To burn or not to burn: governance of wildfires in Australia.

Globally, wildfires are increasing in extent, frequency, and severity. Although global climate change is a major driver and large-scale governance interventions are essential, focusing on governance at smaller scales is of great importance for fostering resilience to wildfires. Inherent tensions in managing wildfire risk are evident at such scales, as objectives and mandates may conflict, and trade-offs and impacts vary across ecosystems and communities. Our study feeds into debates about how to manage wildfire risk to life and property in a way that does not undermine biodiversity and amenity values in social-ecological systems. Here, we describe a case study where features of adaptive governance emerged organically from a dedicated planning process for wildfire governance in Australia. We found that a governance process that is context specific, allows for dialogue about risk, benefits, and trade-offs, and allows for responsibility and risk to be distributed amongst many different actors, can provide the conditions needed to break down rigidity traps that constrain adaptation. The process enabled actors to question whether the default risk management option (in this case, prescribed burning) is aligned with place-based risks and values so they could make an informed choice, built from their participation in the governance process. Ultimately, the community supported a move away from prescribed burning in favor of other wildfire risk management strategies. We found that the emergent governance system has many features of adaptive governance, even though higher level governance has remained resistant to change. Our study offers positive insights for other governments around the world interested in pursuing alternative strategies to confronting wildfire risk.

Exploring the climate change mitigation potential and regional distribution of agrivoltaics with geodata-based farm economic modelling and life cycle assessment.

Tackling climate change remains a critical challenge for society. Achieving climate neutrality requires a massive expansion of renewable energies such as wind and photovoltaics (PV). Agriculture plays a key role in this context, especially as the expansion of ground-mounted PV systems often leads to land-use conflicts. Agrivoltaics (AV), which combines agricultural and electricity production, can be a solution, but the synergies are particularly dependent on local agronomic conditions. There is also a knowledge gap in how AV expansion impacts greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the landscape level and how it contributes to regional emission reduction targets. In this study, we analysed the economic and climate change mitigation impacts of AV expansion pathways in the German state Baden-Württemberg using an integrated land use model and life cycle assessment under the assumption of general rentability of electricity production by AV. We found that implementing AV on 1%-5% of the regions's arable and grassland area reduced the total agricultural gross margin by a maximum of approximately 0.5%. Concurrently, AV implementation reduced GHG emissions by about 1.2 million to 5.9 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (Mt CO2-eq). Even if this reduction is almost exclusively accounted for in the energy sector, in absolute terms it amounts to more than the current GHG emissions from Baden-Württemberg's agricultural sector (about 4.4 Mt CO2-eq in 2021). In the 5% expansion scenario, almost 90% of the installations were installed on grassland, but this share dropped to 72% when considering landscape quality constraints. Although we found considerable regional disparity, our findings still suggest that AV is an essential component for regional emission reduction targets. These results are particularly relevant for policymakers in spatial planning, agricultural and energy policy.

Co-developing an integrated primary care workforce planning approach at a regional level: overarching framework and guiding principles.

Health workforce planning provides a crucial evidence-base for decision-makers in the development and deployment of a fit-for-purpose workforce. Although less common, health workforce planning at the regional level helps to ground planning in the unique realities of local health systems. This commentary provides an overview of the process by which an integrated primary healthcare workforce planning toolkit was co-developed by university-based researchers with the Canadian Health Workforce Network and partners within a major urban regional health authority. The co-development process was guided by a conceptual framework emphasizing the key principles of sound health workforce planning: that it (1) be informed by evidence both quantitative and qualitative in nature; (2) be driven by population health needs and achieve population, worker and system outcomes; (3) recognize that deployment is geographically based and interprofessionally bound within a complex adaptive system; and (4) be embedded in a cyclical process of aligning evolving population health needs and workforce capacity.

An integrated primary care workforce planning toolkit at the regional level (part 1): qualitative tools compiled for decision-makers in Toronto, Canada.

