ABSTRACT
Systems Mapping Themes analyses are meant to be used in Positive Development (PD) planning/design processes, by filling gaps left by conventional frameworks and processes in environmental governance, planning, decision making and design. Conventional planning and design tools aim to accommodate economic growth with fewer impacts and/or more stakeholder benefits within regulations. Most assessment tools compare quantities of variables in design alternatives relative to conventional development, without regard for their long-term outcomes. A PD strategy is using mixed-use multifunctional design to maximize public benefits in private and public development. Since the 1960s at least, multifunctional design and mixed-use development planning have been considered good practice. Since increases in ecological carrying capacity are necessary, in the absence of a catastrophic decline in the human population, cities should support ‘ecological space’. Some tools assume that ‘preserving’ land elsewhere, avoiding sensitive sites or installing ecological-sensitive landscapes constitutes ecological ‘gains’.
