Speaker
Description
Achieving carbon neutrality has become a key objective in global sustainability efforts, shaping climate policies and spatial planning strategies. In response to climate change, comprehensive plans are being developed globally to assess the impact of greenhouse gas emissions and implement strategies for their reduction. Many cities are formulating strategies to address this challenge. Moreover, the increasing emphasis on inclusion has positioned equity as a central consideration in recent urban climate action plans addressing carbon emissions and reductions (Fitzgerald, 2022). South Korea has also adopted climate justice as a fundamental principle in its carbon neutrality legislation. However, despite Urban Plans being comprehensive master plans that include various sectors such as demographics, spatial structure, and environment, they lack explicit references to climate justice. There is also a lack of review of how local governments are currently implementing carbon neutrality in urban spaces and how they are incorporating equity into their plans.
This study assesses how carbon neutrality has been spatially integrated into urban planning by considering both emission reduction and spatial equity. To achieve this, The Plan Quality Evaluation framework (Baer, 1997) is applied to evaluate the credibility and effectiveness of urban plans. Plan quality analysis serves as a learning mechanism for improving planning processes (Berke & Godschalk, 2009). Drawing on key attributes of high-quality plans (Baker et al., 2012), an evaluation matrix is developed, consisting of five components: (1) Information Base, (2) Vision, Goals, and Objectives, (3) Options and Priorities, (4) Actions, and (5) Implementation and Monitoring. Additionally, an assessment of distributive equity is incorporated to determine whether social justice considerations are reflected in carbon-neutral urban planning. Fitzgerald’s (2022) concept of climate equity and South Korean legal definitions provide the basis for evaluating the equitable distribution of benefits and burdens associated with carbon-neutral policies across different communities. Equity outcomes were defined as the extent to which the benefits and burdens of decarbonization measures are distributed across different groups or communities. Based on this equity definition and concept of carbon neutrality, we developed the analytical framework (Build 20 detailed metrics for 5 planning components). Each assessment criterion was rated on a five-point scale (0–4). The evaluation was conducted on cities that formulated urban plans after December 2021, following the introduction of South Korea’s carbon neutrality guidelines for urban planning. The assessment included Seven cities: two with populations exceeding one million (Daejeon and Suwon) and five with populations below 500,000 (Wonju, Suncheon, Chungju, Jeong-eup, and Sangju).
The findings indicate that while (1) Information Base and (2) Vision, Goals, and Objectives—are formally embedded in national guidelines, their substantive presence in urban plans remains limited. The strategic emphasis on carbon neutrality within local plans is relatively weak. Furthermore, (3) Options and Priorities, (4) Actions, as well as (5) Implementation and Monitoring, are mentioned but not sufficiently adapted to local spatial characteristics. Monitoring frameworks remain underdeveloped, and distributive equity considerations are largely absent. These findings suggest the need for spatial overlay analysis, integrating demographic data to assess spatial inequalities in carbon emissions and policy impacts. Moreover, the importance of developing spatial indicators and technical support tools to effectively integrate carbon neutrality into urban planning is emphasized.
References
Baker, I., Peterson, A., Brown, G. and McAlpine, C. (2012) Local government response to the impacts of climate change: An evaluation of local climate adaptation plans. Landscape and Urban Planning, 107 (2), pp.127-136.
Baer, W. C. (1997) General plan evaluation criteria: An approach to making better plans. Journal of the American Planning Association, 63 (3), pp.329-344.
Berke, P. and Godschalk, D. (2009) Searching for the good plan: A meta-analysis of plan quality studies. Journal of Planning Literature, 23 (3), pp.227-240.
Fitzgerald, J. (2022) Transitioning from urban climate action to climate equity. Journal of the American Planning Association, 88 (4), pp.508-523.
| Keywords | Carbon neutrality; Urban Plan; Plan Quality; Climate Distributive Equity |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
