Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science

During the last two decades attention to location-dependent information has greatly increased. Process planning and decisionmaking require the availability of relevant data and proper information to monitor development processes, to prepare alternative plans, and to analyse impacts. It has become clear that planners and politicians as well as decisionmakers do need a new way of presentation of information. The information required should be delivered not only quickly and efficiently, but also on thematic maps instead of as a pile of paperwork. The crucial element here is the spatial dimension, which must be the integrative basis of a relevant information system. After the introduction of the segment method as a basis for spatially oriented information systems it was used haphazardly in many countries in the nineteen seventies, particularly at national level. In the nineteen eighties these systems were also used for maintenance and control purposes at local level.

In the Netherlands we are at the eve of the takeoff of nationally uniform applications of spatially oriented information systems at the local level. In this paper the political and administrative boundaries of the situation in the Netherlands is sketched. Although there is pressure for innovation it has taken a long time for a breakthrough, with a feasibility study in 1982 being followed by a cost-effectiveness study in 1983. In three different types of cities eight applications were made, in consultation with representatives of the local authorities of the municipalities concerned. In this paper the cases are described in outline with an emphasis on data processing, cartographic results, and cost-benefits. An outline of the planned activities for 1984 and 1985 in the Netherlands is then presented. It enables us to answer the question of who must be convinced to get spatially oriented information systems in operation: politicians or planners.

In this paper it is noted that the way in which spatial information systems are used varies with the spatial level of the planning systems which use them. In West Germany very few systems with high spatial resolution are found at federal level, whereas at lower levels the areal coverage is smaller. Meanwhile the spheres of competence of planning, and the number of information systems, are growing. Specific obstacles to the development of spatial information systems involve the use of computers, problems of confidentiality, and problems of data exchange. In this paper the reasons for the marked lack of data with spatial detail in the fields of energy and ecology are discussed, and the relationships between missing data and bottlenecks in political action are pointed out.

Telford is a new town in the West Midlands Region of the United Kingdom. Since designation in 1968 considerable physical, economic, and social change has taken place. Four information systems have been developed to monitor this change. It is argued that information systems must be flexible, comprehensive, capable of integration, and phased so that nascent problems can be identified. It is also argued that the development of a time-series information base is essential for effective strategic planning. Rather than describe the characteristics of the local information systems in isolation from their operational context, two areas of policy-related research which have been supported by the information base are described in this paper. Information systems are inherently descriptive and must be fitted into an analytical framework if they are to contribute more effectively to our understanding of urban processes. In this paper Telford's information systems are examined by describing their contribution to policy formulation, strategic planning, and to our understanding of the urban system.

In this paper a new framework for planning in the National Health Service is described. The approach is centred around the idea of providing adequate information for planning and decisionmaking. First the types of problems currently faced by District Health Authorities and the implications for planning are outlined. Five elements of the new planning structure are then described: an information system, model-based analysis, a communications system, performance indicators, and a super plan. It is then shown how a prototype system for an English health district can be built and some results of the analysis are presented.

In this paper the subject of prescriptive analysis in spatial planning is dealt with. The point is made that all planners to some extent engage in prescriptive analysis. It is argued that this kind of analysis need not be equated with a technocratic exercise provided that the analyst recognises explicitly that public planning is influenced to a large extent by the political arena, with many uncertainties and with rapidly shifting priorities. An overview of various decision theoretical approaches is given, and a discussion presented of various prescriptive approaches in planning.

Uncertainty is a double-edged sword for the planner. Without it, society's need for strategic planning would be much reduced, but its existence is often at the root of much of the criticism which public perceptions of the planning profession induce. In this paper it is argued that not only is the need to take proper account of uncertainty greater than ever before, but so too are the opportunities to do so in practice. Three aspects of the uncertainty question are analysed. How should uncertainty be characterised within the planning process? What influence should the presence of uncertainty have on evaluation procedures? How should plan design respond to the presence of uncertainty? It is concluded that increasingly the required formal techniques and computational capacity are available: planners must be sure to use them to good effect.

In this paper, micro-DOT—a version of the familiar DOT program based on a Monte Carlo solution procedure—is introduced. It offers a way of exploiting the potential of microcomputers by offering a means of coping with large multicriteria optimisation problems relevant to practical planning. The technique is demonstrated by reference to a local planning case study based on “The Red Lane Action Area Plan” produced by Coventry City Council.

In this paper a general framework is discussed within which a municipal authority can assess future needs for certain public services within its area and can develop a programme for land purchase within a fixed budget. Concentration is on developing an optimising model, using mixed integer programming techniques, to identify available plots of land and to earmark them for specific land uses. A range of constraints is discussed, and a set of subsidies and penalties arising out of a solution method due to Balas, explained with reference to the local municipality of Coimbra in central Portugal, is presented.

Logic programming is discussed as a method for representing aspects of design language: descriptions of designs, domain knowledge, transformation rules (design grammar), and control mechanisms necessary to implement rules. The applicability of logic programming to the representation of semantics in design is also explored. Control at the semantic level provides a means of directing the automated generation of designs. Examples are drawn from a rule-based design system written in the logic programming language PROLOG.