Plan in progress: a critique of the selective coproduction of the Spatial Policy Plan for Flanders (Belgium)

In recent years, so-called coproductive, radical strategic planning has become a synonym for integrative and holistic public sector-led planning processes and the alleged integrating qualities of representative democracies. However, these views remain framed by the specific discourses, perspectives and path dependencies of governments, obstructing opportunities for radical reorientations as intended above. In this paper, we want to illustrate how these restrained views affect concrete planning practices through the specific case of the region of Flanders (Belgium). For decades, the holistic model of the Dutch neighbours has largely inspired planning dynamics in Flanders (Belgium). As such, in 1997, most concerned Flemish authorities accepted the first overarching spatial policy plan for the region. Fifteen years later, however, original commitments have eroded and the original plan has largely lost its credibility. In 2011 a new process was launched, aiming to develop a new policy plan (the future Spatial Policy Plan for Flanders). However, this new process builds only limited support and credibility outside the select group of involved actors. We argue that today in Flanders the borrowed methodology of coproductive planning is insufficiently adapted to the institutional context and is therefore mainly delivering an aura of sustainability optimism to on-going policies, while a variety of spatial developments that are recognized as fundamental or problematic are omitted from the debate. We show this by putting forward some major missing pieces, which are located in the policy fields of large road infrastructure development, “legacy” suburbanization, retail siting, and property taxation. We show that these issues are representative of a number of constraints that are imposed by separate policy levels (located at other ministries, at the federal level, or in neighbouring regions such as Brussels) although these are not accounted for by the current planning process, apart from a number of key issues that are kept deliberately outside the process after labelling these “already decided”. Finally, we sketch some opportunities for improvement, consisting of developing a more contextualized process model, putting the stress on more concrete planning issues, involving independent stakeholders in strategic alliances, and taking a co-evolutionary approach from the start

Zoning on purposes as a contemporary alternative for zoning on land uses of open spaces in an urbanised context

The (mono)functional zoning in land use planning has already a long record of service and finds its roots in an historical political and societal ambition of separating functions and activities in space. But above all, the continuous success of this type of zoning is linked to the legal security it creates. Although a decrease in legal security still seems an invincible problem, the technique of functional zoning in spatial planning is increasingly being questioned. An alternative planning discourse of ‘open space as public space’ for instance, a planning discourse about open space fragments in an urbanised context developed in the context of my PhD-dissertation (Leinfelder, 2007 and 2009), seems incompatible with this functional zoning … but also three other alternative planning discourses about the relation between city and countryside, discussed in my dissertation, do not result in spatial entities that are inspired by land uses, but by differences in dynamics, environmental impact and meaning of places. Based on these observations, a ‘rediscovery’ of the zoning plan – as a ‘strategic’ zoning plan – seems necessary. The addition of ‘strategic’ indicates a more active, more realisation oriented and more selective approach than today’s comprehensive and passive functional zoning. The zoning in a strategic zoning plan is no longer related to the allocation of zones to one or more land uses, but to entities that refer as much as possible to the (societal) purposes for the open space involved. The name of these zones tries to express as much as possible the most relevant spatial characteristics of the entities desired for – concerning dynamics, vulnerability, meaning, … And the juridical rules related to these entities define the conditions in which – maybe yet unknown – spatial projects can take place without mentioning the land uses by name. In other words, development and management of space become increasingly dominant to the traditional allocation of space. Undoubtedly, also landscape as a holistic frame of integration is becoming of more and more importance in such zoning plans. The strategic zoning plan also has to be considered as a more indicative and temporary frame of reference for private and public actors through which the decision making about specific projects and measures can be coordinated – even when the choices at the moment of the decision are different than those at the moment of the design of the plan

Spatial expression of Hox cluster genes in the ontogeny of a sea urchin

The Hox cluster of the sea urchin Strongylocentrous purpuratus contains ten genes in a 500 kb span of the genome. Only two of these genes are expressed during embryogenesis, while all of eight genes tested are expressed during development of the adult body plan in the larval stage. We report the spatial expression during larval development of the five 'posterior' genes of the cluster: SpHox7, SpHox8, SpHox9/10, SpHox11/13a and SpHox11/13b. The five genes exhibit a dynamic, largely mesodermal program of expression. Only SpHox7 displays extensive expression within the pentameral rudiment itself. A spatially sequential and colinear arrangement of expression domains is found in the somatocoels, the paired posterior mesodermal structures that will become the adult perivisceral coeloms. No such sequential expression pattern is observed in endodermal, epidermal or neural tissues of either the larva or the presumptive juvenile sea urchin. The spatial expression patterns of the Hox genes illuminate the evolutionary process by which the pentameral echinoderm body plan emerged from a bilateral ancestor

Historical SDI, thematic maps and analysis of a complex network of medieval towers (13th-15th century) in the moorish strip

