Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Land use, Urban – Malawi'

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Cities in Malawi continue to be sites and spaces of resistance, struggle and contest over urban spaces. Since the introduction of colonial modernist planning with its adherence to segregation through functional zoning, homogenisation, and fragmentation of urban areas, squatting and land invasions on urban land have remained one of the widespread struggles for space in urban Malawi. Continued occurrence of squatting, land invasions, and encroachments on urban land reflect the inability of urban planning and its attendant land policies to provide land and housing to the majority of urban dwellers mainly the middle income as well as the marginalised urban poor. Over the years, government efforts have not decisively addressed the issue of land contestations in urban areas in spite of numerous reports of increasing cases of conflicts and competing claims over urban land in Malawi including land dispossessions, conflicts over land uses in urban and peri-urban areas and most significantly contestations manifested in squatting and land invasions on state land leading to growth of spontaneous settlements. In urban areas, efforts to address these competitions have included relocation; titling programmes, sites-and-services schemes, land reform programmes, and forced evictions, but struggles such as squatting and land invasions persist. In urban Malawi, the question is: why is urban planning, as it is conceived and acted upon (i.e. as mode of thought and spatial practice), a creator and not a mediator of urban land conflicts? The study aimed to answer this question, by using Lefebvre’s conceptual triad of social production of space, to gain an in-depth understanding of how the contradictions between people’s perceptions and daily life practices in relation to space, on one hand, and planner’s conceptions of space as informed by colonial, post-colonial, and neoliberal perceptions of space, generate perpetual struggle for urban space in Malawi. The study also investigated spatial strategies and tactics which urban residents employ to shape, produce and defend urban spaces from possible repossession by the state. Finally, the study explored lived experiences and the multiple meanings that urban residents attach to spaces they inhabit and these are used to contest imposition of space by state authorities while at the same time to produce their own spaces. Mixed method approaches were used to gather geodata, quantitative and qualitative data in the two neighbourhoods of Soche West (Blantyre city) and Area 49 (Lilongwe city) where there are on-going tensions over land between state authorities and urban residents. Primary sources of data included household surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, documentary sources, observations, and electronic and print media. In view of the magnitude of the data, three software were used namely, SPSS, ATLAS.ti, and ArcGIS 9.3TM GIS for quantitative, qualitative, and spatial data respectively. Content and discourse analysis were also used to analyse government documents and newspapers. The research found that although planning thought and practice is dominated by imported modernist conceptions of space, planning authorities in Malawi are unable to impose this space on urban residents. Specifically, the research identified a number of constraints faced by planning authorities ranging from human and technical capacity, corruption, cumbersome and bureaucratic procedures, archaic, rigid and contradictory in laws and policies, complexity of land rights, poor enforcement, political influence and emergence of democracy, incomplete reclassification of rural authority into urban authority and shortage of financing mechanisms. In view of these state incapacities coupled with peoples’s perception of the illegitimacy of the state to control urban land, the study found that ‘dobadobas’ (that is middlemen, conmen and tricksters) have taken over to contest planning practices of the state by employing both violent and non-violent spatial tactics to appropriate, and defend their claim for urban spaces, thereby generating conflicts between the state and users of space. Consistent with our argument regarding representations of spaces and representational spaces, the research found that in both Lilongwe and Blantyre cities, the multiple meanings attached to spaces represent divergent but true lived experiences that involve different core values that may or may not be recognised by those residents who do not share them. Finally, planners, therefore, have to reconcile the contradictions between planners’ visions and the experiences of those who experience the city in their everyday life. By way of recommendation, planners, therefore, have to reconcile the contradictions between planners’ visions and the experiences of those who live in the city. Planners’ emphasis on abstract spaces and their modernist images of order imply that viable alternative place-making processes are not well understood, partially because formal discourse in planning and place-making revolves around largely iterative representations of space and the persuasive capacities of one or another representation. Rather, this researcher recommends continued use of the conceptual triad to enable researchers to become more fully aware of complexity in the human dimensions of space before planning. In the same way, by focusing on the two neighbourhoods, the researcher recommends that planning requires considerable time and effort and that it should priotise the human or the micro scale. Planning ought to bring on board the multiple meanings of space as discussed in the study as these are the multiple dimensions that planning has to grapple with in its quest to organise and produce urban space. Since space is never empty as it always embodies meaning, it is imperative to understand various meanings that people attach to the spaces they inhabit and their attachment to these spaces. In the study the fact that spaces carry multiple meanings encompassing exchange value, use value, emotional value, historical value, and sacred values among others, has been explored. Continued advancement of colonial modernist conceptions of orderliness, segregation, functional zoning and commodification which are constructed largely, by dominant economic and political elites, provokes resistance by groups who defend and seek to reconstruct lived space. Also, in view of the incapacity of the state to impose its conceptions of urban space through spatial practice of planning, urban residents continue to devise their own spatial strategies and tactics violent and nonviolent, to shape their own space. In conclusion, the paper stresses that spaces are not exclusively shaped or moulded by planners and planning practices of the state only, but also by spatial practices of everyday life albeit clandestine and unofficial. In this regard, in Malawi, cities including the post-colonial city of Lilongwe should not be understood as being shaped by planners’ space only but also the changing experiences of the city and everyday life and ambiguities of the users of urban space. Thus plans and documents as conceived spaces should not be understood as the only mechanism to shape and organise urban space but also the changing experiences of the city and everyday life and ambiguities of the users of urban space.