Search Results (15)

Tourism development should be economically viable, environmentally responsible, and aligned with community goals. Participation in decision-making ensures that community values are reflected in sustainable tourism guidelines. Traditional methods of public engagement in tourism planning include public meetings, focus groups, and interviews, as outlined in the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) framework, which ranges from education to empowerment. However, the rise of information technology and digital platforms has brought about new participatory channels, such as Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGISs), which use geospatial technologies to improve decision-making. This paper investigates the use of PPGISs in the tourism industry based on a thorough review of peer-reviewed literature from 2000 to 2024. By examining the use of PPGISs in tourism, the study identifies common characteristics and the scope of existing research, emphasizing how PPGISs can be applied across various tourism sectors. The study discovered that PPGIS is a credible alternative to traditional public participation methods and provides useful insights into residents’ perspectives on tourism-related issues. This study contributes to the tourism field by thoroughly understanding PPGIS applications, proposing future research strategies, and suggesting how these technologies can enhance public engagement and decision-making in tourism planning. Full article

The decision-making process of China’s national forest park (NFP) system typically excludes the consideration of the public’s perceived benefits. In this regard, the objective of this study was to elucidate the type of cultural ecosystem benefits (CEB) that NFP can provide and to inform the evidence-based design of forest parks by establishing its linkage to the public’s perceived sensory dimensions (PSD). A CEB evaluation scale was developed for forest parks, and a 6-day public participation GIS (PPGIS) survey was conducted in Fuzhou NFP to collect evaluations of CEB and PSD at different sites from 853 respondents. The findings revealed that the CEB furnished by NFP is comprised of three dimensions. The three dimensions of cultural ecosystem benefits (CEB) are identities, experiences, and capabilities. The impact of different PSDs on CEBs varies, as do the impacts of high and low scores on CEBs for the same PSD. It can be concluded that the creation of more serene and open spaces will result in an increase in the CEB available to the public. Furthermore, designers may wish to consider enhancing single dimensions of PSDs in order to characterize different areas, which may prove to be a more effective approach than enhancing PSDs across the board. In summary, our PPGIS survey is expected to enable community-based governance of the NFP and provide a basis for a comprehensive sustainability dialogue between people and forests. Full article

Access to urban green and blue spaces (UGBSs) has been associated with positive effects on health and wellbeing; however, the past decades have seen a decline in quality and user satisfaction with UGBSs. This reflects the mounting challenges that many UK cities face in providing appropriate public facilities, alongside issues such as health inequalities, an ageing population, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. At present, little is known about the preferences of different population subgroups and, specifically, the UGBSs they visit and the spaces they avoid. Using a public participatory geographic information system (PPGIS), the overall aim of the research presented here was to investigate the preferences of different population subgroups in urban areas, and the UGBSs they visit, using Edinburgh, Scotland as a case study. We created a baseline visitor demographic profile for UGBS use, and highlighted how visitors perceive, physically access, use, and engage with UGBSs. The results revealed considerable variation in UGBS preference: one person’s favourite UGBS may be one that someone else dislikes and avoids. It is clear that adapting UGBSs to suit local communities should not be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. The conflicting views and preferences of different groups of respondents point to the importance of developing policies and park management plans that can accommodate a variety of uses and experiential qualities within individual parks. PPGIS approaches, such as those utilised in this study, offer opportunities to address this issue and provide evidence to increase equitable UGBS usage. Full article

Socio-cultural dimensions and values in maritime spatial planning (MSP) are gaining momentum worldwide and especially in the European Union (EU), since it is acknowledged that they are the “missing layer” of maritime spatial plans (MSPlans). These values are partly explored through cultural ecosystem services (CES). Coastal and marine CES refer to the benefits that humans derive from the coastal and marine environments in recreational, artistic, spiritual, and educational terms. They reflect the ways in which coastal and marine ecosystems contribute to human well-being, cultural identity, and interactions with nature. The research question is how to map and assess coastal/marine ecosystem services and to integrate them in the MSPlans. Thus, this systematic review sheds light on methodological and technical issues with CES mapping and assessment and provides guidance on how to incorporate CES in MSP for future research. Publications dealing with the spatial aspects of CES were examined with an extra focus on participatory mapping approaches. Initially, 199 articles were identified, and 50 articles were ultimately eligible for the analysis. Papers were concentrated in the European Atlantic, whilst their scope was either local or regional. A large number of articles consider the contribution of CES to efficient marine management rather than to achieving an integrated and coordinated MSP. Social and mixed mapping approaches were met with the most often, especially participatory mapping approaches. Also, non-monetary valuation was prevailing, and a multitude of techniques, tools, and statistical software were used. In most of the cases, the distribution of values in relation to environmental, socio-economic, and demographic factors was examined. This article concludes that an effective integration of CES into MSP is crucial for creating prospects of a more sustainable and inclusive approach to coastal/marine planning and for the well-being of ecosystems and communities both currently and for future generations. This knowledge should become “property” of the maritime spatial planners. Full article

