Policy design, spatial planning and climate change adaptation: a case study from Australia

• Published in: Journal of environmental planning and management Vol. 58; no. 8; pp. 1432 - 1453
• Main Authors: Macintosh, Andrew, Foerster, Anita, McDonald, Jan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 03-08-2015; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Adaptation; Adaptation to change; Amplification; Area planning & development; Australia; Barriers; barriers to adaptation; Case studies; Climate change; climate change adaptation; Decision analysis; Decision making; Design engineering; Environment management; Policies; policy design; Policy making; Political behavior; Spatial analysis; spatial planning; Stripping; Studies; Australia
• ISSN: 0964-0568; 1360-0559
• DOI: 10.1080/09640568.2014.930706

There are gaps in the existing climate change adaptation literature concerning the design of spatial planning instruments and the relationship between policy instruments and the sociopolitical barriers to adaptation reform. To help address this gap, this article presents a typology of spatial planning instruments for adaptation and analyses the pattern of instrument choice in Australian planning processes in order to shed light on contextual factors that can impede adaptation. The analysis highlights how policy design can amplify the barriers to adaptation by arranging policy actors in ways inimical to reform and stripping decision makers of the instruments necessary to make and sustain desired policy changes.