Urban Planning - Assignment Example

Introduction: Most cities in the world have at one time hired the services of a planner, with the intention of developing a plan for the city. It is important to explain that it is virtually impossible to build a city without an elaborate plan that identifies the various parts of the city, the facilities that the city will possess the road networks, administrative posts, etc (Kempen, 2005). Cities such as London, Madrid, Paris, Tel Aviv are considered as some of the best cities to visit because of the manner which they are built, and the perfect planning that planners were able to undertake. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the process of planning a city. This paper would first define, what the meaning of a plan making process, after which, it would provide a detailed analysis of the reasons of producing a plan for the city. This paper will also provide the steps involved in the plan making process, identifying the various actors to this process. This paper takes a stand, that the plan making process is an elaborate and technical activity that requires the involvement of all the major stakeholders of the city. These stakeholders might include investors, the government, business personalities, and even the residents of the city. Definition of the Plan Making Process: Town planning is a political and technical process that is responsible for controlling the use of land, protecting and maintaining the welfare of people, and the development of the urban environment. This urban environment includes communication networks and transportation facilities. Furthermore, town planning is a technical process that must involve public participation, and political will (Kempen, 2005). This political will must come from government officials, politicians, and the public. It is impossible to achieve it, without involving these people, into the plan making process. Town planning involves the rehabilitation of the various parts of the city, and also developing an open land for construction or for purposes of using it for economic and social activities (Corburn, 2009). Based on this fact, the process of plan making would involve setting of goals, collection and analysis of data, public consultation, strategic thinking and the design of the buildings or facilities under consideration. Based on these facts, a plan making process is a procedure in which a planner would follow for purposes of developing a town plan. Reasons of Producing a Plan for a City: On a general perspective, it is possible to separate city planning in two different parts, land use management and strategic planning. Strategic planning provides a long term plan for the city, identifying what would happen within a period of one year, or more. Strategic planning is therefore used for the future development of a city, redesigning existing cities, or even the development of new towns. Weiner (2013) explains that land use management identifies how the town or residents of the town will use each part of the land. This includes developing a plan for the sewerage and water system, putting restrictions on buildings, zoning, etc. Furthermore, a plan will involve a variety of issues that affect the modern life of an individual or residents of the city. It would also leave a space for the inclusion of new developments, whose aims are to serve and protect the interests of the residents of a city. Shuaib (2010) explains that without an elaborate plan, chances are high that houses may be constructed before installing water supply systems, or electricity. Cavin (2003) further explains that hospitals may be constructed in areas where it is difficult to access them, and industries may be opened before the development of a good transportation system. Therefore, Levent (2008) argues that a good town plan will help in avoiding the emergence of such problems within a city or a town. Furthermore, it is important to denote that the development of a town plan is not limited to the creation of civic amenities, buildings and streets. It also involves coming up with policies and activities that can help in improving the living standards of people found within the city. Based on these facts, Levy (2011) argues that a good plan must include the concepts of strategic planning, and land use management. Strategic planning involves developing a plan for the future, while land use management is coming up with a plan that will guide city administrators on how to use the various natural facilities within the city or town. This includes the development of the sewerage system, transportation system, zoning, etc. Steps in the Plan Making Process: There are a number of theories that outline and explain the steps to be followed in the plan making process. One of the theories under consideration is the blueprint planning. This is also referred to as the rational planning theory (Levy, 2011). This theoretical framework denotes that the planning process of a city, must factor in, important spatial features or factors. Examples of these features include a standardized housing unit, exposure to sunlight, and able to access a green space. For purposes of the design and identification of these spatial elements, the blueprint theory of planning relied on highly specialized and trained technicians (Levent, 2008). These technicians included engineers, architects, and designers. Furthermore, this theory denotes that private developers, government officials, and landscape architects also have a stake in this planning process and they must be involved in it. Furthermore, this theory denotes that for effective planning to occur, there must be an assessment of quantitative data (Levent, 2008). This would enable the planners to know the acreage of land they are dealing with, the population of the expected future population of the town. Through this action, the planners will manage to come up with a plan for the city. However, this theory is limited, because it does not advocate for public participation in the plan making process. Because of the failures of the rational model of planning, the