Outline steps involved in country and regional planning and layout management

a. Decision
Making

Decision making in country, regional and layout
planning and management is a process for making logically sound decisions. This
involves realizing possible problems, establishing and evaluating planning
criteria, creating alternatives, implementing alternatives, and monitoring
progress of the alternatives. It is used in designing neighbourhoods, cities,
and regions.

These decisions
are taken based on the evaluation of the following:

i.
Planner defines the problem (not goal)

ii.
Planner considers several alternatives and analyzes
each

iii.
Preliminary choices of the alternative for best fit
considering feedback and impact of the client group

iv.
Planner designs and implements course of action in
the form of an experiment

v.
Evaluation of effects of the course of action.

b. Promoting Sustainable and land Use Planning and
Management

Promoting sustainable land use planning and management
means to provide for the land requirements of human settlement development
through environmentally sound physical planning and land use so as to ensure
access to land to all households and where appropriate, the encouragement of
communally and collectively owned and managed land. Particular attention should
be paid to the needs of women, and indigenous people for economic and cultural
reasons.

Some of the major objectives are as follows:

·
Establish, as appropriate,
national legislation to guide the implementation of public policies for
environmentally sound urban development, land utilization, housing and for the
improved management of urban expansion;

·
Create, where appropriate,
efficient and accessible land markets which meet community development needs
by, inter alia, improving land registry systems and streamlining procedures in
land transactions;

·
Develop fiscal incentives
and land-use control measures, including land-use planning solutions for a more
rational and environmentally sound use of limited land resources;

·
Encourage partnerships
among the public, private and community sectors in managing land resources for
human settlements development;

·
Strengthen community-based
land-resource protection practices in existing urban and rural settlements.

c.
Provision of Adequate Shelter

Access to safe and healthy shelter is essential to a
person’s physical, psychological, social and economic well-being and should be
a fundamental part to national and international action.

The objective is to achieve adequate shelter for
rapidly growing populations and for the currently deprived urban and rural poor
through an enabling approach to shelter development and improvement which is
environmentally sound.

The following are some of the major activities in
provision of adequate shelter:

·
“providing adequate shelter
for all” all countries should take immediate measures to provide shelter
to their homeless poor, while the international community and financial
institutions should undertake actions to support the efforts of the developing
countries to provide shelter to the poor;

·
support the shelter efforts
of the urban and rural poor, the unemployed and the no-income group by adopting
and/or adapting existing codes and regulations, to facilitate their access to
land, finance and low-cost building materials and by actively promoting the
regularization and upgrading of informal settlements and urban slums as an
expedient measure and pragmatic solution to the urban shelter deficit;

·
facilitate access of urban
and rural poor to shelter by adopting and utilizing housing and finance schemes
and new innovative mechanisms adapted to their circumstances;

·
support and develop
environmentally compatible shelter strategies at national, state/provincial,
and municipal levels for through partnerships among the private, public, and
community sectors and with the support of community-based organizations;

·
where appropriate, should
develop and implement resettlement programmes which address the specific
problems of displaced populations in their respective countries.

d.
Improving Human Settlement

Some metropolitan areas extend over the boundaries of
several political and/or administrative entities (counties and municipalities)
even though they conform a continuous urban system. In many cases this
political heterogeneity hinders the implementation of comprehensive
environmental management programmes.

To improve human settlement of all urban settlements,
particularly in developing countries, there should be:

·
Improve urban management

·
Adopt and apply urban
management guidelines in the areas of land management, urban environmental
management, infrastructure management and municipal finance and administration;

·
Generate employment for the
urban poor, particularly women, through the provision, improvement and
maintenance of urban infrastructure and services and the support of economic
activities in the informal sector, such as repairs, recycling, services and small
commerce;

·
Adopt innovative city
planning strategies to address environmental and social issues

·
Develop local strategies
for the improvement of the quality of life and the environment, integrating
decisions for land use and land management, investment in public and private
sectors, as well as mobilize human and material resources, thereby promoting
employment generation which is environmentally sound and protective of human
health.

e.
Promoting Integrated Provision of Environmental
Infrastructure – water, sanitation, drainage
and solid waste management

The sustainability of urban development is defined by
many parameters relating to the availability of water supplies, air quality and
the provision of environmental infrastructure for sanitation and waste management.
An integrated approach to the provision of environmentally sound infrastructure
in human settlements, in particular for the urban and rural poor, is an
investment in sustainable development which can result in improvement to the
quality of life, increase productivity, improve health and reduce the burden of
investments in curative medicine and poverty alleviation.

