Planning First, Tools Second: Evaluating the Evolving Roles of Planning Support Systems in Urban Planning

ABSTRACT

Planning support systems (PSS), as geo-information technology instruments, have been developed to support planning as urban planning is becoming highly complex. Recent advances in new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the context of smart cities have provided new potentials to enrich PSS-support functions, but they do not constitute a “silver bullet;” in fact, PSS’s potential roles in practice are impeded by fundamental and structural factors. This article argues that the evolving perceptions of planning together with the changing roles of PSS in supporting planning provide the foundations for solving these structural restrictions. It presents a genealogical exploration of planning thoughts and associated PSS supports over the past 70 years, which is cross-checked by the results of expert interviews. The analysis indicates that for a factual planning supportive role: (1) the focus on the urban planning issue at hand should be strengthened, since it determines the planning mode and the relevant PSS choice; (2) there is a need for a user-centered, demand-induced approach toward PSS developments in planning, aimed at better serving the real needs of PSS users and planning practices; and (3) and there is also a need for more sensitivity toward contextual factors in PSS developments and applications, since the specific contextual characteristics help to identify the complexity faced by planners and influence the relevant planning rationality and specific PSS to be applied. This article thus highlights the importance of considering planning support as a socio-technical innovation shaped through challenges in urban contexts and the relevant planning approaches applied to handle these challenges. Further recommendations are proposed for PSS developments and applications in future planning practice.

KEYWORDS:

• smart city
• planning support systems (PSS)
• complexity
• rationality
• a sociotechnical approach
• context-orientation

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the reviewers and the editors for many extremely helpful suggestions that stimulated substantial improvements to earlier versions of this article.

Disclosure Statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this article.

Notes

1 CUPUM stands for Computational Urban Planning and Urban Management. It is a worldwide research community that organizes a biennial international conference.

Additional information

Funding

This study is supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (310421102).

Notes on contributors

Huaxiong Jiang

Huaxiong Jiang is an assistant professor on the Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University. He is currently working on a Social Urban Transitions program concerning the application of planning support systems in smart cities.

Stan Geertman

Stan Geertman is Professor of Planning Support Science and Chair of Spatial Planning at Utrecht University. He has published widely in both national and international journals and has published a range of (edited) books. He is the elected Chair of the international Board of Directors of CUPUM (2013–2019).

Patrick Witte

Patrick Witte is an associate professor in the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Utrecht University. He is currently working on smart urban governance, infrastructure planning, and regional economic development within the framework of the research program Economic Urban Transitions.