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Stede in Malawi is nog steeds plekke en ruimtes waar daar weerstand, worsteling, en konflik i.v.m. grond plaasvind. Sedert die invoer van koloniale, modernistiese beplanning wat assosieer word met segregasie deur middel van funksionele streekindeling, homogenisasie,en fragmentasie van stadsgebied, is plakkery en beslaglê op grond in stede algemeen in die stede van Malawi. Die aanhoudendende voorkoms van plakkery, indringing en oortreding op grond reflekteer die die onvermoë van stedelike beplanning en grond beleid om grond en behuising aan die meerderheid van die stedelike burgers , meestal die middelinkomste klas en die gemarginaliseerde stedelike armes te verskaf. Die regering het nie oor die jare daarin geslaag om die kwessie van konflik oor grond in stedelike areas suksesvol aan te spreek nie, dit ten spite van die feit dat daar toenemend meer gevalle van konflik en meededingende grondeise bestaan, asook onteiening in stedelike en omstedelike gebiede. Hierdie konflikte manifesteer in plakkery en indringery in staatsgrond wat lei tot die totstandkoming van nie-amptelike nedersettings. In stedelike gebiede het pogings om hierdie kwessies aan te spreek gelei tot onteiening,eiendomsreg-programme, grondhervormings-programme, gedwonge uitsettings, asook gebiede waar daar net grond en dienste verskaf word. Nogtans vind daar plakkery en indringing plaas. Met betrekking tot stedelike Malawi is die vraag: Hoekom is stedelike beplanning soos dit begryp word (d.w.s. as ’n denkwyse en ruimte-praktyk) die skepper en nie die bemiddelaar van konflik oor grond in stede nie? Daar is gepoog om hierdie vraag te beantwoord deur gebruik te maak van Lefebvre se drieledige konsep van die produksie van ruimte, om sodoende ’n in-diepte begrip te verkry van die teenstellings tussen mense se konsepsies en alledaagse praktyke met betrekking tot ruimte, en die beplanners se konsepte van ruimte wat die gevolg is van koloniale, post-koloniale en neoliberale sienings, en hoe dit lei tot ’n aanhoudende konflik oor stedelike grondgebied in Malawi. Strategieë en taktieke wat deur inwoners gebruik word om ruimte te skep en te verdedig teen moontlike onteiening deur die staat, word ondersoek. Laastens word die lewende ondervindings van die stadsbewoners ondersoek, asook die veelvoudige betekenisse wat hulle heg aan die ruimtes wat hulle bewoon. Hoe hulle hierdie betekenisse gebruik om die oorname van hierdie spasies deur die staat, te beveg en terselfdertyd hulle eie ruimtes te skep. Die gemengde-metode benadering is gebruik om geodata, kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe data in die twee buurtes van Soche West (Blantyre ) en Area 49 (Lilongwe ) waar daar aanhoudende spanning oor grond tussen die staat en die stadsbewoners is, aan te spreek. Primêre bronne van data sluit huishoudelike opnames, fokus groepbesprekings, sleutelinformant onderhoude, dokumentêre bronne, observasie,en elektroniese en gedrukte media in. Omdat daar so baie data is, is drie sagtewares, naamlik SPSS, ATLAS.ti, and ArcGIS 9.3TM GIS gebruik vir die ontleding van kwantitiewe, kwalitatiewe en ruimtelike data onderskeidelik. Inhouds- en diskoers analise is ook gedoen om die regeringsdokumente en koerantartikels te ontleed. Daar is gevind dat alhoewel beplanningsdenke en –praktyk oorheers word deur ingevoerde, modernistiese konsepte van ruimtes, kry die owerhede dit nie reg om die bewoners te oorreed om hulle siening van stedelike ruimte te aanvaar nie. Daar is tydens die navorsing bevind dat die owerhede die volgende kwessies moet aanspreek: menslike en tegniese bekwaamdede, korrupsie, lomp burokratiese prosedures, uitgediende en weersprekende wette en beleide, die kompleksiteit van grondregte, swak toepassing van wette, politieke invloed, en die opkoms van die demokrasie, onvoltooide reklassifikasiwe van landelike owerhede, en ’n tekort aan finanseringsmeganismes. Die staat se onbekwaamheid tesame met die mense se persepsie dat die staat nie volgens wet stedelike grond kan beheer nie, het gelei daartoe dat Doba Dobas (d.w.s. die middelman, en die skelms) die beplanning van konflik oorgeneem het en geweldadige en nie-geweldadige taktiek gebruik om grond te bekom en te verdedig, en sodoende konflik tussen die staat en die mense laat toeneem. Daar kan gesê word dat in beide Lilongwe en Blantyre die veelvoudige betekenisse wat aan ruimte geheg word, die werklike ondervindinge van die mense verteenwoordig. Hierdie ondervindings behels verskillende kernwaardes wat dalk nie deur ander gedeel word nie. Dit bevestig ook Lefebvre se argumente oor die ruimtes. Laastens moet die beplanners die beplanners se toekomsplanne en die alledaagse ondervindings van die burgers, versoen. Daar word dus aanbeveel dat die beplanners die klem op abstrakte ruimtes en die modernistiese beeld van orde moet versoen met die ondervindings van diegene wat in die stad woon. Die beplanners se klem op abstakte ruimtes en hulle modernistiese beeld van orde impliseer dat lewensvatbare alternatiewe plekmaak prosesse nie goed verstaan word nie, gedeeltelik omdat die formele diskoers in beplanning en plekmaak grootliks draai om herhaaldelike voorstellings van ruimte en die oorrredingskrag van die een of ander voorstelling. Hierdie navorser stel voor dat Lefebvre se drie konsepte liewer gebruik moet word om dit vir navorsers moontlik te maak om voor beplanners bewus te word van die kompleksiteit van die menslike dimensies van ruimte, Nadat hy gefokus het op die twee stede, besef die navorse dat beplanning baie tyd en moeite behels en dat die menslike of die mikroskaal voorrang moet geniet. Die veelvoudige betekenisse van ruimte, soos bespreek, moet in ag geneem word tydens die organiseer en skep van stedelike ruimte. Aangesien ruimte nooit leeg is nie en altyd betekenis het, is dit belangrik om die verskillende betekenisse wat mense aan die plekke waar hulle bly heg, te verstaan, asook hulle gehegtheid aan hierdie plekke. In hierdie studie word die verskillende betekenisse van ruimte, naamlik ruilwaarde, gebruikwaarde, emosionele waarde, historiese waarde, en gewyde waarde. Die bevordering van koloniale.modernistiese konsepte van orde, segregasie, funksionele sonering en kommodifikasie,. grootliks deur die dominante ekonomiese en politiese elite, lei tot weerstand deur groepe wat die ruimtes waarin hulle lewe wil verdedig en rekonstrueer. Omdat die staat nie deur middel van die ruimtelike praktyke van beplanning, sy siening van stedelike ruimte aan die bewoners kan oordra nie, hou die stedelike bewoners aan om hulle strategieë en taktieke, geweldadig en nie-geweldadig, te gebruik, om hul eie ruimtes te skep. Ten slotte word daar tot die slotsom gekom dat ruimte nie eksklusief deur beplanners geskep word nie, maar deur die praktyke van die alledaagse lewe, al is dit ongeoorloofd en nieamptelik. Die stede in Malawi, insluitende die post-koloniale stad, Lilongwe, moet nie beskou word as gevorm alleenlik deur die stadsbeplanners nie, maar ook deur die veranderende ondervindings van die stad en die alledaagse lewe en die dubbelsinnigheid van die gebruikers van stedelike ruimte. Planne en dokumente moet dus nie gesien word as die enigste meganisme wat stedelike ruimte vorm en organiseer nie.

