Land Use Planning

(10 hrs)
Comprehensive Land Use Plan, Zoningtoand Sub-division, Planning Steps
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and Procedure, Planning Exercise : data collection, data transfer in the
maps, thematic / composite maps, analysis, land use proposal.
Candidates are required to give their answers in their own words as far as practicable.
The figures in the margin indicate full marks.
Attempt all the questions.

1. Describe “Garden City Concept”. How has been the 3-Magnet idea [15]
incorporated in it? How do you justify its importance on upgrading a
deteriorated city scenario after industrial revolution?

2. Why the rural settlement planning is essential in Nepal? Explain [5+10]

highlighting the significance of Integrated Rural Development
Project (IRDP) in the rural context of Nepal.

3. Write short notes on: (Any two) [2x5]

a) Christaller’s Central Place Theory
b) Radburn concept
c) Classical Greek cities
Land Use Planning
• Land-use planning is the process of regulating the use of land by a central authority.
• Usually, this is done in an effort to promote more desirable social and environmental outcomes
as well as a more efficient use of resources.
• More specifically, the goals of modern land-use planning often include environmental
conservation, restraint of urban sprawl, minimization of transport costs, prevention
of land use conflicts, and a reduction in exposure to pollutants.
• In the pursuit of these goals, planners assume that regulating the use of land will change the
patterns of human behavior, and that these changes are beneficial.
• The first assumption, that regulating land-use changes the patterns of human behavior is
widely accepted.
• However, the second assumption - that these changes are beneficial - is contested, and
depends on the location and regulations being discussed.
Land Use Planning
• In urban planning, land use planning seeks to order and regulate land use in an
efficient and ethical way, thus preventing land use conflicts.
• Governments use land use planning to manage the development of land within
their jurisdictions.
• In doing so, the governmental unit can plan for the needs of the community
while safeguarding natural resources.
• To this end, it is the systematic assessment of land and water potential,
alternatives for land use, and economic and social conditions in order to
select and adopt the best land use options
• Often one element of a comprehensive plan, a land use plan provides a vision for
the future possibilities of development in neighborhoods, districts, cities, or any
defined planning area
Comprehensive Land Use Planning
• The comprehensive plan, also known as a general plan, master plan or land-use plan, is a
document designed to guide the future actions of a community.
• It presents a vision for the future, with long-range goals and objectives for all activities that
affect the local government.
• This includes guidance on how to make decisions on public and private land development
proposals, the expenditure of public funds, availability of tax policy (tax incentives),
cooperative efforts and issues of pressing concern, such as farmland preservation or the
rehabilitation of older neighborhoods areas.
• Most plans are written to provide direction for future activities over a 10- to 20-year period
after plan adoption. However, plans should receive a considered review and possible update
every five years.
Comprehensive Land Use Planning
• A community comprehensive plan serves the following functions:
• The plan provides continuity. The plan provides continuity across time, and gives successive
public bodies a common framework for addressing land-use issues.
• It is the means by which a community can balance competing private interests. John
Public may want to store oil drums on his property. Jane Citizen, his neighbor, would like to
open a restaurant on her property. Planning seeks to strike a balance among the many
competing demands on land by creating development patterns that are orderly and rational,
provide the greatest benefits for individuals and the community as a whole and avoid nuisance
conflicts between land uses.
• It is the means by which a community can protect public investments. Planning is the
means by which a community avoids digging up last year’s new road to lay this year’s new
