Anna Hersperger

Anna Hersperger
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL | WSL · Landscape Dynamics Research Unit

PhD

About

134
Publications
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Publications

Publications (134)
Article
Full-text available
While urban growth management has shown varying degrees of success in curbing urban land expansion, their effects over time and across urban land uses remain largely unexplored. We used nationwide longitudinal data and difference-in-difference models to assess the effect of construction land quotas on changes in residential, industrial, commercial,...
Book
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Mehrjährige Forschungsarbeiten der WSL zu erneuerbaren Energien können Antworten liefern auf Fragen wie die folgenden: Wovon hängt die Akzeptanz von Anlagen für die Erzeugung erneuerbarer Energie ab und wie lässt sich die Akzeptanz steigern? Was vereinfacht die Planung solcher Anlagen und wie fördert der Einbezug der Bevölkerung ihren Ausbau? Was k...
Book
Full-text available
Les travaux de recherche que mène le WSL sur plusieurs années peuvent fournir des réponses à diverses questions, par exemple: de quoi dépend l'acceptation des installations d'énergie renouvelable et comment peutelle être améliorée? Quels sont les facteurs qui simplifient la planification de telles installations et comment la participation de la pop...
Article
Public consultation is an essential component of the planning process to achieve sustainable development. However, there is still a lack of knowledge related to public engagement in consultation processes on urban planning matters. Thus, the aim of this study was to understand public needs in terms of planning urban space by exploring the content o...
Article
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Rapid expansion of built-up land is widespread and often does not follow established zoning regulations. This non-conforming expansion of built-up land may exacerbate social and environmental problems and has emerged as an important sustainability concern. In this study, we first evaluated the non-conforming expansion of built-up land to zoning in...
Article
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Three-dimensional urban form has a considerable influence on urban sustainability, being the reason spatial planning regulate it. Yet, we know very little about the development of building density and building height over time. In this study, we characterize the horizontal and vertical patterns of urban development in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, a...
Article
Die Raumplanung und der Wald sind eng miteinander verknüpft und beeinflussen sich gegenseitig. Schutz und Nutzung des Waldes sind jedoch nicht im Raumplanungsgesetz, sondern im Waldgesetz geregelt. Deshalb ist der Wald keine Zone im raumplanerischen Sinn. Mit dem strikten, im Waldgesetz geregelten Walderhaltungsgebot geniesst er einen höheren Schut...
Article
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Context The effects of landscape structure on biodiversity may change with the spatial and temporal scale at which landscape structure is measured. Identifying the spatial extent and temporal scale at which the biodiversity-landscape relationship is strongest (i.e., the scale of effect) is important to better understand the effect of landscape stru...
Article
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The effective conservation and promotion of biodiversity requires its integration into a wide range of sectoral policies. For this to happen, the issue must receive attention across policy sectors. Yet, we know little about how attention to the issue evolves over time and across sectors. Drawing from the literature on environmental policy integrati...
Article
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The increasing impacts of built-up land expansion on sustainable development have heightened the use of spatial planning as a policy tool to contain built-up land expansion. However, causal evidence for the effect of spatial planning on built-up land expansion has largely remained unexplored. In this study, we used a difference-indifference model w...
Method
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The present content is part of the published paper Palka, G., Oliveira, E., Pagliarin, S., & Hersperger, A. M. (2021). Strategic spatial planning and efficacy: an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach in Lyon and Copenhagen. European planning studies, 29(6), 1174-1192. It contains the interviews, the survey, the report explaining survey and a x...
Method
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The present content is part of the published paper Palka, G., Oliveira, E., Pagliarin, S., & Hersperger, A. M. (2021). Strategic spatial planning and efficacy: an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach in Lyon and Copenhagen. European planning studies, 29(6), 1174-1192. It contains the jupyter notebook and sample data to compute Analytical Hiera...
