Urban and Settlement Planning

Lecture 1
1.1_Definition and concept of Planning,
elements of human settlement- role of man
and society
General Concept of Planning

• Planning is done as pre-thinking and prearranging

things before an event takes place.

• Planning is the development of program with ultimate

objectives and a schedule of operations

• Process of development and thus development

planning is a cycle of process in itself
 General Concept of Planning
▪ Development of program of with specific objectives and a schedule of operations to achieve
the
➢ desired results- which is a continuous process

▪ In this sense ‘to plan', very simply, is to arrange things before hand
▪ “To arrange" would require:
i. designing the activities
ii. allocating resources
iii. implementation strategies

• "Beforehand" would require:

i. clear future vision (objectives and goal setting)
ii. anticipation (fore-casting)
iii. impact analysis
Planning (Process)
Determining
Planning is aimed at Desired Goals

Output: Identification of
Study & Analysis of Resources, Associated Issues
Existing Situation & Problems

Preparation of
Strategies/solution Output: Plans and Policies
with allocation of Resources

Implementation

Monitoring and
Evaluation
Human Settlement
▪ The total human community- whether city, town or village - with all the social, material,
organizational, spiritual and cultural elements that sustain it

▪ Human settlement’s fabric consists of physical elements and services that provides it the
material support-The physical components are:-

• Shelter: Superstructures of different shapes, size, type and materials erected by

mankind for security, privacy and protection

• Infrastructure : Complex network designed to deliver to or remove from the shelter

people, goods, energy or information)

• Services : Community requirement for its functioning as a social body viz. education,
health, culture, welfare, recreation and nutrition)
Human Settlement (Broadened Meaning)
▪ The concept now have broadened as a framework for social and economic development.

▪ It is now contended that human settlements are the spatial dimension as well as the
physical expression of economic and social activity

▪ Human settlements in this sense is a system that

• Influence social and economic activity
• Provide context for creative work (say Architecture)
• Become objective of development to fulfill human needs
• Serve as most visible expression of society’s capability to satisfy its needs as well as
to expose destitution (poverty), neglect and inequality
• Pre requisite for sustainable social and economic growth
 Different Forms of Human Settlement
▪ Urban Settlement
• Although there is different and overlapping conceptual basis for the definition, urban
settlements are often referred as urban area, town, city, metropolis – (peri urban ,
suburban, Fringe Areas)

▪ Rural Settlement
• Often referred as countryside, villages, hamlets, isolated dwelling areas

▪ Squatter Settlement
• Settlement on encroached public land
 Human Settlement: Rural Area
▪ Village (Character)
• A ‘small’ physical group of shelters- A sense of community, closeness and belonging
• Predomination of primary activity, usually common to everyone, commonly agriculture
• Growth brings collection and distributive services such as shops eg. Haats of Nepal
▪ Villages need not be backward. Nepali villages show
• Low level of monetized economy
• Lack of modernization and low level of transport, telecommunication, education and health
services

▪ Villages in Developed countries are well serviced but remain small in size and a close community
▪ Levels of development create differing villages.
Human Settlement

View of Khokana Village ( Traditional Rural settlement)

Human Settlement: Urban Area
Towns (Character)
▪ Large settlement
▪ Reduced sense of community/closeness or belonging
▪ Predomination of secondary and tertiary activities
▪ Diverse activities -Higher level of availability of physical and social
services

▪ Three basic issues in the concept of a town

• Size/density/heterogeneity
• Higher Economy and economic activities
• Services
Human Settlement: Urban Area
Towns (Defining Character in Nepali Context)

▪ Size of population: not expanse of land

• Nagarpalika:
▪ 10 Thousand population in Mountain area
▪ 40 Thousand population in Hilly area
▪ 50 Thousand population in Inner Terai
▪ 75 thousand population in Terai
▪ 1 lakh population in Kathmandu valley
• Upa-Maha Nagarpalika: Minimum 2 lakh population
• Maha Nagarpalika: Minimum 5 lakh population
• Earlier size standard for town entity: 5,000

▪ Density provides a better basis?

