DSpace Repository :: Browsing by Author "March, Alan"

Browsing by Author "March, Alan"

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A charter for fire-adapted settlements
(2024) March, Alan; Gonzalez-Mathiesen, Constanza; Yunis-Richter, Francisca
Urban settlements in bushfire interface areas face many ongoing challenges that require integrated actions across jurisdictional boundaries and spatio-temporal scales. The Charter for Fire Adapted Settlements (CFAS) and its practice note have been developed as a relatively simple summary of key principles to achieve this. Its foundational principles can be used and adapted in a range of settings in Australia and internationally to understand risks, to develop or critique existing processes and to take action.
Desafíos para las interfaces urbano-rurales propensas a incendios forestales: El caso de Melbourne
(2019) González-Mathiesen, Constanza; March, Alan; Stanley, Janet
Los incendios forestales son una amenaza creciente para muchos residentes de las interfaces urbano-rurales situadas en áreas propensas a estos siniestros. La planificación espacial es un aspecto importante al lidiar con el riesgo de incendio forestal, ya que tiene el potencial de modificar el diseño, la ubicación y las características de los asentamientos. Sin embargo, los sistemas de planificación pueden tener dificultades para integrar acciones al respecto. Este documento reflexiona sobre los mecanismos para tratar los factores clave de riesgo de incendio forestal en las interfaces urbano-rural y los desafíos asociados a esta tarea, a través de un estudio de caso, el de Melbourne. Este se analiza desde la perspectiva de los mecanismos de planificación espacial que abordan el riesgo de incendio forestal, relacionados a las estructuras físicas y a los roles de los organismos. Los mecanismos físicos para tratar el riesgo se examinan considerando la cartografía, la acción estratégica y los procesos de toma de decisiones. Finalmente, se destacan los siguientes desafíos a los que se enfrentan los mencionados mecanismos de planificación: influencia directa e indirecta de la política; otros requerimientos de planificación que compiten y frenan la gestión de riesgos; limitaciones de implementación; y problemas asociados al legado de riesgo en asentamientos existentes.
Developing guidelines for increasing the resilience of informal settlements exposed to wildfire risk using a risk-based planning approach
(2021) González-Mathiesen, Constanza; March, Alan
Internationally, there is an increasing concern with the development of improved ways of dealing with disasters(UNISDR, 2015). Wildfires bring about greater disaster risks at the urban-rural interface of wildfireprone areas, where lives and properties are more exposed. These risks are often greater in contexts of informality, where settlements have been built with limited consideration of risks. This chapter reports on the production of guidelines to develop resilience to wildfires for communities living in informal settlements exposed to wildfire risk. It responds to Sendai Framework for Action's priority one “understanding disaster risk” (UNISDR, 2015, p.15). The investigation is approached through participatory action research. It is the result of a collaboration between diverse stakeholders during the seminar ‘Prevention of Forest Fire Risks in Urban Settlements and Buildings: A Planning and Design Approach’. The study case is Agüita de la Perdiz, in Concepcion, Chile, an informal settlement with ongoing wildfire risk. The seminar’s product is condensed in a set of guidelines. These guidelines – and the process of producing them – are expected to contribute to disseminating knowledge about general design and planning strategies to mitigate wildfire risk as well as to strengthen local capacities. It is argued that the collaborative process undertaken to develop the guidelines is replicable in other places to address contextspecific issues.
Embracing the challenges of urban resilience
(2022) March, Alan; González-Mathiesen, Constanza
Urban resilience presents multiple challenges to the disaster risk reduction sector, as well as to the many professionals and other stakeholders who manage and use the built environment. A range of guides, initiatives, charters and strategies aim to improve urban resilience. However, it remains unclear how the enormity of the task can be addressed comprehensively, even while specific actions may be effective in targeted ways. This paper suggests that the field of action and core ‘work’ of resilience depends on embracing and working on the problematics of achieving city resilience.
