Operationalizing Ecosystem Services in Urban Planning: an exploration of implementation and challenges in Berlin and New York - Preliminary results - Emily Lorance Rall, Rieke Hansen Chair for Strategic Landscape Planning and Management,, Freising, Germany
Introduction: Research context urbesproject.org
Introduction: Problem Background Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/file:chicago_downtown_aerial_view.jpg
Introduction: Research aim & questions Aim: How can ES be better operationalized in planning? 1) Is there a gap in the discourse of ES between strategic plans and stakeholders in green infrastructure and biodiversity planning and management? 2) What are perceived needs and challenges for governing ES?
Methods: Study approach 1) Gaps in discourse ES Aspect Interviews Policy Analysis Awareness Understanding Importance -Term -Initiatives -Tools -Definition -Similar terms used? -ES mentioned -Advantage -Stages of planning -Challenges addressed -Impacts on GI governance -Term present? -Benefits from nature -Similar terms used? -ES mentioned -Goals and indicators 2) Implementation needs and challenges Methodological Institutional Political Educational/Communication Gaps?
Methods: Case study cities New York City Berlin [NASA, http://visibleearth.nasa.gov]
Methods: Policy analysis Selection of plans Berlin COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING BER_1 Landesentwicklungsprogramm der Hauptstadtregion Berlin- Brandenburg/ LePro* 2007 (State Development Program for the Berlin- Brandenburg Region) BER_2 Landesentwicklungsplan Berlin- Brandenburg/LEP* 2009 (State Development Plan Berlin- Brandenburg) New York City NYC_1 A Region at Risk: The Third Regional Plan For The New York- New Jersey- Connecticut Metropolitan Area* 1996 NYC_2 PlaNYC 2011 GREEN SPACE/LANDSCAPE/BIODIVERSITY PLANNING BER_3 Strategie Stadtlandschaft Berlin 2012 (Berlin s Urban Landscape Strategy) BER_4 Landschaftsprogramm / Artenschutzprogramm 1994/ 2004 (Landscape Program/ Species Protection Program) BER_5 Berliner Strategie zur Biologischen Vielfalt 2012 (Berlin s Biodiversity Strategy) NYC_3 New York State Open Space Conservation* 2009 NYC_4 Vision 2020: New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan 2011 NYC_5 New York City Wetlands Strategy 2012 ENVIRONMENTAL/GREY INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING BER_6 Stadtentwicklungsplan Klima 2011 (Urban Development Plan Climate) BER_7 Wasserversorgungskonzept für Berlin und für das von den BWB versorgte Umland 2008 (Water supply plan for Berlin and surrounding) NCY_6 NYC Green Infrastructure Plan 2011 NYC_7 Sustainable Stormwater Management Plan 2008
Methods: Policy analysis Content analysis Assessment Blank = ES not mentioned P = Problem A = Acknowledged I = Indirect E = Elaborated Adapted from: Hansen R., Frantzeskaki N., McPhearson T., Rall E.L. Kaczorowska A., Kain J.-H., Kabisch N., Artmann M., Pauleit S. (In Review): Are we ready for urban ecosystem services yet? Conditions for application of the urban ecosystem service framework in Berlin, New York, Rotterdam, Salzburg, Seattle and Stockholm.
Methods: Stakeholder interviews Stakeholders: city planning regional planning environmental conservation parks and recreation water quality public health ecological research parks-focused nonprofits NYC n= 17 Berlin n= 8 Conducted May-August 2013
Methods: Stakeholder interview analysis Profile matrix Stakeholder 1 2 ES Awareness ES Understanding ES Importance Methodological Challenges Political Challenges Relational matrix Institutional Political Funding Instruments Monitoring Institutional n/a Political n/a Funding n/a Instruments n/a Monitoring n/a
Results: Policy analysis ES Awareness and Understanding
Results: Policy analysis 25 NYC Berlin 20 15 10 5 0 n= 21 ES mentioned Goals/indicators
Results: Policy analysis ES Importance - Goals and indicators 6 4 2 0 NYC Berlin
Results: Policy analysis PlaNYC
Initial results: Stakeholder interviews in NYC ES Awareness ES Understanding Definition Other terms ES mentioned ES Importance Advantage Stages of planning Challenges can address
Initial results: ES Governance in NYC Positive stimuli/conditions Mayoral-led initiatives PlaNYC laid out, put sustainability at the forefront, and that kind of guided the, as much as anything, the ethos of how we plan. they've kind of taken that model of working cross-agency for a shared goal and that's been critical, it's been important because it has helped to combine resources, leverage funds, generate new ideas and new knowledge, absolutely, bring in more voices. It's been transformative. Interagency and stakeholder cooperation New generation of administrators Discourse as infrastructure, co-benefits People realize that this is the future of the city. That does not exclude traditional gray infrastructure, it just means that a large component of the infrastructure of the city is going to become green or that people are realizing existing green is no less of an important utility in the city than fire hydrants and stoplights and sewage systems. Hurricane Sandy
Initial results: ES Governance in NYC Needs and challenges: Political uncertainty Funding vs. monitoring and maintenance It's easier in NYC to get money for capital improvements, therefore to build these sites and it's much less easy to get, raise money to manage these sites over the long term, which is ultimately cheaper than having to redo capital projects every 10 years or so, but politically it's more difficult to get that type of money. So those are the major challenges that we face and we're constantly working on strategies to address them. Better models More sophisticated Able to incorporate social information environmental modeling for sort of the social network as we call it. What do communities feel about green spaces, how do they see the green spaces as being most important in their community and how do they see the role of green spaces in the future of their community?
Conclusions and outlook Differences in cities for ES awareness & understanding Scope of ES covered in policies fairly broad High-level policies act as important drivers for operationalizing ES Study outlook Finish interview coding Interview analysis (profile & relational matrices) Gap analysis of ES awareness, understanding and importance (stakeholders vs. policies) Contact: e.rall@tum.de Special thanks:
Related studies Rall E.L., Hansen R., Pauleit S. (2012): The Current Landscape of Green Infrastructure Planning and Ecosystem Services: the cases of Berlin and New York. Proceedings of the Symposium Designing Nature as Infrastructure,, Nov. 28-29, 2012, pp. 160-180,, München. Hansen R., Rall E.L., Pauleit S. (In Print): A transatlantic lens on Green Infrastructure Planning and Ecosystem Services: Assessing Implementation in Berlin and Seattle. In T. Hauck, D. Czechowski, & G. Hausladen (Eds.), Revising Green Infrastructure: Concepts Between Nature and Design. London: Taylor & Francis. Hansen R., Frantzeskaki N., McPhearson T., Rall E.L. Kaczorowska A., Kain J.-H., Kabisch N., Artmann M., Pauleit S. (In Review): Are we ready for urban ecosystem services yet? Conditions for application of the urban ecosystem service framework in Berlin, New York, Rotterdam, Salzburg, Seattle and Stockholm.