Based on the public participation geographic information system (PPGIS), the research platform is designed to facilitate and provide a basis for public participation. The platform includes the application of three core links: information acquisition, planning participation, and decision-making participation. To solve the problems in the planning and design of the micro-public space in China’s urban and rural planning system, the renewal practice of the micro-public space in Jimei College Village, Xiamen, China was used as a study case to explore how the mixed-PPGIS can be applied to micro-public space renewal by promoting the realization of “public participation”. The research results show that the mixed-PPGIS is a combination of technical methods that leads to the improvement of bottom-up participatory planning. At the same time, the importance of “people” in the mixed-PPGIS construction was emphasized. Full article

Urban blue infrastructure is an important component of the urban landscape for ecological, economic, social, and cultural reasons. However, there is a clear research gap in relation to preferences and patterns of use in the context of different blue spaces, considering the citywide context and different cultural and geographical settings. Additionally, when compared to green spaces, the location and morphology of urban blue elements are usually geographically predefined, and it is much less possible to ensure their equitable distribution with respect to population. To fill this gap, we decided to explore the effect of distance from residential areas, the role of water, the level of facilities, and the character of blue spaces in attracting visitors of different demographic characteristics in a sample of different European cities. We used a public participatory geographic information system approach (PPGIS) to collect data about residents’ favourite blue spaces in each city and categorize the most popular of these according to whether they were close to or distant from respondents’ homes. We also categorized the types of blue spaces and the level of facilities present. The results show that certain key blue spaces, such as the seaside or beaches, attract more distant visitors and that the pattern of the blue spaces within the city also affects visitation. There are many differences among the studied cities due to the morphology determined by geography. The usage of blue spaces is very site-specific and should be studied in more detail at the city and place levels, focusing on the different roles of everyday and destination places. Full article

Decisions are a key element of spatial planning processes and in the face of increasing public participation in local governance, they become even more complex. The diversity of stakeholders in planning processes causes a significant increase in the number and scope of articulated expectations, needs, and knowledge that could be integrated into the process. Along with the participatory approaches in spatial planning, a departure from the expert-oriented decision-making model towards its collaborative form is expected. As everyday users of space, residents have knowledge about the functioning of its elements resulting from their experience, the so-called experiential knowledge. The study aimed to investigate the role of residents’ input in diagnosing space in spatial planning processes using public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS). The article presents the study’s results conducted in Poznan, Poland, among residents and urban planners using geo-questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The article presents the characteristics of the residents’ contribution to the spatial diagnosis and the possibilities and limitations of the involvement of residents’ knowledge collected using a geoweb tool in the professional work of urban planners. Full article

(1) Background: To assess the quality of the built environment, it is necessary to study both the physical components and the inhabitants’ perceptions. However, since objective indicators are easily measurable, most studies have centered only on analyzing the physical dimensions of cities. Currently, the massification of information technology and the emergence of digital platforms are offering new participatory channels for studying citizens’ perceptions of the built environment. (2) Objective: considering the scarcity of the theoretical and methodological approaches supporting this new research, the main objective of this article is centered on contributing to the field by developing a scoping review of the publications assessing the perception of the built environment through digital platforms and concluding with a conceptual framework to support future research. (3) Methods: to do so, 98 articles were reviewed and 21 of them were selected and studied in detail after applying a selection criteria identifying papers that analyzed the urban environment (Criteria 1), used participatory processes (Criteria 2), were developed with the support of digital platforms (Criteria 3), and were centered on the study urban places, therefore excluding mobility (Criteria 4), which was done in order to identify the main theoretical and methodological approaches used for studying perception in the built environment. (4) Results: The research identified Audit Tools and Perception Tools to study citizens’ perceptions. Audit Tools are methodologically related to Systematic Social Observation (SSO). Perception Tools rely on transactional person–environment or Public Participation as the main theories, followed by Subjective Wellbeing (SWB), Physical Activity (PA), and Social Sustainability as fields where these studies are being applied. Participatory mapping is identified as a general methodology, considered the basic technical tool of Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS). Place-based and Citizens Science are other methodologies supporting perception research. (5) Conclusions: Finally, the proposed framework for assessing the perception of the built environment supports the notion that, in order to study perception, both subjective and objective approaches are necessary. The subjective approach supports the study of the self-reported perceived environment while the objective approach is used to collect urban structure data so as to understand the socio-environmental context conditioning the experience. Full article