Guide proposal for urban planning for fostering wildfire resilient timber construction in the urban-rural interface
(2021) González-Mathiesen, Constanza; March, Alan
In wildfire-prone urban-rural interface areas, policies for fostering wildfire resilient timber construction need to consider the risks associated with the interaction between wildfires and buildings, implementing wildfire risk reduction strategies. By comprehensively integrating wildfire risk reduction considerations, urban planning can contribute to implementing policies for fostering wildfire resilient approaches to timber construction. However urban planning systems often fail to do so, addressing wildfires partially and inconsistently. Thus, there is a need to set out comprehensive approaches to urban planning for wildfire risk reduction. To address this gap, this paper aims to propose a guide for urban planning integrating wildfire risk reduction considerations that can contribute to foster wildfire resilient timber construction in wildfire-prone areas. The study was approached as inductive qualitative research of two case studies: the urban planning systems of Chile and Victoria (Australia). Based on the analysis, the research presents a normative guide for urban planning integrating wildfire risk reduction considerations based on three broad categories: legislation; spatial plans; and implementation processes. The framework presented serves as a guide to fostering resilient timber construction in wildfire-prone areas by comprehensively integrating wildfire risk reduction considerations into urban planning systems.
Integrando la gestión del riesgo de los incendios forestales y la planificación territorial:
(2024) Gonzalez-Mathiesen, Constanza; March, Alan; Yunis-Richter, Francisca
En zonas de interfaz urbano-rural expuestas a incendios forestales, es fundamental que la planificación territorial se adapte para integrar medidas de reducción del riesgo. Sin embargo, pocos estudios han examinado las interacciones históricas entre la gestión de incendios forestales y la planificación territorial, y cómo sus instituciones e instrumentos se han adaptado para aumentar su integración a través del tiempo. Por consiguiente, el objetivo de esta investigación es examinar la evolución del sistema de planificación territorial chileno en su incorporación de medidas para la gestión del riesgo de los incendios forestales. Se utiliza una estrategia de análisis cualitativo de estudio de caso. Se presenta una cronología de la planificación territorial chilena y su integración de los incendios forestales caracterizada en cinco períodos. Los resultados muestran progresivos esfuerzos para mejorar la manera en que la planificación territorial aborda los incendios forestales, sin embargo, éstos también evidencian que características del contexto histórico condicionan y limitan su capacidad de hacerlo. Esta investigación contribuye al entendimiento del sistema de planificación chileno y su relación con los incendios forestales, aportando a la discusión internacional sobre los factores que condicionan la integración de políticas de reducción de riesgo de desastres en diversos contextos.
Integrating wildfire risk management and spatial planning – A historical review of two Australian planning systems
(2021) González-Mathiesen, Constanza; Ruane, Simone; March, Alan
Recent wildfires burning throughout Australia highlight the vulnerability of settlements located in wildland urban interface (WUI) areas. Spatial planning has a critical role in operationalising wildfire risk reduction considerations in a territorial manner across the WUI. Accordingly, more integrated approaches to wildfire management and spatial planning are necessary. However, there is limited literature examining the historical interactions between wildfire and spatial planning policy sectors and how institutions and policy instruments adapt over time to integrate mutually dependent considerations. To address this gap, this research examines how Australian spatial planning institutions and instruments evolved since European settlement to incorporate wildfire considerations, through a qualitative comparative case study approach of two Australian states. Based on the findings of the case study comparison, this paper presents a conceptual framework of the pathways towards increased policy integration of spatial planning and wildfire risk reduction that consists of six phases. It is argued that the path to greater policy integration is grounded on the development of common knowledge, a crossdisciplinary understanding, and agreed policy goals between different policy sectors, that, with time, translate into new institutional arrangements and instruments that integrate the work and decision-making processes of different sectors.
