URBAN THEORY

05 HETALI BHATT
07 AESHA DAVE
09 URLIMA DHAMELIYA
15 SAGAR GOTAWALA
26 VIHA NAIK
29 HARSH PATEL
32 NISHA POLRA
33 ARMI RAVANI

URBAN PLANNING
 URBAN PLANNING

What is planning?

• a universal human activity involving the consideration of outcomes before choosing

amongst alternatives
• a deliberate, self-conscious activity

Primary functions of planning

• balance public and private interests
• enhance consciousness of decision making
• civic engagement
• expand opportunity and understanding in community

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 URBAN PLANNING THEORY

• Planning theory is generally called procedural because it generally concerns

itself with the process through which planning occurs and whether or not
that process is valid, they relate to public participation.

There are two types of major theories :

Theories of system Theories of system

operations change

• General system theory • Rationalism

• Feedback system • Incremetntalism
• The hierarchy of orders • Utopianism
• Methodism

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 RATIONAL PLANNING

•What is Rational planning ?

•Rational planning includes comprehensive, long-range view and a systematic , analytical
approach in a planning process.

•The rational planning movement emphasized the improvement of the built environment based
on key spatial factors.

• Examples of these factors include:-

1. Exposure to direct sunlight
2. Movement of vehicular traffic
3. Standardized housing units
4. Proximity to green-space

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 RATIONAL PLANNING MODEL

RATIONAL PLANNING MODEL: Definition

• The rational planning model is the process of realizing a problem, establishing and evaluating
planning criteria, creating alternatives, implementing alternatives, and monitoring progress of the
alternatives.
• • Used in designing neighbourhoods, cities, and regions. The rational planning model is central in
the development of modern urban planning and transportation planning,
• Economics, political science, and other disciplines greatly enriched the planning education
and research.
1. Ends reduction and elaboration
2. Design of courses action
3. Comparative evaluation of consequences
4. Choice among alternatives
5. Implementation of the chosen alternative
• The model gave the birth to the Rational Planning Model

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 ADVANTAGES ANS DISADVANTAGES OF RATIONAL PLANNING
ADVANTAGES
:1. Generate all possible solutions
2. Generate objective assessment criteria
3. assumes accurate, stable and complete
knowledge of all the alternatives, preferences,
goals and consequences
4. assumes a rational, reasonable, non – political
world
• 5.Widely applicable
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DISADVANTAGES
1.It is a group-based decision making process. If
the problem is not identified properly then we may
face a problem as each and every member of the
group might have a different definition of the
problem.
2.Whole assessment should be correct otherwise
one can get wrong solution
3. Planner defines the problem not goal.
4.Time consuming process
 RATIONAL SYSTEMS

Define goals/problems

Find alternatives

Evaluate alternatives

Implement plan/policy

Monitor effects

URBAN PLANNING
 CASE STUDY CHICAGO

CHICAGO :
• Chicago Area Transportation Study(CATS)
• Chicago Area Transportation Study during the late1950s and early 1960s illustrates
execution of the rational planning model.
• The model is outlined in ten steps
• The study shows that the rational model is workable but raises questions about whether
it is effective in influencing decisions.

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 CHICAGO AREA TRANSPORTATION STUDY(CATS): TEN STEPS:

1.Data collection: survey conducted in three areas ; travel, land-use, and the
transportation system
2.Analysis of data: The planner tries to make sense out of the bare facts and
understand what Is happening and why
The object is to interpret and explain the
data, to find cause-effect relationships.
3.Forecasting the future context: Came up with a population forecast,
which was based on published forecasts for the US.
Then came a forecast of economic activity,
for which a 50-sector input-output model of the
local economy was formulated (Hoch 1959).

