Leveraging the No Net Land Take Policy through Ecological Connectivity Analysis: The Role of Industrial Platforms in Flanders, Belgium
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This is very interesting and complete work. The manuscript significance and soundness to the area and field of knowledge should be highlighted. All the different parts are correct and contribute to a better knowledge on this specific part of the field of knowledge. The bibliography is UpToDate, and the citations well done, this is, references are adequate. It is this reviewer opinion that the work should be published as it is.
Author Response
GI implementations towards the concrete stop policy in industrial areas in Flanders are by (1) mapping opportunities for GI planning and (2) assessing the multifunctionality of GI features in the industrial areas. As such, the study will contribute to actionable knowledge to guide GI planning, which is currently limited in the conventional literature. See page 3 line 115-122
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
I have gone through the manuscript entitled: “Enabling green infrastructure planning: Towards “Bentonstop”” and found it interesting. However there is a slight modification required towards improving its readability:
11. The authors mention urban sprawl. It would be worth extending this thought by answering the question:Is the described urban sprawl a result of the process of suburbanization and low attractiveness of central parts of cities? Is this process due to the low share of green areas in the city and the desire of the urban community to have their own garden, or is it due to the unfavorable conditions of functioning in the city ( noise, pollution, traffic jams)? Or do economic factors and real estate prices in central parts of cities make it more advantageous to buy a plot on the outskirts of the city?
22. line 94, it is useful to provide the average population density in the country so that the values quoted by the authors can be related
33. In the Methods section, it is worth clarifying what the authors mean by " ecological connectivity"
44. line 108 " concentrated a large concentration"-I suggest rephrasing the sentence to make it clearer.
55. It is important to clarify the concept of industrial platforms, what is it? Given that the journal is international, it is important that the nomenclature used by the authors be understood by readers from all over the world.
66. line 139 - social perspective and demand side. This phrase is not clear and it is worth clarifying and giving an example so that it is clear what the authors mean.
77. Figure 3: Do the colors of the arrows matter? I suggest adding a legend.
88. The maps-descriptions are unreadable. The font should be made larger, or even the entire maps
99. I have the impression that the figures are incorrectly numbered, relative to the references in the text. This should be corrected: "The first set of maps ( figure3)". - but this is a diagram and not a map.
10. In section 3.2, I suggest adding more insights and expanding this section
111. It would be useful for the article to point out the research gap and identify other studies based on this method. I also suggest in the conclusion to explore the considerations arising from the results obtained. It is not clear from the text whether the diagnosed contacts are ordered and evaluated positively or not.
112. In the last part of the paper, one feels the text is inconsistent with the research and the title of the paper. The entire text is about the region and does not focus solely on an urbanized area ( such as a city). However, in the conclusion, the authors recommend applying the concept to urban areas.
113. It is also important to specify/emphasize the purpose of the paper or the research questions the authors want to find answers to.
Language is not objectionable
Author Response
- Causes of urban Sprawl refer to page 2 (83-89)
- Population Please refer to page 3 line 131 to 134
- Ecological connectivity Please refer to page 3 lines 125 to 127)
- Definition of industrial platform, Please refer to page 3 lines 101 to 103
- Description of the social perspective, please refer to page 5 lines 191 to 225
- Research gap and conclusion, Please refer to page 12 lines 333 to 347
- The Figures have been improved please refer to the supplementary files
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
This is an important paper on the role of GIS mapping to help shape Green Infrastructure and mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic built environment intensification inimical to climate change mitigation efforts.
Analysis was performed at national and regional levels (where the potential of green corridors was illustrated e.g. Fig. 7).
SUGGESTIONS TO CONSIDER
It might be worth mentioning the tension between social housing needs and environmental imperatives to preserve green spaces?
57-58, some useful Belgium statistics (33% built area) but it would be more beneficial to have international comparisons to hand. E.g. what is land take in China over past 30 years?
The article conclusion is nuanced, noting the importance of stakeholder engagement and multiple expert/institutional inputs that consider the unique contexts of different urban or other milieus.
Author Response
The tension between social housing and environmental needs. Please refer to page 2 lines 81 to 89
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
