Geoscientific maps for planning in semi-arid regions: Valencia and Gran Canaria, Spain

Two case studies of the application of geoscientific maps for planning in semi-arid regions are presented, one for the Mediterranean province of Valencia and another for the island of Gran Canaria (Canaries). Both regions are very dynamic from the point of view of population growth and urban-touristic-industrial development, and they suffer from a serious degree of environmental degradation. The provincial/ island governments have undertaken programmes of geoscientific mapping and assessment to serve as a basis for the establishment of guidelines for future planning.

Two map sets have been made (1:200,000 in Valencia and 1:50,000 in Gran Canaria), based on initial maps of homogeneous integrated units. These represent a series of hierarchical land subdivisions, progressively smaller and more detailed (morphodynamic environments, systems, units, elements), defined on the basis of morphostructure, climate, lithology, surficial deposits, landforms, topography, active processes, soils, vegetation and human influence.

Each individual map unit is described by means of a form which includes 114 items, summarising its environmental features.

Morphodynamic units have been evaluated in terms of qualities significant for planning, and a series of derivative maps has been developed (geologic hazards, soil capability, present degree of erosion, potential erodibility, quality for conservation).

A final map shows the most advisable types of uses and the main limitations for human activities, mainly due to engineering geological factors. This is a synthesis document which can be used directly by planners.     

Relationship between hydrogeological parameters for data-scarce regions: the case of the Araripe sedimentary basin, Brazil

This paper applies and validates a method for generating spatially distributed hydraulic conductivity (k) based on the specific capacity (Q _s) for data-scarce regions. This method has been applied to the Araripe sedimentary basin, Brazil, and consists of four steps: (1) selection of (32) wells for which both k and Q _s data are available; (2) estimation of k as a function of Q _s for the (128) wells for which only specific capacity data are available; (3) spatial distribution of k using the kriging geostatistical tool; (4) validation of the method, using (17) representative wells with k measured data. The equation relating k and Q _s showed a statistically significant linear relationship (R = 0.93), from which a database has been generated using kriging with the spherical model. The results showed a calibration coefficient of Nash and Sutcliffe (NS) of 0.54 and moderate spatial dependence ratio of 69 %. The validation process provided only a moderate efficiency (NS = 0.22), possibly due to the geological complexity of the focus system. Despite its limitations, the method indicates the possibility of application of ordinary kriging to generate reliable data from auxiliary variables, especially for the water management of data-scarce areas.     

Economic risk maps of floods and earthquakes for European regions

Europe experiences different natural hazards and subsequent risks that have various effects on the development of its regions. The spatial significance of hazards can be expressed as an economic risk when combining hazard potential with vulnerability data. Two examples of European natural hazard maps on floods and earthquakes, as well as the resulting risk profiles of regions (combination of hazard potential and vulnerability) give a first impression on the spatial characters of hazards in Europe and their potential impact on further spatial development. The economic risk maps enable a view on the spatial dimension of the economic damage potential of flood and earthquakes, pointing out comparable situations across Europe with the aim to facilitate targeted responses and policies. The spatial character of a hazard is either defined by spatial effects that might occur in case of a disaster or by the possibility of spatial planning responses. The integration of the economic vulnerability of a region (regional GDP per capita, population density) leads to a classification of areas according to their economic risk or damage potential towards hazards. These synthetic risk profiles are presented as risk maps of European regions in administrative boundaries. Obtained information can be of interest for spatial planning and development strategies, e.g. economic risk profile of regions can influence the targets of investments and could thus be an important background for structural funding.     

