Planning

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This is the collection for the University of Waterloo's School of Planning.

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Exploring the Linkages Between Planning and the Barriers to Climate Change Adaptation in Caribbean Small Island Developing States
(University of Waterloo, 2018-05-14) Howard, Dellarue
The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report indicates that Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Furthermore, there is a considerable adaptation deficit in SIDS which must be addressed to reduce their vulnerability to the effects of climate change, including climate variability. This adaptation deficit can be attributed to the barriers to planned adaptation which exist in SIDS, notably the lack of adequate financial, technical and human resources, institutional and governance deficiencies, and poor leadership among other barriers. Spatial development planning is widely recognized as one of the major avenues which can be used to pursue adaptation. However, research on the barriers to adaptation in SIDS does not sufficiently examine the barriers in relation to the formal planning frameworks which support the development and implementation of adaptation policies. This has constrained our understanding of how the barriers to adaptation are actually manifested in planning practice. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered for this research using a three-pronged mixed method approach. This involved a survey with public planners from Caribbean SIDS (n = 51), content analysis of national vision and spatial development plans, as well as national climate change policies (n = 23), and semi-structured interviews with senior national policy makers from Caribbean SIDS (n = 21). The research examines the development of adaptation planning at the regional, national, and local levels in Caribbean SIDS to ascertain the advances that have been made and the aspects of adaptation that are lacking. The research then identifies and assesses the barriers to adaptation in Caribbean SIDS using, in part, Moser & Ekstrom’s (2010) diagnostic framework for assessing the barriers to adaptation. The barriers to adaptation are analyzed within the context of the planning frameworks which exist at the regional, national, and local levels in Caribbean SIDS. In addition, the barriers are examined in relation to the stages involved in a rational oriented adaptation planning process. This facilitated an understanding of how the barriers to adaptation are manifested during the different stages of the adaptation planning process, as undertaken in Caribbean SIDS. Three clusters of findings emanated from this research. The first relates to the state of adaptation planning in Caribbean SIDS. The second pertains to the barriers to adaptation in Caribbean SIDS. The third focuses on the linkages between the barriers to adaptation and the spatial development planning frameworks and processes through which adaptation policies are mediated. Regarding the current state of adaptation planning in Caribbean SIDS, the research findings indicate that although adaptation planning is evolving into a policy niche, formal capacity building to support adaptation is mainly taking place at national and regional levels in Caribbean SIDS. The requisite institutional and governance capabilities do not exist at the municipal or community level to allow for substantive adaptation planning to take place. Consequently, local adaptation planning is limited to the ad hoc implementation of donor-funded projects which are not sustainable in the long term. The research findings also revealed that the adaptation planning landscape within Caribbean SIDS is not only characterized by fragmentation with regards to adaptation projects, but also by the simultaneous existence of institutional crowdedness, and institutional voids. For example, in some cases, critical legislation and policies are lacking. In other cases, there are multiple overlapping policies and administrative mandate. In addition, the adaptation planning response in Caribbean SIDS largely addresses the physical dimensions of climate vulnerability, while ignoring the social and economic factors which contribute to vulnerability. In terms of the barriers to adaptation planning in Caribbean SIDS, the research findings suggest that the barriers to adaptation originate from multiple combined sources, e.g. conflicts and power imbalances among the actors involved in adaptation planning, ineffective institutional and governance arrangements, and the inherent complexity of vulnerable human and natural systems. Likewise, most of the barriers to adaptation are highly interrelated and cannot be understood or addressed in isolation from each other. While identification and ranking of the barriers to adaptation facilitated ease of analysis, qualitatively assessing the causal linkages between the barriers provided better insights into how to address the barriers. Concerning the linkages between the barriers to adaptation and the planning frameworks in Caribbean SIDS, the key findings point to the inclusion of climate change adaptation on the planning agenda as outlined in high-level national vision plans and policies. However, adaptation is largely ignored in medium term socio-economic policy frameworks which function as the default planning agenda in Caribbean SIDS. Despite the presence of a Regional Framework to guide climate change adaptation and mitigation within CARICOM member states, the national level is where substantive planning agendas are developed and strategic policies formulated. The Regional Framework is not legally binding on CARICOM member states and is to a large extent operationalized through the independent actions of national governments within CARICOM. The research findings also revealed that barriers to adaptation are likely to arise simultaneously rather than in a stepwise linear fashion as normatively depicted in the adaptation planning literature. Likewise, barriers to adaptation are best understood in relation to the entire planning process, rather than the individual stages. Existing barriers to adaptation, even when seemingly dominant within a particular stage of the adaptation planning process, create new barriers which have a domino effect on the entire adaptation planning process. This necessitates treating the adaptation planning process more like a series of simultaneous interrelated activities, rather than a rigid linear sequence of events. Theoretical contributions derived from the research findings focus on the application of the rational planning model, incremental planning, and multi-level governance to adaptation planning in Caribbean SIDS. The major takeaway for practice is the need to develop an incremental approach to adaptation planning which facilitates the integration of climate change into short and medium-term planning policies. This is essential to lay the foundation for the long-term transformative change which adaptation requires.
Institutional Traps and Private Housing Sector Adaptation: A Case Study of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region
(University of Waterloo, 2017-01-18) Whitbread, Karmen
