AR. MARCELINO L.

CABACABA
ARP 423 – Planning 3

DOLORZO, CYRIL
KAYE D.
BS Architecture

LO1: RESEARCH WORK

ARP 423 – Planning 3
What is Urban Planning?

In theory, urban planning is a process of elaborating solutions that aim both to improve

or requalify an existing urban area, as well as to create a new urbanization in a given

region. As a discipline and as a method of action, urban planning deals with the

processes of production, structuring and appropriation of urban space. In this sense, its

main objective is to point out what measures should be taken to improve the quality of

life of the inhabitants, including matters such as transport, security, access opportunities

and even interaction with the natural environment.

In the urban planning process, therefore, problems arising from urbanization are dealt

with, such as pollution, traffic jam, urban voids, ecological impacts, making it essential in

the current context in which much is discussed about the future of cities and the

aspirations of sustainability and mobility as a way of fighting climate change.

7 Types of Urban Planning

1. Strategic Urban Planning

Strategic urban planning focuses on setting high-level goals and determining desired

areas of growth for a city or metropolitan area. The result of the planning process is

a strategic plan—also called the development plan, core strategy, or comprehensive

plan. The strategic plan’s goals may include easing transportation throughout the city,

creating more community spaces, improving citizens’ quality of life, or encouraging

people to visit or move to the city.

This is generally the highest level of the planning process and other components of

planning typically will fit into this type of plan.

2. Land-Use Planning

Land-use planning largely concerns legislation and policy, adopting planning

instruments like governmental statutes, regulations, rules, codes, and policies to

influence land use.

On a broad level, these planning instruments deal with the type, location, and amount of

land needed to carry out different functions of the city. They also serve to zone or

reserve land for certain purposes such as:

 Residential, for buildings like apartment homes, single-family residences, and

condominiums

 Commercial, for buildings like retail shops and office buildings

 Industrial, for structures like manufacturing plants and warehouses

 Municipal, for structures like police stations and courthouses

As with subsequent types of urban planning, consulting with the community and

relevant stakeholders is an important part of land-use planning to ensure transparency

and incorporate a wide range of interests into the overall plan. If you communicate your

strategic plan well, then transportation, commercial and industrial planning should flow

right into your plans.

3. Master Planning

Master planning is typically used for greenfield development projects or building on

undeveloped land. Instead of modifying pre-existing structures or spaces, you’re starting

from scratch.

This type of urban planning envisions a future state for a given space, and what it will

take to achieve that vision. Urban planners must consider the required zoning (from

your land-use plan) and infrastructure (see concept 7 below) to make the project

possible, such as residential and commercial land, transportation considerations, road

locations, etc. They must also plan the location of urban amenities such as community

facilities, schools, parks, and the like.

Again, consulting with landowners and government agencies impacted by the plan is an

essential task here. Additionally, you may need to bring in professional consultants to

gather important expertise and insights, ensure the plan considers all potential angles,

and set the completed space up for success for years to come.

4. Urban Revitalization

In contrast to master planning, urban revitalization focuses on improving areas that are

in a state of decline. The exact definition of a declining area will differ from city to city—

for example, areas that have a troubling number of failing businesses or a stagnant or

decreasing population growth. The improvement tactics city leaders use for

revitalization will depend on the root cause of decline, and may include things like
repairing roads, developing infrastructure, cleaning up pollution, and adding to parks

and other public spaces, etc.

Community interaction is especially important with this urban planning concept, as

residents and business owners often have insights that can help inform and tailor

planning efforts. You may need to change land use (see concept #2) from industrial to

residential to get the loft apartments you want or involve environmental planning (see

concept #6) to assess or clean up certain locations.

5. Economic Development

Economic development is about identifying areas of growth to foster greater financial

prosperity within the city, specifically by enticing companies to build or move offices

there. Subsequently, those companies then hire local talent and drive commuter traffic

to the new office. More workers dining at local restaurants for lunch, getting gas at

nearby gas stations, and stopping by local grocery stores on the way home will boost

visibility and spend in the area.

Sometimes an economic development department lives outside the planning

department of a municipality, so it is important to help that group navigate land use

plans, master plans, and infrastructure plans to ensure that any development projects

are workable. Of course, it will be important to coordinate with environmental plans as

well.

6. Environmental Planning
Environmental planning is a type of strategic development that emphasizes

sustainability. Considerations for this type of urban planning include air pollution, noise

pollution, wetlands, habitats of endangered species, flood zone susceptibility, and

coastal zone erosion, along with a host of other environmental factors dealing with the

relationship between natural and human systems.

