UNASSIGNED: Planners increasingly involve stakeholders in co-producing vital planning information by crowdsourcing data using online map-based commenting platforms. Few studies, however, investigate the role and impact of such online platforms on planning outcomes. We evaluate the impact of participant input via a public participation geographic information system (PPGIS), a platform to suggest the placement of new bike share stations in New York City (NY) and Chicago (IL). We conducted 2 analyses to evaluate how close planners built new bike share stations to those suggested on PPGIS platforms. According to our proximity analysis, only a small percentage of built stations were within 100 feet (30m) of suggested stations, but our geospatial analysis showed a substantial clustering of suggested and built stations in both cities that was not likely due to random distribution. We found that the PPGIS platforms have great promise for creating genuine co-production of planning knowledge and insights and that system planners did take account of the suggestions offered online. We did not, however, interview planners in either system, and both cities may be atypical, as is bike share planning; moreover, multiple factors influence where bike stations can be located, so not all suggested stations could be built.
UNASSIGNED: Planners can use PPGIS and similar platforms to help stakeholders learn by doing and to increase their own local knowledge to improve planning outcomes. Planners should work to develop better online participatory systems and to allow stakeholders to provide more and better data, continuing to evaluate PPGIS efforts to improve the transparency and legitimacy of online public involvement processes.

This study presents MyGävle, a smartphone application that merge long-term tracking of mobility data, heart rate variability and subjective and objective well-being records. Developed to address the challenges faced in researching healthy and sustainable lifestyles, this app serves as a pioneering implementation of Real-life Long-term Methodology (ReaLM). After eight months\' use by 257 participants from Gävle (Sweden), we evaluate the completeness, accuracy, validity, and consistency of all data collected. MyGävle produced remarkable results as a ReaLM method. On average, it precisely tracked participants daily locations for approximately 8 h and accurately collected heart-rate variability values throughout the day (12 h) and night (6 h). Participants reported 5115 subjective place experiences (ranging from 160 to 120 per week) and seasonal participation, although declining, is accurate. Our findings indicate that the amount of data collected through smartphone sensors, fitness wristbands and in-app questionnaires is consistent enough to be leveraged for integrated assessments of habits, environmental exposure, and subjective and physiological well-being. Yet, considerable variation exists across individuals; thus diagnostic analysis must precede use of these datasets in any particular research endeavors. By doing so we can maximise the potential of ReaLM research to delve into real life conditions conducive to healthy living habits while also considering broader sustainability goals.

Co-design processes are of key importance in planning and implementing Nature-based Solutions (NBS), but require boundary management between diverse holders of local, practical and scientific knowledge. Participatory and map-based planning tools, such as Geodesign workshops, can facilitate such boundary management through mobilising knowledge holders, and translating and negotiating between different perspectives. The COVID-19 pandemic hindered physical mobility, but offered an, albeit unintended, opportunity to explore new ways of virtual mobility for facilitating boundary management in NBS co-design through digital participatory tools. This short communication aims to demonstrate how a spatial planning process for NBS can be facilitated in an online context. We draw on an international case study for co-designing NBS in Costa Rica, conducted during the severe lock-down restriction of the COVID-19 pandemic. This novel approach showcases how physical presence and movement is replaced by virtual mobility enabled through an online geographic map-based environment that allowed participants to communicate their opinions and co-create local and regional NBS actions. The case study included developing and testing a co-design tool to understand and map local perceptions of social-ecological problems, and an actual co-design process for siting NBS options and jointly exploring their implications. We present two levels of the process: 1) the adaptation of the co-design tool, and 2) the use and usefulness of the co-design tool. Our evaluation shows that the tool served its purpose well and provided useful support to local stakeholders. We recommend to test further strategical combinations of in-person and virtual methods in NBS co-design processes to improve NBS planning and implementation.

Covid-19 has dramatically changed life in cities across the globe. What remains uncertain is how national policies and appeals to comply with suggested rules translate to changes in the behaviour of citizens in urban areas. This lack of local knowledge leaves urban policy makers and planners with few clues as to the determinants of social resilience in cities during protracted crises like a pandemic. Methods are required to measure the capacity of people to conduct routine activities without risking exposure to a prevalent disease, particularly for those most vulnerable during a health crisis. By spanning the fields of urban resilience, human geography, mobility studies and the behavioural sciences, this study explores how to measure social resilience in cities during a protracted crisis. Using a public participation GIS online platform, we observe changes in citizen behaviour within urban spaces during the Covid-19 pandemic. Inhabitants from three districts of a Dutch city mapped their activity routines during the lockdown period and during the year before the pandemic. Spatio-temporal analysis reveals changes in the clustering of activities into what we describe as \'activity bubbles\'. We reflect on the influence of the urban space on these changes and assess the contribution of this exploratory research methodology for gaining insights into behavioural change. Implications for urban planning and resilience theory are discussed.

Public participation GIS (PPGIS) is a kind of spatial data that is collected through map-based surveys in which participants create map features and express their experiences and opinions associated with various places. PPGIS is widely used in urban and environmental research. PPGIS is often implemented through online surveys and points are the most common mapped features. PPGIS data provide invaluable experiential spatial knowledge. Nevertheless, collection of this data for purely methodological purposes may be costly and unnecessary. Therefore, we developed a context-aware method that can learn from previously collected PPGIS data and create a realistic dataset that can be used for methodological development purposes. The synthetic data can be generated for any desired geographical extent in both 2D and 3D, i.e. with Z coordinates. The latter is particularly important as 3D PPGIS is an emerging frontier and limited infrastructures currently exist for collection of such data. Hence, while the relevant technology is developing, spatial analytical developments can also advance using such synthetic data. This method:•Learns from existing 2D and 3D PPGIS data in relation to the geographical context.•Creates a realistic and context-aware simulated PPGIS point dataset. The paper concludes by addressing the limitations and envisioning future research directions.