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 CHICAGO AREA TRANSPORTATION STUDY(CATS): TEN STEPS:

• 4. Establishing goals : What does the community want to achieve in the future?
1) The planner selects the goals, based on professional experience and personal judgment .
2) Someone gives the goals to the planner (the legislative body, policymaking board, or some other client).
3) The planner tries to find out shared goals through public opinion surveys or citizen participation programs. The last
approach is currently quite popular. CATS used the combination of 1 and 2
. Dr. Carroll and Creighton drafted and discussed possible goal statements with advisory committees and the Policy
Committee.
were the stated goals
1. Greater speed
2. Increased safety
3. Lower operating
4. Economy in new construction
5. Minimizing disruption
6. Promoting better land development

• 5.Design of alternatives: The planner devises alternative ways of achieving the goals.
This step requires the most creativity.
1.In physical planning, this step involves design in the sense that architects and engineers use the word.
2.In nonphysical areas, alternatives may be different programs, laws and regulations, or institutional arrangements
CATS staff did involve physical design: drawing networks of highway and transit routes. List of design principles was
developed to guide the planners.

6.Testing of alternatives: This is a forecast of how each alternative would perform in the future context.
i. CATS put great emphasis on developing the methodology known as "travel demand forecasting.”

URBAN PLANNING
 CHICAGO AREA TRANSPORTATION STUDY(CATS): TEN STEPS:

•7. Evaluation of alternatives: This means a comparison of how well the alternatives achieve the goals.
• Alternatives are made in which comparison between the plans is made eg. Whether Plan A is better than Plan B.
etc
•CATS used benefit-cost analysis to evaluate the alternative plans. Four types of costs were estimated
1. Travel time
2. accident
3. operating costs
4. construction cost

8. Selection of one alternative: The transit plan recommended construction of onenew rail line and
extension of three existing lines, coordination of service between the subway-elevated system and the private
railroads, installation of moving sidewalks in the Loop, construction of parking garages at outer terminals of rail
transit lines, and experimenting with express bus service on two expressways.

•9. Implementation: Financing and programming the plan; It was intended to show that the highways could
be built without raising taxes.
• Projected revenues from existing sources (fuel taxes, registrations, and federal aid) would be sufficient to
fund completion of the plan by 1980.
• But CATS had no operating responsibility or implementing power.
•That was up to the sponsoring agencies: the City, County, State, and Federal governments.

• 10. Monitoring: The planner should periodically review the plan to see whether it works, and if not, to
suggest changes.
Sometimes this step is called “feedback”.

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 SYNOPTIC PLANNING
• After the “fall” of blueprint planning in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the synoptic model began to
emerge as a dominant force in planning. Lane (2005) describes synoptic planning as having four
central elements:
1. an enhanced emphasis on the specification of goals and targets
2. an emphasis on quantitative analysis and predication of the environment
3. a concern to identify and evaluate alternative policy options
4. the evaluation of means against ends Public participation was first introduced into this model and it
was generally integrated into the system process described above.
• There are four basic activities:
– Prepare to plan
– Make a choice between alternatives
– Implement the plan
– Evaluate the plan
Incremental Planning
• Is critical of the synoptic planning approach which is rational in nature
• Incremental planning has a tendency toward centralization
• Concludes that long-range planning and comprehensive planning is difucult and inherently bad..
• Problems and problem solving are best handled one at a time..
• Often criticized for “muddling through”
• Public participation was first introduced it focused in four elements:
• Goals and targets
• Quantitative analysis for environment
• Identify and evaluate alternative policy options
• The evaluation of means against ends
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 SYNOPTIC PLANNING
Prepare for planning Describe present Develop projections
situation

Consider alternative
Monitor & Evaluate future states

Identify Problems

Implement plans
Set Goals

Plan for Select preferred ID alternative course

implementation alternatives of action

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 MIXED SCANNING PLANNING
Amitai Etzioni:
• Mixed Scanning: A Third
Approach to Decision- Rational Model Incremental Model
Making, 1967. Adequate theory available Adequate theory lacking
• This is a combination of
the Rational and New question Modification of old question
Incremental Theories.
• A wide-angle examination Resources generous Resources limited
of patterns across all Substantial time for study Limited time for study
possibilities.
• Long-term context and Numerous relations to other Few relations to other policy
plan. policy issues issues
• A close-in examination of
the promising options.
• Short-term choices.

