“SMART CHOICES” 对规划方法的启示.doc

THE INSPIRATIONS OF “SMART CHOICES” TO PLANNING METHODOLOGYThe inspirations of “Smart Choices” to planning methodology-mainly focus on chapter 5 and discuss an example of Local Development Framework AUTHOR: XUE MODULE CODE: ENVS210 MODULE TITLE: STRATEGIC PLAN-MAKING DATE: DECEMBER 2011 The inspirations of “Smart Choices” to planning methodology-mainly focus on chapter 5 and discuss an example of Local Development FrameworkIntroductionPeople need to make decisions all the time, thus a rational decision seems to be essential. The “Smart choices” is a useful book which teaches people how to make better decision. This report will be divided into two parts, in the first part, the content of the chapter 5 in “Smart Choices” will be summarized, and relevant planning methodology will be discussed. In the second part, an example of Warwicks Local Development Frameworks will be used to illustrate how the inspirations of “Smart Choices” have been handled in a particular plan.Part 1The chapter 5 mainly focuses on consequences of different alternatives. After defining problems, structuring objectives, seeking alternatives, we need to evaluate various consequences for each option to make better choice.The key point of this chapter is forecasting the consequences clearly and accurately. If not, the incomplete results and comparison will lead to make wrong decision. Usually, there is no perfect choice, and neither alternative meet the demands of fixed objectives. What we can do is comparing the merits of competing alternatives, and assessing the potential influences. The formation of consequences is important. The three biggest pitfalls about consequences are inaccurate, incomplete, and imprecise. These will lead to wrong decisions. For instance, a person would like to have dinner before going to a theater. He is searching a satisfying restaurant. According to his investigation, Restaurant A offers better food than B, but B owns better setting and service, in the meanwhile, the price of B is more expensive than A. Neither alternative is perfect, so the final choice depends on how well each alternative meet the objective and the importance assigned to different objectives. However, the description of consequences is not easy. For example, how to make sure As food is better than Bs? The essence to make smart choices is to make description precisely. According to the author, we can follow 4 steps to list accurate and complete consequences. Firstly, we should imagine ourselves in the future. Pretending we have chosen one alternative, thus we will concentrate on the long-term consequences rather than current impact. Secondly, describe consequence of each alternative freely. We should gather substantial information and use our subjective judgment. Furthermore, use appropriate numbers, words, and graphs to describe corresponding consequence. In the meanwhile, the fixed objectives should be used as a checklist. We need to make description against our objectives. Thirdly, compare alternative in pairs. The method is taking two options, and comparing them in pairs. Make sure you cover all the objectives, and then you will find a clearly superior one and eliminate the other one. Usually starting the comparison between current situations and waiting alternatives, we can save much time by this way. The final step is creating a consequences table of remaining alternatives. We can use hand drawing or computer software to organize the table. For each given objective, the most significant thing is to use consistent terminology in consequences. This is a concise and essential way to make comparison and find out pros and cons. Thus final decision will emerge from contending alternatives. Table 1 is a typical consequences table of different job alternatives.Consequences Table forVincent Sahids Job Decision ObjectivesJob AJob BJob CJob DJob EMonthly salary$2,000$2,400$1800$1,900$2,200Flexibility of wok scheduleModerateLowHighModerateNoneBusiness skills developmentComputerManage people, computerOperations, computerOrganizationTime management, multiple taskingVacation (annual days)1412101512BenefitsHealth, dental, retirementHealth, dentalHealthHealth, retirementHealth, dentalEnjoymentGreatGood GoodGreatBoringAlternativesTable 1It can be seen that a consequences table includes plenty of useful information. We can make comparisons one by one, and objective by objective. This is a concise tool and clear framework to gather all vital consequences of alternatives together. Some useful information might be ignored without a consequences table, and choices will be made occasionally. Additionally, a number of arts were included in describing consequences. Firstly, it is eloquent to experience the potential consequences before choosing one alternative, if condition permitted. Secondly, we should use measurable and meaningful scales to describe consequences. For those tangible consequences, we can use dollars, percentages, or acres. For intangible qualities, we might use a meaningful scale that can assess the substance of the corresponding