Urban Design Sustainable Planning - Essay Example

Urban Planning How Can The Planning System Encourage More Sustainable Patterns Of New Housing Development? The planning system should be designed for sole purposes of ensuring that suitable land is apportioned for development projects which consider environmental, social and economic policies. Such level of developments should be consistent with various principles of development. Planning system should ensure that holistic view is maintained based on local concerns and circumstances in the process of delivering sustainable homes and communities. Greater synergy should exist between the planning system and building regulations for the purposes of encouraging new housing development. Planning of homes has major impact on functioning level within societies. The planning and design of homes should consider various factors such as access to jobs, community facilities and access to transport. Well organized and planned housing development assist in the creation of unity hence contribute towards reduction in anti-social behavior. Development of cities, towns and leisure centers should consider various development policies such as environmental policies. Various destinations all over the world should consider creation of barrier-free movement within cities which would accommodate people of all walks of life (Scott 2000). Urban planning is defined as the art involved in designing places for the purpose of settling people. Such designs should consider accommodating more sustainable patterns of new housing development. New housing design method presents one of the most important elements of urban planning. The planning process entails various aspects such as aesthetic value of building masses based on the intended functions. In addition enough passage areas are constructed to enhance easy movement of both people and vehicle traffic. This would improve communication links within towns. Urban planning and design incorporates visionary frameworks which projects quality outlook of the development formats capable of accommodating vast developmental activities and at the same time maintains socio-cultural activities (Susan and John 2004). Development of modern quality housing requires the use of upgraded technology capable of producing modern designs and at the same time maintaining a sustainable environment. Infrastructural development does not entirely define an urban metropolis; it is also defined by the expectations and ambitions of its habitants and characterized by its upsides and downsides. The Cities background, practices and communal set up, form the core of city’s existence. There is need to effectively administer city’s populace, community and academic resources. Effective management portrays administrators’ ability of initiating exclusive strategies for growth, which should involve the population and focus on alleviating poverty. The political dispensation needs to be improved and corresponding reorganization of the societal set up achieved. All available capital should be called to use so as to uphold a well balanced growth. Whatever the methodology employed to attain these objectives should encompass the following precedence; discrepancies that exist in the population, dissimilarities in the metropolis, ecological perils and the city’s development (Scott 2000). For the purposes of encouraging more sustainable patterns of new housing development, planning system and the environment should be in correspondence. The infrastructure should encourage environmentally friendly means of transport. There should be enough room to accommodate pedestrians and bicycles in essence reducing air contamination from fumes emanating from motor vehicles. The value of human life is elevated with good housing development and planning system that reflects accountability and far sightedness on the side of the administration. The global benchmark advocates for provision of clean water, observation of hygiene, permanent housing structures and adequate room to reside. These factors constitute a good living environment. The administration should concentrate its efforts on making all services accessible to the whole populace, using environmentally friendly and alternative fuels and ensuring the city’s environmental impression does not cross outside its boundaries (Scott 2000). Sustainable Development In the process of planning for new housing development access has been considered as one of the most important aspects within various cities where facilities as well as information are available to all. For the purposes of encouraging more sustainable patterns of new housing development, poses a challenge in the planning department since they are required to design methods which would enable the industry to develop responsibly and in a sustainable manner. The level of pollution and exhaustion of the environment determines the nature of the carrying capacity within the destined area. Statistics reveals that within the current time a city like Hong Kong receives approximately 15 million visitors. Despite the growing number of visitors the government has placed little consideration on developing sectors meant to overcome the demands placed upon the environment (Scott 2000). Sustainable development requires updated proactive initiatives which could be for longer periods of time. All the initiatives need to be market oriented rather than those which only follow trends (Ng 2004). Several environmental issues could always be addressed through observation of the economic status of the targeted tourist city. This could be realized based on the population trends and nature of carrying capacity. Such data would easily reveal level of exhaustion of natural resources as well as human capital. The concepts used in defining sustainable development and economic growth should be connected with the objective providing enough protection to the available resources as well as providing the necessary satisfaction to the population. The kind of construction work taking place as well as the level of emissions could pose dangerous effects to the climate. The level of productivity and consumption could at times result into increased rate of environmental degradation. However the increase in such rates in most cases symbolizes economic growth. Rapid growth in environmental problems all over the world could be attributed to rapid increase in population which ultimately strains the carrying capacity of given areas. This has contributed to poor provision of services and resources within the specified places. There exists several domains which contribute towards environmental degradation and these include cases such as; industrial pollution, deforestation, land excavation and