Strategic Spatial Planning Evaluation

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Significance of the Study
Conceptual Framework
Summary of Methodology
Limitations of the Study
Definition of Terms
Research Design and Methodology
Research Questions and Hypothesis
Research Procedures
References

Introduction

Overview

The proposed study is about establishing new spatial plans for urban areas. Establishing new urban territories is important as they affect the living environments of various stakeholders. Often, the planning team, which undertakes the re-structuring of a city, cannot interact with all stakeholders (people and organizations) in order to assess and incorporate their diverse interests in the planning process (Healey, 2003).

Therefore, to develop plans that best meet the needs of all stakeholders, the project planners must involve and interact with stakeholders throughout the project planning process. The aim is to develop plans that reflect their interests and values, which may influence project performance.

In the U.S. and many European countries such as the Netherlands, interactive planning is highly embraced in the initial stages of spatial planning (Tewdwr-Jones, 2003). It is believed that more interaction during the strategic planning process yields a high performance product. However, this assumption is not based on substantial empirical evidence as research on this area is scanty. Therefore, the impact of stakeholder interaction on product performance is less understood.

The proposed research is an exploratory study that will investigate the relationships between stakeholder involvement during strategic spatial planning and performance of industrial area developments. It will explore the nature of the interactions between the planning team and various stakeholders. The study will be guided by the following research question: How does stakeholder (people and organizations) involvement during industrial areas planning influence the effectiveness of strategic spatial planning process?

Statement of the Problem

Strategic planning generally entails the identification of future actions in a regional or local urban area. A strategic plan takes into account the current and future conditions, which are based on predictions. Spatial planning structures should be flexible and long-term, and reflective of the changing environment as such structures consume high resources (Sartorio, 2005). Moreover, strategic spatial structures aim at improving the quality of life of the people.

Thus, a strategic plan for urban development is essential for regional or local governments. As spatial development is influenced by many factors, it raises the question whether nowadays’ planning decisions are right based on the conditions of future spatial development. Regional and local development areas are increasingly becoming globalized and individuals now have more freedom of action.

Moreover, there is little empirical evidence to support effective spatial planning. As a result, the effectiveness and appropriateness of spatial planning seem largely uncertain. One way of achieving effective spatial planning is through stakeholder involvement during the planning process. Objective prognosis of the future can be achieved when various institutional and social players are involved. Moreover, through stakeholder engagement, various scenarios can be analyzed, which could help make the future more certain.

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to assess the impact of stakeholder involvement during spatial planning on product performance. This will form a sound basis for strategic spatial development in urban areas. To achieve this purpose, the study will examine different scenarios of stakeholder interaction and assess the degree to which the objectives of the projects were achieved.

Strategic spatial planning is one way of improving urban planning and organization, and protecting existing ecosystems. However, there are claims of insufficient empirical evidence to support spatial planning objectives. It is anticipated that this project will provide empirical data that will inform stakeholders and policy makers on urban planning.

Research Questions

The main research question for this study is: Does stakeholder (people and organizations) involvement during industrial areas planning influence product performance? To answer this question, five minor research questions, which are related to the main research question, will be used. The supporting research questions include:

What constitutes interactive planning in the urban planning process?
What are the elements of an effective spatial planning process?
How is the effectiveness and appropriateness of spatial planning measured?
Does stakeholder interaction during spatial planning process influence product performance?
Does an in-depth analysis of scenarios enhance the effectiveness of spatial planning?

Based on the answers to these questions, it will be possible to identify the factors that contribute to the effective spatial planning. It will also be possible to determine whether stakeholder involvement in project planning leads to improved performance.

Significance of the Study

The proposed research will investigate the effect of stakeholder interaction on the effectiveness of a spatial plan. It is anticipated that the study’s findings will have a positive impact on the policies and land use legislations of regional and national governments. The UN postulates that in the next three decades, much of the world’s population will be living in the cities (Clinton, Bottom of FormBottom of FormBottom of FormBottom of FormBottom of FormTop of FormC2001).

The rapid population growth in urban areas is placing immense pressure on available facilities and resources leading to a rise in urban poverty. This has become a big challenge to urban planners due to poor spatial planning policies. Empirical evidence suggests that proper urban planning policies are essential for creating effective urban states, promoting development and attaining MDGs (Sartorio, 2005).

However, a framework for incorporating the views of the diverse stakeholders (people, social agencies and political players) is largely lacking in many countries. This study aims to identify the factors that influence spatial planning and to provide a framework for stakeholder interaction during the planning process.