objective, or create a subjective scale that measures objective. The third art is that we cannot rely on hard data all the time. We need to consider other elements and to find a directly relevant scale. Fourthly, take full advantage of available information, such as the amount of salaries. Sometimes, we get a small part of available information hence we need logic to estimate the total cost. And subjective judgment also needed. Then, we can obtain the help from experts wisely; even he is not good as us in other fields. We also need to choose scales that reflect an appropriate level of accuracy, usually some floating fata. Finally, we should address major uncertainties explicitly. Applications on planning methodology will be discussed in the following paragraph.Planning methodology refers to the procedures and techniques when making plans and policies and implementing them. According to Friend and Hickling (2005), planning is considered as a continuous process, strategic plan should be chosen through time. In the process of planning and policy formulation, if planning with multiple objectives at the same time, such as changing environmental, economic, or social conditions, we need to list various consequences. Planners need a consequences table to make comparisons if they want to decide which route to choose to take the new arterial road, or where to locate the local shopping center, and so on. To reach strategic decisions, long-term impact and more resources-land, finance, and staff time are required. We also need to explore alternatives and understand consequences, involving uncertainty. After defining the aims of the plan, assembling and analyzing information, and identifying the main policy choices, we can indicate whether an alternative is strategic or not by listing consequences. Alternatives whose consequences are most preferred in terms of the planners valued objectives will be selected. The idea of relative assessment is considered as a core concept in the strategic decision-making. After assessing consequences within comparison areas, we should judge comparative advantage between alternative, and then restrict the focus for comparisons among decision schemes. Specific process can be seen in Figure 1 and 2.Figure 1 the concept of an advantage comparisonFigure 2 the concept of a working shortlistPart 2The Warwick District Council published the final version of the Open Space Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) on 10th, June, 2009. And the SPD was officially adopted on 24th July, 2009. This guidance is a part of Local Development Framework, and it is a new development plan. The SPD enhances polices in the Warwick District Local Plan refer to open space and recreation improvements, particularly in SC13. With the development of society, the demands of communication and recreation of people are increasing. National policy requires Local government to conduct a detailed guidance to operate the management and maintenance of open space, and formulate the provision of open space, thus problems were defined. The Sustainability Appraisal (SA) frameworks were responsible for assessing the alternatives by taking into account the social, economic and environmental impacts of planning policies. So the options should follow SA objectives. A total of eighteen sustainability objectives can be divided into four sorts, including: Sustainable consumption and production Natural resources protection and environmental enhancement Prevent climate change and save energy Create sustainable communitiesThere are two alternatives to be appraised by SA frameworks. The first option is preparing an SPD, and the other one is relying on existing Local Plan policies and Government Guidance. Each alternative is evaluated for positive, negative or neutral consequences against the Sustainability Objectives. Both alternatives perform well but the first option performs better. The reason is that SPD set up a new standard for open space, rather than the old national standard six acre standard. The provision of SPD is based on local provision and population. It is vital to provide sufficient recreational and comfortable open space in order to maintain a high quality environment and sustainable community. In addition, this local plan identified various kinds of open space and allowed more informed choices on the truly needed open space to meet future demands. This consequence expands Government Guidance in PPG17 and makes contribution to the needs of Warwick District. The two alternatives were assessed against 18 sustainability objectives, for each option the short, medium and long term effects are considered together with the secondary, cumulative and synergistic effects. To test the competitive options, two consequences tables were drew, consistent scale such as strong positive, positive, neutral, negative, and strong negative were used to describe consequences. Moreover, a compatibility matrix was created between SPD and SA objectives. The result is almost all the objectives are compatible. After detailed assessment and comparison, plan