urbanization. Environmental pollution has been the result of extreme exploitation of the natural resources creating irreversible situations hence making pollution one of the biggest threats towards social livelihood. Records from World Health Organization, reveals that approximately two million people die every year out of air pollution the number being exclusive of those suffering ailments and diseases which could be traced from the same sources. Construction of infrastructure ensures that various cities, towns and major deports are accessible through transport. This is also considered major part of the planning system since it also links various factories and other important institutions. The issue of roads should be safeguarded by government agencies. Such body ensures that all operations within the network are supervised adequately. Such road agencies aim at providing sustainable transport system capable of supporting economic growth. The Agency works under principled objectives of providing safe road construction measures which ensures reliable journeys and used by informed travellers (Arrow, 1995). The Highway Agency in England is endowed with the responsibility of ensuring that congestion is minimal and all the safety requirements by the road users are adhered to. The Agency works not for personal financial gain but for the public interests which is the case for all publicly-funded bodies. It is the agency’s duty to spend money wisely and cost effectively through Parliament. The body is ultimately accountable to the public for the nature of services they offer (Lucas, 2000). The road network is maintained by taxpayer’s money and as such they have a right to know how their hard earned money is spent (Hart and Milstein, 2003). Knowing and understanding planning system and the way in which people operate is critical for business. Keeping track of societal changes is also important. In the case of the Highway Agency, it is noted that more households own motor vehicles as compared to earlier years of the 1950’s when motorways were first designed and traffic placed much lower. It’s also noted that many people choose to drive rather than use public transport. Keeping track of such information, social trends allows organizations to design plans which correspond to societal needs and at the same time anticipate their needs as a whole. In some cases trends include fast paced lifestyles, more impatient attitudes and people are less tolerant to delays. In this case, England’s system is normally inclined towards infrastructural development. Such system has the capability of shaping the various complex interactions between the public and private institutions. The government plays a big role in an economic system since it has the capability of enhancing the economic functions through provision of security, establishment of legal system safeguarding the construction of basic facilities including infrastructure. And at the same time, supervising Agencies involved in the provision of safety within the economic cycles, hence reducing costs of expenditure. Transition region between urban and rural areas Urban fringe is the section of land separating the urban developed and the developing rural regions surrounding the city. The fringe areas are strictly protected since it creates appropriate natural environment providing transition between urban and rural environment. The nature of the linkage determines the level of quality life lived within these areas. Planning should consider rural areas where the building height as well as massing form is harmonized with the existing nature of the rural set-up (Terri 2004, 10-44). The predominant urban forms found in tourist destination areas such as Hong Kong are characterized by high quality developments built away from narrow streets. In Hong Kong the ridgelines present at Victoria Peak and Lion Rock presents unique physical features for along time (Yagi 2005). The story is different since currently the features are obscured by increased growth of high-rise buildings. Preservation of the ridgelines in the process of development could be of great benefit since they are considered valuable assets. Height profile should be aimed at enhancing the relationship between the city and natural landscape, hence building free zone under the ridgelines would be necessary for viewing from key points (Terri 2004, 10-44). Kowloon side presents continuous stretch of peaks starting from Lion Rock to Kowloon Peak. The nature of the peak presents an interesting scene from the East and South East sides. The building free zone should be considered by the development heights found within view corridors. The setting of the city should be capable of accommodating major developments within the central area and the low rise developments towards the outcast of the town. All the breezeways require maintenance as well as land marks within the commercial centres. Location of mega towers should also be considered based on physical and functional characteristics. In Hong Kong the areas considered to rise as new major-rise are the West Kowloon Reclamation and Tsim Sha Tsui regions (Terri 2004, 10-44). Asian cities are considered major international and financial centres. Hong Kong for example is known to be one of the most competitive economies in the world in recent years. This is promoted by the various development activities within the property sector including sale of undeveloped land to property investors. Tourists’ activities despite being a major foreign exchange earner still accounts for smaller percentage of the economy. This is due to over-reliance on the property sector, diversity can only be realised by investing in tourist products. In order to utilize the tourism industry, there is need for the governments to consider upgrading tourist attraction centres as well as improving the status of the available infrastructure. Creation of new heritage centres and development of pedestrian paths would contribute much to the increasing GDP of the various countries in an annual basis. Besides, there would be creation of job opportunities either directly or indirectly and at the same time non-quantifiable benefits such as improved technology and quality living standards. This would enhance the international image of the cities, placing them as some of the key tourist destination centres owing to their vibrant nature. Environmental Dimension For the purposes of encouraging more sustainable patterns of new housing development, planning system should consider the nature of construction activities which would to an extent affect the environment, economy and culture of the natives. Construction projects should comply with all the set environmental standards and the various laws safeguarding