Rapidly increasing population densities in Malawi have put a huge strain on the existing agricultural land and the surrounding woodland. Smallholder agriculture is the dominant economic activity of Malawi’s rural population and many farmers have been forced to cultivate marginal lands with less fertile soils, making conditions much more difficult to grow crops. Natural woodland is under increasing pressure from the opening of new lands for cultivation and the increased demand for firewood, timber and other woody resources, with rural households historically obtaining most of their complementary inputs and saleable commodities from nearby areas of forest (Arnold, 1997a). Despite this increasing pressure, woodlands are not being cleared indiscriminately; selected indigenous species are left standing in fields and around households. These are joined by exotic species that are planted and maintained. These trees provide products and services that are vital, yielding food, firewood, building materials and medicine, replenishing soil fertility and protecting against soil erosion. Following a Boserupian approach, this study attempts to establish the reality of a trajectory of enhanced on-farm tree planting and management as population pressure mounts and as part of a more general process of agricultural intensification. The study examines the combination of factors (social, economic, political and environmental) that either stimulate or discourage on-farm tree planting on smallholdings in Malawi, highlighting how woodland resource use changes over a gradient of land use intensity. This study gives a detailed insight into the way that tree planting and management in the smallholder farming system in Malawi works and identifies a trend of increased tree planting/management alongside an increase in agricultural intensification. However, there is no single ‘path’ of intensification; the link between agricultural change and tree planting is complex and there are many trajectories of intensification that a farmer may follow, dependent on his/her social or economic circumstances. The study recommends that agroforestry interventions give rigorous consideration to the needs of the local community, and the suitability of trees to address those needs, before embarking

Riparian wetlands are among the most valuable landscapes in the arid southwest. Since they are sources for water and green vegetation, they are unique compared to surrounding desert landscapes. They also offer the potential for a wide range of commodity and non-commodity based land uses. In a rapidly urbanizing setting, commodity based uses such as housing, retail, and industrial development often come into conflict with non-commodity based uses such as recreation and wildlife, water and nature preservation. The purpose of this study was to deduce public value orientations toward the rapidly urbanizing riparian landscapes of Tucson, Arizona through an assessment of residents' attitudes and perceptions regarding those landscapes. Theoretical constructs addressing the relationship between attitudes and perceptions and varying conditions of residential setting, proximity, familiarity, and human influence in the landscape were also assessed. Data were collected by mail survey and by a photo-surrogate landscape assessment technique which provided data on scenic quality and the appropriateness of various land uses. Results indicate that the strongest differences across residential settings, proximity, familiarity, and human influence occur for perceptions of existing landscape conditions. Weaker differences occur for perceptions of change and opinions on planning, management, and growth. No differences were found on land use preferences. Although perceptions differ about what currently exists in the landscape, respondents are unified in their preferences for future land use. This suggests that landscape assessments based only on perceptions of existing conditions may not accurately reflect public values for future land uses. Public value orientations were found to be associated with: (1) careful planning to control growth; (2) conservation of water resources; (3) preservation and rehabilitation of natural vegetation, wildlife habitat, open space, and other non-commodity resources, and (4) development of compatible flood control structures. Results suggest that the changes occurring in the study area are incompatible with respondents' preferences for future land uses.

This thesis argues that the land question in Malawi can be resolved through the emergence of a responsibilized State under people–generated responsibilization. People–generated responsibilization is a holistic, bottom–up approach to tackling asymmetrical access to, and ownership of, land in the country. This, it is suggested, must entail proactive, people–based action for a triangulated approach to land reform involving law, macroeconomic frameworks like poverty reduction strategies, and the adherence to the terms of governing under the Constitution. The broad context of the research is that since the mid–1990s, Malawi has joined the ‘new wave’ of land reform. The new wave takes place amidst the re– conceptualization of ‘development’ in development discourse through a supposedly decentred focus on economic growth. The new donor consensus is that land reform must be more human–centred and foster pro–poor economic growth. It is in this environment that Malawi adopted the National Land Policy in 2002. The Policy is meant to guide the country’s land reform and contribute to sustained economic growth. The new wave is problematic since it perpetuates land reform approaches of the law and development movement whereby land reform becomes land law reform. The ‘customary’ space is subjected to a process of formalization and privatization of the right to property in land ostensibly to boost economic growth. This approach is narrow and undermines the resolution of a land question. Using the Foucauldian ‘idea’ of governmentality, the thesis examines situations and processes that have entrenched the land question in Malawi. There is a multiverse of the parochial interests of the State, the Bretton Woods Institutions, ‘commercial’ farmers, and the land deprived. The narrow focus on land law reform demonstrates the dominance of market as value and entrenches the land question in Malawi.