Southeast Asia is at particular risk of the impacts of climate change which is, and is predicted to continue, causing increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. Thailand is particularly vulnerable to these events, as well droughts. In 2011, Thailand experience the worst flood in 50 years, while four years later the county experienced the worst drought in 50 years, as well as continued flooding, particularly in parts of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR). Flood management, therefore, is a key aspect of Thai planning. Lebel et al. (2011), however, identified five institutional traps that hinder effective flood management—fragmentation, rigidity, elite capture, scale, and crisis management. These traps continue to hamper flood management strategies. Unfortunately, little is known about how these institutional traps impact water governance and non-government stakeholders. I interviewed public officials (n=23) and analyzed six newspapers, totalling 924 articles, on flood and drought management and the private housing sector in Thailand, and the BMR in particular. Results demonstrate that institutional traps continue to hinder effective flood and drought management in Thailand and have led to water mismanagement as well as a lack of trust in the government’s ability to effectively manage water resources. In turn, this has led to an increase in non-government actors engaging in flood and drought management, specifically the military, royalty, and the private sector. While the involvement of the military and royalty in flood and drought management are viewed positively by the media, the private sector received mixed reviews by the media and respondents. At times the private sector is praised for stepping in to provide flood and drought management techniques, but they are also recognised for acting disreputably. Due to the mixed evaluation of the private sector’s actions to address flood management issues, an in-depth review of the private housing sector’s actions to reduce the risk of flooding within the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR) was undertaken. The BMR is especially vulnerable to intense rainfall due to its proximity to the coast and rapid urbanization. Drawing on the interviews with public officials (n=23), I review the current practices used by Bangkok’s private housing sector to adapt to the increased risk of floods in the city. Current adaptation strategies are primarily protective in nature, including: elevating land and constructing walls. These strategies can effectively reduce the risk of flooding to private property and adjacent properties, and may lead to co-benefits for networked urban infrastructures, such a stormwater management. Yet if these strategies are implemented poorly, they could be considered maladaptive by increasing the risk of flooding to surrounding properties and communities, and creating conflict between those who have adapted and those that have not. Overall, the results suggest that the private housing sector in the BMR is adapting to flooding. However, with limited government regulations, programs, or incentives, the adaptation process in the BMR is largely uncoordinated and unplanned. The results of this study demonstrate that poor flood management by the public sector can broaden water governance to other non-public stakeholders, with varying degrees of acceptance. Results indicate that the private housing sector, specifically, can be an effective mechanism to reduce the risk of urban flooding, but only if strong planning initiatives are implemented to manage their actions. Ultimately, this thesis contributes to the literature by outlining how institutional traps that hamper the public sector’s ability to effectively manage water resources can encourage a broadening of water governance; however, broader stakeholder involvement ought to be managed to ensure it is in the best interest of all.
Prospects for place-based climate change adaptation: An exploration of place, vulnerability and collaborative planning in Churchill, Manitoba
(University of Waterloo, 2015-08-27) Groulx, Mark
The need to plan for climate change is an emerging reality for Canadian communities. Impacts like flooding or changes in the formation of sea ice have already contributed to significant financial and social disruptions in many cities, towns, and regions. In response, a growing number of municipalities have adopted climate change adaptation plans that lay out a pathway to prepare for such events. It is typical for such planning efforts to recognize that local economies, elements of the built environment, and the ecosystems that support them are vulnerable to climate change impacts. However, these plans often fail to examine how intangible socio-psychological dimensions of community life might condition these vulnerabilities. They also typically do not ask whether experiential aspects of community life like local values or identity might also be vulnerable, or explore the potential consequences of their disruption. Accordingly, this thesis argues that there may be a blind spot in dominant approaches to adaptation planning that is exposing communities to unforeseen risks. It also questions whether current planning efforts will be sufficient to buffer against disruptions to the many foundations of community life that are not captured in the rational calculus of climate change adaptation practice. Churchill, Manitoba is examined as a case study of the potential for a place-based approach to climate change adaptation planning. When conceptualized as a bond between a person and a particular landscape, the place perspective offers a vehicle for incorporating local values and identity into adaptation planning processes. Place provides a language that is familiar to the planning profession, and that is also conducive to community engagement. That said, results from a community survey (n= 51) demonstrate that inaction in the face of acknowledged climate change impacts can persist even in the presence of strong place connections. When place is considered more broadly through the lens of mobility, a potential explanation for this finding emerges. Results of a structural equation model show that visitors’ (n= 306) place identity and sense of nature relatedness shape the desire to consume vulnerable landscapes (i.e., a last chance tourism motivation). At the same time, in-depth community interviews (n= 24) conducted as part of grounded theory show that manifestations of power and mobility influence the place bonding process and condition the belief that an active citizenry has no legitimate role in shaping a community’s climate future. This thesis illustrates how processes that financially exploit a community’s place identity can condition community vulnerability and constrain options for community adaptation planning. It also challenges the dominant notion that the primary benefit of the place perspective is encouraging individual behavioural change through place protective action. From a critical place perspective, an equally important role is probing how mobility and power condition a state of collective inefficacy, and exploring how place might provide a point of connection for resistance and collaborative change.

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