{"id":456,"date":"2024-09-16T08:07:11","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T08:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/datastories.maynoothuniversity.ie\/?p=456"},"modified":"2024-09-16T08:07:51","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T08:07:51","slug":"the-digital-turn-in-planning-practices-and-policy-making-conference-session-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/datastories.maynoothuniversity.ie\/?p=456","title":{"rendered":"The Digital Turn in Planning Practices and Policy Making: Conference Session Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the recent International Geography Congress, we organized a session on “The Digital Turn in Planning Practices and Policy Making”, organized by <\/span>Juliette Davret<\/span><\/b>, <\/span>Carla Maria Kayanan<\/span><\/b>, <\/span>Oliver Dawkins<\/span><\/b> and <\/span>Rob Kitchin<\/span><\/b>. This session brought together researchers and practitioners to explore how digitalization is transforming the planning and policymaking landscape. This session sought to examine the opportunities, challenges, and innovative approaches that emerge as planning becomes increasingly data-driven and dependent on digital tools.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Source: IGU Commission on Local and Regional Development<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Historically, planning has relied on digital technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and decision-support systems. However, much of the field remained paper-based until a more concerted effort to digitise planning processes. This shift aims to move all aspects of planning, from strategic development to enforcement, onto integrated digital systems. As a result, planners are facing new ways of working, where data flows, engagement with external stakeholders and the public\u2019s access to information have all been transformed. Yet, this digital transition also raises critical questions about inclusivity, public proficiency and engagement. How well equipped are citizens and professionals to navigate this new digital planning environment? And how do data infrastructures intersect across different sectors and scales of government, creating both opportunities and complexities?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The first part of the session, chaired by<\/span> Professor Zorica Nedovic-Budic<\/span><\/b>, focused on evidence-based policies and processes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the key discussions centered around the challenges faced by national and local governments is adapting to this digital shift. For example, in Ireland, <\/span>Carla Maria Kayanan<\/span><\/b> presented a paper explaining how the planning system’s efforts to embrace digitalisation have been hindered by two significant factors: entrenched centralisation of governance and the impact of austerity. The lack of local autonomy, coupled with reduced resources and staffing since the Global Financial Crisis, has led to an atmosphere of uncertainty, and in many cases, reluctance to fully engage with digital tools. These challenges are further compounded by a lack of proper training and support, resulting in feelings of weariness and complacency among planning professionals who are expected to adapt to new systems without adequate assistance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With a focus on Greater Sydney, Australia, a critical evaluation of the data analytics ecosystem surrounding planning practices was presented by <\/span>Claire Daniel<\/span><\/b>. The findings revealed that while data-driven planning holds promise, its implementation is far from seamless. Publicly available data plays an essential role in shaping policies, but investment disparities in data collection across different sectors leads to imbalances in how environmental and commercial land-use concerns are addressed. Furthermore, while government agencies and large consulting firms dominate the conversation, community submissions are often underrepresented in formal planning documents, raising concerns about equity and the role of public input in shaping urban development.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The session also highlighted efforts in the UK to reform the complex system of developer contributions, which currently relies on a blend of fixed and negotiated agreements as explained by <\/span>Michael Crilly<\/span><\/b>. The move towards a more standardised, digitally driven model for calculating developer contributions was discussed. This emerging model, developed in collaboration between academia and industry, breaks down the viability of planning applications into key cost components and uses digital tools to enhance transparency and precision in the planning process. By automating parts of the decision-making process and ensuring greater clarity around developer contributions, this approach aims to streamline planning practices and offer a more reproducible model for statutory planning.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The second part of the session, chaired by <\/span>Oliver Dawkins<\/span><\/b>, focused mainly on the development, application, and assessment of advanced digital technologies for planning.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Source: IGU Commission on Local and Regional Development<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From the 2010s onward, smart city control rooms and urban dashboards have drawn considerable critical attention due to the closed nature of their development, the exclusive nature of access, their reliance on quantitative metrics, their requirement for large amounts of data encouraging ever more fine-grained and surveillant forms of data collection, and their tendency to collapse the distinction between strategic, long-term planning and more reactive forms of urban operations dependent on the supply of real-time data. The discussion in this session sought to take stock of these developments and looked beyond current trends to consider future challenges and potentials.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Davide Ceccato <\/span><\/b>began the second part with a critical examination of Venice\u2019s efforts to mitigate the daily impact of intensive tourism on the city through their own smart control room. <\/span>The city increasingly relies on mobile positioning data, people counting sensors, surveillance cameras and traffic sensors to monitor tourist flows. However, while the system provides a detailed picture of urban activity, it remains unclear whether the promise of data-driven management has been realised. For this reason, Ceccato argued that it is essential to critically evaluate the quality, privacy, and accessibility of data and the wider political and market interests informing such projects.