Bi-level optimization for risk-based regional hurricane evacuation planning

Almost all engineering evacuation models define the objective as minimizing the time required to clear the region or total travel time, thus making an implicit assumption that who will or should evacuate is known. Conservatively evacuating everyone who may be affected may be the best strategy for a given storm, but there is a growing recognition that in some places that strategy is no longer viable and in any case, may not be the best alternative by itself. Here, we introduce a new bi-level optimization that reframes the decision more broadly. The upper level develops an evacuation plan that describes, as a hurricane approaches, who should stay and who should leave and when, so as to minimize both risk and travel time. The lower level is a dynamic user equilibrium (DUE) traffic assignment model. The model includes four novel features: (1) it refocuses the decision on the objectives of minimizing both risk and travel time; (2) it allows direct comparison of more alternatives, including for the first time, sheltering-in-place; (3) it uses a hurricane-scenario-based analysis that explicitly represents the critically important uncertainty in hurricane track, intensity, and speed; and (4) it includes a new DUE algorithm that is efficient enough for full-scale hurricane evacuation applications. The model can be used both to provide an evacuation plan and to evaluate a plan’s performance in terms of risk and travel time, assuming the plan is implemented and a specified hurricane scenario then actually occurs. We demonstrate the model with a full-scale case study for Eastern North Carolina.     

Method for design of generalized regional maps of paleohydrodynamic environments

A method of mapping which essentially combines isopachs and estimated degrees of compaction of sediments (e.g. in six spans of geological time, in the Neocomian complex, Caucasian piedmont), proves serviceable in many qualitative-semiquantitative derivations. Among these are directions, volumes, and rates of migration of sedimentational waters, the carriers of hydrocarbons, inside and outside the test area; the optimum compaction depths for the sediments; positions of pressure-heads in the evolving artesian basin; zones of oleogenesis and positions of probable accumulations of hydrocarbons.     

Strategic groundwater resources planning in arid regions

A strategic approach is presented for future groundwater reservoir planning in arid regions where the evaluation of groundwater resources is restricted by scarcity of rainfall, data paucity, restrictive and unrepresentative methodologies, weak economies, almost nonexisting management and optimization programs, frequent groundwater quality variables along short distances, etc. This paper explains the necessary steps in preparing an effective strategic planning program that is expected to provide all the necessary data for identifying alternative solution scenarios especially in arid regions. It is shown on the basis of available scarce data that the risk model of these factors appears as the logarithmic normal probability distribution. The basic decision variables in groundwater storage and recharge planning are furnished with application to Wadi Fatimah in the western central part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea coast. The approach given in this paper provides a basic example for future groundwater reservoir strategic use and management studies in the Kingdom in particular and in any part of the arid regions of the world, in general.     

Capital investment and regional planning in Britain

British regional problems increasingly emphasize the need to understand the exploitation and movement of all factors of production between different parts of the country. This paper reviews evidence, from work sponsored by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, on the significance for the standard regions of capital investment, interregional capital flows and regional investment multipliers. A high level of economic interdependence allows the effects of investment to become widely spread throughout the British space economy. This limits the power of capital expenditure to lead growth in the region where it takes place. Studies of the spatial implications of capital investment should therefore form part of more general appraisals of factor supply and demand changes and their effects on the decisions of different investing agencies (including government). Two distinctive themes for the geographical study of capital investment are suggested: the examination of relationships between investment projects by different agencies at appropriate sub-regional scales; and the ways in which established patterns of physical capital stock may influence the expenditure of new, mobile funds.     

GIS-based rare events logistic regression for landslide-susceptibility mapping of Lianyungang,China

Landslides have had a huge effect on human life, the environment and local economic development, and therefore they need to be well understood. In this study, we presented an approach for the analysis and modeling of landslide data using rare events logistic regression and applied the approach to an area in Lianyungang, China. Digital orthophotomaps, digital elevation models of the region, geological maps and different GIS layers including settlement, road net and rivers were collected and applied in the analysis. Landslides were identified by monoscopic manual interpretation and validated during the field investigation. To validate the quality of mapping, the data from the study area were divided into a training set and validation set. The result map showed that 4.26% of the study area was identified as having very high susceptibility to landslides, whereas the others were classified as having very low susceptibility (47.2%), low susceptibility (22.21%), medium susceptibility (14.39%) and high susceptibility (11.93%). The quality of the landslide-susceptibility map produced in this paper was validated, and it can be used for planning protective and mitigation measures. The landslide-susceptibility map is a fundamental part of the Lianyungang city landslide risk assessment.     

