Speaker Bio & Abstract
University of Canterbury
New Zealand
BiographyMirjam Schindler holds a PhD in Geography from the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Luxembourg, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Geospatial Research Institute, University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. Her research is devoted to spatial analysis and urban modelling to inform residential and transport planning on environmental and health concerns with respect to urban form.AbstractMirjam Schindler, Rita Dionisio, Ines Falcao, Simon Kingham | University of Canterbury Envision Scenario Planner (ESP) is a web-based geospatial tool which allows stakeholders to design urban regeneration scenarios and asses their potential economic, social and environmental impacts and benefits in order to support decision making and enable community and stakeholder engagement. ESP is a publicly funded tool which provides performance measures of different urban regeneration scenarios which delivers evidence to assist decision-making that is made easily accessible and spatially visible to stakeholders. The provision of knowledge-based support through geospatial planning tools like ESP can build understanding about the implications of single-section-based planning, low density housing and urban sprawl, and support stakeholders in planning more sustainable and community responsive neighbourhoods. The geospatial tool allows the user to integrate various (spatial) information about an urban neighbourhood, model complex interactions between the built environment and environmental effects, translate regeneration strategies into workable and tangible scenarios, and provide evidence for decision-making on social and environmental amenities beyond a single building. Based on use cases with New Zealand local councils and other urban planning stakeholders, the benefits of using ESP for decision-making but also its challenges to making it fit-for purpose are discussed, with a particular focus on experiences within different urban contexts.