Towards a pragmatic research agenda for the PSS domain

Brömmelstroet, Marco te

doi:10.1016/j.tra.2016.05.011

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Finding a balance between idea generating and selecting dynamics is fundamental to informed strategy making. The delays and financial costs associated with failed attempts at reaching agreements on strategies are staggering (te Brömmelstroet, 2017b). Considering the potential implications of failed strategy making, there seems to be a legitimate need for dedicated strategy making support.…”

Section: Stages Of Strategy Makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextualizing planning support (systems): co-designing to fit the dynamics of spatial strategy making

Franken-Champlin¹

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PSS tend to outperform other GIS-based tools in terms of the provision of knowledge, communication of knowledge and support in the analysis of knowledge (Vonk & Geertman, 2008). Despite their knowledge-handling capabilities, these technologies by and large have not entered the realm of non-routine, strategic planning tasks. Strategic tasks rely heavily on dynamic processes of communication and knowledge exchange for learning about a spatial system. Supporting these process-related aspects is important when confronted by divergent knowledge and priorities that compel actors to frame issues differently (Matos Castaño, 2016). Instead, PSS tend to focus on the substantive aspects of a planning issue-e.g. easing traffic congestion, prioritizing land uses (Pelzer et al., 2014). Dealing with well-defined, routine problems is more straight forward since these tasks rely on 'expert knowledge [that] is relatively unambiguous but subject to error because of the extensiveness of the "facts" involved' (Batty, 1995, p. 6). Consequently, PSS that have successfully made the transition to practice typically support routine planning tasks (Couclelis, 2005). According to a study by Vonk et al. (2007b), out of 58 analyzed PSS, 55 systems supported problem exploration and the analysis of trends while only one system supported problem formulation tasks. The functionality of the PSS that were evaluated focused considerably more on analyzing and modelling information than on supporting communication and information gathering, two process-related aspects of problem formulation. Such analyses of PSS use have become associated with the task-technology-user fit model (Vonk, 2006; Goodhue & Thompson, 1995). This model provides insight into the influence of method and tool components on both the process and outcome of group work (Geertman, 2013). Present-day research examining the relationships between planning task, planning support and users is centered on understanding the usefulness of these tools. PSS usefulness is determined in part by the fit between the support function of the system and the planning task, or its utility, and in part by the perceived usability of the utility function (Pelzer, 2017). Several studies provide discussions of usefulness, particularly concerning the potential communication and learning benefits of PSS use (see Shrestha, 2018; Pelzer et al., 2016; Pelzer et al., 2014; Goodspeed, 2013a). Communication and learning are two process-related aspects that I have attempted to link in the previous section to the dynamics of divergence and convergence. Communication and learning have been measured at both the group and individual level. Both levels of analysis are important since planning as a communicative activity is grounded both in the collective common sense of the group acting together and in the knowledge and consciousness that autonomous individuals gain through self-reflection (Alexander, 1988 as cited in Klosterman, 1997). While the term usefulness hints at a bias toward the potential benefits of PSS use, P...

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Section: Stages Of Strategy Makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextualizing planning support (systems): co-designing to fit the dynamics of spatial strategy making

Franken-Champlin¹

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“…Open source tools offering potentials to further refine applications by others or in future case studies are so far very much neglected. Future research studies should explore impacts of interactive PSS tools made explicitly for tangible user interfaces on their user friendliness and its correlation with the usefulness of the tool [14,82].…”

Section: Future Research Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, in suitable long-term case studies potential social outcomes such as community building or increased ownership through interactive PSS workshops series might be investigated. In this context te Brömmelstroet [82] suggests to research how more flexible PSS that that can be quickly adapted and contextualized [85] allows the actors to develop a sense of ownership and adapt the PSS to their specific demands.…”

Section: Future Research Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strengthening Participation Using Interactive Planning Support Systems: A Systematic Review