Article
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Soil spatial heterogeneity involves nutrients being patchily distributed at a range of scales and is prevalent in natural habitats. However, little is known about the effect of soil spatial configurations at the small scale on plant foraging behavior and plant growth under different resource amounts. Here, we experimentally investigated how a stolo...
Article
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Over the past 25 years, the study of driving forces of landscape change has developed into a central theme in land change science by contributing to theory development, promoting the analysis of causation of change and gaining insights into how landscape development could be steered into a societally more desirable direction. Based on this progress...
Article
Digital transformation is shaping our lives and altering planning. Digitalization is closely linked to smart governance, through which administrative units such as cities and regions increasingly offer digital services related to spatial planning. However, the increasing digitalization of spatial planning has received little attention in academic p...
Article
Many of the outcomes of environmental plans are difficult to measure. Therefore, little is known as to whether such plans achieve their goals, whether outcomes are reached and lessons learned to influence future plans. Our study aims to address this gap by systematically evaluating the implementation of Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAPs) of 2...
Article
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Urban expansion is expected to continue at a fast rate, precisely in peri-urban areas of developing countries surrounded by biodiversity hotspots. The need to assess and potentially restructure urban and environmental planning instruments becomes apparent in scenarios where urban expansion is difficult to manage. Indicators based on spatially expli...
Chapter
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Governments increasingly use place branding to position their cities and metropolitan regions on the inter-regional competitive stage. Simultaneously, strategic spatial planning is gradually being implemented at the urban-regional level for promoting social, economic and ecologically sustainable development. It is reasonable, therefore, to expect t...
Article
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Spatial planning has been globally developed as a policy tool to govern built-up land expansion. However, causal evidence of the effect of spatial planning on built-up land expansion is limited, which raises doubts on the credibility of spatial planning and hinders theoretical developments in land-system science. We evaluated the effect of the Majo...
Article
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Context Landscape ecology as an interdisciplinary science has great potential to inform landscape planning, an integrated, collaborative practice on a regional scale. It is commonly assumed that landscape ecological concepts play a key role in this quest. Objectives The aim of the paper is to identify landscape ecological concepts that are current...
Article
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Indigenous and Western communities are faced with increasing issues of sustainability compromising their natural resources and cultural heritage, for example, a cross-pollination/complementary approach in relation to their current knowledge systems and discourses on sustainability. There is a need for methods that integrate different discourses rel...
Article
Strategic spatial planning has been a key planning practice at the urban regional level to support the implementation of local spatial transformations. Previously, qualitative comparative research has revealed the complexity that characterizes strategic spatial planning processes; it is multi-faceted, highly context-dependent and embedded in multi-...
Article
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Even though urban land-use change simulations provide useful information for decision makers, planning is generally weakly integrated into land-change modelling. However, the increasingly digitally available zoning data from statutory planning offers new opportunities. This study aims to reveal the potential effectiveness of statutory planning in t...
Article
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Landscapes changes are a result of a wide range of interactions between actors and driving forces (DFs). In this study, we quantify the contribution of different types of DFs to processes of land change in the Northern Coast of São Paulo State (NCSP), Brazil, an important region for tourism and the energy sector. We analysed the relationship betwee...
Article
While we support the idea that the research field of planning support systems should develop into a planning support science, we note that in the current debate the rapidly progressing digitization in spatial planning practice is insufficiently taken into account. In particular, digital plans and plan data are not mentioned in Geertman and Stillwel...
Article
Although many planning systems are based on a combination of traditional land-use planning and strategic spatial planning, the interplay between the two approaches remains insufficiently investigated. Focusing on the Canton of Zurich, we applied a qualitative content analysis to extract strategic planning intentions from the Cantonal Structure Plan...
Article
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Rural and urban areas are often conceptualized as two separate entities and studied accordingly. However, in reality, they are related in multiple ways. Here we explore this relation between rural and urban areas from a land use perspective. We argue that land should be characterized along a gradient from rural to urban. Further, we argue that land...