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Continuing this examination, <\/span>Louis Jolivalt<\/span><\/b> compared the development of urban dashboards and digital twins for environmental planning in the French cities of Dijon and Angers. In both cases, the technological development was motivated by a desire to optimise the management of urban infrastructure and public space, and to support crisis response for environmental issues such as the impacts of urban heat islands or flooding. Both cities faced significant challenges in the development and implementation of long-term strategies for these technologies and struggled to achieve the centralisation of data required to meet their aims. Complex technical implementations in both cases also required the negotiation of competing political interests and necessitated a broader appreciation for the socio-technical entwinement of technology and the social.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Focusing on digital twins, <\/span>Mani Dhingra<\/span><\/b> and <\/span>Jack Lehane<\/span><\/b> discussed Smart Dublin\u2019s exploration of the technology to improve stakeholder communication and community participation. The project aims to develop an AI-driven simulation of urban systems for city management, but the authors caution that there are challenges in adopting 3D spatial media and digital methods within public sector planning. In alignment with the European Commission\u2019s proposals for \u2018local digital twins\u2019, they outlined Smart Dublin\u2019s plans for the ethical development and deployment of digital twin solutions that are more responsive to the needs and desires of local inhabitants. Underpinned by a range of case studies, the presentation offered vivid examples of more socially oriented uses of digital twins. This also posed challenges regarding the nature and suitability of such technologies, which have typically been discussed in purely technical terms to date.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking to the forefront of technological development, the session ended with a presentation by <\/span>Michal Rzeszewski<\/span><\/b> examining the socio-technical imaginaries or aspirations motivating the intersection of discourses on urban planning and the metaverse. The Metaverse concept offers an encompassing vision for digital planning, combining emerging technologies like digital twins and augmented reality with the latest developments in gaming and gamification to deliver a new form of planning that crosses the boundary between physical, digital and hybrid spaces. Behind the hype, we often find familiar use cases and existing technologies already in need of critical reflection. This examination of the nascent metaverse sought to demonstrate how the identification of today\u2019s imaginaries might steer more desirable developments in digitally informed planning and policy going forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Overall, this session underscored the transformative potential of digital technologies in planning, but also highlighted the complex challenges that come with it. The digital turn offers new tools for efficiency, transparency and inclusivity, but navigating this transition requires careful consideration of governance structures, public engagement and the ability of professionals and citizens alike to adapt to a rapidly changing planning landscape.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Papers presented:<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 1<\/p>\n

Kayanan C. M<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>, Mutter S., Davret J. & Kitchin R. Data-driven planning: a review of IT systems and the challenges to Ireland\u2019s digital turn.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Daniel C<\/span><\/b>. & Pettit C. A critical evaluation of the data analytics and governance ecosystem surrounding planning for Greater Sydney.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Crilly M.<\/span><\/b> Digital betterment: modelling planning viability & developer contributions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 2\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ceccato D.<\/span><\/b> Smart Control Room, Venice: A tool for management and control of tourism mobility.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jolivalt L.<\/span><\/b> Smart city tools for environmental planning: opportunities and challenges in two French case studies: Dijon and Angers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dhingra M.,<\/span><\/b> Aphra Kerr A. & <\/span>Lehane J. R.<\/span><\/b> Rethinking digital \u2018visual\u2019 twins and building alternatives for smart city planning: a case of Smart Dublin.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rzeszewski M<\/span><\/b>., Evans L. & Maciej G\u0142\u00f3wczy\u0144ski M. Reimagining Urban Planning in the Metaverse: A Critical Examination of Socio-Technological Imaginaries and Realities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the recent International Geography Congress, we organized a session on “The Digital Turn in Planning Practices and Policy Making”, organized by Juliette Davret, Carla Maria Kayanan, Oliver Dawkins and Rob Kitchin. This session brought together researchers and practitioners to explore how digitalization is transforming the planning and policymaking landscape. This session sought to examine … Continue reading The Digital Turn in Planning Practices and Policy Making: Conference Session Recap<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/datastories.maynoothuniversity.ie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/datastories.maynoothuniversity.ie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/datastories.maynoothuniversity.ie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datastories.maynoothuniversity.ie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datastories.maynoothuniversity.ie\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=456"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/datastories.maynoothuniversity.ie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":462,"href":"https:\/\/datastories.maynoothuniversity.ie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions\/462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/datastories.maynoothuniversity.ie\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datastories.maynoothuniversity.ie\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datastories.maynoothuniversity.ie\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}