▪ Sprawling Nagarpalika
▪ Low density of population
▪ Difficulty in provision of services
Human Settlement: Urban Area
Towns ‘s Economic Character
▪ Economy of surplus, exchange and specialization

• Concentration of secondary/Tertiary activities

• Greater regionalization

▪ Elastic landuse
• Primary activity land intensive and dispersed
• Secondary/Tertiary activities are labor or capital intensive and spatially concentrated
• Higher Productivity & Elasticity of use

▪ Towns have higher ratio

• Production : Land (as well as Population : Land)
Human Settlement: Urban Area
Economic Character of Nepali Towns
▪ Nepal Towns Categorization by Revenue Levels

• Annual for Nagarpalika: Rs 1 million

o Expenditure=Revenue? Rs. 50/citizen!

• For Upa-Maha Nagarpalika: Rs 20 million

o Rs. 200/citizen

• For Maha Nagarpalika: Rs 70 million

o Rs. 233/citizen
Human Settlement: Squatter Settlement
▪ Settlements on land occupied illegally found on marginal or environmentally hazardous
public
lands e.g. rivers, railway tracks

▪ Housing conditions remain substandard for years in the fear of eviction and less
capital
investment

▪ Services are often accessed illegally or sometimes with community organizations

lobbying

▪ Sanitation situations are very poor

▪ The inhabitants are normally the urban poor, displaced and destitutes
1.2_Human Settlement: Growth and Decay
Human Settlement Growth
▪ From cave to the village (rural setting)

▪ With diversified economic activity, settlement grew from rural to urban

(urbanism)

▪ Urbanism in essence is a urban way of life characterized by tertiary economic

activity

▪ Ancient and Historical Early settlements (Egypt, Greek, Babylon etc)

▪ Mediaeval Human Settlement (Roman towns, Newar Towns)

▪ Industrial Towns and Villages (Bourneville –by George Cadbury)

▪ Modern Towns and Villages (Garden City of Letchworth England)

1.2_Human Settlement: Growth and Decay
Human Settlement Growth
Urban Areas
▪ Modern towns were grown largely as a reaction to the dismal conditions (poor sanitary and
housing condition of of industrial towns in 18th century

▪ Largely by urbanization caused by both

• natural growth of population
• migratory growth of population (pull and push factor)

▪ Tertiary and value added economic activities generating specialized employment

▪ Capital investment in physical, social, economic and of lately environmental infrastructure

1.2_Human Settlement: Growth and Decay
Urban Settlement Type
Urban Areas
• The cross road city

• The commercial city

• The Industrial City

• The transportation City

• The recreational City

• Educational City

• Regional Cities
1.2_Human Settlement: Growth and Decay
Human Settlement Decay
▪ City
• Often referred as urban decay- a process by which a city, or a part of a city, falls into a state of
disrepair and neglect. It is characterized by depopulation, economic restructuring, property
abandonment, high unemployment, fragmented families, crime, and desolate urban
landscapes

• During the 1970s and 1980s, urban decay was often associated with central areas of cities
in North America and Europe.

• Urban Renewal, Urban Regeneration and Urban Revitalizations are some of the measures
used to check, replace the decay
1.2_ Human Settlement: Growth and Decay
Human Settlement Decay
▪ City
• Unchecked urbanization leading to slumming and growth of squatter settlements

• Unmanaged consumption of resources

• Growth of Urban Poverty

• Unmanaged waste Product

• Overcrowding of population and Traffic

• Natural Disaster
1.2_ Human Settlement: Decay of Modern Towns
Ecological Foot Print Modal (of Sustainability)
▪ Determines the impact that a defined human population (for example one person, a city or a
country) has upon its surrounding environment

▪ An urban ecological footprint does this by providing an approximation of the total amount of
land required by a city, to provide it with the resources it needs to sustain its population.

▪ In addition to accounting for the food, water and other natural resources people consume, the
footprint also includes the space required to dispose of all the waste they generate
 1.2_Human Settlement: Growth and Decay

Ecological Foot Print Modal (of Sustainability)

▪ The higher a country's human ecological footprint is, the less-sustainable its population is

▪ Australia’s Eco Foot Print = 7.4 ha/person (eighth high in the world)
▪ America’s Eco Foot Print = 9.7 ha/person
▪ Africa’s Eco Foot Print = 2.1 ha/person
▪ Global Average = 2.3 ha/person

▪ This is a modal used by the advocates of sustainability.

