Why Geospatial Linked Open Data for Smart Mobility?

While the concept of Smart Cities is gaining momentum around the world and government data are increasingly available and accessible on the World Wide Web, key issues remain about Open Data and data standards for smart cities. A better integration and interoperabilty of data through the World Wide Web is only possible when everyone agrees on the standards for data representation and sharing. Linked Open Data positions itself as a solution for such standardization, being a method of publishing structured data using standard Web technologies. This facilitates the interlinking between datasets, makes them readable by computers, and easily accesible on the World Wide Web. We illustrate this through the example of an evolution from a traditional Content Management System with a geoportal, to a semantic based aproach. The Traffic Safety Monitor was developed in the period of 2012-2015 to monitor the road safety and to support policy development on road safety in Flanders (the northern part of Belgium). The system is built as a Content Management System (CMS), with publication tools to present geospatial indicators on road safety (e.g. the number of accidents with cars and the number of positive alcohol tests) as Web maps using stardardized Open Geospatial Consortium Webservices. The Traffic Safety Monitor is currently further developed towards a Mobility Monitor. Here, the focus is on the development of a business process model for the semantic exchange and publication of spatial data using Linked Open Data principles targeting indicators of sustainable and smart mobility. In the future, the usability of cycling Infrastructure for vehicles such as mobility scooters, bicycle trailers etc. can be assessed using Linked Open Data. The data and metadata is published in Linked open data format, opening the door for their reuse by a wide range of (smart) applications

Web data extraction systems versus research collaboration in sustainable planning for housing: Smart governance takes it all

To date, there are no clear insights in the spatial patterns and micro-dynamics of the housing market. The objective of this study is to collect real estate micro-data for the development of policy-support indicators on housing market dynamics at the local scale. These indicators can provide the requested insights in spatial patterns and micro-dynamics of the housing market. Because the required real estate data are not systematicly published as statistical data or open data, innovative forms of data collection are needed. This paper is based on a case study approach of the greater Leuven area (Belgium). The research question is what are suitable methods or strategies to collect data on micro-dynamics of the housing market. The methodology includes a technical approach for data collection, being Web data extraction, and a governance approach, being explorative interviews. A Web data extraction system collects and extracts unstructured or semi-structured data that are stored or published on Web sources. Most of the required data are publicly and readily available as Web data on real estate portal websites. Web data extraction at the scale of the case study succeeded in collecting the required micro-data, but a trial run at the regional scale encountered a number of practical and legal issues. Simultaneously with the Web data extraction, the dialogue with two real estate portal websites was initiated, using purposive sampling and explorative semi-structured interviews. The interviews were considered as the start of a transdisciplinary research collaboration process. Both companies indicated that the development of indicators about housing market dynamics was a good and relevant idea, yet a challenging task. The companies were familiar with Web data extraction systems, but considered it a suboptimal technique to collect real estate data for the development of housing dynamics indicators. They preferred an active collaboration instead of passive Web scraping. In the frame of a users’ agreement, we received one company’s dataset and calculated the indicators for the case study based on this dataset. The unique micro-data provided by the company proved to be the start of a collaborative planning approach between private partners, the academic world and the Flemish government. All three win from this collaboration on the long run. Smart governance can gain from smart technologies, but should not loose sight of active collaborations

Van webscraping tot collaboratieve planning: hoe een gedeelde ambitie leidt tot trandisciplinaire samenwerking

Binnen het Steunpunt Ruimte werden eerste stappen gezet richting ‘verruimd vakmanschap’ met wederzijds begrip tussen betrokken partijen en de inschakeling van de ruimtelijke planner in een andere logica. Het Witboek Beleidsplan Ruimte Vlaanderen schuift ruimtelijk rendement naar voor als beleidsambitie. Herbruik van panden wordt beschouwd als één van de strategieën om dat rendement te realiseren. Het gebrek aan inzichten in ruimtelijke micro-dynamieken van de woonmarkt in Vlaanderen maakt het moeilijk om beleidsopties rond hergebruik te toetsen aan de realiteit. Lokale dynamieken van de woningmarkt zouden in kaart gebracht kunnen worden met beleidsondersteunende indicatoren. Essentiële informatie voor de berekening van dergelijke indicatoren is terug te vinden op het internet, via portaalsites voor immobiliënzoekertjes. Het is mogelijk om deze rijkdom aan gegevens van het web te ‘scrapen’ en op te slaan in een databank. Dit lijkt een eenvoudige en onafhankelijke manier van gegevensverzameling, maar technische en juridische knelpunten wijzen op de meerwaarde van samenwerking. Binnen een coproductie benadering werd verkend hoe beleid, onderzoek en private bedrijven kunnen samenwerken rond de ontwikkeling van indicatoren over micro-dynamieken van de woningmarkt. Via interviews met vertegenwoordigers van vastgoedportaalsites werden de context en win-wins van samenwerking duidelijk. Een kleinschalige maar effectieve samenwerking verhelderde aandachtspunten rond de afstemming van doelstellingen en belangen, en de organisatie van de samenwerking. Voor elke partij bleek samenwerken duidelijke opportuniteiten te bieden die niet bereikt kunnen worden door elke professional afzonderlijk. Dit was een stimulans om verdere samenwerking tussen beleid en private bedrijven te verkennen en zo een stap te zetten richting verruimd vakmanschap

