Narrow Results

It is important to consider the local people’s evaluation in increasing the effectiveness of the sustainable planning process in urban system planning. In this work, the sustainability of urban system planning in Shu city of Kazakhstan is evaluated according to the defined dimensions, which play a key role in determining the population’s living standard, and the indicators of each dimension are compared. The data are obtained mainly through the household questionnaire survey, field observations, in depth interviews, and focus group discussion. In total, 832 representative respondents were surveyed with five-point Likert scale questions in this paper. The study used 42 indicators based on six dimensions: environmental, social, cultural, economic, religious/spiritual, and institutional dimensions. The results of this analysis show that the sustainability level of urban system planning in Shu city is at a low level in all six dimensions. The results of the indicator analysis show that the people of this region are generally not satisfied with the solution of some environmental, social, and economic problems in Shu city. At the same time, residents rated the indicators of institutional stability as better, on the contrary, they rated cultural and religious/spiritual indicators relatively high. As a result, we initially asserted that the sustainability of the urban system planning in Shu city is not satisfactory considering the existing possibilities. To eliminate this shortcoming, the authorities responsible for planning the urban system should jointly develop a project policy for sustainable development with all interested parties.

Water planners are increasingly in need of raising more complete information on the hydrological and economic consequences of water management in order to take adequate decisions to secure water supply in the future. This paper combines a scenario-based modeling of future impacts on water availability at basin level with economic valuation to answer the following questions: Which is the most cost-effective adaptation strategy? Is adaptation bringing net benefits to society as opposed to no adaptation? How to select an efficient adaptation level, if any, when facing uncertainty on which future scenario will apply? The model integrates cost-effectiveness analysis of adaptation measures, monetary valuation of avoided scarcity impacts and hydrologic modeling. By testing a set of cost-effective strategies at basin level in several potential short-term drought scenarios, we identify the most efficient strategy that should be implemented by water planners. The model is applied to the Llobregat river, in north-east Spain.

There have been a large number of attempts to develop a theory or theories of Environmental Impact Assessment in order to justify its use in environmental decision-making. A review of academic articles demonstrates that these theories are largely drawn from planning theories. Planning theories are themselves a development of sociological theories of decision-making and from one particular strand of sociological theory. In this review of the theories of EIA it is argued that an understanding of wider sociological theory is necessary to fully understand both planning and EIA.

The chapter shows that the basic component of logistics management is the formation of specific objectives based on detailed planning and forecasting of organizational and functional complex activities that provide logistics processes that form a supply chain. The sections of the detailed plan must not contradict the dominant goals but identify the possible risks for new planned activities arising within the logistics distribution system. The systemic and consistent implementation of goals-dominants, covering the entire distribution system and forming a multi-level structure of supply chain management, is realized through the achievement of objectives planned at lower levels of planning. In summarizing the study, the authors formed the view that the systemic development of plans for logistics activities, covering procurement, production processes, and the area of distribution at the level of operational planning, contains certain guarantees of success in a changing external and internal environment. Logistics planning is differentiated by volume, territorial, and temporal scope. The emergence of crises leads to the need for program and strategic planning, as well as monitoring the implementation of plans.

The hospitality industry has subsequently been struck by a range of disasters. Either; globally or regionally, natural or man-made disasters. Reflecting the hospitality and tourism industry’s vulnerability to hazardous events in the internal and external environment, they have caused dramatic fluctuations in Tourist arrivals and revenue. The chapter investigates the impact of these disasters and crises on hospitality and tourism industry. Aims to review some attempts to investigate the impact of disasters, how emergency planning could mitigate these impacts, and how to recover from it. Furthermore, it reviews the theories and models which could be used as an effective strategies to cope with uncertainty, how to plan, manage, and recover from such events. Emergency plans used by industry players to overcome the effect of such events and quick return to normality. Emergency planning could mitigate the effect of such events and recover from such disasters. The finding also emphasizes the power of media in clearing the ambiguity, which helps marketing efforts towards tourists to change their attitudes and visit safe rather than visiting hazardous destinations. Effective planning and the urgent need for better cooperation, coordination and awareness efforts among the industry stakeholders, government agencies, and local communities could mitigate the negative impact of hazardous events, allowing organizations to learn from the past to prevent the same effects in the future.

The revolutionary innovations in amusement parks, starting with the ‘Bakken’, north of Copenhagen, in 1583 and given modern form as themed entertainment attractions by Disney at Anaheim, California in 1955 have spread outwards through successive imitation and adaptation by the amusement industry. The chapter reviews some of the historical aspects of amusement parks, presents some key data and then goes on to discuss economic and development issues, including park planning and design. Concepts of creativity and issues of failure are examined in order to define the boundaries of what may be currently considered good practice to minimise the downside risks that can result in financial, if not project, collapse. Numerous examples are given so as to establish trends.