Chapter
This second edition covers recent developments around the world with contributors from 33 different countries. It widens the handbook’s scope by including ecological design; consideration of cultural dimensions of the use and conservation of urban nature; the roles of government and civil society; and the continuing issues of equity and fairness in...
Data
The data set "LUSzoning" stands for Land-use simulations integrating zoning regulations in Spanish functional urban areas.The dataset includes 16 .asc raster layers providing the simulated land-uses under four defined scenarios for Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia and Zaragoza Functional Urban Areas (FUAs) for 2030. The simulated raster layers were crea...
Article
The conversion of open space to built land is a key feature of urban-rural transformations. In many countries, urban sprawl represents the dominant mode of urban growth. Against this background, urban growth management plays a crucial role in mediating between diverse spatial requirements and curbing sprawl-like land-use patterns, but its effective...
Technical Report
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ESPON DIGIPLAN will provide an overview on digitalization of plan data in 15 European countries and insight information from case studies in 6 countries. In this inception report, we present key concepts and selected findings from literature. We present the rational, data collection approach, the selection of cases, and present ideas for thematic p...
Article
Globally, planning instruments help shape the development of places under uncertain future conditions. In the context of a multi-level planning system, both land-use and strategic spatial plans are available, mandated by different policies and adopted by various authorities. Notwithstanding the excellent support consistency among such plans can pro...
Article
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Globally, built-up development is taking place at unprecedented rates. To mitigate and limit its effects, recent scientific and spatial planning communities call for built-up management to be addressed on broader scales, from regional to national, and coordinated with multiple policy domains. In this paper, we aimed to analyze the evolution and imp...
Article
Environmental action plans are important instruments intended to provide sustainable solutions for the most pressing environmental issues. As they should be updated regularly, efforts to evaluate their quality are essential for enabling incremental improvements in upcoming versions. The aim of our study was to systematically evaluate the quality of...
Chapter
Schon lange ist der hohe Flächenverbrauch in der Schweiz ein wichtiges Thema, insbesondere weil die besiedelbare Fläche knapp ist. In den letzten 10 bis 15 Jahren erhielt die Thematik durch das starke Bevölkerungswachstum weitere Dringlichkeit. Das revidierte Raumplanungsgesetz, das am 1. Mai 2014 in Kraft trat, ist konsequent auf die Schaffung kom...
Article
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Collaborative dispute resolution is essential in natural resource management in the process of negotiating solutions to environmental issues. Our study aims to look at the factors which appear to contribute to the effectiveness of collaborative problem-solving efforts in case studies of environmental conflicts in Romania. The selected case studies...
Article
Cities and urban regions have become central to ensuring a sustainable future. Many regions employ strategic spatial planning, a transformative and integrative public-sector-led activity, to create a coherent spatial development strategy in order to pursue sustainable development. Due to its encompassing, cross-sectoral qualities, landscape science...
Article
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As powerful landmarks to steer local and regional development, strategic projects are often linked with strategic spatial plans. However, the key question remains as to what extent strategic urban projects and plans can be regarded as aligned. By building on previous international comparative research, we identify five main conditions assumed to en...
Article
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Landscapes have been changing at an increasing pace over the past century, with countless consequences for humans and their surrounding environments. Information on past and future land use change and the resulting alteration of landscape service provisioning are valuable inputs for policy making and planning. Land use transitions in Switzerland (2...
Article
Strategic spatial planning is increasingly practised throughout the world to develop a coordinated vision for guiding the medium- to long-term development of urban regions. However, from a theoretical and conceptual perspective, strategic spatial planning is hard to grasp, as it is multidimensional, embedded in sociopolitical and institutional comp...
Article
Fragmentation is a complex issue and the way it is framed will impact on policy decisions. The Czech Republic has adopted several strategic policy documents in spatial planning and environmental domains that address fragmentation. However, these documents differ in how they frame fragmentation. Our goal was to evaluate the differences in 1) framing...