BACKGROUND: A regional health authority in Toronto, Canada, identified health workforce planning as an essential input to the implementation of their comprehensive Primary Care Strategy. The goal of this project was to develop an evidence-informed toolkit for integrated, multi-professional, needs-based primary care workforce planning for the region. This article presents the qualitative workforce planning processes included in the toolkit. METHODS: To inform the workforce planning process, we undertook a targeted review of the health workforce planning literature and an assessment of existing planning models. We assessed models based on their alignment with the core needs and key challenges of the health authority: multi-professional, population needs-based, accommodating short-term planning horizons and multiple planning scales, and addressing key challenges including population mobility and changing provider practice patterns. We also assessed the strength of evidence surrounding the models' performance and acceptability. RESULTS: We developed a fit-for-purpose health workforce planning toolkit, integrating elements from existing models and embedding key features that address the region's specific planning needs and objectives. The toolkit outlines qualitative workforce planning processes, including scenario generation tools that provide opportunities for patient and provider engagement. Tools include STEEPLED Analysis, SWOT Analysis, an adaptation of Porter's Five Forces Framework, and Causal Loop Diagrams. These planning processes enable the selection of policy interventions that are robust to uncertainty and that are appropriate and acceptable at the regional level. CONCLUSIONS: The qualitative inputs that inform health workforce planning processes are often overlooked, but they represent an essential part of an evidence-informed toolkit to support integrated, multi-professional, needs-based primary care workforce planning.

An integrated primary care workforce planning toolkit at the regional level (part 2): quantitative tools compiled for decision-makers in Toronto, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Health workforce planning capability at a regional level is increasingly necessary to ensure that the healthcare needs of defined local populations can be met by the health workforce. In 2016, a regional health authority in Toronto, Canada, identified a need for more robust health workforce planning infrastructure and processes. The goal of this project was to develop an evidence-informed toolkit for integrated, multi-professional, needs-based primary care workforce planning for the region. This article presents the quantitative component of the workforce planning toolkit and describes the process followed to develop this tool. METHODS: We conducted an environmental scan to identify datasets addressing population health need and profession-specific health workforce supply that could contribute to quantitative health workforce modelling. We assessed these sources of data for comprehensiveness, quality, and availability. We also developed a quantitative health workforce planning model to assess the alignment of regional service requirements with the service capacity of the workforce. RESULTS: The quantitative model developed as part of the toolkit includes components relating to both population health need and health workforce supply. Different modules were developed to capture the information and address local issues impacting delivery and planning of primary care health services in Toronto. CONCLUSIONS: A quantitative health workforce planning model is a necessary component of any health workforce planning toolkit. In combination with qualitative tools, it supports integrated, multi-professional, needs-based primary care workforce planning. This type of planning presents an opportunity to address inequities in access and outcome for regional populations.

Multi-objective optimization technique: A novel approach in tourism sustainability planning.

Strategic management of complex decisional problems in the tourism sector requires the implementation of proper planning procedures for sustainable tourism activities, due to either the number of actors involved, the presence of conflicting goals and the need of resource rationalization. Thus, the aim of the research is to implement a new approach for the selection of projects to be funded by public administration, in order to maximize the efficiency of public resource allocation. Furthermore, the proposed technique enhances the inclusion of the three dimensions of sustainability in tourism policy planning and implementation phases. The Multi-objective Optimization model accounts for environmental, social and economic impacts, to select tourism activities to be realized in order to maximize stakeholder utility. In order to test the model, we selected a case study: a call for tender drafted by an Italian Public administration, whose aim was to support the attractiveness of the urban areas. Findings illustrate that, in comparison with multicriteria techniques, the proposed model allows to achieve a better allocation of public funds, in both quantitative (i.e., amount of resources allocated) and qualitative (selection of projects with positive social and environmental implication) terms.

Spatiotemporal analysis of regional socio-economic vulnerability change associated with heat risks in Canada.

