Use of a collaborative GIS-based planning-support system to assist in formulating a sustainable-development scenario for Hervey Bay, Australia

Planning-support systems offer an effective way of integrating social, economic, and environmental datasets, enabling a number of holistic spatial planning scenarios to be generated and evaluated by local planners. With increased acceptance of computer technology as a platform for the development and delivery of professional tools, planning-support systems (PSSs) may well be embraced by practitioners to improve current practices, just as computer-aided design (CAD) has been widely accepted by architects as a useful design and visualisation tool. There is some perceived optimism, (or realism?) that this may be the case sooner rather than later. It is believed that 'What if?' is one such PSS which is suitable for enhancing current planning practice. The author provides a technical and experiential examination of an application of the What if? PSS in assisting in the formulation of a sustainable land use strategy for Hervey Bay, Australia, supplementing previous published results. The focus of the research is to examine the underlying model and discuss the collaborative application of the PSS with local planners in a scenario-building exercise. Furthermore, the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the PSS are outlined from the perspective of the urban modeller, together with ex-ante feedback from the local planners on the use of the PSS to formulate urban-growth scenarios. In conclusion, the merits of the use of such a PSS are discussed and some future directions for the development of collaborative spatial decision-support tools are offered.