Automated classification of planning objectives for the consideration of climate and air quality in urban and regional planning for the example of the region of Basel/Switzerland

The project 'Climate Analysis of the Region of Basel' (KABA) was carried ou t in cooperation with several planning authorities to produce climate analy sis and planning recommendation maps at scales of 1 : 100,000 and 1 : 25,00 0. These maps enable urban and regional planners to estimate impacts of lan d-use changes on local climate and air quality. Conceptual numerical models receiving spatially distributed input data from a geographic information s ystem derived the information content of the maps. By introducing novel con cepts concerning land-use and ventilation, the dominant controls for local climate and air quality, automated, knowledge-based classification schemes for climate analysis were developed and applied. The same model technique w as utilized for a spatially distributed assignment of planning objectives t o the study region. Three different problem sections are considered: ventil ation, air quality and thermal situation. Several planning objectives were distinguished within each problem section, and each element of a 100m grid was individually evaluated by automated, knowledge-based classification pro cedures. This approach provides a high degree of transparency and objectivi ty in place of subjective (and thus irreproducible) assessments by experts. Transfer of the procedures to other regions could be successfully demonstr ated in a project named 'Climate Analysis Maps for Planning Aspects of Solo thurn/CH (CAMPAS/CH)' funded by European Space Agency. Hence, the approach is of general interest, at least for many densely populated regions at raid -latitudes. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.