Road-corridor planning in the EIA procedure in Spain. A review of case studies

Identification of optimal landforms to reduce impacts on the landscape using LiDAR for hosting a new highway

“…The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) can then be obtained for the bare ground, and the Digital Surface Model (DSM) for the 3D features plus bare ground. The accuracy of these models is aligned with the most common scale used for new linear infrastructure planning and design (at least 1:5 K) beyond traditional thematic land-use maps (Arce et al, 2010;Loro et al, 2014). Various filtering methods can be applied to classify or separate raw LiDAR data into ground and non-ground data, although manual supervision is always required to filter the results, which are highly correlated to each case study (Liu, 2008).Once the DSM and DEM models are obtained, the new 3D geometry generated by road design software must be inserted as part of the pre-processing stage (iii).…”

“…Landscape has not been a relevant issue in the planning process for new infrastructure (Antonson, 2009;Arce et al, 2010;Loro et al, 2014). Then, improved knowledge of these aspects enables planners to locate areas for new infrastructures so as to cause less impact, reducing earthworks or the removal of objects with landscaping value, hiding the road from the view of residents, and preventing effects on wildlife corridors (Español et al, 2008;Tveit and Ode Sang, 2014).…”

“…The main disadvantage of mapping is that it cannot record people perceptions (psychological component of the landscape), and currently only partially complies with the concept of landscape defined in the European Landscape Convention (CE, 2000). As an alternative approach, some models have been developed to assess landscape quality based on mapping physical attributes (Dramstad et al, 2006;Martín et al, 2017;Vizzari, 2011;Wu et al, 2006), which can be considered sufficient for road planning optimization (Loro et al, 2014).…”

Standard Transport Appraisal Methods

“…These databases may contain information on different areas such as ecology, archaeology, noise and air quality. GIS have also been key for developing several models to assess landscape quality in transport projects by mapping physical landscape attributes that are useful for infrastructure planning (Dramstad et al, 2006;Loro et al, 2014;Martín et al, 2016Martín et al, , 2018Vizzari, 2011;Wu et al, 2006).…”

Environmental impact assessment in urban transport planning: Exploring process-related barriers in Spanish practice

“…Recently, its effectiveness is increasingly coming being questioned by scholars. The solutions that are frequently developed are mainly based on determining how to measure environmental impacts (Gómez-Orea, 2007;Loro et al, 2014); however, the abovementioned process barriers (lack of communication, trust, collaborative work, transparency, etc. ) between key involved agents (EIA developers and transport planners) and other stakeholders have not been sufficiently explored as a part of the solutions.…”