Most of the activities whose management would be
improved by an integrated approach which include the following principles for
the provision of environmental infrastructure:

·
Adopt policies that
minimize if not altogether avoid environmental damage, whenever possible;

·
Ensure that relevant
decisions are preceded by environmental impact assessments and also take into
account the costs of any ecological consequences;

·
Promote development in
accordance with indigenous practices and adopt technologies appropriate to
local conditions;

·
Promote policies aimed at
recovering the actual cost of infrastructure services, while at the same time
recognizing the need to find suitable approaches (including subsidies) to
extend basic services to all households;

·
Seek joint solutions to
environmental problems which affect several localities.

f.
Promoting Efficient and Sustainable Energy Use, Energy
Renewal and Transport Management System in Human Settlements

Most of the commercial and
non-commercial energy produced today is used in, and for, human settlements and
a substantial percentage of it is used by the household sector. Developed
countries, as the largest consumers of energy, are faced with the need for
energy planning and management, promoting renewable and alternate sources of
energy, and evaluating the life-cycle costs of current systems and practices as
a result of which many metropolitan areas are suffering from pervasive air quality
problems related to ozone, particulate matters and carbon monoxide. The causes
have much to do with technological inadequacies and with an increasing fuel
consumption generated by inefficiencies, high demographic and industrial
concentrations and a rapid expansion in the number of motor vehicles.

The objectives are to extend the provision of more
energy-efficient technology and alternative/renewable energy for human
settlements and to reduce negative impacts of energy production and use on
human health and on the environment.

These activities include:

·
Formulate national action
programmes to promote integrated development of energy saving and renewable
energy technologies particularly for the use of solar, hydro, wind and biomass
sources;

·
Promote wide dissemination
and commercialization of renewable energy technologies through suitable
measures, inter alia, fiscal and technology transfer mechanisms;

·
Carry out information and
training programmes directed at manufacturers and users in order to promote
energy saving techniques and energy efficient appliances.

g.
Promoting Sustainable Construction Activities

The activities of the construction sector are vital to
the achievement of the national socio-economic development goals of providing
shelter, infrastructure and employment. However, they can be a major source of
environmental damage through depletion of the natural resource base,
degradation of fragile eco-zones, chemical pollution and the use of building
materials harmful to human health.

The objectives are first, to adopt policies and
technologies and to exchange information on them in order to enable the
construction sector to meet human settlement development goals while avoiding
harmful side-effects on human health and on the biosphere and, second, to
enhance the employment-generation capacity of the construction sector.

All countries should, as appropriate and in accordance
with national plans, objectives and priorities:

·
Establish and strengthen
indigenous building materials industry, based as much as possible, on inputs of
locally available natural resources;

·
Formulate programmes to
enhance the utilization of local materials by the construction sector by
expanding technical support and incentive schemes for, increasing the
capabilities and economic viability of small-scale and informal operatives who
make use of these materials and traditional construction techniques;

·
Adopt standards and other
regulatory measures which promote the increased use of energy-efficient designs
and technologies and sustainable utilization of natural resources in an
economically and environmentally appropriate way;

·
Formulate appropriate
land-use policies and introduce planning regulations specially aimed at
protection of eco-sensitive zones against physical disruption by construction
and construction-related activities;

·
Promote the use of
labour-intensive construction and maintenance technologies which generate
employment in the construction sector for the underemployed labour force found
in most large cities while at the same time promoting the development of skills
in the construction sector.

h.
Promote Urban Air Quality

Air quality if properly managed, offers unique opportunities for the
supply of sustainable environment. In most developing countries, poor urban air
quality is responsible for widespread ill-health, and a large number of
preventable deaths each year. In those countries conditions are set to worsen
due to growing needs beyond governments’ capability to respond adequately.

The following are measures to promote urban air quality:

·
There should be conscious effort to minimize if not
altogether avoid environmental pollution, whenever possible;

·
Ensure that relevant decisions are preceded by
environmental impact assessments on activities that can lead to air pollution.

·
Promote development in accordance with indigenous
practices and adopt technologies appropriate to local conditions;

·
Seek joint solutions to environmental problems
which affect several localities.

i.
Promoting Human Development and Capacity Building for Human Settlement
development

Most countries, in addition to shortcomings in the availability of specialized
expertise in the areas of housing, settlement management, land management,
infrastructure, construction, energy, transport, and pre-disaster planning and
reconstruction, face three cross-sectoral human resource development and
capacity-building shortfalls. First is the absence of an enabling policy
environment capable of integrating the resources and activities of the public
sector, the private sector and the community, or social sector; second is the
weakness of specialized training and research institutions; and third is the
insufficient capacity for technical training and assistance for low-income
communities, both urban and rural.