Evaluation and validation of landslide-susceptibility maps obtained by a GIS matrix method: examples from the Betic Cordillera (southern Spain)

This work presents the results of applying the matrix method in a Geographic Information System (GIS) to the drawing of maps of susceptibility to slope movements in different sectors of the Betic Cordillera (southern Spain). In addition, the susceptibility models built by the matrix method were compared with a multivariate statistical method, and the first method gave the best results. The susceptibility maps drawn by the GIS matrix method were validated by calculating the coefficients of association with the degree of fit between recent slope movements registered in 1997 and the different levels of susceptibility of previously drawn maps (1995–1996) in different representative zones of the Betic Cordillera (southern Spain). The first sector studied showed excellent degrees of fit, with an error of less than 10% for all the slope failures and 3% when considering only failures of natural origin. In the second sector, the relative errors were less than 5%. In the third sector, the error hardly exceeded 6%. The results are discussed in the different zones and for each type of slope movement. In any case, these results evidence the predictive capacity of susceptibility maps drawn in GIS by the matrix method, for a great number of slope movements.     

Aims and implementation in British urban and regional planning

Failure to fully understand or recognise crucial but culturally-determined British dimensions has led to confusion and error even among the British geographers in understanding and contributing to, urban and regional planning. This point assumes more rather than less significance in the context of a discussion between British and Soviet geographers. This paper therefore examines in part one, three fundamental features of the British system of urban and regional planning and then proceeds in part two to focus on the aims and their implementation. It concludes with a reference to the nature of the relationship between planning and geography.     

Utilization of data bank on grid square basis for regional planning

This paper deals with results of case studies using actual magnetic tape records of Statistics on Grid Square Basis and Digital National Land Information which have been compiled since 1965 by governmental agencies on the same grid square basis from census and map reading covering the whole country. The number of items on the records has been increasing, including land information and socio-economic statistics which seem to be useful for land development/conservation planning and regional planning. However, in reality a majority of local governments have not used to date these records enough. In this study the combination analysis of two or more items is made in order to make more effective use of the records for these plannings. The number of grid squares under fixed conditions are calculated and the distribution maps are drawn by means of line printer or X-Y plotter. The themes are as follows: 1. Population distribution and population growth and land use type by landform classification, 2. Proportion of built-up area in city planning area, 3. Selection of possible space for housing development, 4. Division of a given area based on natural conditions for daily life into three areas, namely suitable areas, possible but rather difficult areas, and unsuitable areas. 5. Selection of suitable areas for sightseeing and recreation. The items used for combination analysis are 1970 and 1975 Population Census, ground elevation, angle of inclination, value of relief, landform classification, surface geology classification, soil classification, land use classification, and city planning area. The data of land value and distance from nearest station are produced by map reading for the test area in this study. From these combinations an objective and detailed distribution can be determined. Finally, several examples of the studies are shown.     

江西省丹霞地貌发育规律及旅游区划研究

江西省燕山-喜马拉雅运动以块断作用为主,形成了一系列断裂隆起带和断陷盆地,白垩纪、早第三纪红层发育齐全.丹霞地貌主要发育于上白垩统紫红色含钙粗碎屑岩中,受盆缘断裂和中幼年河流控制,是晚第三纪以来新构造运动间歇性隆升,伴随着断裂切割、流水冲刷和风化剥蚀的产物.根据陆地卫星TM图像解译和野外实地调查,查明了全省共有丹霞地貌景观资源123处,其中新发现景点78处.丹霞地貌景观主要分布在该省周边丘陵低山区,明显受不同级别河流的流域控制,具带状分布规律,可划分出9个景观集中分布区域.赣东、赣东南丹霞地貌景观最为密集,结合红色旅游和客家文化特色,该区具有强劲的丹霞地貌旅游开发潜力.     