sewer pipe. Well-planned, orderly and phased development patterns are also less expensive for
a community to provide with public services than low-density, scattered development.
• It allows communities to plan development in a way that protects valued
resources. Planning can identify environmental features like wetlands, agricultural lands,
woods and steep slopes and suggest strategies for preserving those resources from destruction
or degradation by inappropriate development.
Comprehensive Land Use Planning
A community comprehensive plan serves the following functions……………
• It provides guidance for shaping the appearance of the community. A plan can set forth
policies that foster a distinctive sense of place.
• It promotes economic development. The plan contains valuable information that drives the
location decisions of prospective firms.
• It provides justification for decisions. Plans provide a factual and objective basis to support
zoning decisions and can be used by communities to defend their decisions if challenged in
court.
• Through public dialogue, citizens express a collective vision for the future. Last, but
certainly not least, the planning process provides citizens an opportunity to brainstorm, debate
and discuss the future of their community. A plan developed through a robust public input
process enjoys strong community support. Subsequent decisions that are consistent with the
plan’s policies are less likely to become embroiled in public controversy.
Comprehensive Land Use Planning (Process)
Comprehensive planning process
1. Identifying issues
2. Stating goals
3. Collecting data
4. Preparing the plan
5. Creating implementation plans
6. Evaluating alternatives
7. Adopting a plan
8. Implementing and monitoring the plan
Comprehensive Land Use Planning (Process)
1. Identifying issues
• The planner must first address the issue they are investigating. "To be relevant, the planning process
must identify and address not only contemporary issues of concern to residents, workers, property
owners, and business people, but also the emerging issues that will be important in the future.“
• Generally, planners determine community issues by involving various community leaders, community
organizations, and ordinary citizens.
2. Stating goals
• Once issues have been identified by a community, goals can then be established.
• Goals are community visions.
• They establish priorities for communities and help community leaders make future decisions which will
affect the city.
• Stating goals is not always an easy process and it requires the active participation of all people in the
community.
Comprehensive Land Use Planning (Process)
3. Collecting data
• Data is needed in the planning process in order to evaluate current city conditions as well as to predict
future conditions.
• Data is most easily collected from the Census Bureau, however many communities actively collect
their own data.
• The most typical data collected for a comprehensive plan include data about the environment, traffic
conditions, economic conditions, social conditions (such as population and income), public services
and utilities, and land use conditions (such as housing and zoning).
• Once this data is collected it is analyzed and studied. Outcomes of the data collection process include
population projections, economic condition forecasts, and future housing needs.
4. Preparing the plan
• The plan is prepared using the information gathered during the data collection and goal setting stages.
• A typical comprehensive plan begins by giving a brief background of the current and future conditions
found in the data collection step.
• Following the background information are the community goals and the plans that will be used in order
to implement those goals into the community.
• Plans may also contain separate sections for important issues such as transportation or housing which
follow the same standard format
Comprehensive Land Use Planning (Process)
5. Creating implementation plans
• During this stage of the process different programs are thought of in order to implement the
goals of the plan.
• These plans focus on issues such as cost and effectiveness.
• It is possible that a variety of plans will result from this process in order to realize one goal.
• These different plans are known as alternatives.