Participatory Mapping encompasses a broad spectrum of methods, each with advantages and limitations that can influence the degree to which the target audience is able to participate and the veracity of the data collected. Whilst being an efficient means to gather spatial data, the accessibility of online methods is limited by digital divides. Conversely, whilst non-digital approaches are more accessible to participants, data collected in this way are typically more challenging to analyse and often necessitate researcher interpretation, limiting their use in decision-making. We therefore present \'Paper2GIS\', a novel sketch mapping tool that automatically extracts mark-up drawn onto paper maps and stores it in a geospatial database. The approach embodied in our tool simultaneously limits the technical burden placed on the participant and generates data comparable to that of a digital system without the subjectivity of manual digitisation. This improves accessibility, whilst simultaneously facilitating spatial analyses that are usually not possible with paper-based mapping exercises. A case study is presented to address two energy planning questions of the residents in the Outer Hebrides, UK. The results demonstrate that accessibility can be improved without impacting the potential for spatial analysis, widening participation to further democratise decision-making.

Land-use conflicts can be costly and time-consuming and cause social burden to all parties. In this study, we developed an approach for mapping synergy and conflict potential between land uses and tested it on nature protection, nature-based tourism, forestry and mining. First, we calculated the ecological and socio-cultural values for the study area, and further the economic values related to forestry and mining. Second, we conducted an integrated spatial assessment of these values and used it jointly with a variant of a value compatibility analysis to locate areas with possible synergistic and conflicting land uses. This study was carried out in Finnish Lapland where land use conflicts have occurred due to the need to develop forestry and mining in areas that are also important for nature-based tourism. The method operated well as it identified sites with ongoing land-use disputes. Synergy potential between biodiversity and socio-cultural values was identified in protected areas and other sites of natural beauty, and conflict potential concerning forestry near tourist resorts and concerning mining at proposed mining project sites. The developed framework can assist in locating sites that may need proactive measurements to avoid conflicts, and sites that would benefit from multi-purpose management thereby supporting sustainable and adaptive land-use planning.

Managing complex problems in socio-ecological systems (SES) requires innovative approaches, which account for multiple scales, large datasets, and diverse lived experiences. By combining two commonly utilized mixed-methods, public participation GIS (PPGIS) and Q-method (Q), Q + PPGIS has the potential to reveal competing agendas and reduce conflict, but its benefits and weaknesses are comparatively understudied. Using a systematic review, we evaluated how different studies have employed and implemented the Q + PPGIS method. We found 16 studies, comprising 30 publications, with considerable variation in their geographic foci, research disciplines, and addressed SES challenges. These studies exhibit a lack of cohesion between methodological design and implementation and the absence of a consistent application of the method. Nonetheless, Q + PPGIS offers a tool that can guide policy, better inform stakeholders, and reduce conflict based on misconceptions. Resolving the shortcomings identified here will broaden Q + PPGIS utility in geographically situating and representing multiple realities within complex socio-ecological systems challenges.

We present the first dataset that can be used to associate peoples\' opinions with comprehensive biodiversity and cultural heritage values. The socio-ecological dataset includes 1) place-based information on peoples\' recreational activities, values expressed as pleasant and unpleasant sites, and negative preferences concerning land use in terms of tourism, nature protection and forestry, and 2) compiled information on scored biodiversity values and protection level of sites. The data are organized in 1ha grid cells. The data were compiled from a rural nature-based tourism area in two municipalities northern Finland. Peoples\' opinions were assessed using a public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) and the data were merged with spatial biodiversity data from the same area. The data are directly related to the article Tolvanen et al. [1]. Biodiversity data, also utilized in Tolvanen et al. 2020, were compiled from various sources and scoring was done in Kangas et al. [2]. References to individual respondents and spatial locations of markings were removed. The data are useful in evaluating the relationship between people\'s values and biodiversity.

BACKGROUND: Children\'s habitual physical activity, including active travel and catching public transit (walking and cycling to and from destinations), and independent mobility (mobility without an adult) have decreased. Public transit trips are physically active and can provide access to hobbies independent of parents, but there is no device-measured data about children\'s total physical activity time following the introduction of free public transit. Our aim is to compare physical activity and independent mobility between children living in two Finnish towns, one with a recently introduced free public transit system, and the other without free public transit.
METHODS: The city of Mikkeli has provided free public transit for all comprehensive school children since 2017. Various districts from Mikkeli, and the reference town of Kouvola (towns from South-Eastern Finland with a comparative population size and geographical structure), are selected based on their accessibility and the availability of public transit services. Samples of 10-12-year-old children will be recruited through primary schools. We will compare moderate-to-vigorous physical activity time, sitting time (a thigh-worn Fibion® device) and independent mobility (a participatory mapping method, PPGIS) of children: 1) who live in towns with and without free public transit, 2) who live and go to school in districts with high vs. low perceived and objective access to free public transit, and 3) who report using vs. not using free public transit. In addition, ethnography will be used to get insights on the social and cultural effects of the free public transit on children\'s and parent\'s everyday life.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for scalable solutions that can increase children\'s physical activity independent of their socioeconomic background or place of residence. This project will give information on how a political action to provide free public transit for children is associated with their total physical activity time and independent mobility patterns, therefore providing highly relevant information for political decision-making and for promoting independent physical activity in children.