Excess mortality can be caused by extreme hot weather events, which are increasing in severity and frequency in Canada due to climate change. Individual and social vulnerability factors influence the mortality risk associated with a given heat exposure. We constructed heat vulnerability indices using census data from 2006 and 2011 in Canada, developed a novel design to compare spatiotemporal changes of heat vulnerability, and identified locations that may be increasingly vulnerable to heat. The results suggest that 1) urban areas in Canada are particularly vulnerable to heat, 2) suburban areas and satellite cities around major metropolitan areas show the greatest increases in vulnerability, and 3) heat vulnerability changes are driven primarily by changes in the density of older ages and infants. Our approach is applicable to heat vulnerability analyses in other countries.

Integrated social-ecological data for regional natural resource management.

Natural resource managers need information about both human and natural systems and interactions between those systems. Much data is available, but mostly from disparate sources and data have often been collected at different time steps and at different geographic scales. We used insights from the literature to select 270 relevant variables, available at national scale, from 33 unique (Australian) data sources. There were numerous with repeat measures, so in total we have 425 variables: 143 specific to 2016, 148 specific to 2021, and 134 available for both periods. We used GIS to summarize the variables spatially based on two geographic boundaries: one describes 63 Natural Resource Management Regions; the other describes 419 (sub) bioregions (formally, IBRA - Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia). Data deficiencies prevented us from being able to report on all variables for all regions. In the NRM dataset many regions are offshore islands, about which data are not generally available. Moreover, many IBRA regions are small and household level data are not always available at that scale. For analyses requiring a complete dataset at a single time step, our 2021 dataset for NRM regions includes 270 unique variables that describe 56 regions. Our IBRA data includes 214 variables describing 409 regions. To help managers select appropriate data for specific problems/contexts, the metadata file also categorises variables according to (a) whether they pertain to the social or ecological system, or interactions; (b) the segment of society described (where relevant); and (c) the frequency with which data are updated.

Utilizing supply-demand bundles in Nature-based Recreation offers insights into specific strategies for sustainable tourism management.

Balancing supply and demand in Nature-based Recreation (NbR) has the potential to yield co-benefits across multiple Ecosystem Services (ES), helping to make tourism activities more sustainable. However, a comprehensive understanding of supply-demand mismatches in NbR is challenging due to the complex interaction among various social, economic and ecological factors. This paper investigates mismatches in NbR supply and demand to provide insights for informing spatial and regional planning to achieve sustainable tourism. To this end, the paper uses a wide range of indicators such as biophysical attributes, accessibility and social indicators to map and assess NbR supply and demand, followed by the application of spatial statistics to analyse supply-demand mismatches. Cluster analysis was performed based on the supply-demand relationship to identify a typology of NbR ES across the study area in the north of Iran. The paper proposes an innovative application of recreation ES bundles with potential implications for sustainable tourism in a region marked as a hot spot for tourism. The analysis generated a typology of five bundles of NbR ES with differing recreational opportunities. Bundles 1 and 2, characterized by a supply surplus and substantial ecological value, are suitable for NbR activities such as camping, hiking, climbing, and birdwatching. In contrast, bundle 4 and 5 associated with urban centres, experience a supply deficit, making them less suitable for NbR. Bundle 3, characterized by a mixture of natural and productive lands, plays an important role in maintaining a balanced supply-demand state. This region holds potential for diverse forms of tourism, including rural and agricultural recreation such as farm tours and farm life experiences. Based on findings, the paper provides valuable insights for spatial and regional planning by proposing targeted strategies to sustainably manage tourism activities.

Towards a better psychological satisfaction: developing a mixed multi-criteria evaluation system to urban 'Not in my back yard' facilities siting.

'Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY)' facilities are psychologically sensitive to urban and regional development. Multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) method has been widely used for the decision-making of optimum siting of urban NIMBY facilities which aim to improve residents' psychological satisfaction. However, the evaluation of qualitative criteria in siting analysis remains under researched, such as the insufficient focus on urban and regional spatial development, social public opinion, and psychological factors. Thus, the effective improvement of MCE method through an interdisciplinary view can optimise the decision process and advance the factor assessment system of siting, which helps to supplement qualitative criteria evaluation. The specific improvement steps are as follows. The first step is to introduce the mixed MCE method to improve the qualitative criteria evaluation method by pre-processing qualitative criteria with min-max standardisation and normalization. This process transfers all negative factors to positive ones and transforms the F function to linear functions. The second step is to optimise the existing two-phase siting decision-making including the feasibility evaluation phase and the MCE phase. The third step is to propose a modular criteria system composed of urban and regional spatial planning, social psychological factors and the corresponding improvement strategy of this system from three perspectives of composition, measure, and weight. We argue that the improved method could be broadly applied to optimum siting decision of urban NIMBY facilities and enhance the psychological satisfaction of residents.

Interactive spatial tools for the design of regional adaptation strategies.

Regional adaptation strategies are plans that consist of feasible measures to shift a region towards a system that is flexible and robust for future climate changes. They apply to regional impacts of climate change and are imbedded in broader planning. Multiple adaptation frameworks and guidelines exist that describe the development stages of regional adaptation strategies. Spatial information plays a key role in the design of adaptation measures as both the effects of climate change as well as many adaptation measures have spatial impacts. Interactive spatial support tools such as drawing, simulation and evaluation tools can assist the development process. This paper presents how to connect tasks derived from the actual development stages to spatial support tools in an interactive multi-stakeholder context. This link helps to decide what spatial tools are suited to support which stages in the development process of regional adaptation strategies. The practical implication of the link is illustrated for three case study workshops in the Netherlands. The regional planning workshops combine expertise from both scientists and stakeholders with an interactive mapping device. This approach triggered participants to share their expertise and stimulated integration of knowledge.

Assessment of the effects of forest land use strategies on the provision of ecosystem services at regional scale.

This paper presents results of a case study in Middle Saxony, Germany, where the impact of conversion, afforestation and alternatively introduction of short rotation coppice areas on the provision of ecosystem services was tested in a spatially inexplicit and a spatially explicit way to formulate recommendations for regional planning. While the spatially inexplicit testing did not lead to clear results regarding to what degree forests or short rotation coppice areas are desirable and applicable, the spatially explicit testing revealed that an increase in the forest area or area with short rotation coppice by 29.7% in unstructured agriculturally dominated Loess regions, 14.4% in more topographically structured parts in the North-East of the model region and 23.6% in its mountainous parts would be beneficial. Potentially resulting losses in the provision of bioresources and regional economy can be considerably reduced by replacing afforestation areas with short rotation coppice. In summary, we found that the spatially explicit analysis of land use scenarios in combination with a more detailed land use classification and including an assessment of changes in land use pattern gave us an improved basis for assessing different possible planning strategies and to enhance the communication between forest management planners and regional planners.

Integrated land use and regional resource management--a cross-disciplinary dialogue on future perspectives for a sustainable development of regional resources.

Our paper introduces objectives and ideas of the special issue "Integrated land use and regional resource management - A cross-disciplinary dialogue on future perspectives for a sustainable development of regional resources" and provides an overview on the contributions of the single papers in the special issue to this topic. Furthermore, we discuss and present major challenges and demands on integrated land use and regional resource management and we come up with an analytical framework how to correspond these demands.

An Analysis of the Spatial Development of European Cities Based on Their Geometry and the CORINE Land Cover (CLC) Database.