Changes in land use and land cover (LULC) attributed to anthropogenic activities are one of the fundamental drivers of environmental changes at the local, regional and global levels. These changes continue to threaten the capacity of the ecosystems to function and provide environmental goods and services and the ability to sustain the livelihoods of rural communities. Therefore, a critical understanding of LULC patterns and dynamics is crucial for predicting future LULC patterns and changes and formulation of appropriate policies, strategies and interventions for sustainable management of natural resources. Dedza district like any other district in Malawi has experienced rapid LULC changes over the past decades. However, knowledge about LULC changes that occur, where and when they occur and the rates at which they occur is not well documented. Equally important is the examination of the drivers and processes that cause these changes and the extent to which these LULC changes have impacted on natural resources and rural livelihoods in the studied area. As such, this remains a critical challenge that needs to be addressed in order to achieve sustainable natural resource management and community development. This study aimed to investigate the nature of LULC changes that have taken place between 1991 and 2015, drivers attributing to these changes and their impacts of these changes on the natural resources in Dedza district of Malawi. The study used a mixed-method approach consisting of remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS)-based analysis, model simulations, focus-group discussions, key informant interviews, and semi-structured interviews covering 586 households. An overall accuracy of the classification achieved for the classified images was 91.86%. GIS-based analysis of remotely sensed data revealed that the areas under agricultural land, forest area, wetlands, water bodies drastically decreased from 71.3% (267,977.43 ha), 24.53% (9,939.15 ha), 0.96% (3,626.73 ha), 0.37% (1,380.60 ha) in 1991 to 69.41% (260,879.31 ha), 1.66% (6,237.63 ha), 0.71% (2,680.29 ha) and 0.24% (899.55 ha) in 2015. On the contrary, barren land and built-up areas substantially increased from 24.53% (92,185.38 ha) and 0.20% (761.67 ha) in 1991 to 25.85% (97,174.62 ha), 2.13% (7,999.56 ha) in 2015 respectively. Significant differences were found among the interviewed households in perceptions regarding LULC changes taken place in the studied landscape and distance to different infrastructures such as main roads, health centres, schools, and towns (p < 0.001). The results of the household surveys indicated that the local communities were aware of the LULC dynamics and validated the observed changes. Firewood collection, charcoal production, population growth, and poverty were identified as the key drivers of observed LULC changes in the study area. Local communities perceived that LULC changes led to a decline in agricultural land (57.3%, n = 586), crop production (82.8%, n = 586) and forest cover (87.4%, n = 586) and an increase in the distance to forest resources (50.7%, n = 586). These changes exposed rural households to major shocks such as drought, floods, food shortage, loss/damage of crops and death of household members. In order to address these shocks, communities were engaged in short-term strategies such as piecework, receiving aid from government and NGOs, receiving unconditional aid from relatives, relying on their own savings and credits. The simulation results using the CA-Markov model showed that water bodies, barren land and built-up areas will increase while agricultural land, wetlands and forest land will substantially decrease by 2025 and 2035. The undesired LULC changes, patterns and impacts observed in this study, however, pose a big threat and risk to the sustainable management of natural resources and rural livelihoods survival. Hence, the need for urgent attention by the natural resource managers, planners, researchers and decision-makers. The results found in this study are deemed useful in guiding planners and decision-makers in the field of land management and policy development towards a more sustainable natural resource management strategy in Dedza district. Results found in this study could also inform decision-making in other districts of similar settings. Thus, results of the study are expected to support decision-makers and planners in the design and implementation of holistic, tenable and coherent and sustainable development policies/strategies/ guidelines for effective natural resource management.
Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2019.
Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology
PhD
Unrestricted

Urbanisation is driven by the complex interactions of many physical and human factors where human actions and decisions, individually and collectively, ultimately shape the patterns of urban landscapes. Agentbased modelling is an emerging technique in land use science that is designed to study multiple heterogeneous and locally interacting active entities within a system. An example of a local interaction is the request made by residents to planners for building permits. The decisions of planners in response to this request leads to emergent properties at an aggregate level such as city growth, assuming no equilibrium conditions. This thesis develops a framework for investigating in space and in time future residential land use change over a polycentric region using a case study of East Anglia, UK. Conceptually, the framework views the complexity of housing development in a system of cities (macrogeographical level) as the visible and concrete outcome of interactions between household demand for new dwellings (micro-geographical level) and the supply of building permits by local planners (meso-geographical level). Demand and supply are driven by household location preferences, as well as local planning, and evolve over time, leading to future land use change at speci c locations. The IPCC socio-economic scenarios are adapted to describe plausible evolutions in these preferences and strategies in order to evaluate di erent urban land use change pathways and the associated potential consequences for people (e.g. ooding risks) and the environment (e.g. biodiversity loss from land fragmentation). Simulation of new housing scenarios is undertaken within the agent-based modelling paradigm using a new computer programme developed in NetLogo. Issues of sensitivity analysis, validation, calibration and system complexity are addressed throughout the thesis. The thesis contributes to the eld of landscape and urban ecology by exploring urban complexity with a spatio-dynamic model of residential location behaviour driven by human and natural variables. As land use and land cover change is known to strongly a ect ecological landscape functions and processes, understanding the relationships between social and natural systems within changing landscapes helps to highlight hotspots of potential pressure and their e ects on the natural environment as part of an assessment of the possible ecological impacts of new urban development.

This thesis focussed on assessing smallholder groundnut farmers and traders’ access to markets through quality improvement and also, determine the socio-economic factors that influence groundnut farmers when deciding to adopt quality management techniques and the extent/or level of involvement. The following research questions were tested: whether Malawi smallholder groundnut farmers have poor or limited access to markets; whether smallholder farmers face unequal bargaining relations with traders due perhaps to lack of competition in trading channels; whether belonging to a farmer organisation provides a framework whereby the prospects of higher prices could lead to higher quality regulated by the association? Qualitative analysis was used to map out the main processes, key actors and relationships within the various groundnut value chains. Price spread method was used to assess market efficiency in price for the various groundnut market channels. Finally, a Selective Tobit model was used to assess factors that influence smallholder farmers to adopt technologies on quality management and decide the extent of adoption. The study results indicated that smallholder farmers manage to sell all their groundnuts brought to the market. This means that smallholder farmers do not really have problems accessing the markets. However, there is a limited availability of structured groundnut markets that offer premium price as an incentive for farmers to invest in quality management. Another important finding is that belonging to an organised farmer organisation enabled smallholder farmers to access better agricultural services such as research, extension and quality certified seed. However, it was not enough to persuade the farmers to venture into collective marketing. The results suggest that the provision of economic incentives such as premium prices persuaded farmers to engage in collective action and also invest in quality management. There is convergence of prices for less quality sensitive regional markets and quality sensitive EU markets. As such, exporters have no incentive to invest more in quality management targeting EU markets. Selective Tobit model results showed that farmers value most profitability-related variables such as land allocated, structured markets and prices when deciding level of involvement in quality management. The study results also indicate that groundnut market in Malawi is efficient in price as demonstrated by the Market Efficiency Index of greater than one. Gross margin analysis also indicated that, on average, groundnuts producers have good returns to labour if compared to the current national minimum wage rate of US$1.2 per day.