1.3_Settlement Planning an Interdisciplinary Subject
Sociology
Demography, socialcost
Social Survey

Law & Admin Economics

LegalFramework, Industrial organization
Organization Market, analysis

Settlement Planning
Urban Planning
Rural Planning
Engineering Geography
Water,Sewer Land survey
Traffic Agriculture

Architecture
Preservation, Arch.Form
Urban Design/Landscape
 1.5_ Urban Planning (Definition)
• Comprehensively it is, 'the making of an orderly sequence of action that will lead to the
achievement of a stated goal or goals'.

• It is about integrating social , economic aesthetic and environmental concerns to create

better living conditions and to create built environment which satisfies the human needs

• It is a rationalequitable allocation of resources within a society to meet the needs of the

current and future users of resources.

• It is predominantly concerned with physical planning of urban or urban sub-regional area

and besides social, political or economic considerations, urban planning has a clear spatial
component
Urban Planning (Objectives)
▪ Orderly management of land and its uses
▪ Provision for Living, Working, Resting and Recreation
▪ Provision of healthy physical environment
▪ Providing for community living
▪ Ideological needs in urban planning
▪ Dealing effectively with disparities (Urban poverty)
• Social equity
• Social justice
Urban Planning (Benefits)

▪ Convenience benefits

• Roads, Mass transportation and locational arrangement of land uses and intensity
• Distances between uses/ activities and components within activities
• Access to services

▪ Social Equity benefits

• Fairness in access to necessities of life/ Increase in supply relative to demands
• Fairness in distribution of cost and benefits of land use and services
• Participation in decision making
 Urban Planning (Benefits)

▪ Health and Safety benefits

• Reduction of traffic danger, environmental hazard such as flooding, landslides,

earthquakes etc.
• Increased and effective sanitation and water systems
• Better light and ventilation

▪ Efficiency benefits
• Reduction of costs of land development, transport and energy costs
• Use of land and service cost
Urban Planning (Benefits)
▪ Environmental benefits
o Reduction of air and water pollution
o Reduction of noise
o Protection of aquifers, ecological areas and open spaces

▪ Amenities benefits
o Attractive and pleasant living environment
o Conservation of Nature and natural charms
o Conservation of culture / buildings, space and values
Urban Planning
▪ Convenience
▪ Social Equity
▪ Health and Safety
▪ Efficiency
▪ Environmental
▪ Amenities

Traditional Planning
Kathmandu Old Town
Rural Settlement Planning
▪ Rural settlement planning is largely done for the existing settlements with rural
feel/ruralism-
rural way of life as characterized by subsistence economy and primary social relation

▪ Physical dimension of rural planning

• Limited application of land use plan
• Provision of both regional and local accesses (roads)
• Provision of Power/Energy
• Provision of local technology basedwaste management
• Provision of local technology based building construction
• Policy provision for natural and man made heritage conservation
1.5_ Rural Settlement Planning
▪ Social dimension of rural planning
• Provision of Education Infrastructure ( schools, training center, campus)
• Provision Health Infrastructure (health post, health center, VDC level small hospitals)
• Provision of administrative Infrastructure (office etc)
• Provision of Social centers (community center)
• Programs aimed at skill development, gender development of socially deprived,
underprivileged and EWS

▪ Economic dimension of rural planning

• Local industrial Infrastructure (Cold storage, processing plants)
• Improved agricultural Technology
• Rural Urban Partnership Program (economic linkage)
• Agricultural perspective planning
Rural Settlement: Planning Rationale
▪ Limited application of Landuse plan unless the settlement show clear indication/potential to
turn into the urban town in terms of

• Location (geographical eg: Peri-urban or fringe areas of urban center)

• Population growth trend (+ Ve or –Ve)

• Economic base ( Industrial or Service sector)

• Natural endowments

▪ Planned for limited growth

• Localarea planning for improve d living condition

• Planning for service and utilities (water supply, sanitation,energy, communication)