Conference Paper
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Recent decades have witnessed a huge change in the global structure of the human population, with the majority of people now living in urban environments. Rural-to-urban migration flows, mainly due to labour opportunities in urban areas, are responsible for the majority of this growth. Such events aggravate the urban-rural divide and compromise sus...
Article
Urban land and rural land are typically represented as homogenous and mutually exclusive classes in land change analyses. As a result, differences in urban land use intensity, as well as mosaic landscapes combining urban and rural land uses are not represented. In this study we explore the distribution of urban land and urban land use intensity in...
Article
This paper is aimed at assessing and disentangling how territorial governance configurations influence contemporary practices in strategic plan-making in 14 European urban regions. The findings allow us to distinguish three dominant practices: i) plan-making shaped by consensus building and multilevel government cooperation; ii) plan-making shaped...
Article
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The future development of urban regions is frequently envisioned through strategic spatial plans. The main objectives and means of spatial development contained in these documents, called planning intentions, can be fragmented and are commonly presented throughout the planning document in text, graphs, tables, diagrams, and maps. Presentation of th...
Article
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Die zahlreichen urbanen Räume in Europa weisen bei aller Verschiedenheit eine Gemeinsamkeit auf: Sie werden immer grösser. Dieser scheinbar unaufhaltsame Entwicklungsprozess geht meist zulasten der unbebauten Landschaft. Die Folgen: Neue Siedlungen verdrängen Felder und Wiesen; neue Autobahnen, Flughäfen oder Industrieanlagen zerschneiden Lebensräu...
Article
Full-text available
The numerous urban areas in Europe have, despite all their differences, one thing in common: They are all becoming larger. This apparently unstoppable process is mostly at the cost of natural and semi-natural landscapes.
Book
Measuring and Limiting Urban Sprawl. Measures and Targets for Switzerland, its Cantons and Municipalities The landscapes in Switzerland have been massively altered by increasing urban sprawl. Be-tween 1885 and 2010, urban sprawl increased by 557 percent. It increased especially strong between 1960 and 1980 during the period of large-scale suburban...
Book
Full-text available
Ausuferndes Siedlungswachstum hat nicht nur negative ökologische, ökonomische und soziale Folgen, es steht auch im Widerspruch zum Prinzip der Nachhaltigkeit. Obwohl bereits erste Massnahmen getroffen wurden, um die Zersiedelung in der Schweiz aufzuhalten, nimmt der Druck auf die verbliebene unbebaute Landschaft immer mehr zu. Deshalb besteht dring...
Article
Full-text available
One of the prime spatial challenges posed to contemporary urban regions involves the practice of making and implementing strategic spatial plans. Both processes often involve actors’ participation, strategy formation, institutional capacity building, bottom up as well as top down governance arrangements, which occur within a web of power relations....
Article
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In this conference paper, we conduct a content analysis of strategic plans currently in force in 20 European urban regions. The focus is on measures describing the role of strategic spatial plans in land degradation reduction.
Data
By reviewing the content of strategic spatial plans (plans with a strong focus on a strategic mission/vision-building, often 20–50 years into the future) the study aims to identify distinctive instruments, programs and measures that are used to halt and reverse Land Degradation.
Chapter
Flächeninanspruchnahme ist in der Schweiz ein gewichtiges Thema, insbesondere weil die besiedelbare Fläche knapp ist. Ziel dieses Kapitels ist, mit drei Gemeindeporträts aufzuzeigen, wie in den letzten vier Jahrzehnten verschiedene Akteure direkt und über unterschiedliche Steuerungsmechanismen Einfluss auf die Flächennutzung ausgeübt haben. Anhand...
Article
To date land-change science has devoted little attention to spatial policy and planning in urban landscapes despite the widely accepted premise that planning affects urban land change. This is primarily due to lack of relevant data and an underdeveloped theoretical understanding regarding the impact of spatial planning on urban land change. To be a...
Article
Full-text available
Land degradation is becoming a serious environmental issue threatening fertile agricultural soils and other natural resources. There are many driving forces behind land degradation. The expansion of artificial surfaces due to various economic activities, such as housing, industry, and transport infrastructure, known as soil sealing, constitutes one...