Urban drainage systems are influenced by several future drivers that affect the performance as well as the costs of the systems. The uncertainties associated with future drivers and their impact creates difficulties in designing urban drainage systems sustainably. A review of the different future drivers for urban drainage systems illustrates that no sufficient future predictions for the long operational life spans of the systems are possible. This dissertation contends that to deal with future uncertainties, flexibility in urban drainage systems is necessary. At present, profound insights about defining, measuring, and generating flexible urban drainage systems do not exist. This research systematically approaches these issues. First, a clear definition of flexibility and an approach for the measurement and optimization of flexibility is operationalized. Based on the generic definitions of flexibility used in other disciplines, a definition tailored for urban drainage systems is generated. As such, flexibility in sustainable urban drainage systems is defined as `the ability of urban drainage systems to use their active capacity to act and respond to relevant alterations during operation in a performance-efficient, timely, and cost-effective way'. Next, a method for measuring flexibility is provided based on the developed definition of flexibility including the metrics, 'range of change', 'life-cycle performance' and 'effort of change'. These metrics are integrated into a framework for the measurement of flexibility based on a comparison of performance and effort in different alternative solution with respect to different future states. In addition the metrics are the core components for optimizing flexible design of urban drainage system. The measurement method is successfully applied in two case studies in Tuttle Hill, UK and Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg, Germany. Using the developed definition and method for the measurement of flexibility, this dissertation illustrates that a transfer of the general theoretical background of flexibility to the field of urban drainage is possible. It is currently unclear how the flexible design of urban drainage systems can be executed. Based on a review, this research identifies nine potential principles of flexible design, described by the indicators of modularity, platform design, flexible elements, cost efficiency, decentralized design, real time control, low degree of specialization, scalability, and a combination of these principles. A case study of Hamburg-Boberg is then presented to analyze which of these principles of flexible design can be verified. For each alternative solution in the sample, the indicators for the different potential principles of flexible design as well as the flexibility provided by the design are calculated. Testing is done to determine if there is a significant correlation between the potential principles of flexible design and the measured flexibility using a chi-square-test and F-test. Two principles are verified with a high degree of confidence, 'platform design' and `flexible elements'. The `platform design' principle provides high flexibility, in which urban drainage system elements with high change costs are designed robustly with huge tolerance margins, whereas elements with low change costs are designed with flexibility options. The 'flexible elements' principle aims to include as many component elements as possible, which provides high individual flexibility in the design of the urban drainage system. These design principles and associated static indicators enable a quick screening of huge number alternative solutions and provide guidance for the development and optimization of flexible urban drainage system. Within the framework for optimization of flexibility, the design principles can help identify the most promising alternative solutions for the design of urban drainage systems. The optimization framework includes the following steps: identification of the required flexibility, generation of alternative solutions for the design of urban drainage systems, screening of the most promising alternative solutions, detailed measurement of flexibility provided by the alternative solutions; and selection of optimal solution. Hence out of a sample of different design approaches, the solutions with the highest flexibility could be identified. The successful application of flexible design in three case studies illustrates that the concept provides a suitable strategy for dealing with the challenges associated with future uncertainties. For urban drainage systems, flexible design guarantees high levels of performance in uncertain future states while reducing the effort required to adapt the system to changing future conditions. This study contends that flexibility allows for profound decision making for urban drainage design despite future uncertainties.

The aim of this thesis was to bridge a gap in the research literature with regard to commentary on and evaluation of the relationship between British land-use planning and the management and development of the railway network in the years between 1948-94 when British railways were in public ownership. Although the research was focused on the nationalised main line system, it reviewed other rail systems where this was helpful to the analysis. The research utilised a review of the relationship between the railway network and urban form in the years to 1947 to derive analytical criteria and to serve as a point of departure for the core of the thesis. The overall relationship between the two sectors post-1948 was explored, at a broad geographical scale, with regard to institutional relationships, policy, and outcomes with regard to the spatial relationships between the railway network and patterns of urban form. The results of this research were used to derive hypotheses about the relationships which were then tested in a case study of the Manchester conurbation. The main conclusions are that there were few periods between 1948-94 when the ideological, institutional and policy frameworks necessary for a close and positive relationship between the planning and railway sectors were in place simultaneously. The contexts which were most favourable were with regard to: the location of new towns and town expansion projects in the South East in 1950s and 1960s; the improvement of railway networks in the PTE areas between 1968-79 along with the development of strategic policies for the restriction of major trip generators to CBDs; the period between 1985-94 when a surge in the property market was accompanied by BR Sectorisation, investment in other forms of fixed track transit, and the promotion of major development projects at and around stations, especially in CBDs. The research concludes by identifying opportunities for further historical research and briefly reviewing the relevance of the findings to contemporary research.

Chapter 1 provides a discussion of definitions, criticisms, and measurements of urban sprawl. Land-use controls are surveyed in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3, we present the monocentric urban model, followed by a discussion of extensions of that model to include land-use controls. Chapter 4 is a survey of previous empirical analysis of the monocentric model, while Chapters 5 and 6 present our own empirical work. In general, our empirical results support the theoretical predictions as well as providing support for policies to control sprawl. In particular, the results support the use of maximum lot-size zoning, urban growth boundaries, and density restrictions in the form of minimum building heights, minimum square-footage limits, maximum building permits, and minimum persons per room. The importance of this dissertation lies in the fact that it presents the first empirical analysis of the effects of land-use controls on urban sprawl. For this reason, the findings should be of interest to urban planners in their efforts to control urban sprawl. Because we test theoretical hypotheses found in the urban economics literature, the results should also be of interest to academic economists. Finally, the data on land-use controls gathered for the empirical analysis should be of importance to researchers in urban economics.

The changing spatial and temporal patterns in land use/land cover surrounding Zandvlei estuary were investigated over the period 1944 to 2005. Changes in the extent of four terrestrial and two aquatic land use/land cover categories were mapped from high quality aerial photographs using ArcView GIS. Basic spatial analyses were performed to quantify changes in area, 'edge-effects' and relative dominance through time. Semi-natural and seasonally inundated classes accounted for over 70% of land cover in 1944, but declined steadily as urban land use and permanently inundated land cover expanded to a present-day extent of 42% and 19% respectively. The following major drivers of change were identified: 1) the construction of the railway embankment bisecting Westlake wetland and Zandvlei estuary, which led to sedimentation and a change in plant species composition of the wetland, but decreased nutrient inflows into the vlei; 2) agricultural practices within the catchment at the start of the 20th century which increased sediment and nutrient inflows; 3) elevated water levels due to dredging operations between 1947 and 1961, which resulted in a significant loss of seasonally inundated land cover with concomitant changes in species composition and nutrient dynamics; and 4) urban development surrounding the vlei (with particular reference to Marina da Gama), which has expanded at the expense of semi-natural areas and significantly increased effluent and litter inputs into the vlei. A socially and ecologically balanced management policy governing the entire catchment is required to mitigate future impacts.

