Architecture, Building and Planning - Research Publications
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ItemUnderstanding the structure and complexity of regional greenway governance in China(Liverpool University Press, 2022-04-01)oss-sectoral relations. This paper explores how these three intergovernmental relations are shaped by different governance structures and how they influence regional greenway implementation outcomes. An analytical framework was proposed considering four structural factors (size, specialisation, order and anarchy) and China’s inherited tiao (vertical)-kuai (horizontal) system of authority. By analysing a case-study project with evolving governance structures over time, the paper reveals that a more powerful, sectorally specialised, autonomous and inclusive local coordination office is ideal to foster institutional linkages within administrative jurisdiction, between adjacent governments and across government hierarchy. These links are essential for efficient and integrated greenway implementation in city-regions.
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ItemNoise mapping in an urban environment: Comparing gis-based spatial modelling and parametric approaches(Wichmann, 2020-01-01)We conduct noise mapping for an inner-suburb precinct adjacent to Melbourne CBD using GIS geostatistical interpolation and parametric (Rhino and Grasshopper) approaches, based on traffic noise data collected using field measurement. We then compare the spatial and temporal patterns of noise dynamics based on measured noise data and modelled noise level outputs. Preliminary findings shed lights on understanding traffic flows and noise level, noise attenuation through landform and tree planting, etc. We discuss the effectiveness and compatibility of the two modelling approaches, and potential applications of the outcomes of this study in informing landscape planning and design to mitigate noise pollution in the urban environment.
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ItemFrom Metropolis to Allotment: Scaled System Thinking in Advancing Landscape Studio Knowledge(Herbert Wichmann Verlag, 2015)Current local-scale changes in the landscape interweave with larger forces of globalization, time-space compression and media proliferation altering the face of landscape, both rural and urban, around the world. These larger forces span all sectors of human activity and inform a new cultural economy of space, creating new landscape spatialities that require a reformulation of landscape definitions, as well as new conceptual models and methodological approaches for landscape design (TERKENLI 2005). Design studios are essential experiences in the education of students in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design in order to cultivate their basic design competency. The approach used in design studio teaching is generally to present students with problems encountered in the real world – often wicked problems embedded in the interlinking land hierarchical systems in space and time which always present considerable challenges. Thus identifying and utilizing appropriate methods for design is of critical importance in design pedagogy. This paper reports on our experience in teaching landscape studios using the scaled system thinking approach, which encourages students to produce robust design strategies to address the design problem at different spatial scales from metropolis to allotment. Students’ gain and loss are discussed using their studio work. Our focus is that the theoretical approach of scaled system thinking can help students systematically conceptualize and realize evidence-based design solutions that will better support sustainability and liveability in our increasingly urbanised world.
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ItemThe Spatial Planning of Australia’s Energy Landscape: An Assessment of Solar, Wind and Biomass Potential at the National Level(Herbert Wichmann Verlag, 2016)Spatially explicit assessment of renewable energy resources is critical for large scale landscape planning and design to maintain energy supply so that economic development and social advancement can be sustained. Renewable energy planning at the national level is pivotal to a nation’s socio-economic sustainability in the context of the oil crisis, anthropogenic climate change and the social and economic impacts of globalisation resulting in the international dispersal of energy supply and ownership. Using a case study from Australia, we investigate the annual spatial heterogeneity of solar energy potential across the country towards identifying the strengths and appropriate uses of spatial modelling for regional decision making in energy planning. The case study explores solar radiation distribution in Australia and its potential to supply energy at national, utility and household levels. This study demonstrates the usefulness for integrating these models in the design and planning process for carbon-neutral energy supply. It is also clear that the adoption of spatial modelling systems for solar supply also requires modelling of the political and social opportunities and limitations inherent in the solar landscape. This research advocates a holistic approach enabled by spatial planning through geodesign principles. We conclude with recommendations and guidance for future renewable energy planning as a useful practice for carbon emission reduction to climate change mitigation.
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ItemIntegrating GIS-based Land-use Suitability Analysis in Teaching Planning Studios(ANZAPS, 2015)GIS-based land-use suitability analyses are significantly useful in urban growth planning and management. Becoming a responsible and capable urban and regional planner involves learning to reflect on the rationale of decision-making in planning, particularly in the physical planning field. For any planning programme, therefore, integrating landscape-use suitability analysis into planning education is both an essential aspect of the curriculum and central to learning in terms of developing professional skills. Unfortunately, GIS-based land-use suitability analysis and evidence-based decision making in planning remains a challenging in both education and practice. Using the urban growth management in Bendigo as an example, this paper presents a case of teaching GIS and planning studios to masters of urban planning and landscape architecture students in the University of Melbourne. The paper presents two student projects as examples and points out students’ common learning experiences that repeat despite very similar planning objectives. Other observed recurring issues from these examples include difficulties in addressing system thinking across scales, and challenges to deal with complexity by synthesis and simplification of large volumes of data and information available. Reflecting these challenges, the strengths and weaknesses of the traditional spatial overlay for land-use suitability analysis, and the recent advancement in spatial information technology, the paper then discusses the emergence of geodesign as a new method for urban growth management. The paper concludes by outlining changes need to be undertaken in our educational processes aiming at mentoring a generation of urban and regional planners who are better equipped to think scientifically while shaping our built and natural environment responsibly and creatively.