Greenspaces are integral components of communities and provide numerous benefits. However, human development threatens these spaces, particularly in communities of color where histories of racial injustice persist and environmental vulnerabilities remain. A step towards preventing the loss of important cultural greenspaces is documenting knowledge and experience. This research employed community-based participatory techniques to study the relationship between the landscape and African-Canadian communities around Preston, Nova Scotia, the oldest and largest in Canada. Community-directed meetings created collaborative-based knowledge about perceptions surrounding land use change while identifying valued greenspaces. This paper studies the relationships between the community’s greenspaces and the benefits to psychological, social, and physical aspects of human wellbeing. This relationship is operationalized through the use of a public participation geographic information system (PPGIS), SoftGIS, which activates the greenspace–human wellbeing relationship through interaction and its map-based survey data collection. Results indicate residents predominately visited greenspaces near a church or community center for social wellbeing benefits to interact with neighbors and friends, to cookout, or to bring children outside. This research contributes to a greater understanding of the Preston area’s greenspace identification and qualification, resident behavior, and cultural perspectives to inform strategies and goals for engaging government agencies surrounding policy and land use planning. This research illustrates frameworks for improving building capacity and promoting racial equity within the urbanization process in other communities. Full article

Despite the growing quantity of ecosystem-services-related research, there is still a lack of deeper understanding on cultural ecosystem services (CES). This is mainly due to the perception of CES, which can vary by geographic location and population. In this study, we present a Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) method in a Hungarian microregion. Our goal is to increase understanding on how cultural services are perceived in this geographical context and level, and how this relative importance is related to biophysical landscape features. We also consider the influence of accessibility on the perceived landscape and compare our findings with the results of other studies with different sociocultural backgrounds. The research consists of participatory mapping with 184 persons that were digitized and analyzed with GIS and statistical software. During the analysis, we identified CES hotspots and compared CES with landscape features, as well as CES perception with accessibility. Our results showed positive correlation of CES with land covers related to built-up areas, as well as aesthetic and recreational services with water bodies. Compared to other studies, we found different spatial relationships in the case of spiritual services, and higher importance of agricultural land covers during the CES perception, thanks to the Central-Eastern European (CEE) sociocultural background. Our study highlights the effect of accessibility on CES perception; nevertheless, these relationships varied by different infrastructural elements. We conclude by discussing the implications and limitations of our study and encouraging future landscape research to apply the PPGIS method in this geographical context. Full article

The success of university campuses depends on the interrelations between creative encounters and the built environment, conceptualised here as spatial affordances for creativity. Such an interface plays a fundamental role in interactions for knowledge sharing and the exchange of ideas on campus. Due to campus public spaces generally being considered as the leftovers between buildings and classrooms, undermanaged, and overlooked, little is known about the extent to which this built environment enables or inhibits creative encounters in such spaces. The inner-city campuses and science parks (SPs) of Amsterdam and Utrecht, the case-studies of this research, differ in terms of their location relative to the city, their masterplan typologies and the arrangement of buildings. However, they are similar in terms of the aforementioned issues of public spaces. The novelty of this research is the attempt to overcome such issues using an innovative mixed-methods approach that tests the ‘spatial affordances for creativity’ with empirical data collection and analysis. This raises the importance of mapping, quantifying and analysing the spatial distribution of momentary perceptions, experiences, and feelings of people with methods such as volunteered geographic information (VGI). The results show that proximity between multiple urban functions and physical features, such as parks, cafés and urban seating are important when it comes to explaining the high frequency of creative encounters between people. Urban designers of campuses can use the applied method as a tool to plan and design attractive public spaces that provide creativity through the transfer of tacit knowledge, social well-being, positive momentary perceptions, sense of community, and a sense of place. Full article

