A Socio‐Spatial Extension of the Local Climate Zone Typology: Its Potential in Computational Planning Support Systems

Computational planning support systems (CPSS) have been invaluable for the transparent and rational planning of climate‐resilient cities as they help clarify and optimise the trade‐offs between alternative choices. CPSS have shown great promise also as digital design boards for the co‐creation of ne...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Athanasios Votsis, Vuokko Heikinheimo, Milla Mikkola, Dina Babushkina, Aija Staffans, Tiina Merikoski, Stan Geertman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cogitatio 2025-05-01
Series:Urban Planning
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/9234
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849728940400181248
author Athanasios Votsis
Vuokko Heikinheimo
Milla Mikkola
Dina Babushkina
Aija Staffans
Tiina Merikoski
Stan Geertman
author_facet Athanasios Votsis
Vuokko Heikinheimo
Milla Mikkola
Dina Babushkina
Aija Staffans
Tiina Merikoski
Stan Geertman
author_sort Athanasios Votsis
collection DOAJ
description Computational planning support systems (CPSS) have been invaluable for the transparent and rational planning of climate‐resilient cities as they help clarify and optimise the trade‐offs between alternative choices. CPSS have shown great promise also as digital design boards for the co‐creation of new solutions. However, both as a tool and a theoretical stance to spatial planning, CPSS have suffered from top‐down representations of urban space. Bottom‐up, collective, and subjective processes essential for sustainable and climate‐resilient urbanism are often left unaccounted for. This article introduces one possible solution to this gap, namely structuring the information flows of CPSS according to the local climate zone framework, enriched with urban commons information. We illustrate our approach with data from the 29 largest Finnish municipalities. We combine OpenStreetMap and demographic information with local climate zone data to produce a socio‐spatially extended local climate zone typology of Finnish urban forms. The results delineate a Nordic angle to sustainable spatial planning—green and sparse, somewhat compact and mixed, but not comprehensively so, built environments—allowing a juxtaposition with normative ideas about sustainable cities. We furthermore propose a co‐design workflow that is based on our typology. The main practical applications of our work include vulnerability mapping and integrated impact assessment, multimodal communication of computer model output, and computationally‐assisted co‐design of built environments with a variety of stakeholders.
format Article
id doaj-art-bc26bde0f1df471e9ff55daf020ea023
institution DOAJ
issn 2183-7635
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Cogitatio
record_format Article
series Urban Planning
spelling doaj-art-bc26bde0f1df471e9ff55daf020ea0232025-08-20T03:09:24ZengCogitatioUrban Planning2183-76352025-05-0110010.17645/up.92344167A Socio‐Spatial Extension of the Local Climate Zone Typology: Its Potential in Computational Planning Support SystemsAthanasios Votsis0Vuokko Heikinheimo1Milla Mikkola2Dina Babushkina3Aija Staffans4Tiina Merikoski5Stan Geertman6Governance and Technology for Sustainability, University of Twente, The NetherlandsBuilt Environment Solutions, Finnish Environment Institute, FinlandSustainable Urban Development, Ramboll Finland, FinlandPhilosophy, University of Twente, The NetherlandsBuilt Environment, Aalto University, FinlandLundén Architecture Company, FinlandHuman Geography and Spatial Planning, Utrecht University, The NetherlandsComputational planning support systems (CPSS) have been invaluable for the transparent and rational planning of climate‐resilient cities as they help clarify and optimise the trade‐offs between alternative choices. CPSS have shown great promise also as digital design boards for the co‐creation of new solutions. However, both as a tool and a theoretical stance to spatial planning, CPSS have suffered from top‐down representations of urban space. Bottom‐up, collective, and subjective processes essential for sustainable and climate‐resilient urbanism are often left unaccounted for. This article introduces one possible solution to this gap, namely structuring the information flows of CPSS according to the local climate zone framework, enriched with urban commons information. We illustrate our approach with data from the 29 largest Finnish municipalities. We combine OpenStreetMap and demographic information with local climate zone data to produce a socio‐spatially extended local climate zone typology of Finnish urban forms. The results delineate a Nordic angle to sustainable spatial planning—green and sparse, somewhat compact and mixed, but not comprehensively so, built environments—allowing a juxtaposition with normative ideas about sustainable cities. We furthermore propose a co‐design workflow that is based on our typology. The main practical applications of our work include vulnerability mapping and integrated impact assessment, multimodal communication of computer model output, and computationally‐assisted co‐design of built environments with a variety of stakeholders.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/9234co‐designcomputational planning support systemslocal climate zonesneighbourhood typologysocial sustainabilityurban commons
spellingShingle Athanasios Votsis
Vuokko Heikinheimo
Milla Mikkola
Dina Babushkina
Aija Staffans
Tiina Merikoski
Stan Geertman
A Socio‐Spatial Extension of the Local Climate Zone Typology: Its Potential in Computational Planning Support Systems
Urban Planning
co‐design
computational planning support systems
local climate zones
neighbourhood typology
social sustainability
urban commons
title A Socio‐Spatial Extension of the Local Climate Zone Typology: Its Potential in Computational Planning Support Systems
title_full A Socio‐Spatial Extension of the Local Climate Zone Typology: Its Potential in Computational Planning Support Systems
title_fullStr A Socio‐Spatial Extension of the Local Climate Zone Typology: Its Potential in Computational Planning Support Systems
title_full_unstemmed A Socio‐Spatial Extension of the Local Climate Zone Typology: Its Potential in Computational Planning Support Systems
title_short A Socio‐Spatial Extension of the Local Climate Zone Typology: Its Potential in Computational Planning Support Systems
title_sort socio spatial extension of the local climate zone typology its potential in computational planning support systems
topic co‐design
computational planning support systems
local climate zones
neighbourhood typology
social sustainability
urban commons
url https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/9234
work_keys_str_mv AT athanasiosvotsis asociospatialextensionofthelocalclimatezonetypologyitspotentialincomputationalplanningsupportsystems
AT vuokkoheikinheimo asociospatialextensionofthelocalclimatezonetypologyitspotentialincomputationalplanningsupportsystems
AT millamikkola asociospatialextensionofthelocalclimatezonetypologyitspotentialincomputationalplanningsupportsystems
AT dinababushkina asociospatialextensionofthelocalclimatezonetypologyitspotentialincomputationalplanningsupportsystems
AT aijastaffans asociospatialextensionofthelocalclimatezonetypologyitspotentialincomputationalplanningsupportsystems
AT tiinamerikoski asociospatialextensionofthelocalclimatezonetypologyitspotentialincomputationalplanningsupportsystems
AT stangeertman asociospatialextensionofthelocalclimatezonetypologyitspotentialincomputationalplanningsupportsystems
AT athanasiosvotsis sociospatialextensionofthelocalclimatezonetypologyitspotentialincomputationalplanningsupportsystems
AT vuokkoheikinheimo sociospatialextensionofthelocalclimatezonetypologyitspotentialincomputationalplanningsupportsystems
AT millamikkola sociospatialextensionofthelocalclimatezonetypologyitspotentialincomputationalplanningsupportsystems
AT dinababushkina sociospatialextensionofthelocalclimatezonetypologyitspotentialincomputationalplanningsupportsystems
AT aijastaffans sociospatialextensionofthelocalclimatezonetypologyitspotentialincomputationalplanningsupportsystems
AT tiinamerikoski sociospatialextensionofthelocalclimatezonetypologyitspotentialincomputationalplanningsupportsystems
AT stangeertman sociospatialextensionofthelocalclimatezonetypologyitspotentialincomputationalplanningsupportsystems