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ItemDesign for Social Capital: Improve Community Welfare for Left-behind Children in Rural China(CUPUM2019, 2019)China’s urbanisation in the past decades has been mirrored by large scale rural-urban migration. During this process, hundreds of millions of rural inhabit-ants move to cities for better employment opportunities while leaving their children behind in rural villages. The separation with parents causes negative transformation of family welfare supply structure. As a result, many “left-behind” children (LBC) display characteristics include loneliness, misconduct, low self-esteem, and crime tendencies. Based on welfare pluralism theory, this paper uses GIS-based planning and design approaches to improve social welfare for LBC in rural China. Using a case study in Hubei Province, we demonstrate that LBC welfare can be improved by increasing community social capital through the provision of functional and child-friendly public space in rural villages. This study provides useful insights to issues surrounding LBC through the lens of planning and design. We hope it will inform similar endeavours aiming at improving LBC welfare in other villages in rural China.
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ItemSpatial Aggregation and Renewable Energy Landscape Planning: A Case Study in Victoria(Herbert Wichmann Verlag, 2019)Spatially explicit assessment of renewable energy resources is critical for large scale landscape planning and design aimed at promoting clean energy supply and carbon neutrality so that future economic development and social advancement can be sustained. Renewable energy planning at national or state level is pivotal to a nation’s socio-economic sustainability in the context of the oil crisis, anthropogenic climate change and the social and economic impacts of globalisation resulting in the international dispersal of energy supply and ownership. Using Victoria (Australia) as a case study, this study aims to investigate the annual spatial heterogeneity of renewable energy potential across the state towards identifying the strengths and appropriate uses of spatial modelling for regional decision making in energy planning. The research explores spatial distribution of solar radiation and wind energy in Victoria and their potential in enabling 100% clean energy supply at utility and household levels. This study demonstrates the usefulness of integrating spatial analysis in planning for carbon-neutral energy supply. It is also clear that the adoption of spatial modelling systems for renewable energy planning also requires modelling of relevant infrastructure limitations and opportunities inherent in the energy sector. The paper concludes with recommendations for future renewable energy planning as a useful practice for carbon emission reduction and climate change mitigation
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ItemUnderstanding Governance Structures in Shaping Greenway Implementation in City-Regions: A Case Study in Central Zhejiang Province, China(Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts, 2019-03-27)Greenway implementation in city-regions is a collective action involving a complex range of relations between regional and local agencies, between government departments at the same administrative level, and between adjacent jurisdictions. This paper explores how greenway implementation governance is structured, and why different governance structures result in different greenway implementation processes and outcomes in a city-region. We use a case study approach to a greenway project in central Zhejiang Province (CCCZ), where data are collected through field reconnaissance, in-depth interviews, and document analysis. Preliminary findings reveal that the central Zhejiang Greenway Project has experienced a development from ‘territorially-specialized governance’ to ‘cross-scale governance’. ‘Double-hatted’ agencies comprising government leaders and professional representatives from different agencies can create cross-scale institutional linkages both vertically (across levels of governments) and horizontally (across jurisdictions and departments), thus improving the efficiency in greenway implementation at a large scale.
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ItemHow Do Spatial Patterns Impact Regulation of Water-Related Ecosystem Services? Insights from a New Town Development in the Yangtze River Delta, China(MDPI AG, 2019-04-04)Scientists have made efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of ecosystem service valuation and mapping; yet little actual implementation of new ecosystem service knowledge has been delivered in practice. We explored this gap by developing a spatially explicit and semi-qualitative evaluation approach to clarify how the spatial patterns of new town developments impact three types of water-related regulating ecosystem services, namely water flow regulation, flooding mitigation,and water quality regulation. Based on peer-reviewed publications, we identified key indicators with spatial characteristics that practitioners care about and have control of. We investigated the case of Lingang, a satellite city of Shanghai in the Yangtze River Delta, and found that (1) 85.30% of the pre-urban East Lingang with native marshlands performed better holistically while 93.06% of the post-urban East Lingang using the man-made lakeside model performed poorly; (2) 82.47% of the double grids model at West Lingang performed poorly in pre-urban time, while some major waterways were improved by the Hydrological Planning; and (3) a major weakness in the planning process was the ignorance in conserving pre-urban ecological resources, preventing the provision of ecosystem services. Finally, four urban design principles of both large-scale land use considerations and finer-scale design implications were proposed.