A general framework for a combined land use and water management is described. An optimization problem is formulated that combines combinatorial and spatial characteristics. The aim of the planning is to maximize economic benefit, while minimizing water extraction and transportation cost under ecological constraints. A genetic algorithm is employed endowed with a new neighborhood operator. This...

The determination of the "productive capacity" of the land is the main component of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' (FAO) Agroecological Zones (AEZ) approach, and it is also an element in the sequence of land evaluation and land use planning as advocated by FAO for use in developing countries. The nature of the subject lends itself to little or no privatization, whi...

Planning systems rely on knowledge about the problems they have to solve: The problem description and in many cases advice on how to find a solution. This paper is concerned with a third kind of knowledge which we term domain knowledge: Information about the problem that is produced by one component of the planner and used for advice by another. We first distinguish domain knowledge from the pr...

1 Land Use Science Group, Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Aberdeen, [email protected] 2 School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, [email protected] [email protected] 3 School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, [email protected] Abstract. This paper explores the potential of applyin...

This paper presents an empirical methodology for the evaluation of the beneÞts and costs of land use planning. The technique is applied in the context of the Town and Country Planning System of the UK, and examines the gross and net beneÞts of land use regulation and their distribution across income groups. The results show that the welfare and distributional impacts can be large. Proposed Runn...

Finland is one of the biggest exporters of paper and board in the world. A competitive forest industry is a necessity for the economy of the country. Strategic planning and decision making must cover the whole organization in the industry, where for example investments are extremely large. Therefore there is a need to synthesize all available knowledge, experience, and expertise. Substantively ...

The proposed siting of new chemical Hazardous Installations, modifications to existing Hazardous Installations, and proposals for development within the vicinity of these installations, are assessed by the Hazardous Installations Directorate (HID) of the Health & Safety Executive. Numerical risk assessment methodology is utilised to enable advice to be given to Local Planning Authorities. The u...

This chapter introduces our newly developed Spatially explicit Urban Land-use Model (SULM) as a tool for resilient urban planning. The SULM can create land-use and social economic scenarios at micro districts level based on an urban economic theory. In order to co-design transformative urban plans with local stake holders, it is important to visualize possible future land-use scenarios. This mo...

Academic dissertation To be presented, with permission of the Faculty of Biosciences of the University of Helsinki, for public criticism in the lecture hall 2 of Viikki Information Centre (Viikinkaari 11) on December 2 nd 2006 at 12 o'clock noon.