Seismic-event-based methodology to obtain earthquake-induced translational landslide regional hazard maps

A seismic-event-based methodology to generate earthquake-induced translational landslide maps using Newmark method is proposed. The steps are: (1) to construct a GIS-based geotechnical database; (2) to identify those areas that are susceptible to the occurrence of translational landslides based on available geological information; (3) to compute a static safety factor; (4) to compute the critical acceleration that defines the threshold acceleration required to cause a displacement; (5) to characterize the seismic hazard as a set of stochastic events, collectively exhaustive and mutually exclusive, that fully describes the hazard spatial distribution and annual frequency of occurrence (in accordance with the earthquake location, depth and magnitude) with the appropriate ground-motion prediction equations; (6) to compute the Newmark displacement; and finally, (7) to carry out a probabilistic translational landslide hazard analysis to estimate an exceedance rate of a given displacement. This methodology is applied to Mexico, and maps for return periods of 150 and 500 years are presented. Results shown in maps are estimations of where translational landslides may occur and should be useful to carry out local studies to elaborate recommendations of site specific hazard reduction plans as well as to calculate insurance rates. In addition, these results are useful to identify civil protection actions, risk management at regional and local level, and land use planning, as well as for promoting more detailed vulnerability and risk studies at different scales.     

Geology for environmental planning in northern Scandinavia—a new challenge to produce small-scale maps

The present paper is a state-of-the-art report on an attempt to create a suitable legend for a small-scale map for land-use planning and to test this legend by compiling a map of this type for part of Scandinavia.     

Sustainable development in regional planning: The search for new tools and renewed legitimacy

This paper focuses on sustainability appraisal as a key technique for pursuing the political goal of ‘sustainable development’ within English planning. We conclude that unlike many planning tools of the past which have sought to depoliticise decision making by using more ‘scientific’ techniques, the early experience of sustainability appraisal has instead repoliticised them, by highlighting where tensions exist but without providing solutions.     

航空物探工作程度图批量定制技术研究

为满足行业及社会用户对多尺度、跨区域的航空物探工作程度图的大量需求,为数据资料收集、地质调查工作规划部署等提供借鉴和参考依据,笔者以全国航空物探测区元数据库为数据源,按照"数据字典管理制图标准、模板文件管理图面样式、用户参数创建图面要素"的技术方法,开展航空物探工作程度图的批量定制功能研究,并基于Arc GIS Engine和C#编程语言开发实现了基于数据驱动的航空物探工作程度图批量定制程序。在航空物探调查资料的社会化服务和"秦岭及天山等重点成矿区带航空物探调查"等项目工作部署及实施过程中取得了较好的应用效果,共计完成全国35个区域70余幅航空物探工作程度图的制作与服务,部分产品图件已经发布至"地质云"提供互联网在线服务。     

Division into economic districts,regional planning and urban planning,the Soviet case

Research of the interrelation between regional planning, division into economic districts and urban-planning, division into economic districts and urban planning is here emphasised. In the USSR development of a network of territorial economic complexes, economic districts including subregions of the II and III order, economic subregions and microdistricts is continuous. The outlook of regional planning is defined by the elaboration of its scientific theory including the geographical concept of regional planning. The use of geographical methods widens the scientific basis for the development of a systems approach and improves forecasting, the choice of aims and strategy of developing production, population distribution and the solution of ecological problems. The efficiency of regional planning depends not only on purely economic advantages, but on a more sensible use of nature. Regional planning is concerned with bio-economic systems, and must avoid conflict between the most important subsystems, natural and anthropogenic. Preservation of ecological balance has become the most important task of regional planning. When locating industrial enterprises in the process of regional planning, ecological factors are taken into account to an ever-increasing degree. The main tasks of regional planning concerning the distribution of agriculture stem from the aim of interrelated development of all elements of the agrarian and industrial complex. During the scientific and technical revolution the distribution of production orientates more and more and not towards individual towns but towards a system of populated areas. Systematic improvement of conurbations and their transformation into group systems of populated areas, regulated according to plan and having a broader economic and territorial base, are the most important task of regional planning and urban development.     

区域水规划方案多属性递阶群决策

区域水资源规划方案的优选过程通常是一个多属性、群决策过程。在对该领域研究现状综述的基础上,提出了多属性递阶群决策的概念,建立了6类数据的灰类白化函数,构建了包括基层A、专家层B和高级管理层C的3层群决策模型,并给出了具体的算法步骤,在EXCEL上编制了通用程序。实例计算结果表明,该模型真实地反映了水资源规划方案优选的过程,结论合理,求解思路清晰。