Planning goals cannot be reduced to a unified notion of

the public interest
• Single voice usually = most powerful voice.
• Marginalized voices typically excluded.
• Inclusion of marginalized interests in plans
requires planner to act decisively from a social justice
perspective

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 Communicative planning
•Communicative planning
•Participation plays a central role under this model. The model seeks to
include as a broad range of voice to enhance the debate and
negotiation that is supposed to form the core of actual plan making.
• In this model, participation is actually fundamental to the planning
process happening. Without the involvement of concerned interests
there is no planning.

Technical
Experts

Initiators

Mediators Negotiation Participation Debate

Planner role in Planners

communicative
planning
Presenters Facilitators
Actual plan making

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 Communicative planning
Communicative planning
• The communicative approach to planning is perhaps the most difficult to
explain.
• It focuses on using communication to help different interests in the process
understand each other.
• The idea is that each individual will approach a conversation with his or her
own subjective experience in mind and that from that conservation shared
goals and possibilities will emerge. Again, participation plays a central role
under this model.
• to create workable comprehensive strategies
• to achieve coordination
• to get meaningful debate
• to gain political acceptance
• to be innovative

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 Communicative planning

• Looking at each of these models it becomes clear that participation is not

only shaped by the public in a given area or by the attitude of the planning
organization or planners that work for it.
• In fact, public participation is largely influenced by how planning is defined,
how planning problems are defined, the kinds of knowledge that planners
choose to employ and how the planning context is set.
• Though some might argue that is too difficult to involve the public through
transactive, advocacy, bargaining and communicative models
because transportation is some ways more technical than other fields, it is
important to note that transportation is perhaps unique among planning
fields in that its systems depend on the interaction of a number of
individuals and organizations.

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 Advocacy planning

• Formulated in the 1960s by lawyer and planning scholar Paul Davidoff.

• the advocacy planning model takes the perspective that there are large inequalities
in the political system and in the bargaining process between groups that result in
large numbers of people unorganized and unrepresented in the process.
•It concerns itself with ensuring that all people are equally represented in the
planning process by advocating for the interests of the underprivileged and seeking
social change.
• Again, public participation is a central tenet of this model.

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 Advocacy planning
•Argument is based around three main ideas that Davidoff considers outdated and
ineffective aspects of planning are….

Aspects of planning before the

theory came

Traditional planning Physical aspects of urban

Unitary planning
commission areas

•Author argues against these aspects, and offers an alternative to each problem….
Solution given to them

democratic process of inclusionary view of the

pluralism in planning
planning scope of planning field

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 Advocacy planning
In this type of planning, there are various interest groups. They can be as follows:

special interest
political parties Ad-hoc associations
groups
• in power • groups against the • e.g. group of
• in opposition caste system architects
• groups against racial • Special committee
discrimination,
• pro or anti civil
rights groups,
chambers of
commerce,
• labour
organisations,
• NGOs etc.

•Suitable for :
•for underpinning the interests of segments of the population who have
difficulty in expressing themselves,
•are socially disadvantaged

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 Advocacy planning
Unitary vs. Plural Planning

• Plural plan is a concept of advocacy planning as opposed to the unitary plan of rational
planning.
• Advocacy planning defies the existence of the concept of value neutrality and hence the
preparation of plural plans with each plan guided by the ideologies of the people preparing
it.
• Unitary Plan – one agency prepares a comprehensive plan with little or no outside input,
and without researching viable alternatives
• Plural Plan – Exploring and discussing multiple options for each proposed plan, hearing
from different interest groups, giving all groups a voice whether they have had traditional
‘power’ within a community or not.
• Davidoff’s encouragement of tension and contentious discussion is critical to plural
planning.
• There are benefits to utilizing plural planning as opposed to unitary planning:
• It better informs the public of alternative choices
• Forces public agency to compete with other organizations preparing plans, thereby
increasing the quality of the work generated by the public sector
• Gives outside organizations a chance to take their work to the next level – not just protesting
government’s plans, but creating their own alternatives.
• This is how public participation is achieved in advocacy planning.
• It ensure that no contending party preparing a plan has an undue advantage of any sort.

