what is urban and regional planning

8/3/2019 What is Urban and Regional Planning

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WHAT IS URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING?

Urban and Regional planning (urban, city, and town planning) is a technical

and political process concerned with the control of the use of land and design of the

urban environment, including transportation networks, to guide and ensure the

orderly development of settlements and communities. It concerns itself with

research and analysis, strategic thinking, urban design, public consultation, policy

recommendations, implementation and management.

A plan can take a variety of forms including: strategic plans, comprehensive plans,

neighbourhood plans, regulatory and incentive strategies, or historic preservation

plans. Planners are often also responsible for enforcing the chosen policies.

The modern origins of urban planning lie in the movement for urban reform that

arose as a reaction against the disorder of the industrial city in the mid-19th

century. Urban planning can include urban renewal, by adapting urban planning

methods to existing cities suffering from decline. In the late-20th century the term

sustainable development has come to represent an ideal outcome in the sum of all

planning goals.

ORIGIN OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING

In the Neolithic period, agriculture and other techniques facilitated larger

populations than the very small communities of the Paleolithic, which probably led

to the stronger, more coercive governments emerging at that time. The pre-Classical

and Classical periods saw a number of cities laid out according to fixed plans, though

many tended to develop organically.

The streets of many of these early cities were paved and laid out at right angles in a

grid pattern, with a hierarchy of streets from major boulevards to residential alleys.

Archaeological evidence suggests that many Harrapan houses were laid out to


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protect from noise and enhance residential privacy; many also had their own water

wells, probably for both sanitary and ritual purposes. These ancient cities were

unique in that they often had drainage systems, seemingly tied to a well-developed

ideal of urban sanitation.

The ancient Romans used a consolidated scheme for city planning, developed for

military defense and civil convenience. The basic plan consisted of a central forum

with city services, surrounded by a compact, rectilinear grid of streets, and wrapped

in a wall for defense. To reduce travel times, two diagonal streets crossed the square

grid, passing through the central square. A river usually flowed through the city,

providing water, transport, and sewage disposal.

The collapse of Roman civilization saw the end of Roman urban planning, among

other arts. Urban development in the Middle Ages, characteristically focused on a

fortress, a fortified abbey, or a (sometimes abandoned) Roman nucleus, occurred

"like the annular rings of a tree",[7] whether in an extended village or the center of a

larger city. Since the new center was often on high, defensible ground, the city plan

took on an organic character, following the irregularities of elevation contours likethe shapes that result from agricultural terracing.

The ideal of wide streets and orderly cities was not lost, however. A few medieval

cities were admired for their wide thoroughfares and orderly arrangements, but the

juridical chaos of medieval cities (where the administration of streets was

sometimes passed down through noble families), and the characteristic tenacity of

medieval Europeans in legal matters prevented frequent or large-scale urbanplanning until the Renaissance and the early-modern strengthening of central

government administration, as European (and soon after, North American) society

transited from city-states to what we would recognize as a more modern concept of


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a nation-state.

Ebenezer Howard's influential 1902 diagram, illustrating urban growth through

garden city "off-shoots"

In the developed countries of Western Europe, North America, Japan, and

Australasia, planning and architecture can be said to have gone through various

paradigms or stages of consensus in the last 200 years. Firstly, there was the

industrialised city of the 19th century, where building was largely controlled by

businesses and wealthy elites. Around 1900, a movement began for providing

citizens, especially factory workers, with healthier environments. The concept of the

garden city arose and several model towns were built, such as Letchworth and

Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, UK, the world's first garden cities. These were


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small in size, typically providing for a few thousand residents.

In the 1920s, the ideas of modernism began to surface in urban planning. Based on

the ideas of Le Corbusier and using new skyscraper-building techniques, the

modernist city stood for the elimination of disorder, congestion, and the small scale,

replacing them with preplanned and widely spaced freeways and tower blocks set

within gardens. There were plans for large-scale rebuilding of cities in this era, such

as the Plan Voisin (based on Le Corbusier's Ville Contemporaine), which proposed

clearing and rebuilding most of central Paris. No large-scale plans were

implemented until after World War II, however. Throughout the late 1940s and

1950s, housing shortages caused by wartime destruction led many cities tosubsidize housing blocks. Planners used the opportunity to implement the

modernist ideal of towers surrounded by gardens. The most prominent example of

an entire modernist city is Brasilia in Brazil, constructed between 1956 and 1960.

WHAT IS URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING ALL ABOUT

City planners figure out the best way to use the land in cities and neighborhoods.

They report on the best location for houses, stores, and parks. They try to solve

many problems, such as too much traffic and increases in air pollution. Planners

want to make sure that people can get to a bus or subway. They need to plan where

people should drive their cars and where they can park. Planners make new plans

when more people move into a community. They might tell community leaders that

they need new schools or roads. Planners are also concerned about saving thewetlands and trees. They try to find safe places for getting rid of trash.

Urban and Regional Planners develop and implement plans and policies for the

controlled use of urban and rural land, and advise on economic, environmental and

social factors affecting land use.


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Urban and regional planners develop long- and short-term plans for the use of land

and the growth and revitalization of urban, suburban, and rural communities and

the region in which they are located. They help local officials alleviate social,

economic, and environmental problems by recommending locations for roads,schools, and other infrastructure and suggesting zoning regulations for private

propertywork that requires forecasting the future needs of the population.

Because local governments employ the majority of urban and regional planners,

they often are referred to as community or city planners.