6. Evaluating alternatives
• Each alternative should be evaluated by community leaders to ensure the most efficient and
cost-effective way to realize the community's goals.
• During this stage each alternative should be weighed given its potential positive and negative
effects, impacts on the community, and impacts on the city government.
• One alternative should be chosen that best meets the needs and desires of the community and
community leaders for meeting the community goals.
Comprehensive Land Use Planning (Process)
7. Adopting a plan
• The community needs to adopt the plan as an official statement of policy in order for it to take effect.
• This is usually done by the City Council and through public hearings.
• The City Council may choose not to adopt the plan, which would require planners to refine the work
they did during previous steps.
• Once the plan is accepted by city officials it is then a legal statement of community policy in regards to
future development.
8. Implementing and monitoring the plan
• Using the implementation plans defined in the earlier stages, the city will carry out the goals in the
comprehensive plan.
• City planning staff monitor the outcomes of the plan and may propose future changes if the results are
not desired.
• A comprehensive plan is not a permanent document.
• It can be changed and rewritten over time.
• For many fast growing communities, it is necessary to revise or update the comprehensive plan every
five to ten years.
• In order for the comprehensive plan to be relevant to the community it must remain current.
Zoning
• Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land
into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from
other zones.
• Zones may be defined for a single use (e.g. residential, industrial), they may combine several
compatible activities by use, or in the case of form-based zoning, the differing regulations may govern
the density, size and shape of allowed buildings whatever their use.
• The planning rules for each zone, determine whether planning permission for a given development may
be granted.
• Zoning may specify a variety of outright and conditional uses of land.
• It may indicate the size and dimensions of lots that land may be subdivided into, or the form and scale
of buildings. These guidelines are set in order to guide urban growth and development.
• Zoning is the most common regulatory urban planning method used by local governments in developed
countries
Zoning (Scope/Purpose)
• The primary purpose of zoning is to segregate uses that are thought to be incompatible. In practice,
zoning is also used to prevent new development from interfering with existing uses and/or to preserve
the "character" of a community.
• Zoning may include;
o Regulation of the kinds of activities which will be acceptable on particular lots (such as open space,
residential, agricultural, commercial or industrial),
o The densities at which those activities can be performed (from low-density housing such as single
family homes to high-density such as high-rise apartment buildings),
o The height of buildings,
o The amount of space structures may occupy,
o The location of a building on the lot (setbacks),
o The proportions of the types of space on a lot, such as how much landscaped space, impervious
surface, traffic lanes, and whether or not parking is provided.
• Zoning is commonly controlled by local governments such as counties or municipalities, though the
nature of the zoning regime may be determined or limited by state or national planning authorities or
through enabling legislation. In some countries, e. g. France, Germany or Canada, zoning plans must
comply with upper-tier (national, regional, state, provincial) planning and policy statements.
Zoning (Origins and history )
• The origins of zoning districts can be traced back to antiquity.
• The ancient walled city was the predecessor for classifying and regulating land, based on use.
• Outside the city walls were the undesirable functions, which were usually based on noise and
smell; that was also where the poorest people lived.
• The space between the walls is where unsanitary and dangerous activities occurred such as
butchering, waste disposal, and brick-firing.
• Within the walls were civic and religious places, and where the majority of people lived.
• Beyond distinguishing between urban and non-urban land, most ancient cities further classified
land types and uses inside their walls. This was practiced in many regions of the world – for
example, in China during the Zhou Dynasty (1046 – 256 BC), in India during the Vedic Era
(1500 – 500 BC), and in the military camps that spread throughout the Roman Empire (31 BC
– 476 AD).
• Because residential districts made up the majority of cities, early forms of districting were
usually along ethnic and occupational divides; generally, class or status diminished from the
city centre outward. One legal form of enforcing this was the caste system.
Zoning (Origins and history )
• While space was carved out for important public institutions, places of worship, retail stores,
markets and squares, there is one major distinction between cities of antiquity and today.
• Throughout antiquity, up until the onset of the Industrial Revolution (1760–1840), most work
took place within the home. Therefore, residential areas also functioned as places of labor,
production, and commerce.
• The definition of home was tied to the definition of economy, which caused a much greater
mixing of uses within the residential quarters of cities
• Throughout the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution, cultural and socio-economic shifts
led to the rapid increase in the enforcement and invention of urban regulations.
• The shifts were informed by a new scientific rationality, the advent of mass production and
complex manufacturing, and the subsequent onset of urbanization.
• Industry leaving the home reshaped modern cities.
• Overcrowding, pollution, and the urban squalor associated with factories were major concerns
that led city officials and planners to consider the need for functional separation of uses.
• France, Germany, and Britain are where pseudo-zoning was invented to prevent polluting
industries to be built in residential areas. Early uses of modern zoning were seen in Germany in
the late-19th century.
Zoning (Types)
• There are a great variety of zoning types, some of which focus on regulating building form and
the relation of buildings to the street with mixed uses, known as form-based, others with
separating land uses, known as use-based, or a combination thereof.
• Use-based zoning systems can comprise single-use zones, mixed-use zones - where a
compatible group of uses are allowed to co-exist - or a combination of both single and mixed-
