Spatial planning and decision-making processes occur in any domain, be it urban or rural areas, management of natural and water resources, distribution of welfare, wellbeing and risk, adaptation to climate change, or energy transition. They involve stakeholders in civil society, private sector, public administration and government, which hold different interests, norms, values, and knowledge as well as different practices and strategies of dealing with planning, decision-making and conflicts. Information and information systems do not capture the normative and collaborative/participative aspects of these processes whereas Planning Support Systems (PSS) and Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS) do.
You can either study theory and methods about (participatory) development of geo-technologies for participatory planning or theory and methods about the use of these technologies in planning and decision-making processes. This course is the first of two courses and addresses the former study. It focuses on theory, methods and technologies that participatory development of PSS and SDSS to support spatial planning and decision-making. The second course focuses on theory and methods of processes of participation and learning while using spatial information and moderation of PSS and SDSS in spatial planning and decision-making.