synoptic theory of planning emerged. It identifies four important methods in the plan making process. The first step is the identification of goals and targets. The second step is the collection and analysis of quantitative data, and making predictions on the future environmental condition of the city. The third stage is identifying various policies that can help in coming up with a plan of the city, and evaluating them. Finally, the fourth stage is evaluation of the best plan, or policy, and developing measures of implementing the policy under consideration. This theoretical framework identified the need of public participation in the plan making process. However, the major weakness of this theoretical framework is that it only identified a single public interest, and it is this interest that the planners were concerned with satisfying (Levent, 2008). These interests normally emanated from dominant political players, private developers, or even government officials. Due to the weaknesses of the blue print and synoptic planning theories, participatory models of planning emerged. Some of the most common theories under this model include theory of incrementalism, communicative approach, mixed scanning model, and the bargaining approach (Willis, 2001). Under the incremental approach, the planner would choose his preferable policy from a small group of interests. During the planning process, the planner will constantly modify these interests, by evaluating and analyzing them, for purposes of adjusting them, so that they could fit into his or her objectives. The mixed scanning model on the other hand, explains that a planner would engage in this process at two different levels, at the strategic level, and at the tactical level (Levent, 2008). A planner would accomplish this strategy, by engaging the public at different levels, depending on their interests, position and social status. However, despite engaging the public in the planning process, the goal of the planner is not to reconcile the differences that emerged, for purposes of coming up with an elaborative and all inclusive town plan. Based on this weakness, Corburn (2009) explains that the best process in the plan making process is the communication and bargaining approaches to developing a town plan. Under the communicative approach, the planner will use communication for purposes of identifying a common interest and goal amongst the stakeholders of the project. The planner believes that through communication, the stakeholders of the project would communicate their ideas, and experiences, and this would help in the identification of a share goal, that can be incorporated in the planning process (Oberlander, 2005). The bargaining model on the other hand, denotes that the planning process is a bargaining approach. It denotes that planning occurs because of the give and take that emanates from the public or people who are interested in the project. Under this model, the planner will negotiate with these interested parties, for purposes of reaching a consensus on the goals and objectives of the planning process. This would be obtained through a vigorous bargaining process. Role of Actors in the planning Process: As discussed earlier, planning is a collaborative process that involves various actors. One of the important actors in the planning process is the government. The government is responsible for the provision of services to the towns, and this includes security and other social services that the town or city enjoys (Willis, 2001). Furthermore, it is the government that has hired the planner, and pays him or her. Based on this fact, that government is an important actor in this planning process. Politicians are other important actors in this process. They normally represent their electorate, and hence they would seek to influence the planner so that he or she will develop a planner that satisfies the interests of the politicians. The public is another important actor. This is because the plan itself, when implemented will have a direct impact on them. Based on this fact, there is a need of identifying their needs, before coming up with a plan. On the other hand, the role of the planner is to come up with the plan. This is by identifying a common interest of all the actors, and developing a plan based on this interest. Conclusion: In conclusion, the planning process is a collaborative process, that all the stakeholders must be involved. Failure to involve these stakeholders would mean that the plan developed would not carter for their interests. It would therefore be difficult to implement this plan. Various theoretical frameworks identify the best method of the plan making process. Theories such as the blue print model and the synoptic model do not encourage a large participation of the public in the planning process. On the other hand, the bargaining model, and thee communication model encourages this participation. References: Cavin, A. (2003). Urban planning. New York: H.W. Wilson. Top of Form Bottom of Form Corburn, J. (2009). Toward the healthy city people, places, and the politics of urban planning. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. Top of Form Bottom of Form Kempen, R. (2005). Urban issues and urban policies in the new EU countries. Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Ashgate. Top of Form Bottom of Form Levent, T. (2008). Urban planning. Cheltenham, Glos, UK: Edward Elgar Pub. Top of Form Bottom of Form Levy, J. (2011). Contemporary urban planning (9th ed.). Boston: Longman. Top of Form Bottom of Form Oberlander, H. (2005). The planning city. Vancouver: Vancouver Working Group. Top of Form Bottom of Form Shuaib, L. (2010). Urban land markets, housing development, and spatial planning in Sub-Saharan Africa a case of Uganda. New York: Nova Science. Top of Form Bottom of Form Weiner, E. (2013). Urban transportation planning in the United States history, policy, and practice (4th ed.). New York: Springer. Top of Form Bottom of Form Willis, K. (2001). Urban planning and management. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Read More