Conceptual Framework

From the literature review, spatial planning is an important tool for coping with the challenges of urban planning. Stakeholders (people and organizations) can be involved in the planning, evaluation and implementation phases of the urban spatial planning process.

In the planning phase, the stakeholders would play a role in setting objectives and activities of the plans. During the evaluation and implementation phases, the stakeholders will participate in the choice of spatial plan options that best suit their interests. The conceptual framework is shown in figure 1 below.

Summary of Methodology

The proposed study is an exploratory research that examines the relationship between stakeholder engagement during spatial planning and product performance.

Using a case study approach, the study will explore this relationship through an in-depth analysis of urban developments in the U.S. The case study approach will allow the researcher to assess the extent to which stakeholder interaction affect the performance of urban developments. This approach will give insights into the connection between interaction during planning and performance. It will yield in-depth knowledge on the impact of interaction on spatial planning.

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework

Limitations of the Study

This research will measure the performance of spatial planning based on the level of stakeholder engagement in the planning process. This approach may differ from the other approaches adopted in similar studies since there is no standard methodology for measuring performance.

Thus, the findings may not entirely represent the dynamic relationships between performance and stakeholder involvement. Another potential limitation of this research relates to context. Often, the effectiveness of spatial planning depends on environmental factors that are specific to a particular site or case. Thus, context variable may limit the external validity of this study.

Definition of Terms

Strategy– Is defined as “the pattern or plan that integrates an organization’s major goals, policies and action sequences into a cohesive whole” (Clinton, Bottom of FormBottom of FormBottom of FormBottom of FormBottom of FormTop of FormC2001, p. 8).

Stakeholders– “Are those groups without whose support the organization would cease to exist” (Callies, 2009, p. 91).

Spatial planning– Is a modern approach for urban planning, which is regulated by regional and national governments of countries.

Stakeholder interaction– refers to the degree of participation and influence of different stakeholders during the spatial planning process (Wilkinson et al., 2013).

Research Design and Methodology

Methodology

The study is an exploratory study that aims to provide in-depth knowledge and analyses regarding the effectiveness of spatial planning in the United States.

It uses the case study methodology to explore the relationships between stakeholder engagement and the effectiveness of a spatial plan. This approach is appropriate because it will satisfy contextual conditions associated with spatial planning studies. Faludi (2000) states that a case study approach is applicable in studies with the “how” or “why” research questions and involve events beyond the researcher’s control.

Since the proposed study will involve cases in the U.S., experimental approaches may not be applicable as these exclude contextual issues. Therefore, in this research, multiple cases (5 research units) will be investigated to generate in-depth knowledge regarding the relationship between effectiveness (spatial planning) and interaction (stakeholder). Thus, a representative sample of cases will be selected for this study.

The researcher opted for a multiple case study instead of a single case study because of two reasons. First, multiple case studies can be generalized to similar settings or contexts (March, 2010). They argue that enhanced external validity does not mean more cases. Rather, adequate sampling that includes cases that are diverse can increase the external validity of a study’s findings.

The second reason is to reduce researcher bias that may arise when the researcher selects a non-representative case for investigation. Multiple case studies also facilitate the comparison of similarities and differences among different cases, which helps strengthen the theoretical knowledge.

Research Questions and Hypothesis

As aforementioned, the main research question of this research is: Does stakeholder (people and organizations) involvement during industrial areas planning influence product/process performance? Deriving from the main question are the minor research questions, which include:

What constitutes interactive planning in the urban planning process?
What are the elements of an effective spatial planning process?
How is the effectiveness and appropriateness of spatial planning measured?
Does stakeholder interaction during spatial planning process influence product performance?
Do in-depth analyses of scenarios enhance the effectiveness of spatial planning?

The study will test the null hypothesis that stakeholder involvement has no impact on the performance of urban industrial areas. The findings of the study will shape the hypothesis for the study.

Research Procedures

The criteria for conducting a case study research involve standard procedures for data collection and analysis. This research will adopt the case study approach to explore the relationship between interaction and performance/effectiveness of spatial plans. The criteria consist of several steps, which will be described in the subsequent sections.

Step 1: Defining the Research Questions

In the first step, the main research question is stated in general terms. This facilitates systematic data collection. In this research, the main research question and minor questions have been defined. Based on the data the minor research questions will generate, it will be possible to identify the relationship between interactions during the spatial planning process (question 1) and the performance of spatial plans (question 4).