The study demonstrated that the rate of spatial development is correlated with its fractal dimension. The presented results indicate that the fractal dimension can be a useful tool for describing different phases of urban development. Therefore, the formulated research hypothesis states that the fractal dimension of cities' external boundaries is correlated with the rate of spatial development in urban areas. The above implies that the higher the rate of spatial development, the smoother the external boundaries of urban investment. Rapidly developing cities contribute to considerable changes in land management, in particular in municipalities surrounding the urban core. Urban development processes often induce negative changes in land management and contribute to chaotic and unplanned development. To address these problems, new methods are being developed for modeling and predicting the rate of changes in transitional zones between urban and rural areas. These processes are particularly pronounced in urban space, whose expansion proceeds at an uneven pace. The aim of this study was to propose a method for describing urbanization processes that are based on the dependence between the urban growth rate, the fractal dimension, and basic geometric parameters, such as city area and the length of city boundaries. Based on the calculated changes in the values of these parameters, a classification system was proposed to identify distinctive phases of urban development. The study revealed that land cover databases are highly useful for such analyses. The study was conducted on 58 medium-size European cities with a population of up to 300,000, including France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Croatia. The study demonstrated that the fractal dimension and the basic geometric parameters of urban boundaries are significantly correlated with the rate of the spatial development of cities. The proposed indicators can be used to describe the spatial development of urban areas and the rate of urban growth. The development of the analyzed cities was modeled with the use of CORINE Land Cover (CLC) data for 2000-2006-2012-2018, acquired under the EU Copernicus program.

Opportunities for centralized regional mode of manure and sewage management in pig farming: The evidence from environmental and economic performance.

Pig breeding is moving toward more intensive development and is accompanied by the integrated generation of pig waste. This has disrupted the synergy between the original manure and sewage management mode and corresponding farmland at the household level. Centralized bio-energy mode is proposed to relieve environmental pressure, increase the resource recovery efficiency and rebuild the breeding and cropping. However, there is a lack of comprehensive information on a regional scale, particularly regarding evaluation, applicability and feasibility. Therefore, compared to the individual and traditional mode at the household level, this study was conducted using life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis, systematically assessed the environmental performance and economic viability of the centralized bio-energy mode at the regional scale, and further explored the adaptability of multi-subjects (various pig farms and biogas enterprise) and regional feasibility. Results revealed that the centralized bio-energy mode appeared to be a better alternative in terms of global warming, terrestrial acidification and marine eutrophication, with the significant reductions of 49.49 %, 6.8 % and 4.67 % respectively. Moreover, the study demonstrated a substantial profit of 48.5 CNY1 per ton of managed pig waste. Furthermore, both environmental and economic performance could be improved through scale expansion and transport optimization, with an optimal collection radius of less than 31.45 km. Conclusions clarified the potential of centralized bio-energy mode and provided valuable references for its implementation in various regions. Ultimately, further contributing to a more efficient, cost-effective, and regulated manner for resource recovery, culminating in the sustainability of pig farming and achieving environmental-friendly agriculture practices in regional contexts.

A Framework to Determine the Extent to Which Regional Primary Healthcare Organisations Are Comprehensive or Selective in Their Approach.

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing emphasis on the importance of comprehensive primary healthcare (CPHC) in improving population health and health equity. There is, therefore, a need for a practical means to determine how comprehensive regional primary healthcare organisations (RPHCOs) are in their approach. This paper proposes a framework to provide such a means. The framework is then applied to assess the comprehensiveness of Australian RPHCOs. METHODS: Drawing on a narrative review of the broader literature on CPHC versus selective primary healthcare (SPHC) and examples of international models of RPHCOs, we developed a framework consisting of the key criteria and a continuum from comprehensive to selective interventions. We applied this framework to Australian RPHCOs using data from the review of their planning documents, and survey and interviews with executive staff, managers, and board members. We used a spidergram as a means to visualise how comprehensive they are against each of these criteria, to provide a practical way of presenting the assessment and an easy way to compare progress over time. RESULTS: Key criteria for comprehensiveness included (1) focus on population health; (2) focus on equity of access and outcomes; (3) community participation and control; (4) integration within the broader health system; (5) inter-sectoral collaboration; and (6) local responsiveness. An examination of Australian RPHCOs using the framework suggests their approach is far from comprehensive and has become more selective over time. CONCLUSION: The framework and spidergram offer a practical means of gauging and presenting the comprehensiveness of RPHCOs, and to identify gaps in comprehensiveness, and changes over time.