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 Advocacy planning
Role of a planner

• Planners play the role of advocates, helping those people in preparing plans whose
views match his own. Hence, in advocacy planning the role of the planners is not
just that of a technician like in Rational planning.
• the role of planner is essentially the one as a facilitator who either advocates
directly for underrepresented groups directly or encourages them to become part
of the process.
• The planner helps his clients articulate their thoughts in a language which is
comprehendible to them, the other parties and to the decision makers.
• The planner defends his plan by highlighting the strengths of his plan and pointing
out the shortcomings of the plans prepared by other groups.
– This is done to win the political support for the approval of the planner’s
clients’ plan which is a prerequisite for the financing and implementation of
their plan.
• The planner makes his clients aware about the various institutions and processes
involved in planning, also the rights under the various planning laws, the way a city
government functions and the particular programmes which might affect them.
• The public is told why certain suggestions were taken and some not and what the
justifications are behind the policies which are implemented.

URBAN PLANNING
 Advocacy planning

Main features of ‘Advocacy Planning’

• Provision of ‘Planning Services’ to low-income and minority neighbourhoods

• facilitates lively political discussion and opposition to public agency which is
required for a healthy democracy and a rational decision making process.
• Akin to legal services provided by a lawyer Advocate
• Planners to be hired by neighbourhoods themselves or the city government
• ‘Public interest’ determined through debate or consensus building among the
Advocate Planners

Criticism

• Too tasking and difficult for the planners involved

• Advocate Planners are demographically different from their ‘clients’
• Raises expectations among the poor that cannot be met
• It further weakens the political influence of the poor

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 PARTICIPATORY PLANNING

Participatory planning is part of the decentralization process and it aims

to identify the critical problems and solve these problems by different
methods.

“…is a communication process between all the people and groups

involved in making a joint decision to ensure that it has been made on
the basis of a partnership”.

“... means that people … are involved in economic, social, cultural and
political processes that influence their lives”.

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 METHODS OF PLANNING

1. Rapid Rural Appraisal methods(RRA),

2. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA).

URBAN PLANNING
 METHODS OF PLANNING

1. Rapid Rural Appraisal methods(RRA)

RRA can be defined as a qualitative survey

methodology using a multi‐discipline team
to formulate problems for research and
development.

It involves external experts teaming up with

local community in a process of knowledge
sharing.

URBAN PLANNING
 METHODS OF PLANNING

2. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA).

PRA is a label given to a growing family of

participatory approaches and methods that
emphasize local knowledge and enable local
people to make their own appraisal, analysis,
and plans.
This tool is efficient in terms of both time and
money. PRA work together enough information
to make the necessary recommendations and
decisions.

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 SALIENT FEATURES

• The planning process should be produce two sets of results.

1. In the short term , the tools of participatory planning should generate

a two-way learning process, which will shape project to local needs,

2. In the long term this learning process should lead to local

empowerment and effective support at the institutional level.

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URBAN PLANNING
 STEPS IN PARTICIPATORY PANNING

Conduct gramsabhas to identify the needs of the people

Assessment of the local resources and problems and accordingly

Formulate development reports

Preparation of project proposals through specific task forces

Formulation of local plans by elected bodies(Panchayat)

Formulation of plans at the higher levels

Appraisal and approval of plans by an expert committee

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 EXAMPLE
People’s Participation
The approach of planning has shifted from top-down to bottom-up approach to make planning process more
broad; partnership based and negotiated principles and practices.13 Greater public support is obligatory, to
ensure that plans are relevant, before implementation. People can participate in the development process in
the following realms:

• Participation in decision making in plan formulation, identification of development priorities,

• Participation before finalisation and implementation of development programmes and priorities,
• Participation during implementation and evaluation of development programmes and project,
• Participation and sharing the benefits of development, managing the assets etc.

e-Platform is coming up as new mode of obtaining feedback. The state governments should define, through
State T&CP Acts, limited short period of public feedback to make the process faster and avoid any undue
delay in the planning process.

Taking into account the interest, attitude and behaviour of the people, role of urban development
professionals and obligations of local authority, a system of participatory plan approach has been
suggested as under:

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 EXAMPLE

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