Article
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A critical challenge in natural resource management is to bring all stakeholders together to negotiate solutions to critical problems. However, various collaborative approaches to heading off conflicts and resolving natural resource management disputes have been used. What drives these efforts, however, still needs further research. Our study provi...
Article
Full-text available
Implementing strategic spatial plans is a complex task. The process involves strategy formation, institutional capacity building, funding mechanism establishment and governance arrangements, which take shape within complex power configurations. Based on empirical evidence gathered by interviewing regional planning experts, this paper focuses on the...
Chapter
Flächeninanspruchnahme ist in der Schweiz ein gewichtiges Thema, insbesondere weil die besiedelbare Fläche knapp ist. Ziel dieses Kapitels ist, mit drei Gemeindeporträts aufzuzeigen, wie in den letzten vier Jahrzehnten verschiedene Akteure direkt und über unterschiedliche Steuerungsmechanismen Einfluss auf die Flächennutzung ausgeübt haben. Anhand...
Article
The need for various stakeholders to harmonize their policies and practices has emerged as a dominant paradigm for 21st century natural resource management. Cross-sector coordination is promising because it can enhance policy consistency, enable the realization of synergies and resolve conflicts among sectors regarding resource management. The exte...
Presentation
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This presentation is a (work-in progress!) about how strategic projects are implemented locally while taking into account the multi-scalar forces affecting urban regions, and how QCA can help us compare the implementation trajectories of different projects across different European urban regions. *** WORK IN PROGRESS *** PRESENTED AT: QCA empirical...
Data
The objective of this paper is to highlight some preliminary findings of an ongoing research project (2016-2020) entitled “From Plans to Land Change: How Strategic Spatial Planning Contributes to the Development of Urban Regions” (CONCUR) in which the author, as a postdoc researcher, and the co-author, as the project coordinator, are involved. The...
Presentation
Full-text available
Green infrastructure (GI) has been described as a hybridized, umbrella, or most often, holistic concept (Mell et al., 2017; Wright, 2011). Not only increasingly popular, but also evolving at a fast pace, many scholars emphasize the dynamic and multi-layered understanding of GI as evolving from backgrounds of the people engaged in GI research and pl...
Article
A global understanding of landscape dynamics, through local case studies, is a prime topic in land change science. Consequently, this approach should be urgently applied to changing and heavily transformed environments, such as coastal areas. The aim of this work is to study landscape changes, comparatively, by focusing on three coastal sedimentary...
Article
Full-text available
The evaluation of spatial planning results, or outcomes, has been rather neglected by scholars and practitioners. The causes of this neglect are linked to the characteristics of the planning systems in use or difficulties in quantifying results. To advance the state of the art of outcome evaluation, this paper focuses on assessing the implementatio...
Article
An increasing number of subnational government bodies mandate municipalities to establish a vision for their future development with a local plan. Outside the U.S., few studies have assessed whether these mandates succeed at increasing formal quality, policy focus and implementation of local plans. In addition, the reasons that prompt governments t...
Conference Paper
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Urban regions are currently encountering a myriad of challenges. These challenges range from the provision of a varied and efficient transportation network, to affordable housing, to green infrastructure. These challenges unfold in a context of limited financial, human, infrastructural, land and ecological resources. The co-chairs of this track arg...
Article
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Evaluation of achievement of set targets is a necessary step in landscape planning in order to learn from the past, reassess implemented measures and enhance trust in public managers and institutions. Though it is commonly accepted that indicators play a major role in such evaluations, so far no accepted framework for evaluating planning outcomes e...
Preprint
Full-text available
The evaluation of spatial planning results, or outcomes, has been rather neglected by scholars and practitioners. The causes of this neglect are linked to the characteristics of the planning systems in use or difficulties in quantifying results. To advance the state of the art of outcome evaluation, this paper focuses on assessing the implementatio...