the people’s rights. The quality of the environment and sustainability proves vulnerable hence care should be taken to prevent slight changes which might trigger great and permanent damages to the environment. Planning systems within urban centers face many challenges in the process of trying to minimize the level of harm on the environment. To be regarded as world-class destination towns, the specified regions should give priority to environmental improvement. All stakeholders within the construction industry should cooperate in ensuring development of sustainable forms of housing. There is need for partnership between public and private sectors especially in planning and making viable strategies capable of producing results in the long-run. The same level of cooperation and partnership is required between local and foreign based organizations for the purposes of ensuring continuous provision of clients as well as the required services. There is also need for reinforced partnership between the community and the visitors ensuring harmonized understanding and co-existence. Planners should consider striking a balance between economic returns and environmental conservation for the purposes of achieving sustainable development. All practices need to be environment friendly and consider various social responsibilities. There needs to be complete reduction in the level of waste both in form of human and natural resources with the focus on tourists and local community. Planning system should incorporate construction of infrastructure used for general works such as storm-water drainage system, sewerage system, water supply alongside utility services. The other important work would involve stabilizing the sloppy ground alongside landscaping works. Key environmental impacts arising from the construction activities and project construction includes several processes with various effects. The impact on the Air quality could be related to effects of dust nuisance alongside gaseous emissions from the construction machinery. The various activities include site formation, construction of various facilities such as hotels, water recreation Centre, roads, and railway including pedestrian footpaths. Air emissions from fuel combustion from the machineries used, odour emissions from sewage stations and also fireworks displays are all the concern of the various developments (The Government Logistics Department 2005). Noise also has a very big impact on the environment, powered mechanical equipment used in the construction process presents primary source of noise to the immediate environment. Some of the major activities involve reclamation of the site and the construction of the surrounding sea walls, construction of access roads as well as pedestrian paths, construction of railway link, sport recreation centre, and the construction of other facilities. Other potential impact is on the quality of water caused by formation of reclamations, other land based works such as construction of roads and theme parks. Further assessment anticipated presence of an exceeding Water Quality Objectives caused by suspended sediment caused due to accumulation of all residues from construction sites. However, all these cumulative impacts could be managed through preventive measures which include the use of advanced technological construction methods. Increase in the level of concentration of suspended sediments was discovered to have less adverse effects on the cultured fish hence not much negative impact (The Government Logistics Department 2005). The other impact concerns waste management. Majority of the waste originate from the construction sites which includes; dredged materials, fragments from demolished sites, spilled chemicals amongst others. Reclamation of the Penny Bay would accommodate over 1.8 million cubic metre of land fill. All the reclamation activities done on the constructed bays would utilize sand fill. The would be an increase in the amount of municipal solid waste owing to the nature of massive construction activities involved, this was estimated to be approximately thirty eight tons per day (tpd) within the last five years but expected to triple fifteen years from now. However out of the massive waste, good percentage is expected to be recycled through local means. This is since there is major market for the existing recyclables. Planning and development sector should encourage programs enhancing recovery of recyclable wastes from the stream of both compostable and non-compostable refuse. Waste management department should adopt targets for various recovery plans which would assist in the determination of practical recycling rate (The Government Logistics Department 2005). The process of development should consider some city aspects such as the nature of buildings appropriate for different locations since this would help in maintaining heritage of some specific areas including neighboring cities. The nature of the landscape should be used in the duty of establishing appropriate building heights. Any developmental activity should strictly consider the various sections of the city in order to maintain height diversity. Government Department concerned with development should ensure that low rise accommodates appropriate buildings as well as low density areas since this would enhance diversity within the commercial area. Guidelines for New Towns Equitable planning for urban development mostly follows the nature of environmental improvement. This starts from development of every part of the city to international level based on sanitation, improved water services, good housing as well as sufficient living space. However the creation of high standard cities normally requires much effort in terms of resources. This includes protecting populations from environmental hazards, ensuring the availability of adequate and affordable social services, conservation of available clean energy deposits for the purposes of reducing cities’ environmental footprint and impact. There crucial achievement realized when practicing integrated spatial development as well as committing the development towards achieving social equity in the process of planning are very instrumental in creating harmonious cities. References Arrow, K 1995, Economic Growth, Carrying Capacity, and the Environment. Science, Vol 268 , pp 520–21 Fernades, J 2001, In the Heritage of Macao - II, Architecture and Colonialism. Review of Culture n 38-39, 2nd series, International edition, Cultural Institute of Macao Hart, S & Milstein, M 2003, Creating sustainable value. 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Hong Kong Yagi, Y 2005, Master Thesis Study on the Macao Chinatown in the Inner Harboor, Tokyo, Hosei University Read More