Managing the challenges of competing interests of different regions in setting the boundaries of neighboring urban areas: the case of Addis Ababa city administration and oromia regional state, Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, urban boundary roles are ineffective, leading to conflicting urban development, particularly on areas share borders and are administered by different regional governments. Therefore, this study examined the nature of shared urban boundaries and related social-ecological challenges. It employed a case study approach, and the findings are conceptualized to the broader urbanization and urban planning trends, with particular relevance to any urban areas sharing borders. Temporal satellite images from 2005 and 2018 were used to examine land use/land cover changes around shared urban regions, and their proposed and existing land-uses were compared with the aid of Geographical Information System and ERDAS IMAGINE. The findings show lack of clear criteria to delineate urban boundaries in Ethiopian urban planning; absence of regional planning leading to indistinct and overlapping boundary setting, which triggered challenges related to: rapid conversion of ecosystem service providing sites to settlements, conflicts over land administration, and land ownership insecurity. Furthermore, non-integrated urban planning trends between urban areas sharing borders amplify the proposal of conflicting and incompatible land uses. As a result, policymakers and planners should employ integrated and participatory urban and regional planning concepts for the effectiveness of urban areas sharing boundaries and administered by different regions.

The impact of the spatial configuration of socioeconomic services on rural-urban dependencies in Northern Jordan.

This study investigates the actual use of services and accessibility of employment places by rural residents while interacting with their surrounding towns, urban center, and the county rural center. This study reveals the factors contributing to rural-urban dependence in a developing country in terms of services and job utilization. Its pursuit is developing policies for regional sustainability. Therefore, a rural survey was carried out to identify the actual dependence. The study found that rural residents were integrated significantly with the urban center regarding shopping, education, and medical services rather than jobs, with minor interdependencies among rural towns. The continued and mass dependence on the urban center was depleting rural resources creating a rural-urban gap in economic development. The study recommended a development strategy that emphasizes the importance of preserving rural living and jobs. It emphasized the importance of the urban center in providing jobs for the rural people rather than long journeys to obtain services.

Agricultural Production Space Suitability in China: Spatial Pattern, Influencing Factors and Optimization Strategies.

The paper uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), spatial autocorrelation analysis, and geographic detectors to reveal the spatial pattern of agricultural production space suitability in China, explores the impact mechanism of agricultural production development, and explores the optimization and promotion strategies for the development of regional agricultural production in various regions in the future. The results show that the resource and environmental carrying capacity, and the agricultural production space suitability under the direction of China's agricultural production function, show a 'polarization' development trend in space, with high levels in the southeast and low levels in the northwest, with significant spatial agglomeration. The factors influencing the suitability of agricultural production have significant spatial differentiation laws in the Nine Agricultural Areas of China. Climate change factors are the dominant factors affecting the areas with poor resource endowment and traditional agricultural areas in the northwest. Factors that reflect the level of urbanization are the main factors that affect the agricultural production space suitability in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and South China. China's agricultural production spatial suitability areas can be divided into nine types of suitable geographical areas. In the future, the impacts of climate change and urbanization on agricultural production space should be considered, and strategies should be taken, according to local conditions, in different regions to improve their suitability.

Does regional planning policy of Yangtze River Delta improve green technology innovation? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China.

Green technology innovation is an important way to solve the dilemma of economic growth and environmental protection, while the relevant policies issued by the government have an important impact on the promotion of regional green technology innovation. This paper regards the implementation of the Regional Planning of Yangtze River Delta (RPYRD) as a quasi-natural experiment, using the panel data of 274 cities in China from 2003 to 2016 to explore the green technology innovation effect of regional planning and its transmission mechanisms through the double-fixed effect model and the difference-in-difference (DID) method. The results show that (1) the implementation of the RPYRD promotes regional green technology innovation significantly and the green technology innovation effect of the policy is increasing year by year. (2) There is significant regional heterogeneity in the incentive effect of green technology innovation in regional planning. The policy effect is more obvious in cities with a larger scale, a higher level of human capital and less resource dependence. (3) The regional planning promotes green technological innovation by optimizing industrial structure, reducing FDI and increasing R&D investment.