TY - BOOK

T1 - How can place-based e-tools support urban green infrastructure governance?

AU - Møller, Maja Steen

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Against the background of research related to urban green infrastructure (UGI) governance, this thesis explores the role of digital, place-based communication tools. Urban nature is considered important in urban areas for various reasons including health, sense of community and other factors that improve the quality of life of urban dwellers. However, in order for this potential to be realized, it is important that nature areas are actually used by people and meet their demands. Research and policy have stressed the importance of engaging citizens in their local nature environments. This is believed to create a sense of ownership, empower citizens through social learning, increase social cohesion, enhance environmental awareness and increase the use of green spaces. Despite these advantages, getting people involved/engaged is not always easy. The UGI concept is built upon the involvement of a range of actors in the process of governing urban green spaces in ways that are decentralized, networked, and participatory. There is a need for dialogue tools that can help to effectively and appropriately engage and empower local communities. Respect for the myriad views, values and visions that are represented in modern, diverse urban populations should be incorporated in such tools/approaches. Innovative ways have to be found that can provide a better knowledge base for decision-making. With the development of web 2.0 technologies, new opportunities for citizen and stakeholder engagement are emerging, adding new ways and perspectives to knowledge gathering, knowledge sharing, and the co-development of ideas and initiatives regarding urban green infrastructure planning and governance. This thesis provides an overview of different types of e-tools related to UGI governance and goes in-depth in case studies on three different e-tools related to Scandinavian UGI governance. Furthermore, it investigates how crowd-sourced social media data can be used in UGI governance. The thesis concludes that even though many opportunities exist for using e-tools in participatory UGI governance, there is room for more research especially regarding the factors that influence citizens’ engagement in place-based UGI governance via place-based e-tools.

AB - Against the background of research related to urban green infrastructure (UGI) governance, this thesis explores the role of digital, place-based communication tools. Urban nature is considered important in urban areas for various reasons including health, sense of community and other factors that improve the quality of life of urban dwellers. However, in order for this potential to be realized, it is important that nature areas are actually used by people and meet their demands. Research and policy have stressed the importance of engaging citizens in their local nature environments. This is believed to create a sense of ownership, empower citizens through social learning, increase social cohesion, enhance environmental awareness and increase the use of green spaces. Despite these advantages, getting people involved/engaged is not always easy. The UGI concept is built upon the involvement of a range of actors in the process of governing urban green spaces in ways that are decentralized, networked, and participatory. There is a need for dialogue tools that can help to effectively and appropriately engage and empower local communities. Respect for the myriad views, values and visions that are represented in modern, diverse urban populations should be incorporated in such tools/approaches. Innovative ways have to be found that can provide a better knowledge base for decision-making. With the development of web 2.0 technologies, new opportunities for citizen and stakeholder engagement are emerging, adding new ways and perspectives to knowledge gathering, knowledge sharing, and the co-development of ideas and initiatives regarding urban green infrastructure planning and governance. This thesis provides an overview of different types of e-tools related to UGI governance and goes in-depth in case studies on three different e-tools related to Scandinavian UGI governance. Furthermore, it investigates how crowd-sourced social media data can be used in UGI governance. The thesis concludes that even though many opportunities exist for using e-tools in participatory UGI governance, there is room for more research especially regarding the factors that influence citizens’ engagement in place-based UGI governance via place-based e-tools.

UR - https://soeg.kb.dk/permalink/45KBDK_KGL/1pioq0f/alma99122687859505763

M3 - Ph.D. thesis

BT - How can place-based e-tools support urban green infrastructure governance?

PB - Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen

ER -