Urban Planning - Assignment Example

Urban Planning Question #1 Urbanization is the process by which a population becomes concentrated at a single general location while sub-urbanization is the growth, in terms of population size and number, in areas adjacent or within the city limits. Urbanization is promoted by the availability of social amenities like housing, schools, jobs, security and many other factors depending on the needs of the population involved. Sub-urbanization is promoted by worsening conditions in cities and towns, which prompts people to move away from the city in search of better services, and conditions. Question #2 Sub-urbanization started after the end of the World War 2 when in the 1950s the federal government started issuing home mortgage insurance to those people who were willing to relocate to the outer limits of cities (Hall 74). In the 1960s, the government improved the transportation system by enhancing efficiency through the construction of interstate highways that helped connect the cities to the residential areas outside the city. Racial tensions in cities also contributed to the decentralization that occurred in cities, in recent times, high crime rates and deteriorating school standards in cities have led to more people to move away from the city (Hall 79). Question #3 Urban planning is essential for proper implementation of infrastructure that is vital in providing support, for the numerous service industries, which are required to cater to the needs of those dwelling in urban centers. Politicians like mayors and governors, who control and manipulate the bureaucracies that determine the course of implementation of these policies influence policies that have to be formulated to guide these plans. Proper and adequate urban planning ensures that all present and future needs, of a town or city, are provided to ensure that there are no complications concerning space utilization and function. The role of an urban plan is to ensure the ability to cope with the dynamic aspects that are brought about by the passage of time. There are different categories of urban plans, which are specified by the time it takes to implement them. They include local development plans, which have details concerning their nature, and they take the shortest time of five years. A development plan takes ten years, and it serves to show the direction of a proposed project. A master plan is set for twenty years, and it is meant to account for the changes that happen along the way in project (Hall 110). Question #4 Kevin Lynch’s ideas are based on a psychological approach to urban area designs like towns and cities. Planners use their design ideas to act as a benchmark, guides and inspiration when coming up with their own plans. Question #5 The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition was held in appreciation of Chicago as a prototype of what the organizers thought a city should be designed. It followed French neoclassical architecture principles that were based on splendor, symmetry and balance (Hall 120). Question #6 Social aspects of planning are the direct effects of urban planning on the day to day lives of people. Consideration should be made on the appropriateness of the developments to people’s needs and assessment of whether they will affect the population positively or negatively. Social aspects are significant because the end goal, of these projects, is to impact on the lives of people positively, and when this objective is not realized then the whole purpose of planning would be futile. Question #7 The history of way stations runs back to a period when the horse was considered as the quickest mode of transportation, in America. Way stations were strategically located resting points along a route where travelers could feed and rest their horses. Today’s way stations are designated stop over points used, by long distance travelers, to refuel their cars and the rest. In urban areas, the design and layout of towns and cities provides strategic designated points along routes of travel where people get to stop over and connect with various modes of transport. Examples include public transport terminals and according to Kevin Lynch, they would represent nodes. Question #8 NIMBY is coined from the expression, “Not In My Back Yard”, which is used as an opposition term against any developmental project, which aims at setting up near or inside a residential area. The residents’ reasons range from the project being an eyesore to the landscape on which their homes are built. The projects might devalue the pieces of land their homes rest on and that the projects could be a hazard and danger to them (Hall 160). Question #9 A comprehensive plan is an outline of a framework that describes the development of an area, and it puts into perspective the aesthetic, physical, social, economic and other related factors that make up a community (Hall 168). The plan is realized after a lengthy deliberative process of analysis that factors in long-term scope of about 30 years or less, which provides an across the board guiding principle for the development and growth of an area (Hall 170). Question #10 Home Rule is an amendment to the state’s constitution allowing cities and municipalities to have autonomy from control by the state’s legislature. A municipality or city seeks not to be restricted by the state they belong in through its regulations, constitution and statutes (Hall 158). This gives give the local authority powers to decide which laws to enact but at the same time they are subject to limitations by a states’ constitution. For example, when a city uses its home rule powers to set the legal driving age at 16 years and allows the inhabitants of that city to vote on the issue instead of waiting for the state to decide for them through its statutes. Question #11 The Standard Zoning/Planning Enabling Acts, of the 1920s, established the Local Legislature that enabled each locality, town or city, to create a body whose sole purpose is to formulate laws and policies meant to guide the localities. The local legislature is represented by municipal or city councils that act as the custodians of the governing body’s powers. The councils carry out the administrative and legislature duties of the governing bodies through the enactment of by-laws or resolutions. Municipal governments act under the supervision of the state’s constitution and legislature statutes. The Standard Zoning/Planning Enabling Acts also established Planning Commissions whose role was to suggest or propose plans for future development activities in areas where they are set up. Planning commissions are made up of civilians who hold different professional backgrounds who are elected to hear and evaluate planning proposals. They analyze new and existing zoning plans and propose recommendations that suit the prevailing local and state standards. Worked Cited. Hall P. Urban and Regional Planning. 4Th Revised Edition. London: Routleg, 2012. Print. Read More