A key feature of urbanisation in African and many other Global South cities is the prevalence and persistence of urban informal settlements. Despite planning attempts and claims to directly address and contain informal settlements, informality nonetheless continues to be the dominant form of shelter. However, there is insufficient understanding of how and why informality persists in the African urban context and why urban planning seems unable to engage with this aspect of urban growth and change. This situation also prevails in Malawian cities. This study sought to explore and understand the role of state-society engagements in the production and proliferation of housing informality in Mzuzu City. The thesis is informed by a recognition that planning theory has predominantly relied on Global North (Western) ideologies such as Habermesian inspired collaborative and communicative planning approaches which argue that consensus can realise planning goals and visions. The appeal, and hence adoption and application of these approaches in the Global South have largely failed to deliver the kind of planning outcomes seen in the Global North for many reasons, including the different political power dynamics and colonial historical contexts within which planning operates. The state-society engagements in the Global South contexts show that the state, rather than regulating development, is implicated in the production of informality in ways similar to those of inhabitants. These contexts point to the need to develop planning concepts which have a better relevance in rapidly growing and under-resourced urban settlements in the Global South. The thesis contributes to an emerging body of knowledge that has come to be called the Global South Planning Theory Project. The scholars promoting this project argue for the importance of context in planning theory development and in this case the need to consider the contribution of the Global South to planning and understanding of the urbanisation processes. In this regard, the thesis draws on various Global South concepts such as informality as a mode of urbanisation (Roy, 2009), gray spaces (Yiftachel, 2009), conflicting rationalities (Watson 2003), quiet encroachment (Bayat, 2010), insurgency (Holston, 2008) and hidden transcripts (Scott,1990) to frame the analysis of housing informality in Mzuzu City. The case study method (Yin 2014) was used to collect and analyse data from three informal settlements of Luwinga, Salisburyline and Geisha each having developed on land of a specific tenure: customary, public and private, respectively. Interviews and discussions were held with state officials, chiefs, block leaders, clan leaders, and senior citizens as well as groups of inhabitants in form of focus group discussions. Observations, literature review and archival data supplemented the information from the interviews and discussions. The analysis of the results indicates that state-society engagement in the informal settlements is about the application of the various strategies by each side in seeking to either achieve planned orderly urban growth or the right to land and life in the city. The study also shows that these strategies manifest, from the perspective of the state, through several laws, policies, regulations, and an assortment of practices that the planning system uses as a tool of the state. Among the state strategies are threats of evictions, demolitions and organising citizens to participate in development committees. However, when the state utilises these strategies, it is not always for the achievement of planned orderly urban growth as professed, but on many occasions for revenue generation through property taxation, for land control, for vote-gaining or for personal gain. On the other hand, inhabitants use threats of court action, violence, collaboration with state actors, hidden transcripts (Scott, 1990), spatial protests ( Yakobi, 2004) and quiet encroachment (Bayat, 2010) to achieve their objectives to retain their land rights, to provide their basic need of shelter and to stay in the city. The inhabitants seeking survival strategies were also found not immune to the clientelist ambitions of local politicians. The study noted the shifting state discourses of informal settlements from a view of them as utter illegality to gradual political acceptance or regularisation of their existence. Finally, the study found many aspects of rationality conflicts, which either occurred between the state and society directly, among state actors, among citizen actors and across the two spheres. Within the state, ethical conflicts in which state officials deliberately frustrated the visioning of planned orderly urban growth were found to be rampant. State-society engagements therefore can be said to be a contributor to housing informality. In the case of Mzuzu, these engagements occur in multiple settlements regardless of land tenure situation. These engagements suggest that rationality conflicts occur within multi-layered settings, across state-society spheres as well as beyond specific project interventions implemented within single settlements.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, 2005.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-02, Section: A, page: 0755. Adviser: Elinor Ostrom. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Oct. 18, 2006).

Mestrado em Ecologia Aplicada
Urbanization is a worldwide phenomenon that affects biodiversity, which induces the need to conserve the urban areas. Urban ecosystems are defined by human activities, habitat infrastructures and vegetation components. Nevertheless, little is known about the processes underlying the spatial variation of urban bird communities. The aims of the present dissertation are (1) to investigate the relationship between avian diversity and abundance with land use and social features and (2) to study the vertical distribution of avian diversity, abundance and biomass in an urban environment. For this purpose, bird surveys by point counts were conducted during breeding season in eight neighbourhoods of Aveiro, Portugal. The data was analysed through descriptive analyses, statistical hypothesis testing and generalized linear models. Most of the studied neighbourhoods were dominated by omnivorous species, namely Columba livia and Passer domesticus. The results also show that species richness is higher in neighbourhoods furthest away from esplanades, with higher density of trees, building height and density, alongside low imperviousness, busy streets and human population density. Moreover, neighbourhoods furthest away from esplanades, showing higher building age, height and density, busy streets but lower human population density, hold higher avian abundance. Medium height levels exhibit higher bird diversity, abundance and biomass than both lower and higher height levels. These findings strongly suggest that focusing on a combination of local land use and social features, rather than single features, provide a better understanding of avian diversity and spatial structures of urban bird communities. Furthermore, due to the complexity of urban ecosystems, this investigation underlies the relevance of integrating social and urban planning researchers into urban ecological studies.
A urbanização é um fenómeno mundial que afeta a biodiversidade, o que induz a necessidade de conservar as áreas urbanas. Os ecossistemas urbanos são definidos pelas atividades humanas, infraestruturas do habitat e componentes vegetais. No entanto, pouco se sabe sobre os processos inerentes à variação espacial local de comunidades de aves urbanas. Os objetivos principais da presente dissertação consistem em (1) investigar a relação entre diversidade e abundância de aves, e fatores sociais e de uso do solo e (2) estudar a distribuição vertical da diversidade, abundância e biomassa de aves em ambiente urbano. Para este efeito foram realizados censos de avifauna por pontos durante a época de nidificação em oito zonas da cidade de Aveiro, Portugal. A análise de dados realizou-se com recurso a análise descritiva, testes de hipóteses e modelos lineares generalizados. Os resultados indicam que espécies omnívoras como Columba livia e Passer domesticus são espécies dominantes na maioria das zonas de Aveiro. Os resultados mostram ainda que a riqueza específica é mais alta em zonas localizadas a uma maior distância de esplanadas, em ruas com mais movimento e com maiores densidades tanto de árvores como de edifícios mais altos, bem como menor percentagem de impermeabilidade do solo e menor densidade de população humana residente. Adicionalmente, zonas com maior densidade de edifícios mais velhos, mas também de maior altura, menor densidade de população humana residente, com ruas de maior movimento e maior distância a esplanadas, suportam maior abundância de avifauna. Ainda, existe maior diversidade, abundância e biomassa de avifauna no nível médio de altura do que nos níveis baixo e alto. Estes resultados sugerem que a combinação de fatores sociais e de uso do solo locais, em detrimento da aplicação de fatores únicos, permitem uma melhor compreensão da biodiversidade e estruturas espaciais de comunidades de aves urbanas. Adicionalmente, devido à complexidade dos ecossistemas urbanos, é pertinente realçar a relevância de integrar investigadores das ciências sociais e de ordenamento do território em investigações de ecologia urbana.