Flacke

Shrestha²,

Aguilar

2020

IJGI

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Interactive Planning Support Systems (PSS) implemented on a maptable are deemed suitable to support participatory planning processes. They are supposed to facilitate exchange of knowledge between stakeholders, consensus building among them, and group-learning processes. In this systematic review, based on 16 case studies using interactive PSS, we analyze how these have contributed to the goal of strengthening stakeholder participation. To this end, we first elicit details of the interactive PSS and the related participatory processes. In the second step, we analyze how and what the studies report, as the impacts on participation. Results show that tools and applications have become more sophisticated over time and goals of the studies changed from collaboratively designing interventions to observing and understanding how the application of such tools contributes to improved plan outcomes and group-based learning. All interactive PSS succeeded to facilitate intensive stakeholder collaboration. However, many studies lack a proper framework for investigating its impacts on participation and therefore assess these rather incidentally based on implicit assumptions. Thus, a significant outcome of this review is an evaluation framework, which allows the structural assessment of the impacts of interactive PSS on stakeholder participation.

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“…Contemporary PSS are often "toy" enterprises, developed as standalone projects, and presented at conferences with little practical relevance for use in municipalities (Timmermans 2008). Studies, particularly from a developed world perspective and by authors in developed countries, have endeavored to explain the reasons behind the limited use of GIS and PSS in municipalities (Geertman 2008;Vonk and Geertman 2008;Pelzer 2016;Te Brömmelstroet 2016). Some of the reasons include: mismatch between supply and demand of PSS (Vonk and Geertman 2008), lack of knowledge on real-life applications of PSS (Te Brömmelstroet 2016), mismatch between tools and users (Klosterman 1995(Klosterman , 2008, complexity of the PSS and lack of funding to develop the PSS (Batty 2007;Brail 2008;Geertman 2008;Moore 2008;Forgie 2011;Pelzer 2016;Te Brömmelstroet 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies, particularly from a developed world perspective and by authors in developed countries, have endeavored to explain the reasons behind the limited use of GIS and PSS in municipalities (Geertman 2008;Vonk and Geertman 2008;Pelzer 2016;Te Brömmelstroet 2016). Some of the reasons include: mismatch between supply and demand of PSS (Vonk and Geertman 2008), lack of knowledge on real-life applications of PSS (Te Brömmelstroet 2016), mismatch between tools and users (Klosterman 1995(Klosterman , 2008, complexity of the PSS and lack of funding to develop the PSS (Batty 2007;Brail 2008;Geertman 2008;Moore 2008;Forgie 2011;Pelzer 2016;Te Brömmelstroet 2016). A major reason for the limited use of PSS is that they are too complex, difficult to implement, and do not cater for situations with little or no data, such as the cases in most developing countries (Klosterman 1995;Musakwa and van Niekerk 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives on geospatial information science education: an example of urban planners in Southern Africa

Musakwa

2017

Geo-spatial Information Science

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Since the introduction of geographic information systems (GIS) in the 1960s, it has evolved tremendously to an extent that it permeates our daily lives. Initially, GIS usage started in the developed countries and now increasingly filtered to developing countries. The town planning profession was one of the early adopters of GIS. Geospatial information is a useful source of data that is needed in urban planning. In these days of the New Urban Agenda 2030, smart cities are even more required from planners in using geospatial information to face urban challenges such as sustainable urban development and climate change. Although GIS has promised a lot for urban planning, it has not reached its full potential. Moreover, many studies have focused on developed countries with limited studies on geospatial information application in municipalities and GIS education from a perspective of developing countries. In this study, a survey on the usage of geospatial information science (GSIS) in two cities, namely Bulawayo in Zimbabwe and Ekurhuleni in South Africa, was conducted, and an overview of the state of GIS curricula in planning schools is discussed. The results indicate that considerable progress has been made in the application of geospatial information in municipal planning; however, there are impediments limiting the full utilization of geospatial information in local municipalities. These impediments include: inadequate GIS curricula in planning schools, lack of resources, and lack of political will. These challenges manifest differently in well-resourced municipalities and those with limited resources. The study proposes planning-relevant GIS curricula to improve the level of GIS use in planning practice.

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Towards a pragmatic research agenda for the PSS domain

Cited by 11 publications

References 38 publications

Contextualizing planning support (systems): co-designing to fit the dynamics of spatial strategy making

Contextualizing planning support (systems): co-designing to fit the dynamics of spatial strategy making

Strengthening Participation Using Interactive Planning Support Systems: A Systematic Review

Perspectives on geospatial information science education: an example of urban planners in Southern Africa

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