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- Khoshkar, Sara, 1985-
(författare)
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From Vision to Action- Advancing green qualities in local planning practice
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Biodiversity and ecosystem services have been negatively affected as a result of urbanization. Agenda 2030 emphasizes that biodiversity and ecosystem services issues are important for all Sustainable Development Goals and that measures are needed to reverse the negative trend. In addition, it has been emphasized that local spatial planning plays a key role in meeting global challenges and achieving national and international sustainability goals. The decisions made about land use issues in local planning are of great importance for biodiversity and the availability of ecosystem services in cities. However, despite the increasing knowledge of the importance of ecosystem services, their integration in land use planning and decision-making is still limited. Furthermore, the planning instrument, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) holds an important role in ensuring that ecosystem services are taken into account in planning and related decision-making processes. However, experiences of integrating ecosystem services in SEAs is limited. The overall aim of this thesis, comprising of five papers, is to contribute with knowledge regarding and support to local planning practice for the implementation of ecosystem services in planning and decision-making. The methods applied include: literature review, semi-structured interviews, focus group, workshops and qualitative content analysis supported with statistical analysis. In the first phase of the thesis, the studies set out to identify the challenges and needs for integrating ecosystem services in local planning practice. The results are based on a case study design of a selection of municipalities in Stockholm County. A key finding from the interviews with practitioners in the first phase was that green quality issues need to be integrated in strategic levels of planning so to pave the way for future sustainable development in municipalities. The second phase identified measures for the implementation of ecosystem services and ten key factors to promote the integration of ES in local planning. This phase included national analysis of ecosystem services in municipal comprehensive plans for Swedish municipalities presented in Paper II. The supporting statistical analysis revealed a temporal trend in the integration of ecosystem services in the municipal comprehensive plans during the last decade. In the last phase of the thesis, experiences and learning examples were identified to strengthen SEA as a planning tool by examining practices and experiences from eight European countries. In addition, it was investigated how ecosystem services were integrated into SEA for municipal comprehensive plans in Stockholm County, in order to study how SEAs can be used to strengthen ecosystem services in local planning. The synthesis of the results from the appended papers identifies ways to promote ecosystem services in local planning. The proposed measures for operationalizing ecosystem services from vision to action include: (i) improving institutional and organizational conditions (ii) facilitating communication and collaboration between actors (iii) engaging public early in the planning process (iv) adapting guidance and tools to local conditions and circumstances (v) advancing role of SEA for planning.The thesis concludes with suggestions for future research, for example to investigate how nature-based solutions for operationalizing ecosystem services can be designed in local planning.
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- Khoshkar, Sara
(författare)
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Paving the way for green qualities -Role of Environmental Assessment
- 2017
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Implementing urban development projects in planning practice while simultaneously providing sufficient green spaces has proven to be challenging. As a result, there is a growing need for practical approaches and tools for the integration of urban green qualities in the on-going densification of cities. Environmental assessment, as a proactive decision aiding tool, can hold an important role in integrating green qualities in urban development plans and projects. However, in recent years environmental assessment has only added moderate value to planning issues regarding green space. Therefore, this thesis was designed to contribute to the knowledge and understanding on the role environmental assessment can have in the integration of green qualities in future urban development plans and projects in efforts to aid practitioners. This aim was achieved through examination of existing urban green space planning practice in the Stockholm region (Paper I) and the practice of environmental assessment in a selection of European countries in relation to the following factors identified to be important for practice: timing, quality control, alternatives, monitoring and public participation (Paper II). The findings from both studies were then analysed to identify possibilities of green space planning within the framework of these factors. A qualitative research was employed for this study including: semi-structured interviews with municipal planners in the Stockholm region and environmental assessment experts for the European Commission, literature review, document analysis and case study analysis. The case studies analyzed in Paper I were located in municipalities of Haninge and Huddinge, suburban areas located to the south of Stockholm. In Paper II, the experts interviewed were environmental assessment experts from the European Commission from: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Slovenia. Through analysis of the results from both studies, the potential role of environmental assessment in integrating green qualities in urban development plans and projects are explored and discussed in relation to the factors. The potential of environmental assessment to enhance public participation and dialogues amongst actors, or bring forth green space issues within alternatives are a few of the roles discussed. Furthermore, a selection of pathways is suggested for the integration of green qualities in future urban development through the application of environmental assessment. For example, the implementation of developer dialogues in the environmental assessment process and the development of knowledge exchange platforms for sharing experiences in relation to green space planning and environmental assessment.
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- Khoshkar, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Planning for green qualities in the densification of suburban Stockholm opportunities and challenges
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. - : Routledge. - 0964-0568 .- 1360-0559. ; 61:14, s. 2613-2635
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Implementing urban densification projects in planning practice while multaneously providing sufficient green spaces has proven to be allenging. Consequently, there is an increasing need for practical proaches to urban green space management in the on-going densification cities. Therefore, this study was designed to give a better derstanding of current green space management practice in two nicipalities in Stockholm, Sweden, undergoing densification. The allenges identified through interviews with municipal planners were lated to site-specific conditions for densification projects, nflicting interests between involved and affected actors, green ality management issues, and limited use of impact assessment tools. the municipalities, innovative approaches were adopted in efforts to nimize the above challenges, such as collaboration between the velopers and planners, or participatory workshops with the local tizens. This paper explores these challenges and approaches, and makes rther recommendations for improving green space management practice.
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- Khoshkar, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Ways Forward for Advancing Ecosystem Servicesin Municipal Planning—Experiences from Stockholm County
- 2020
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Ingår i: Land. - : MDPI AG. - 0023-7531 .- 2073-445X. ; 9:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This case study from Stockholm County, Sweden, explores practitioners’ experiences of barriers and bridges in municipal planning practices to support actions for ecosystem services. This qualitative study is based on information gathered from a focus group, workshops, and semi-structured interviews, which aided in identifying key factors for integrating ecosystem services in municipal planning. We identified 10 key factors divided into three themes: (i) regulatory framework and political support, (ii) local organizational capacity, and (iii) local adaptation of tools and practices. In particular, the practitioners pointed to the need for the development of legal support and regulations for ecosystem services on the national and EU policy levels. Furthermore, the need for local capacity building and understanding of ecosystem services as well as increased regional support to enhance local knowledge exchange and learning was emphasized. Also, in a decentralized local governance system such as in Sweden, to fully implement ecosystem services in urban planning for sustainable development, locally adapted practical tools and monitoring procedures were considered important.
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