Urbanisation - the demographic transition from rural to urban - can pose challenges for urban areas by increasing pressure on urban ecosystem services. In meeting these challenges, urban planning and design is increasingly looking towards techniques that work with rather than against nature. Despite this, the impact of urban land use/management on urban ecosystem services is currently little understood and urban land use planning stakeholders have limited means by which to assess the impacts of their decisions on urban ecosystem services. The overarching aim of this thesis therefore is to understand, develop, trial and evaluate new approaches to urban planning that can operationalise key aspects of the ecosystems approach. The interdisciplinary research approach adopted had three main stages: 1) review, assessment and synthesis of technical evidence to inform the development of principles and technical guidance for ecosystems approach based urban land use planning; 2) development a nd trialling of new tools, models and guidance for considering ecosystem services in urban planning; and 3) evaluation of new tools, models and guidance. The research methods used are document review, rapid evidence assessment (REA), action research and semi-structured interviews. Geographic information system (GIS) technology has been used to integrate qualitative data from the evidence assessment with existing spatial datasets to develop new spatial models for urban land use planning. This thesis has demonstrated how existing technical principles and theories from discrete natural science and social science disciplines (e.g. planning, landscape ecology and hydrology) can be combined with existing spatial datasets to produce tools, models and guidance for ecosystems approach based urban land use planning. In this regard, a new approach to urban planning has been developed comprising the following elements: 1) a suite of ecosystems approach guiding principles; 2) three new spatial models to prioritise land use/management intervention for specific urban ecosystem services; and 3) supporting technical guidance.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2009.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-77).
Miami-Dade County, Florida, was one of the earliest jurisdictions to adopt a climate change plan in 1993. Land use features prominently in this plan as a means to reduce greenhouse gases through development patterns that allow people to lower their Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT). Travel data show that average per capita VMT for the Miami area increased approximately 24% between 1993 and 2005, signifying that the land-use policies are not meeting their goal of VMT reduction. One apparent explanation is that land-use policies are not adequately implemented and enforced. The Board of County Commissioners is the most powerful decision-making body and holds responsibility for land-use policy enforcement. The Board is constrained by a governmental structure in which each commissioner is accountable only to residents of his or her district. Commissioners make decisions based on immediate benefits for their districts with little incentive to consider the long-term issues of land use and climate change. The Urban Development Boundary illustrates how the competing agendas of economic development and affordable housing compel commissioners to approve developments that contradict existing land-use policies. The financial crisis of the Miami-Dade Transit system was exacerbated by district-based conflicts and limited commissioner accountability. The district-based structure evolved from a history of racial and ethnic under-representation, which complicates the introduction of structural change.
(cont.) Instead, the County should introduce incentives that encourage commissioners to include long-term County needs in policy enforcement decisions. Recommendations include: * Strengthened land-use advisory board * Transparent calculation of the long-term impacts of proposed developments * Temporary moratorium on 2011 UDB applications * Strategic funding allocation to promote smart growth land use.
by Haley Rose Peckett.
M.C.P.

Recovery from a natural disaster is difficult, expensive, and can take ten years or more. Many contend that recovery planning can be ordered, knowable, and predictable and that the destruction of buildings and displacement of the population provide an opportunity to build back better. This thesis examines the complexity of recovery through the lens of land use planning. Land use planning serves as the central focus because land provides an individual or family their livelihood and its use underlies the economy. The thesis considers two planning models -- rational comprehensive and incremental. The thesis concludes that incremental planning is more appropriate for recovery planning, but that even during recovery the community needs post recovery goals and objectives to provide context to their day-to-day decisions. A more comprehensive planning process is better suited for developing and articulating post recovery goals and objectives.

