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 second of two courses and addresses the latter study. It focuses on theory and methods of processes of participation and learning in the generation of spatial information and moderation of PSS and SDSS in planning and decision-making. The first course focuses on the theory, methods and technologies fo the participatory development of PSS and SDSS that support spatial planning and decision-making.