhance some specific inner qualities of this kinds of innovations. Integrating insights from semiotics, the paper outlines some first research hypothesis on how the aesthetic elements of an eco-efficient PSS could facilitate user attraction, acceptation and satisfaction
Sustainability in design: now! Challenges and opportunities for design research, education and practice in the XXI century
Copyright @ 2010 Greenleaf PublicationsLeNS project funded by the Asia Link Programme, EuropeAid, European Commission
Service Blueprint for Sustainable Business Model Evaluation
The adverse societal impacts caused by sharing mobility - a
form of service-based sustainable business model innovations, showed that
operation activities and managerial practices impact heavily on the sustainable
value of a service offering. To identify how new service development (NSD)
activities can better support the proposed service offering for sustainability,
evaluating sustainability of service operations is needed. This study draws
learnings from service design, product-service system and sustainable
innovation research streams, to build sustainability evaluation framework into
service blueprint. Six expert-interviews and two mobility case studies were
developed, to illustrate service blueprint's capability in mapping
sustainability input and benefits created during NSD and service operation
activities. Results revealed a) the shift from using sustainable ‘value’ to
‘benefits’ concept in service operation evaluation, b) the public-private
collaboration dilemma and c) the agile NSD and sustainable innovation
incompatibility. This paper aims to offer a springboard for practitioners and
researchers to uncover compelling insights, discuss latest service design developments,
and envision future directions for integrating sustainability into
service-based business model innovation.<br
Collaborative consumption in Southeast Asian cities: Prospects and challenges for environmental sustainability
The rise of collaborative consumption and the sharing economy
suggests a growing acceptability of ownerless consumption, which
could enable more resource efficient use of goods. These
phenomena have largely been studied in high income countries,
however, businesses enabling shared-access to goods or services
have been emerging around the world. In Asia, rapid economic
growth is enabling vast numbers of ‘new consumers’ to access
a middle-class lifestyle. In this context, it is important to
examine the potential for nascent movements such as collaborative
consumption to offer more sustainable alternatives to mass
consumption. This thesis examines the use of collaborative
consumption businesses in emerging economies in Southeast Asia,
focusing on the cities of Hanoi, Bangkok and Manila. The aim is
to understand the prospects and challenges for these businesses
to offer more environmentally sustainable modes of consuming.
Using an interdisciplinary approach, I investigate the prospects
for collaborative consumption (CC) businesses in terms of
environmental sustainability and with regard to the institutional
and personal dimensions of their use. I examine the broader
cultural, social, legal, political and economic contexts for CC
businesses in these three cities as well as specific case study
businesses. I primarily use qualitative research methods, but
also develop some quantitative estimates of resource use. The
scope is limited to product-service systems for households that
enable shared-access to goods, or offer services to replace
products. I undertook over forty interviews with businesses,
consumers, academics, policymakers and other stakeholders in
Bangkok and Hanoi. CC businesses interviewed included rideshare,
taxishare, bikeshare, laundry services and rental for tools,
toys, clothing and designer bags. In Manila, I undertook nineteen
interviews for a case study focused on comparing individual and
shared laundering methods.
Four distinct journal articles were developed for this thesis. In
these articles, I have: characterized the current business types
and users in these cities; examined CC business sustainability
practices; explored consumer practices and resource use with
regard to shared and individual laundering; and identified the
socio-cultural and institutional barriers and enablers for CC
businesses. I have drawn on different theories for each article,
including: adaptive theory, social practice theory and
multi-level perspective. I use a social practice theory framework
to integrate the findings of the four articles and to develop the
conclusions.
Collaborative consumption (CC) businesses in our study appear to
be used by niche groups: university students, young families,
people living in densely populated areas, and emerging and upper
middle-class people keen to access better quality and more
diverse goods. CC businesses in our study were inclined to use
durable, quality goods, to undertake maintenance, and sell their
goods for second hand use and potential remanufacturing. These
businesses may be more likely to achieve environmentally
sustainable outcomes in high density environments, where home
storage is limited and where transport needs can be reduced. Our
detailed case study on laundering found that social changes and
the nature of housing is likely to influence the choice of
individual or shared laundering methods. The socio-cultural and
commercial regimes in Bangkok and Hanoi present major barriers to
further adoption of CC, with regards to “ownership cultures”
and resistance from incumbent industries. However, attitudes are
changing and many of the physical drivers for CC, such as
high-density living, are prominent in Southeast Asia. Many of the
barriers to CC can be addressed through supportive policies and
institutional arrangements such as: appropriate legal definitions
and frameworks, business permits, and programs to facilitate
financing for CC businesses. In all cases, positive social and
environmental outcomes will need to be encouraged or incentivised
by governments
Integrating land use and transport knowledge in strategy-making
There is broad and growing consensus regarding the central place of integrated Land Use and Transport (LUT) strategy development in establishing more efficient and sustainable urban environments. However, empirical evidence shows that such integration is hard to achieve in daily planning practice, due to many institutional barriers and substantive differences. More specifically, the tools developed to support LUT strategy development have very low implementation rates in daily planning practice. This paper introduces the concept of ‘knowledge generation’ as a potentially useful mechanism for closing the gap between support tools and planning practice. Through two specific Dutch planning cases, we analyze the applicability of this concept in supporting integrated LUT strategy development. The paper focuses on the developed strategies, how these differ from current practice, and how knowledge generation supported their development. We argue that socialization produces shared strategies and that effective socialization needs to be supported by efficient mutual exchange between tacit and explicit knowledge. We conclude by discussing the implications of this argument for the wider practice of LUT planning integration
Institutional use of information technologies in city planning agencies: implications from Turkish metropolitan municipalities
Thesis (Doctoral)--Izmir Institute of Technology, City and Regional Planning, Izmir, 2004Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 175)Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and Englishxiii, 185 leavesThis study argues the pivotal relationship between the computing technology and its organizational context. It focuses on nature of implementation in organizational settings that are becoming increasingly important. A further motivation point for this study is to reveal the different discourses (managerial/political/emotional etc.) in the cycle of implementation. The assumption behind this interest is that IT and other technologies are not value-neutral and these tools have the possibility of shaping the goals and agenda of the planning profession.As a part of methodology of the thesis, a comprehensive literature survey was completed around the theoretical issues that constitutes the framework of IT/IS adoption in organizations with a particular reference to urban planning and management. The statements and research questions were tested in the planning departments of selected metropolitan municipalities (Ankara, Izmir, and Bursa) that are experiencing information technologies and systems in various implementation stages. The research strategy was based on a variety of qualitative approaches, including two different types of closed questionnaire-based surveys and semi-structured/unstructured interviews. To measure the success/failure degree of the planning technologies used in the case study organizations in the 'user' dimension of the study, DeLone and McLean.s (1992) IS Success Model and Heeks'(1999) ITPOSMO model were used.Case study research revealed the current stands of ICT implementation in urban planning departments of local governments. It was also evaluated planning practitioner.s commitment and dependence towards computerized planning tools in working practice. In a more exploratory context, a progressive research agenda for ICT implementation in public planning agencies was developed based on the implications of empirical research and literature-based analysis
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