Urbanization in Pakistan has increased rapidly from 25% in 1972 to 42% in 2012. Peripheral zones are being pushed by urbanization much beyond their previous extents. Moreover, dispersed developments along the highways/motorways and unplanned expansion of existing urban centres is instigating a substantial loss of vegetation and open spaces. This research is an effort to analyse the relationship between urban expansion and land use/cover change using a combination of remote sensing, census and field data. Rawalpindi has been chosen as a study area because of its rapidly changing population density and land cover over the last few decades, and availability of satellite and census data. Landsat MSS and TM images of 1972, 1979, 1998 and 2010 which are compatible with the 1972, 1981, 1998 and 2012 Census of Pakistan dates were classified using the Maximum Likelihood classifier. The results of the assessment of classification accuracy yielded an overall accuracy of 75.16%, 72.5%, for Landsat MSS 1972, 1979 images and 84.5% and 87.1% for Landsat TM 1998 and 2010 images. Results reveal that the built up area of the study area has been increased from 7,017 hectares to 36,220 hectares during the 1972 -2012 period. This expansion has been accompanied by the loss of agricultural and forest land. There has been a decrease of approximately 10,000 hectares in cropped area and 2,000 hectares in forest land of the study area during the 1998-2012 inter-censal period. Corroboration of official census data, remote sensing results and field based qualitative data supports the view that high population growth rate, industrialization, better educational and transportation facilities and proximity of the study area to the capital (Islamabad) are the major factors of urban expansion and resulting land cover changes The present research is expected to have significant implications for other rapidly urbanizing areas of Pakistan in particular, and the Global South in general, in delivering baseline information about long term land use/cover changes.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2000.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 116-120).
A popular movement against urban sprawl and its attendant problems has emerged in the U.S. over the last several years. The problems associated with sprawl are caused, at least in part, by local government fragmentation and uncoordinated land use decision making. Recognizing that local control has failed to manage growth in a coordinated and effective way, state governments have stepped in to intervene. Loosely organized under the banner of "Smart Growth," states are reasserting some of their power to encourage more orderly development and to resolve inter-local conflicts. Yet Americans also have a longstanding passion for local government and distrust of state intervention in land use decisions. Despite the failure of local governments to manage regional patterns of growth, citizens are reluctant to give back land use regulatory power to states. This project explores state growth management programs in the context of this central tension: the desire for local control and the need for greater-than-local solutions. Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont have similar demographic profiles but substantially different statewide land use planning programs. This study describes the history and politics of state-level planning in each state. Further, this study examines the effect of state policies by looking more closely at state planning's influence on one city in each of the states: Portland, Maine; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Burlington, Vermont. The case studies reveal that statewide planning programs in all three states are actually quite weak, and have suffered from inconsistent political support, erratic funding, and sporadic citizen opposition. Local control is an important counterweight to state action, but does not preclude effective state intervention. Besides land use planning, state tax and infrastructure policy play the most important role in influencing development patterns.
by Benjamin Schonberger.
M.C.P.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2002.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 263-271).
This dissertation examines the potential of land use as a mobility tool to affect travel, a subject of long and ongoing policy debate. Land use strategies such as densification, mixed-use development, and non-driving-oriented design have been recommended by many to reduce vehicle travel. Others argue that land use is an ineffective mobility tool; direct and effectual policies are economic measures such as pricing. This dissertation suggests that either is necessary but not sufficient. To achieve the environmental and social objectives of transportation, the two should act together as complements. The mobility role of land use is to modify transportation supply and to support expansion of travel choices, whereas pricing is to manage and redirect vehicle travel demand. This dissertation presents two case studies: Metropolitan Boston and Hong Kong. Taking a disaggregate approach, the empirical analysis builds on the economic choice theory and focuses on three aspects of travel behavior: mode choice, trip frequency and automobile dependence. Logit models of mode choice and trip frequency are estimated to examine the importance and magnitude of land use affecting travel when travel costs and socio-demographic factors are controlled for.
(cont.) The effects of densification and pricing on mode choice are extrapolated with incremental logit modeling while controlling for the impacts of these policies on individual accessibility, i.e., the utility associated with all available modes. Logit captivity models are estimated to quantify and explain automobile dependence in the process of choice set generation. The analysis shows that densification has significant influence on mode choice and automobile dependence due to the differentiated impacts of land use on modal supply. The influence of street patterns on travel is not much from the geometric difference between gridiron and cul-de-sac, but from the viability of the circulation systems for alternatives to driving. Automobile dependence in the Boston area displays certain patterns in the spatial, social and activity dimensions. The sources of automobile dependence are diverse, often lying beyond the physical environment. The Hong Kong case demonstrates that the presence of economic measures is a precondition for land use to be an effective mobility tool. Hong Kong's non-driving-dominated travel does not come by default from its unique land use pattern, but is accompanied by strong fiscal and regulatory constraints to private transportation.
by Ming Zhang.
Ph.D.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2001.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves [114]-[117]).
The history of shopping centers in the United States is closely associated with decentralizing urban trends and increased auto dependence, both of which have severe environmental effects. Retail formats have shifted over the years from downtown shopping to indoor shopping centers, and more recently to big box superstores. As retail formats and markets continue to evolve, many older, less modem stores have suffered. Most recently, this trend has affected big boxes, creating an opportunity to reuse and re-image many of these sites. Vacant shopping centers represent an expanding phenomenon that has been little studied. I survey examples of vacant superstores in the Boston region, and characterize their physical and neighborhood characteristics, as well as procedural barriers and opportunities toward reusing these sites in a way that promotes land-efficient, non-auto-dependent development. I found two primary types of site: urban and suburban. In both types, site plan characteristics are similar. They have low density site plans, and are serviced almost entirely by the automobile. There are few concessions to pedestrian or transit amenity, and in both cases, sites are disconnected from surrounding parcels. Both also face similar procedural redevelopment difficulties, especially regarding ownership and tenant issues, sprawl-oriented zoning regimes, and known but uncertain levels of environmental contamination. However, characteristics of the surrounding areas differ greatly between the two types. "Urban" sites are located in compact, connected, older suburban areas with connected street grids. The shopping center parcels represent a coarse-grain anomaly in a fine-grain area. "Suburban" types are located in urban fringes, in areas that are primarily single-use, auto-oriented, and poorly connected. Planning for both types of site should account for urban design and pedestrian connectivity deficiencies by encouraging connections among different sites and to circulation systems, and to take advantage of other underutilized parcels nearby. To this end, municipalities should plan for an entire area surrounding the shopping center sites, using the tools of design guidelines, site plan review, and flexible zoning regimes. Additionally, municipalities should engage and coordinate private and community sectors to promote cohesion among many sites. Suburban sites should emphasize site planning for connectivity and directing new superstores into existing space. Urban sites should capitalize on existing neighborhood infrastructure to reintegrate the sites into surrounding neighborhoods, and to direct investment and development away from auto-dependent greenfield sites to connected, accessible locations within the metropolitan region.
by Adam Varat.
M.C.P.

The thesis develops a framework and system for integrating Strategic Environmental Assessment [SEA] into Malaysian land use planning, for the purposes of achieving sustainable development. The emphasis is upon procedural and resource aspects of SEA rather than on methodologies. The research includes review and analysis of international and Malaysian published literature, government documents, case study analyses, a postal questionnaire survey and interviews. The development of the proposals is based on the identification of philosophies, principles and links between three main concepts, namely sustainable development, land use planning and Strategic Environmental Assessment. Examples of approaches and experiences of SEA from the United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada and elsewhere are analysed and evaluated. These are assessed against Malaysian national planning and land use planning systems and frameworks, and current Malaysian practices in environmental impact assessment. An evaluation of the strengths and shortcomings of the Malaysian systems, procedures, processes and resources is used to justify and form the basis for the proposals. The thesis describes the research framework and methodologies; the basic concepts of sustainable development, land use planning and SEA/ElA; and the Malaysian political, legislative, institutional and planning frameworks. The proposals include an idealised SEA framework within a proposed national integrated planning system for Malaysia; the functions of Malaysian SEA; a proposed structure plan process with SEA; an outline strategy for actions; and subjects for further research.