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast has a long history of intense and varied development, from energy infrastructure and seaports to vacation homes and tourism. Coastal populations and development are growing. Concurrently, global climate change will influence sea level rise, resulting in increased flooding, storm surge, and coastal erosion. Regional planners must prepare for sea level rise and develop adaptive solutions to maximize resiliency. Comprehensive coastal vulnerability mapping assessments (CVMA) can integrate social, economic, and physical vulnerability with spatial analysis of natural hazards for local place-based investigations. Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) are a potentially important tool for the spatial collection of stakeholder knowledge for CVMA. The objective of this study was to assess the locations of a range of landscape values, ecosystem services, and development preferences held and identified by the general public using PPGIS to determine if those valued locations are vulnerable to sea level rise. We found that PPGIS can be used to map a wide variety of landscape values and that they can be used to assess vulnerability to sea level rise. We conclude with a discussion on how to integrate PPGIS into participatory CVMA for sea level rise planning. Full article

Transport decision-making problems are typically spatially based and involve a set of feasible alternatives with multiple evaluation criteria. Besides, transport decisions affect citizens’ quality of life, as well as specific interests of general stakeholders (e.g., transport companies), thus needing a participatory approach to decision-making. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have the ability to visualize spatial data and represent the impact of location based transport alternatives, thus helping experts to conduct robust assessments. Moreover, with the recent diffusion of Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) and development of Public Participatory GIS (PPGIS) platforms, the process can be enhanced thanks to the collection of a large amount of updated spatial data and the achievement of an active community participation. In this study, we provide an overview based on a structured literature review of the use of VGI and PPGIS in transport studies, exploring the fields of application, role played by GIS, level of public involvement and decision stage at which they are applied. From the overview’s results, we propose a general framework for the evaluation of transport alternatives using GIS from a multiple stakeholder point of view; the main conclusion is the usefulness of the integration between Public Participation, GIS and quantitative evaluation methods, in particular Multi Criteria Decision Analysis, in order to foster technically sound and shared decisions. Full article

A public participatory geographical information systems (PPGIS) demographic, environmental, socioeconomic, health status portal was developed for the Stambaugh-Elwood (SE) community in Columbus, OH. We hypothesized that soil at SE residences would have metal concentrations above natural background levels. Three aims were developed that allowed testing of this hypothesis. Aim 1 focused on establishing partnerships between academia, state agencies and communities to assist in the development of a community voice. Aim 2 was to design and conduct soil sampling for residents of the SE community. Aim 3 was to utilize our interactive, customized portal as a risk communication tool by allowing residents to educate themselves as to the potential risks from industrial sources in close proximity to their community. Multiple comparisons of means were used to determine differences in soil element concentration by sampling location at p < 0.05. The results demonstrated that eight metals (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Mo, Se, Tl, Zn) occurred at statistically-significantly greater levels than natural background levels, but most were below risk-based residential soil screening levels. Results were conveyed to residents via an educational, risk-communication informational card. This study demonstrates that community-led coalitions in collaboration with academic teams and state agencies can effectively address environmental concerns. Full article

In this article, we argue that research on land reform in the nation of Zimbabwe has overlooked possibilities of integrating geospatial methods into analyses and, at the same time, geographers have not adequately developed techniques for this application. Scholars have generally been captured within the debate focused on the success or failure of the Zimbabwean land reform program, and have neglected to analyze what has occurred where during the process of “fast-track land reform”. To date, no extensive national dataset of land ownership change, and the effect of this change on land use planning strategies, has been developed within the scientific community. As a result, most publications, even very detailed and thorough ones, have been based on regional case studies, broad estimates, or on outdated, cross-referenced statistics. To overcome the lack of spatio-temporal data, we propose an analytic framework to map Zimbabwe’s fast-track land reform and its country-wide effects. It emphasizes the potential of geographic information systems and satellite remote sensing to provide an objective basis for future studies of the subject. Full article