A Different Perspective on Garden Grabbing: Mapping the Adaptive Capacity of Home Food Production

Current trends in urban development strive for the densification of existing urban areas. This densification can be operationalized by the decrease and intake of domestic garden area. Yet, such densification projects may result in potential losses with regards to the support of ecosystem services and the safeguarding of urban adaptive capacity. The manifold of multifunctional garden spaces present worldwide offers for example interesting perspectives for food provisioning. By developing a theoretical model to capture, quantify and interrelate the most relevant variables and constraints of potential food production in domestic gardens, insight is gained in the food production potential of domestic gardens. Also the influence of utility on the household's decision on how much space and time to devote to food production was incorporated. The model development was fostered by quantitative and qualitative data collection for the case study Flanders. These data allowed to gain insights in the current food production and potential for food production in Flemish domestic gardens. Such insights allow the exploration of spatial and temporal constraints of individual domestic gardens for food production. This contributes to a better understanding of the adaptive capacity of garden space interwoven within the urban fabric. As such, the qualities and potentials enclosed within the existing garden area can be put next to the benefits of building these areas. Moreover, insights are gained in points of attention when private garden areas would be addressed for food provisioning

Potential ecosystem services of urban agriculture: a review

iiTSEinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Verhalen uit de open ruimte

De verhalen uit de open ruimte zijn een synthese van een aantal kansen en problemen bij gebiedsgerichte processen in de open ruimte. Deze kwamen naar boven tijdens de interviews, focusgroepen en overleg­momenten met experten, die werden uitgevoerd tijdens het IMAGO-­project (www.imagotoolbox.be). Via story­telling willen we verschillende discussies over de open ruimte op een creatieve manier toegankelijk maken, met kadering, nuancering, quotes en anekdotes uit de Mechelse regio en het landschaps­park Bulskampveld. De verhalen zijn een eerlijke weergave van hoe mensen op het terrein gebieds­gerichte processen in de open ruimte ervaren in de Mechelse regio en het landschaps­park Bulskampveld. Hoewel de vorm van de verhalen niet wetenschappelijk is, kan de inhoud van de verhalen volledig wetenschappelijk gestaafd worden met de analyse en het achtergrondmateriaal. Afhankelijk van de eigen voorkennis over het thema zullen bepaalde verhalen meer of minder herkenbaar zijn voor de lezer. De verhalen kunnen de lezer inspireren en helpen om de keuzes of standpunten van anderen te begrijpen. Via de verhalen willen we prikkelen, vragen oproepen, en het debat over de open ruimte openen