Step 2: Inclusion Criteria

Identifying the relevant cases to include in the study sample is the second step. As stated above, the study will involve five cases (research units), which will be strategically selected to enhance internal and external validity of the study’s findings. Five industrial areas will be selected from the U.S. based on the following inclusion criteria.

First, since the study focuses on the impact of interaction on spatial plans’ performance, the contextual conditions have to be the same. Thus, only cases in the U.S. will be selected. Second, only cases currently in the plan-making stage of spatial planning will be selected. At this stage, the zoning plan is being formulated, which implies that the level of stakeholder interaction is comparatively high. Thus, cases at this stage will have different levels of stakeholder involvement.

Step 3: Developing Data Collection Instruments and procedures

This step focuses on the data collection instruments and procedures. One advantage of using a case study approach is that it allows for triangulation of methods. Triangulation is a research technique that generates a single outcome based on multiple sources of data (March, 2010). Thus, multiple case studies enhance the accuracy of the research findings since they involve multiple sources of information.

The proposed research will use two data collection methods: (1) interviews (semi-structured) and; (2) analysis of secondary sources/documents. The interviews will involve semi-structured questions, which include both open-ended and specific/closed questions. The open-ended questions will probe the participant’s responses to the specific questions. Various stakeholders will be interviewed in a two-part interview, three months apart.

Besides interviews, documents will be used as sources of data. Examples of documents that will be analyzed include zoning plans (drafts), newsletters and project plans. The researcher will also analyze the information provided in the municipalities’ websites and other city council databases. The researcher will use the data collected from these sources to describe the spatial characteristics and the effect of interaction on the performance of U.S. urban industrial areas.

Step 4: Field Data Collection

Albrechts (2004) states that, when analyzing spatial plans, the processes of data collection and data analysis should occur simultaneously. In this step, the researcher will collect data (respondents’ answers) during the interviews. Emerging issues or questions in the first interview will be probed further in the second interview. The data collected will be presented in tables to illustrate the underlying relationships.

Step 5: Data Analysis

In this step, data analysis for each case will take place. In this study, the five cases will be analyzed individually to determine if and whether there is a relationship between interaction and performance. The spatial characteristics of each case will be outlined based on the data obtained from zoning plans and project plans. Data analysis will also encompass the description of the main stakeholders for each case as well as their level of interaction.

The findings from the first and second analysis will be further analyzed to determine the correlation between performance and interaction (Mastop & Faludi, 1997). The stakeholders participate in the spatial planning process and thus, are well-positioned to assess the process. The analysis will rely on the data collected from the stakeholders through the interviews. The interpretation of the findings will indicate the dynamic and static relationships between the two variables (performance and planning).

Step 6: Cross-case Analysis

After analyzing each case individually, the researcher will compare the different cases to identify the underlying relationships. In this step, the analysis will focus on the nature of the relationship (dynamic or static) between stakeholder participation and performance, the contextual factors in each case and the specific strategic planning factors in each case.

Step 7: Hypothesis Testing

Based on the findings of within-case and cross-case analyses, the hypothesis proposed above will be tested. These analyses will reveal the patterns and relationships between the variables (interaction and performance). The emergent concepts and themes will be compared with literature to identify similarities or departures from similar studies. This will also contribute to the growth of knowledge on this topic.

References

Albrechts, L. (2004). Strategic (spatial) planning reexamined. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 31(1), 743-758.

Callies, D. (2009). Casenote legal briefs: Keyed to courses using Callies, Freilich, and Roberts’s land use. New York: Aspen Publishers.

Clinton, H. (Bottom of FormBottom of FormBottom of FormBottom of FormBottom of FormTop of FormC2001). Integrating geology in urban planning: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Viet Nam. New York: United Nations.

Faludi, A. (2000). The performance of spatial planning, Planning Practice & Research, 15(4), 299-318.

Healey, P. (2003). Collaborative planning in perspective. Planning Theory, 2(2), 101-123.

March, A. (2010). Practising theory: When theory affects urban planning. Planning Theory, 9(2), 108-125.

Mastop, H., & Faludi, A. (1997). Evaluation of strategic plans: The performance principle. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 24(1), 815–832.

Sartorio, S. (2005). Strategic spatial planning. DisP, 163(3), 26-40.

Tewdwr-Jones, M. (2003). Creating and shaping places with purpose, vision and pride. International Planning Studies, 8(1), 3-8.

Wilkinson, C., Saarne, D., Peterson, G., & Colding, J. (2013). Strategic spatial planning and the ecosystem services concept -An historical exploration. Ecology and Society, 18(1), 37-38.

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