Public parks as an element of urban planning: a missing piece in Accra's growth and development

Public parks are important to urban environments, residents, and visitors. Among other functions, they provide environmental services, such as air and water purification, and they increase both recreational opportunities and the attractiveness of the urban environment. Because of their importance, urban parks serve as public spaces that provide visitors and urban residents with rights to the city. This paper identifies the dearth of urban public parks in Accra-Tema city-region as worrying. The Accra Plan 1958 underscored the significance of green spaces and designated the coastal strip for parks development but the areas have been lost to various urban uses. We argue that the continual neglect of public parks within urban planning and community development schemes in the Accra-Tema city-region is a major concern because it is depriving the citizens a right to the city and its public spaces. A number of factors have worked adversely against the provision of public parks and green spaces in the city-region. These include development pressures, undue political interference, a complex land delivery system, and ad hoc planning. The paper concludes by offering policy suggestions as to how to resolve the dearth of parks and green spaces in the city-region.     

基于资源环境统筹下的“多规合一”试点建设—以河南省获嘉县为例

"多规合一"是一项从国家顶层设计推进的市县规划体制改革,河南省获嘉县作为全国28个"多规合一"试点城市之一,是欠发达平原农业区小城市的典型代表。本文深入分析了获嘉县多规并存的冲突与差异、资源环境与城市发展不协调的现实,同时在考虑生态环境空间约束与资源承载的前提下,突出生态环境的基本制约与保障作用,提出从底线控制、规模约束、环境保障三方面体现市县多规融合,从规划体系、标准数据、空间布局、信息平台、管理机制五个方面实现多规融合,并给出了多规融合调整策略。     

From Policy Document to Implementation: Organizational Routines as Possible Barriers to Mainstreaming Climate Adaptation

This paper aims to understand the role of organizational routines as possible barriers to the mainstreaming of climate adaptation at the implementation stage. While the mainstreaming of climate adaptation into policy documents is relatively easy, the implementation of these policies seems to be more problematic. Barriers to climate adaptation often occur during this stage as the implementation of the policies is generally undertaken by other actors than the policy-makers. These actors act based on organizational routines. As organizational routines aim to provide stability, they tend to be reaffirmative. Reorganizing the resources and practices of these actors to initiate mainstreaming then proves difficult. Consequently, the routines could prevent change that might be necessary to address new policy objectives such as climate adaptation. An analytical framework consisting of four self-reinforcing mechanisms is used to understand and explain why and how organizational routines can hamper the mainstreaming of climate adaptation during implementation. A case study is used to illustrate organizational routines as possible barriers. The paper concludes by stating that to optimize the possibilities of mainstreaming climate adaptation, a change in routines is necessary. In order to stimulate change in organizational routines, the focus should be on reflecting on existing routines, legitimacy building and learning.     

武汉城市圈公路沿线土地利用变化规律分析

区域交通土地一体化规划需要明晰公路沿线的土地利用变化过程。基于随机概率的土地转移矩阵模型及相关结构指数,分析了武汉城市圈公路沿线的土地变化规律。结果显示,从变化量而言,武汉城市圈各类型公路沿线耕地转为建设用地的比例最大,且以国道最为明显;从系统的变化方向而言,各公路类型沿线建设用地占用耕地现象显著,此外,高速沿线建设用地占用水域,国道沿线耕地占用林地,以及各类型公路沿线耕地、林地闲置现象也需及时监测和预警。     

Balancing urban growth and ecological conservation: A challenge for planning and governance in China

China has high biodiversity and is rapidly urbanizing. However, there is limited understanding of how urban expansion in the country is likely to affect its habitats and biodiversity. In this study, we examine urban expansion patterns and their likely impacts on biodiversity in China by 2030. Our analysis shows that most provinces are expected to experience urban expansion either near their protected areas or in biodiversity hotspots. In a few provinces such as Guangdong in the south, urban expansion is likely to impinge on both protected areas and biodiversity hotspots. We show that policies that could facilitate the integration of natural resource protection into urban planning exist on paper, but the prevailing incentives and institutional arrangements between the central and local governments prevent this kind of integration. Removing these obstacles will be necessary in order to safeguard the country’s rich biodiversity in light of the scale of urbanization underway.     