The garden complex in strategic perspective. The case of Flanders

Gardens are part of the landscape worldwide and doubtless always will be. Despite their diversity and heterogeneity, domestic gardens have specific structural and functional characteristics and provide particular ecosystem services and benefits. Collectively they form a specific category of green spaces, but they have received far less attention than other green components of the territory like forests, nature reserves and urban parks.This dissertation offers an assessment of the strategic value of the integral stock of domestic gardens in a regional context. The concept of the garden complex is launched to represent this integral stock. By unlocking original information on the structures, services and strategies of the garden complex, the research breaks through the unavailability of information, the lack of attention in policy, and the scarcity of scientific research on gardens. The main objective, to assess the strategic value of the garden complex, is operationalized through the mapping and envisioning of the garden complex. The adopted research methodology comprises an original integration of both quantitative and qualitative research methods and techniques. The research focuses on domestic gardens in Flanders, with an open mind to the universality of the theme. The history of the rise and disappearance of a former garden agenda in Belgian territorial policies offers interesting references about the mobilization of households in the development of the territory and the persuasion of a common goal. Both structures and services of the Flemish garden complex are mapped. The refinement of an existing land use map revealed that domestic gardens cover more than 8 % of the Flemish territory, which is comparable to the regional coverage of forest (11 %) and sealed surface (13 %, including housing, industrial sites, roads and railways). From a spatial perspective the garden theme is thus far from marginal. An investigation of the occupation of agricultural land by gardens within six municipalities indicated that domestic gardens cover about 6 % of the statutory farmland.The study of services focused on the ecosystem function of nutrient cycling and the provisioning service of food production. The results on nutrient cycling indicated an excessive use of fertilizers. Also garden soil fertility states appeared to be well over the agronomical growth optimum for pH, carbon and phosphorus. The results equally well indicate that the garden complex has potential as a carbon sink, especially when lawn soils are taking into consideration. Concerning the provisioning of food, the gardening decisions of households are further unraveled through the development of an economic model. Vegetable or kitchen gardens can be found in many Flemish gardens. Moreover, the home garden produce of vegetables covers about one third of the amount bought at the market for 25 gardens. These results illustrate the current productivity of domestic gardens and their potential contribution to the adaptive capacity of food systems.To support the ecosystem services provided by the garden complex, governance strategies are needed. The garden is a key example of a complex social-ecological system: a place where the natural system is intimately linked with the social system. For example, gardeners (influenced by personal ideas, norms, salesmen in garden stores and friends) can adopt different management styles that include plant choices and usage of fertilizers, chemicals and water. Through their management, they influence ecosystem services like pollination. Domestic gardens are private landscapes that are autonomously managed by a multitude of households. The cumulative outcomes of these individual garden management decisions occur post hoc and are often not optimal. This phenomenon has been referred to as the tyranny of small-decisions . The hypothesis was that the tyranny of small gardening decisions has potential to become a resource by small gardening actions . The results showed that such a transformation is indeed feasible and that the cumulative actions of a manifold of gardeners can be considered an opportunity rather than a pitfall. However no silver bullet came up: a multiplicity of actions will be needed to establish garden governance with enhanced strategic value at regional level.Bringing these findings together allows to conclude that the garden complex indeed has strategic potential. This strategic potential is not only present in its spatial and functional characteristics, but also in terms of governance strategies. Matching this renewed assessment of domestic gardens with the historical strategic roles assigned to gardens gives inspiration for future pathways towards a garden complex that is a true resource by the cumulative effect of small gardening actions.This dissertation contributes to the integrated knowledge of a land use system which hitherto has been ill-documented and largely neglected in a range of territorial policies. I hope that it helps to open up a novel way of looking at the role of modest gardens as a collective good that can actually contribute in building a resilient society.nrpages: 324status: publishe

Strategic gardening for sustainable development

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Van webscraping tot collaboratieve planning. Hoe een gedeelde ambitie leidt tot transdisciplinaire samenwerking

Binnen het Steunpunt Ruimte werden eerste stappen gezet richting ‘verruimd vakmanschap’ met wederzijds begrip tussen betrokken partijen en de inschakeling van de ruimtelijke planner in een andere logica. Het Witboek Beleidsplan Ruimte Vlaanderen schuift ruimtelijk rendement naar voor als beleidsambitie. Herbruik van panden wordt beschouwd als één van de strategieën om dat rendement te realiseren. Het gebrek aan inzichten in ruimtelijke micro-dynamieken van de woonmarkt in Vlaanderen maakt het moeilijk om beleidsopties rond hergebruik te toetsen aan de realiteit. Lokale dynamieken van de woningmarkt zouden in kaart gebracht kunnen worden met beleidsondersteunende indicatoren. Essentiële informatie voor de berekening van dergelijke indicatoren is terug te vinden op het internet, via portaalsites voor immobiliënzoekertjes. Het is mogelijk om deze rijkdom aan gegevens van het web te ‘scrapen’ en op te slaan in een databank. Dit lijkt een eenvoudige en onafhankelijke manier van gegevensverzameling, maar technische en juridische knelpunten wijzen op de meerwaarde van samenwerking. Binnen een coproductie benadering werd verkend hoe beleid, onderzoek en private bedrijven kunnen samenwerken rond de ontwikkeling van indicatoren over micro-dynamieken van de woningmarkt. Via interviews met vertegenwoordigers van vastgoedportaalsites werden de context en win-wins van samenwerking duidelijk. Een kleinschalige maar effectieve samenwerking verhelderde aandachtspunten rond de afstemming van doelstellingen en belangen, en de organisatie van de samenwerking. Voor elke partij bleek samenwerken duidelijke opportuniteiten te bieden die niet bereikt kunnen worden door elke professional afzonderlijk. Dit was een stimulans om verdere samenwerking tussen beleid en private bedrijven te verkennen en zo een stap te zetten richting verruimd vakmanschap.status: publishe

Bringing private actors into action. The garden complex in Flanders

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