The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLII-4, 2018 ISPRS TC IV Mid-term Symposium “3D Spatial Information Science – The Engine of Change”, 1–5 October 2018, Delft, The NetherlandsThis work is part of an investigation into the use of GIS for the documentation and comprehension of medieval architectural heritage in the ancient Kingdom of Seville. The research was done in the framework of the project “Sustainable guardianship of cultural heritage through digital BIM and GIS models: contribution to knowledge and social innovation”, an interdisciplinary project focused on the applications of information technology in architectural heritage in Spain. The study case of this paper is located in the Guadalquivir valley during the period between 13th and 15th centuries. It concerns the Moorish Strip site, fortified by the Christian Kingdom of Castile with the aim of creating a barrier with the Moorish Kingdom. Its deteriorated state has led us to create a historical and spatial database in order to contribute to its conservation management plan. Apart from the historical documentation research and the data gathering, intensive fieldwork was also done to collect information about the buildings. In this paper we present a Historical SDI to investigate the hypothesis that the spatial patterns of the Moorish Band obey rules of “inter-visibility” control. Some analysis has been done on the site scale, such as: i) a thematic map of building material; ii) a spatiotemporal analysis; iii) the density of the distribution of towers over the territory; iv) a simulation of the territory visibility from the towers; v) the inter-visibility among towers; iv) thematic maps using attribute values. These analyses permitted us to highlight the need to create a preservation plan that should consider the network visibility system as an important value for heritage interpretation and knowledge.Spain’s Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness HAR2016–78113-

Multiple criteria decision analysis with consideration to place-specific values in participatory forest planning

The combination of multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and participatory planning is an approach that has been applied in complex planning situations where multiple criteria of very different natures are considered, and several stakeholders or social groups are involved. The spatial character of forest planning problems adds further to the complexity, because a large number of forest stands are to be assigned different treatments at different points in time. In addition, experience from participatory forest planning indicates that stakeholders may think about the forest in terms of place-specific values rather than in forest-wide terms. The objective of this study was to present an approach for including place-specific values in MCDA-based participatory forest planning and illustrate the approach by a case study where the objective was to choose a multipurpose forest plan for an area of urban forest in northern Sweden. Stakeholder values were identified in interviews, and maps were used to capture place-specific spatial values. The nonspatial and nonplace-specific spatial values were formulated as criteria and used to build an objective hierarchy describing the decision situation. The place-specific spatial values were included in the creation of a map showing zones of different silvicultural management classes, which was used as the basis for creation of forest plan alternatives in the subsequent process. The approach seemed to work well for capturing place-specific values, and the study indicates that formalized methods for including and evaluating place-specific values in participatory forest planning processes should be developed and tested further

Kings River Quality Assurance Project Final Report

The Kings River Watershed Partnership non-profit citizens group formed to take local control over water quality issues in the Kings River watershed in Arkansas. One of the first items the group addressed was water quality monitoring of the Kings River and Osage Creek. To this end they formed a water quality monitoring committee that was charged with the development of a water quality monitoring plan. The objectives of the plan they developed are: 1) to characterize both spatial and temporal variability in water quality parameters throughout the watershed during each year, 2) to utilize volunteers to monitor the water quality, and 3) to institute QA/QC procedures that will insure the quality of the data collected and allow its use in development of a Watershed Management plan

Increasing societal discomfort about a dominant restrictive planning discourse on open space in Flanders/Belgium

The specific spatial context in the densely urbanised northern part of Belgium, Flanders, offers a sort of laboratory conditions to study, design and plan fragments of open space in an urbanising context. A chronological analysis of documents in three periods relevant to Flemish spatial planning policy allows to conclude that one single planning discourse has reigned spatial planning in Flanders already since the design of the first zoning plans 45 years ago. This planning discourse considers city and countryside as two separate and separated entities. Today however, the validity of this dominant discourse is increasingly under pressure. An obvious societal need appears to be growing to turn around the perception of a possible contradiction between city and countryside. In a densely urbanised spatial context, alternative planning discourses should be based on the idea of open spaces that offer complementary services within a partnership between city and countryside

Species prioritization for monitoring and management in regional multiple species conservation plans.

Successful conservation plans are not solely achieved by acquiring optimally designed reserves. Ongoing monitoring and management of the biodiversity in those reserves is an equally important, but often neglected or poorly executed, part of the conservation process. In this paper we address one of the first and most important steps in designing a monitoring program - deciding what to monitor. We present a strategy for prioritizing species for monitoring and management in multispecies conservation plans. We use existing assessments of threatened status, and the degree and spatial and temporal extent of known threats to link the prioritization of species to the overarching goals and objectives of the conservation plan. We consider both broad and localized spatial scales to capture the regional conservation context and the practicalities of local management and monitoring constraints. Spatial scales that are commensurate with available data are selected. We demonstrate the utility of this strategy through application to a set of 85 plants and animals in an established multispecies conservation plan in San Diego County, California, USA. We use the prioritization to identify the most prominent risk factors and the habitats associated with the most threats to species. The protocol highlighted priorities that had not previously been identified and were not necessarily intuitive without systematic application of the criteria; many high-priority species have received no monitoring attention to date, and lower-priority species have. We recommend that in the absence of clear focal species, monitoring threats in highly impacted habitats may be a way to circumvent the need to monitor all the targeted species