Greening Neighbourhood Plans: Integrating green infrastructure into community-led planning

城市和乡村规划协会(TCPA)和学术界现在都断言，绿色基础设施(GI)应该被认为是“关键的”，并被整合到空间规划系统中(TCPA&WT，2012；Roe&Mell，2013)。关键挑战之一是确定实施的适当规模(Gilchrist等人，2016年)。个别组成部分是在社区范围内实施的，这些组成部分的价值往往只在非常当地的层面上得到承认。这意味着邻里范围内的景观管理对于维持和加强全球基础设施网络至关重要。然而，没有一个公认的机制来获取地方一级的地理信息知识，如果要建立地理信息对地方社区的价值，这是至关重要的。在英国，地理信息将被纳入国家规划政策框架和地方规划政策的规划交付中，目的是使微观尺度能够制定具体情况的措施，以规划可持续和繁荣的社区(DCLG，2011年)。文献中一个重要的知识空白是如何实施小规模的GI规划。展示现有邻里规划如何解决GI将开发可用于支持邻里规划发展的技术。在缺乏来自国家政府的详细指示的情况下，规划指导的作用变得特别重要。关键的是，TCPA正在推动将GI纳入英国的规划结构/工具，并已确定迫切需要以邻里规划为重点的GI指导。研究目的和目的：研究如何通过邻里规划过程维持和加强地理标志，以确定这一规模是否能满足战略规划目标。研究目标：1.确立地理标志在邻里规划过程中的当前定位，并利用这一定位制定概念框架；2.确定专家观点，探讨将地理标志有效地融入邻里规划的机遇和挑战；3.开发创新方法，以捕捉地理标志在邻里尺度上的价值，并交流在更大空间尺度上所经历的好处。制定符合决策者、规划从业者和当地社区需要的指导原则和建议，鼓励在邻里范围内维持和加强地理信息系统，并将其影响扩大到更大的空间范围。案头研究对文献的全面回顾，以收集关于将GI整合到邻里规划中的现有知识。这也将有助于建立一个邻里计划数据库，评估在哪里和如何使用GI，以及在哪里可以确定使用GI的障碍。行动研究学生将在实施和完成的不同阶段参与不同的邻里规划项目(作为论文的案例研究)。学生将参与三个邻里规划项目(案例研究)。这将包括使用焦点小组、访谈和政策/发展分析。学生将开发一个政策/实践框架，以帮助讨论和沟通关于将退伍军人纳入社区规划的问题。它还将创建创新的方法，以协助社区论坛来证明GI的价值并将其纳入未来计划。最后阶段将对这些技术进行试验。3.专家面试候选人将与当地规划官员、邻里论坛和专业人士进行一系列深入的讨论，以产生一个关于规划、社区参与和环境知识的证据基础，可用于将地理标志纳入邻里规划过程。公众访问和调查确保将退伍军人纳入邻里规划的建议方案是可以接受的。

The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) and the academic community both now assert that Green Infrastructure (GI) should be recognised as 'critical' and be integrated into spatial planning systems (TCPA & WT, 2012; Roe & Mell, 2013). One of the key challenges is identifying the appropriate scale for implementation (Gilchrist et al., 2016). Individual components are implemented at a neighbourhood scale, with the value placed on these often only recognised at the very local level. This means that landscape management at the neighbourhood scale is critical to sustaining and strengthening the GI network. There is, however, no accepted mechanism for capturing the local-level knowledge of GI, which is vitally important if the value of GI to local communities are to be established.In the UK, GI is to be embedded in planning delivery in the National Planning Policy Framework and local planning policies, with the intention that the microscale can develop context-specific measures to plan sustainable and prosperous communities (DCLG, 2011). A significant knowledge gap in the literature is how small-scale GI planning can be implemented. Demonstrating the way in which existing neighbourhood plans address GI will develop techniques that can be used to support neighbourhood plan development.In the absence of detailed direction from national government, the role of planning guidance becomes particularly important. Critically, the TCPA are driving the integration of GI into UK planning structures/instruments and have identified a pressing need for GI guidance focussing on neighbourhood planning. Research Aims and ObjectivesAim: Examine how GI can be sustained and enhanced through the neighbourhood planning process to determine whether this scale can meet strategic planning aims.Research objectives:1. Establish the current positioning of GI in the neighbourhood planning process and use this to develop a conceptual framing;2. Identify expert perspectives on the opportunities and challenges to effective GI integration into neighbourhood planning;3. Develop innovative methodologies that can capture the value of GI at neighbourhood scales and communicate the benefits experienced at larger spatial scales.4. Develop guiding principles and recommendations that align with the needs of decision-makers, planning practitioners and local communities, which encourage GI to be sustained and enhanced at neighbourhood scales and that its influence is extended at larger spatial scales.Research Approach1. Desk StudyA comprehensive review of the literature to assemble existing knowledge on the integration of GI integration in neighbourhood plans. This will also help establish a database of neighbourhood plans assessing and where and how GI is used and where barriers to its use can be identified.2. Action ResearchThe student will be embedded in different neighbourhood planning projects (acting as casestudies for the thesis) at different phases of implementation and completion. The student will engage with three neighbourhood planning projects (case studies). This will include the use of focus groups, interviews, and policy/development analysis.The student will develop a policy/practice framework to aid the discussion and communication regarding the inclusion of GI in neighbourhood plans. It will also create innovative methodologies to assist neighbourhood forums to evidence the value of GI and integrate it future plans. The final phase will trial these techniques. 3. Expert InterviewsThe candidate will engage in an in-depth set of discussions with local planning officers, neighbourhood forums and professions to generate an evidence base of planning, community engagement and environmental knowledge that can be used to frame inclusion of GI in the neighbourhood planning process.4. Public interviews and surveysTo ensure that the proposed options for the inclusion of GI in neighbourhood plans are acceptable.