Environmental plans need to be filed alongside master, revitalization, and infrastructure

plans.

7. Infrastructure Planning

Infrastructure planning deals with the fundamental facilities and systems that serve a

city and its people, and how those facilities can support goals laid out in the strategic

plan. This type of urban planning covers:

 Public works infrastructure such as water supply, sewage, electricity, and

telecommunications

 Community infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, and parks

 Safety and transportation such as roads, police, and fire facilities

Urban Planning Basics

The goal of planning is to guide the development of a city or town so that it furthers the

welfare of its current and future residents by creating convenient, equitable, healthful,
efficient and attractive environments. Most urban planners work in existing communities,

but some help develop communities -- known as new towns, new cities or planned

communities -- from scratch. Either way, urban planners must consider three key

aspects of a city as they map out their programs:

The physical environment: A city's physical environment includes its location, its climate

and its proximity to sources of food and water. Because drinking water is so crucial,

many cities are founded at the head of a river or at the fall line, the point where rivers

descend from the regions of older, harder rocks toward the softer sediments of the

coastal plain. The rapids that often form at the fall line mark ideal locations for towns

and villages to evolve. Coastal cities also have a great advantage in that their

accessibility positions them to become important trading centers.

Planners must often consider an area's geologic history to understand the full character

of a city. For example, the physical environment of New York City and the surrounding

region reflects the culmination of a billion years of geologic activity. Over this great span

of time, mountain ranges formed and were worn away. Seaways came and went. Most

recently, episodes of continental glaciation covered the area with ice sheets that

eventually retreated. All of this activity makes New York City what it is today and affects

how it might change in the future.

The social environment: The social environment includes the groups to which a city's

residents belong, the neighborhoods in which they live, the organization of its

workplaces, and the policies created to impose order. One of the biggest issues in most

cities is the inequitable distribution of resources. For example, more than 50 percent of

the population of Mumbai and New Delhi (cities in India) live in slums, while in Lagos
and Nairobi (cities in Africa), more than 60 percent of households aren't connected to

water [source: United Nations Human Settlements Programme]. As a result, the social

environment can be a risk factor for disease and mortality as much as individual risk

factors.

Planners work with local authorities to make sure residents are not excluded from the

benefits of urbanization as a result of physical, social or economic barriers.

The economic environment: All cities work hard to support the retention and expansion

of existing local businesses. Primary employers, such as manufacturing as well as

research and development companies, retail businesses, universities, federal labs, local

government, cultural institutions, and departments of tourism all play strong roles in a

city's economy. The programs of an urban planner should encourage partnerships

among public agencies, private companies and nonprofit organizations; foster

innovation and competitiveness; provide development opportunities and resources to

small businesses; and nurture, preserve and promote local arts and creative industries

in order to sustain a city's cultural vitality.

As you can imagine, urban planners must do a great deal of research and analysis to

fully understand how the physical, social and economic aspects of a city interact. Before

they ever put pen to paper, they study:

 The current use of land for residential, business and community purposes

 The locations and capacity of streets, highways, airports, water, and sewer

 The types of industries embedded in the community.

 The characteristics of the population

  Employment and economic trends

They also gather input from residents, government officials, politicians, business

executives and special groups. Armed with all of this information, planners develop

short- and long-term strategic alternatives for solving problems in a coordinated and

comprehensive manner. They also show how these programs can be carried out and

how much they will cost.

Urban Planning Process

The basis for integrating energy aspects in planning processes is a thorough

understanding of the existing urban planning process in a given city. Such a process

should include all phases (see graphic below), steps, stakeholders and their related

activities/responsibilities as well as instruments and tools used in planning urban

development projects.

In most cases the main planning instrument of a city such as the zoning plan or land

use plan needs to be adapted when new projects are being developed. However, it is

important to not only show the final, but official steps also when adapting the zoning

plan. The process map should depict all phases including the early planning steps,

feasibility and master plans, the permitting process and final implementation. It should

also show some decision points or paths during this process for instance criteria for

special procedural steps or competitions. It might also be helpful to develop two process

maps: one for the procedure of new development areas and one for transformation

areas.
The principal phases of an urban planning process are:

1. Preparatory / exploration phase

2. Feasibility / planning phase

3. Formal planning / zoning phase

4. Design and implementation phase

5. Operational phase

The following figure shows an example of a “typical” simplified urban planning process

for a new development area.

The developed scheme could then serve as the basis for discussions as to which

energy criteria, decisions, stakeholders and instruments are needed at what point in the

process. The result would then be an upgraded planning scheme which can be very

useful for further discussions.