SWOT分析方法在生态环境保护规划中的应用研究

编制生态环境保护规划是我国省、市、县三级政府环境保护部门的一项经常性环境管理工作。本文针对目前规划编制中存在现状定性描述较多、规划框架不确定、对策措施关联性较差等情况,提出将SWOT分析作为一种规范化的编制方法的建议,并以全国首批生态文明先行示范区之一的上海市闵行区为例进行了探讨。以该区"十三五"生态文明建设和环境保护规划为例,采用SWOT分析方法,综合分析了闵行区生态环境保护与发展的优势(S)、劣势(W)、机遇(O)和挑战(T)4项要素,通过SWOT要素交叉分析,给出适合的规划措施建议。结果表明,SWOT分析具有较强的科学性和可行性,可以作为一种规范化的生态环境保护规划编制方法。     

日本的城市环境问题及其改善过程：政策和规划视角研究

日本是亚洲最先城市化的国家,目前已有86%的人口生活在城市行政区范围内。在城市化的进程中,日本曾出现过各种各样的环境问题,经过半个多世纪的努力,现在的城市生活环境不仅得到根本改善,而且在资源循环利用和低碳社会建设等方面也做出引人注目的成绩。本文从日本城市规划制度和环境政策演变角度,分阶段介绍自1950年以来的城市环境问题、环境法律和有关城市规划建设的政策,逐步展开日本改善城市生活环境、保护地球自然环境的过程,尤其注重从生态城市到低碳社会转型发展的最近政策动向。     

规划环评中的生态空间识别与生态影响评价探索——以长春新区发展规划为例

强化空间管理是规划环境影响评价优化空间开发、促进"多规合一"的新要求。同时,探索生态空间管控体系是国土空间规划的重点任务之一。本文以长春新区发展规划为例,提出前端空间引导、后端影响调控的生态空间管理体系。前端通过生态系统评价和生态空间识别,提出生态保护红线划定建议方案,确定开发"底线"。后端通过InVEST生境质量评价技术,对生境退化度及生境质量进行空间评价,识别生境威胁源影响区域,提出优化空间布局的规划调控建议。研究表明:耕地是新区发生变化幅度最为显著的用地类型,纳入生态空间管控的用地约占16.2%。其中,15.8%的用地建议纳入生态保护红线进行管理。未来城市开发对生境有一定影响,整体生境质量平均值由0.401下降至0.328。     

The role of participation in the planning process: examples from Sweden

Participation in decision-making has successively developed into a guiding principle at both EU and national level. However, diverse perspectives exist on what the role of different interests in participative processes should be, and the legal rules regarding participation varies between different sectors; from clearly defined to virtually non-existent requirements. This may have adverse effects on the legitimacy of decisions and decision-making. This paper reviews the role of participation in the planning process in relation to natural resource development in Sweden, as guided by EU and international law. Based on the notion of effective participation, the study illustrates the potential clashes that may result from different conceptions of participation, for instance, at various levels of governance, as well as from disparate principles for implementation in different sectors.     

Transboundary marine spatial planning: a reflexive marine governance experiment?

Because seas and coastlines are shared between states, the formulation and implementation of marine spatial planning (MSP) should be transboundary by nature. The main argument of this paper is that MSP should be organized as a transboundary policy-making process, but this is hampered by the conceptual and institutional fragmentation MSP is facing. Based on an analysis of four transboundary planning processes in different European seas, the paper gives insight into the possibilities to develop and implement transboundary marine spatial planning (TMSP). To overcome the conceptual and institutional challenges, TMSP should be developed as a reflexive governance arrangement, in which the actors involved are able to change the rules of the game and to challenge the existing (national-oriented) MSP discourses. The paper develops four forms of reflexivity (unreflectiveness; performative reflectiveness; structural reflectiveness; and reflexivity) to assess TMSP processes and to formulate conditions which are crucial to develop TMSP as a reflexive marine governance arrangement.