DOI: 10.19830/j.upi.2020.193
Planning Support System: The Implementation Gap, Solutions and New Development Trends

Jiang Huaxiong

Keywords: Complexity; Planning Support Systems; PSS Implementation Gap; A Socio-Technical Approach; Smart City Planning

Abstract:

Urban planning is a highly complex human activity that requires appropriate planning support techniques to assist planners in performing specific planning tasks. Various information technologies in different periods of Western society have been developed and applied to the urban planning field, which finally crystallized as “Planning Support Systems”(PSS). PSS are geo-based information technology that includes a set of components to collectively support specific planning tasks. However, for a long time, the development of PSS in Western urban planning has witnessed “PSS implementation gap”, that is, many PSS have been developed by academic circles or technology companies, but their application in planning practice is quite insufficient and limited. Understanding this issue will help to reveal PSS development trajectory of Western urban planning over the past two decades. Thus, this paper aims to outline the theoretical background, practical reasons, and solutions of PSS implementation gap, and sketch new development trends of PSS in Western urban planning. From this, this paper provides constructive suggestions for the development and application of planning support in the Chinese urban planning context.


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