Planners promote the best use of a community's land and resources for residential,

commercial, institutional, and recreational purposes. They address environmental,economic, and social health issues of a community as it grows and changes. They

may formulate plans relating to the construction of new school buildings, public

housing, or other kinds of infrastructure. Planners also may help to make decisions

about developing resources and protecting ecologically sensitive regions. Some

planners are involved in environmental issues including pollution control, wetland

preservation, forest conservation, and the location of new landfills. Planners also

may help to draft legislation on environmental, social, and economic issues, such as

planning a new park, sheltering the homeless, or making the region more attractive

to businesses.

Planners deal with the fact that human communities are always changing. The

consequences of this change can be chaotic and destructive, or life enhancing. A

planner's task is to help communities cope with this steady growth, change, and

renewal in ways that will maintain and improve the community's quality of life.

Planners recognize the complexity of communities. As with natural environments,

human communities are strengthened by diversity. One task is to help communities

become even more diverse, broadening the variety of employment, educational,

cultural, entertainment, shopping, and housing opportunities and promoting a


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broad range of land uses, income levels, and types of people. Another task is to help

communities deal with the clashes of interest produced by such variety and turn

these differences into a positive force for constructive change. Urban and regional

planning involves multiple disciplines and addresses cities and people, humanservices and infrastructure, fiscal issues and environmental concerns. It aims to

support the emergence of more just, efficient and sustainable cities.

Before preparing plans for community development, planners study and report on

the current use of land for residential, business, and community purposes. Their

reports include information on the location and capacity of streets, highways,

airports, water and sewer lines, schools, libraries, and cultural and recreationalsites. They also provide data on the types of industries in the community, the

characteristics of the population, and employment and economic trends. Using this

information, along with input from citizens, planners try to optimize land use for

buildings and other public facilities. Planners prepare reports showing how their

programs can be carried out and what they will cost.

Planners examine proposed community facilities, such as schools, to ensure that

these facilities will meet the needs of a growing or changing population. They keep

abreast of economic and legal issues related to zoning codes, building codes, and

environmental regulations. Planners also deal with land-use issues created by

population movements. For example, as suburban growth and economic

development create more jobs outside cities, the need for public transportation that

gets workers to those jobs increases. In response, planners develop and model

possible transportation systems and explain them to planning boards and the

general public.

Planners use computers all the time. They make reports and draw new maps

showing changes for the future. Planners use computers to record and analyze


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information and to prepare reports and recommendations for government

executives, developers and builders. Computer databases, spreadsheets, and

analytical techniques are used to project program costs and forecast future trends in

employment, housing, transportation, or population. Widespread use ofcomputerized geographic information systems (GIS) enable planners to map land

areas, to overlay maps with geographic variables such as population density, and to

combine or manipulate geographic information to produce alternative plans for land

use or development.

Urban and regional planners often work with land developers, civic leaders, and

public officials and may function as mediators in community disputes, presentingalternatives that are acceptable to opposing parties. Planners may prepare material

for community relations programs, speak at civic meetings, and appear before

legislative committees to explain and defend their proposals.

Most urban and regional planners focus on one or more areas of specialization, such

as transportation planning, urban design, community development and

redevelopment, and land-use or code enforcement. While planners may specialize in

these, and other, areas, they are also required to keep the bigger picture in mind and

do what's best for the community as a whole.

Work environment. Urban and regional planners often travel to sites intended for

development or regulation to inspect the features of the land. Those involved in site

development inspections may spend most of their time in the field. Although most

planners have a scheduled 40-hour workweek, they frequently attend evening or

weekend meetings or public hearings with citizens' groups. Planners may

experience the pressure of deadlines and tight work schedules, as well as political

pressure generated by interest groups affected by proposals related to urban

development and land use. Sometimes different groups do not agree with the plans

for their community.


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HOW DO YOU GET READY?

Most employers seek persons who have a master's degree in city planning or urban

design. Sometimes employers will hire persons who have worked as a planner for a

long time. A bachelor's degree is good to have when someone is looking for their

first job. Persons who are interested in becoming a city planner should take courses

in computer science and statistics.

Persons who are interested in becoming a city planner also should learn how to use

a computer.

Planners must be able to think in terms of spatial relationships and visualize the

effects of their plans and designs. They should be flexible and be able to reconcile

different viewpoints and make constructive policy recommendations. The ability to

communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, is necessary for anyone

interested in this field.

Local government planning offices often hire college students to work during the

summer. Students can learn a great deal before they get their first job after they

graduate.

To become a certified planner, persons must take the right amount of classes. They

must work in a planning office and pass a test. Planners must be able to speak and

write well. They must be good at making things fit in place so that everyone can

shop, work, and go to school.

HOW MUCH DOES THIS JOB PAY?

In May 2008, urban and regional planners had average yearly wages of $62,400.


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HOW MANY JOBS ARE THERE?

Urban and regional planners held about 38,400 jobs in 2008. Most of them worked

for local governments. Some planners work for private architecture and engineering

companies. Others work in State governments.

WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE?

The number of jobs for planners is expected to grow faster than the average for all

occupations through the year 2018. Most of their work will result from population

growth. Most new jobs will be in rapidly expanding communities.


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The overall area plan for the reconstruction of Kabul's Old City area, the proposed

Kabul - City of Light Development

Low (auto-oriented) density suburban development near Colorado Springs,

Colorado, United States.


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what is urban and regional planning

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