Land Use Planning for Disaster Resilient Communities
(2020) Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience; March, Alan; González-Mathiesen, Constanza
Land-use planning that considers natural hazard risk is the single most important mitigation measure in minimising the increase in future disaster losses in areas of new development. The Land Use Planning for Disaster Resilient Communities handbook focuses on land use planning for new development and its role in supporting disaster-resilient communities. It outlines nationally agreed on principles for good practice in land use planning to build disaster-resilient communities. The handbook introduces community wellbeing and disaster resilience as the overarching aim of land use planning and disaster risk reduction and outlines nationally agreed on principles for land use planning for disaster resilient communities. The aim and principles provide the context for good practice in general as well as across the document. The handbook also presents a procedural framework for land use planning for disaster resilient communities. The framework can be applied across the decision-making process at the different levels of land use planning. It is intended to guide and assist a range of stakeholders including: Natural hazard and emergency managers - to build capacity in and understanding of the impact of natural hazard risks in land use planning; Land-use planners, build environment professionals and developers - to build awareness of and capacity in engaging with natural hazard and emergency managers and to integrate natural hazard risk assessment into the planning process; Community members and leaders - to provide an understanding of the reasons for and main mechanisms of risk management in land use planning in their communities and the interdependencies between diverse actors' decisions as these related to natural hazard risks.
Long-established rules and emergent challenges: spatial planning and wildfires in Chile
(2023) González-Mathiesen, Constanza; March, Alan
It is generally expected that spatial planning integrates wildfire risk reduction considerations in areas affected by this hazard. However, many spatial planning systems are challenged to adequately deal with this risk. There is a need for applied understandings of planning systems characteristics that facilitate or impede wildfire risk reduction. Accordingly, this research explores spatial planning limitations to the integration of wildfire risk reduction measures by comparing spatial planning and wildfire risk reduction measures based on five key dimensions: structure, realm, spatial scale, territorial boundaries, and time scale. The research used a qualitative case study strategy of the Chilean spatial planning system, employing qualitative content analysis of key documents. The results show that the long-established characteristics of Chile’s spatial planning limit its ability to accommodate wildfire risk reduction measures in the five dimensions analyzed. The research contributes to understanding some of spatial planning’s constraints to manage wider complex challenges.
Urban planning: historical changes integrating bushfire risk management in Victoria
(2019) González-Mathiesen, Constanza; March, Alan; Leonard, Justin; Holland, Mark; Blanchi, Raphaele
Bushfires represent an increasing risk for people and properties in exposed urban areas. The integration of bushfire risk management considerations into urban planning is one of the approaches used to address this challenge. This paper summarises the key changes in urban planning and building regulations that were introduced in Victoria over time to minimise the effects of bushfire on settlements. These have generally occurred within four main eras, being the independent origins of planning and bushfire risk management, the progressive emergence of bushfire risk management into urban planning between the late 1970s and the early 1990s, the formalisation of bushfire risk management via urban planning with the Wildfire Management Overlay in 1997 and the 2011 reforms associated with the Bushfire Management Overlay and its following adjustments. Advancements in urban planning regulation have usually occurred after bushfire events that inflicted significant losses on communities. These changes represent an ongoing trend towards the integration of bushfire risk reduction measures into urban planning mechanisms.
Urban planning’s role in the development, transfer, and application of knowledge about bushfire risk management in Victoria
(2017) González-Mathiesen, Constanza; March, Alan
Internationally, there is increasing concern with developing improved ways of dealing with disasters (UNISDR, 2015). The development of policy and practices for the reduction of disaster risk is intimately related to knowledge about dynamic and spatially particular risks and relevant ways of managing these via informed decisions and coordinated action (Weichselgartner and Pigeon, 2015). It is now commonly accepted that integrating disaster risk considerations into urban planning process is advantageous - what is less widely discussed is urban planning’s proper role when interacting with disaster risk management knowledge. This paper examines urban planning’s role in the development, transfer, and application of knowledge about bushfire risk management in Victoria. It argues that urban planning, in partnership with other disciplines, has the capacity to put risk management knowledge into action to manage risk by applying it in an effective and contextualized manner to overcome barriers, bridging the gap between spatial and aspatial policies. It reports the manner in which Victoria's connections between strategic and statutory planning, and other implementation activities and processes, are often incomplete, contradictory, or are simply uncertain in the outcomes they actually achieve. The paper contributes to planning theory and practice dealing with disasters and resilient settlements. It increases awareness of urban planning processes that develop, transfer, and apply bushfire risk management knowledge, and the barriers to overcome to be effective.

Browsing by Author "March, Alan"

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