The objective is to improve human resource development and
capacity-building in all countries by enhancing the personal and institutional
capacity of all actors, particularly indigenous people and women, involved in
human settlement development. In this regard, account should be taken of
traditional cultural practices of indigenous people and their relationship to the
environment.

In order to do so, all countries, as appropriate should take the
following action:

·
Strengthen the development of the human resources
and of capacities of public sector institutions through technical assistance
and international cooperation so as to achieve substantial improvement in the
efficiency of governmental activities;

·
Create an enabling policy environment supportive of
the partnership between the public, private and community sectors;

·
Provide enhanced training and technical assistance
to institutions providing training for technicians, professionals and
administrators, and appointed, elected, and professional members of local
governments and strengthen their capacity to address priority training needs,
particularly in regard to social, economic and environmental aspects of human
settlements development;

·
Provide direct assistance for human settlement development
at the community level.

·
Promote the inclusion of integrated environmental
management into general local government activities.

j.
Restoring Human Dignity and Improving Quality of Houses

Poor quality of houses causes loss of life, disruption of economic
activities and urban productivity – particularly for highly susceptible
low-income groups, and environmental damage.

The objective is to enable all countries, in particular those that are
to mitigate the negative impact of poor quality of human settlements. This
should be geared towards the development of ways to restore human dignity by
promoting good quality of houses which include:

·
Complete national and local studies on the cause of
poor quality of houses, their impact on people, the effects of inadequate
construction and land use, and the social and economic advantages of quality
housing.

·
Implement nationwide and local awareness campaigns
through all available media, translating the above knowledge into information
easily comprehensible to the general public the impact of poor housing.

·
Promoting close collaboration between governmental
and local authorities, local communities and non-governmental organizations and
private business to make housing available and more affordable in housing
planning.

·
Develop training programmes for contractors and
builders on construction methods. Some programmes should be directed
particularly to small enterprises, which build the great majority of housing
and other small buildings in the developing countries as well as for the rural
populations which build their own houses.

k.
Embarking on Inner City (Renewal) Regeneration

Inner
city (renewal) regeneration is not only about rejuvenating residential
buildings, but also about regenerating the public environment and making it
look better. It is about good management of the city and its buildings,
upgrading streets and pavements. And this means that it is all about human
activities, orderly transport systems, access to decent shops and offices and a
safe environment for all people including the elderly, youth and children.

This
means making the city pleasant to live work through its protection and through
creation of decent recreational facilities. The regeneration of inner city
regeneration is highly regarded as one of the preconditions for economic
revival and growth and one of the top priority of city agenda.

This can be achieved by:

·
Embarking on a research to seek a situation
analysis regarding the challenges as well as successes that government and
other stakeholders involved are faced in the implementation of inner city
regeneration project.

·
The activities of traders, residents and businesses
should be taken into consideration.

·
In the case of removal of some residents or
business in the process of inner city regeneration, adequate relocation
measures should be put in place.

l.
Promote Orderly Urban Design and Development

To promote the orderly
development of urban areas both large and small, and is to promote their unique
character and roles which is to consolidate residential uses in urban
settlement to stimulate the economic and social development of these centres.
Developers are encouraged to assist in the funding of new works, services and
facilities required by the expanding residential. This can be achieved by:

·
Promote a wide range of housing opportunities in
urban areas that respond to the housing needs of the population through all
stages of the lifecycle;

·
Promote alternative forms of supported housing
such, as nursing homes, in existing urban centres with a high degree of
accessibility to community and social infrastructure;

·
Encourage the consolidation of residential
development in existing urban centres;

·
Avoid inappropriate encroachment of
residential/rural residential development onto industrial and rural industrial
areas.

References

Allmendinger, P. (2002). Planning Futures: New
Directions for Planning Theory. Routledge.

James, P. & Wilmoth, D. (2013). “Managing Metropolises
by Negotiating Mega-Urban Growth”.Institutional
and Social Innovation for Sustainable Urban Development.
Routledge.

Hall, P. (2008). The Cities of Tomorrow.
Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing.

Lane, M. B. (2005). Public Participation in Planning:
An Intellectual History. Australian Geographer , 36 (3), 283–299

Taylor, N. (2007). Urban
Planning Theory since 1945, London, Sage.

Van, K., Beunen, R., Duineveld, M. & De Jong, H.
(2012) Co-evolutions of planning and design. Planning Theory 12(2):
177-192

Wheeler, S. (2004). “Planning Sustainable and
Livable Cities”, Routledge; 3rd edition.