use zones in one system.
Major Types
• Single-use zoning
• Mixed-use zoning
• Form-based zoning
• Conditional zoning
• Pattern zoning
Zoning (Types)
Single-use zoning (Euclidean zoning )
• Single-use zoning is where only one kind of use is allowed per zone.
• Commonly defined single-use zones include:
o Residential,
o Mixed residential-commercial,
o Commercial,
o Industrial spatial (e. G. Power plants, sports complexes, airports, shopping malls etc.)
• Each category can have a number of sub-categories, for example, within the commercial
category there may be separate zones for small-retail, large retail, office use, lodging and
others.
Zoning (Types)
Single-use zoning (Criticism)
• Critics argue that putting everyday uses out of walking distance of each other leads to an
increase in traffic, since people have to own cars in order to live a normal life.
• Single-use zoning and urban sprawl have also been criticized as making work–family balance
more difficult to achieve, as greater distances need to be covered in order to integrate the
different life domains. These issues are especially acute in the United States, with its high level
of car usage combined with insufficient or poorly maintained urban rail and metro systems.
• Euclidean zoning has been described that uses mechanistic principles to conceive of the city
as a fixed machine. This conception is in opposition to the view of the city as a continually
evolving organism or living system
• Land use restrictions as a violation of individuals' property rights.
• Some economists claim that single-use zoning laws work against economic efficiency and
hinder development in a free economy, as poor zoning restrictions hinder the more efficient
usage of a given area. Even without zoning restrictions, a landfill, for example, would likely
gravitate to cheaper land and not a residential area.
Single-use zoning
Zoning (Types)
Mixed-use zoning
• Planning and community activist Jane Jacobs wrote extensively on the connections between the separation
of uses and the failure of urban renewal projects in New York City. She advocated dense mixed use
developments and walkable streets.
• In contrast to villages and towns, in which many residents know one another, and low-density outer suburbs
that attract few visitors, cities and inner city areas have the problem of maintaining order between strangers
• This order is maintained when, throughout the day and evening, there are sufficient people present with eyes
on the street
• This can be accomplished in successful urban districts that have a great diversity of uses, creating
interest and attracting visitors.
• Jacob's writings, along with increasing concerns about urban sprawl, are often credited with inspiring the
New Urbanism movement.
• To accommodate the New Urbanist vision of walkable communities combining cafés, restaurants,
offices and residential development in a single area, mixed-use zones have been created within some
zoning systems.
• These still use the basic regulatory mechanisms of zoning, excluding incompatible uses such as heavy
industry or sewage farms, while allowing compatible uses such as residential, commercial and retail
activities so that people can live, work and socialise within a compact geographic area
• Examples include: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore
Zoning (Types)
Form-based zoning
• Form-based zoning regulates not the type of land use, but the form that land use may take.
• For instance, form-based zoning in a dense area may insist on low setbacks, high density, and
pedestrian accessibility.
• Form-based codes (FBCs) are designed to directly respond to the physical structure of a
community in order to create more walkable and adaptable environments.
• Paris, looking toward the high density district of La Défense.
• New York's 1916 Zoning Resolution also contained elements of form-based zoning. This was a
reaction to The Equitable Building which towered over the neighbouring residences,
diminishing the availability of sunshine. It mandated setbacks to tall buildings involving a
mathematical formula based on the height and lot size, and led to the iconic shapes of many
early skyscrapers. New York City went on to develop ever more complex regulations,
including floor-area ratio regulations, air rights and others for specific neighborhoods.
Zoning (Types)
Form-based zoning
• The French planning system is mostly form-based; zoning codes in French cities generally
allow many types of uses.
• The key differences between zones are based on the density of each use on a site. For example,
a low-density zone may have the same permissible uses as a high-density zone. However, the
proportion of residential uses in the low-density zone would be greater than in the high-density
zone for economic rather than regulatory reasons.
Zoning (Types)
Conditional zoning
• Conditional zoning allows for increased flexibility and permits municipalities to respond to the
unique features of a particular land use application.
• Uses which might be disallowed under current zoning, such as a school or a community center
can be permitted via conditional use zoning.
• Conditional use permits (also called special use permits) enable land uses that because of their
special nature may be suitable only in certain locations, or arranged or operated in a particular
manner. For example:
o Local agencies can restrict the time, place and manner in which convenience stores, liquor
stores and fast-food outlets operate.
o Community gardens can be allowed under specified conditions in certain zones.
o As a condition of approval, large mixed-use development projects can be encouraged or
required to offer to lease commercial space for a grocery store in a neighborhood that lacks
access to healthy foods.
Zoning (Types)
Pattern zoning
• Pattern zoning is a zoning technique in which a municipality provides licensed pre-approved
building designs, typically with an expedited permitting process.
• Pattern zoning is used to reduce barriers to housing development, create more affordable
housing, reduce burdens on permit-review staff, and create quality housing designs within a
certain neighborhood or jurisdiction.
• Pattern zoning may also be used to promote certain building types such as missing middle
housing and affordable small-scale commercial properties.
• In some cases, a municipality purchases design patterns and constructs the properties
themselves while in other cases the municipality offers the patterns for private development.
Sub-division
• Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop,
usually via a plot.
• Subdivisions may be simple, involving only a single seller and buyer, or complex, involving
large tracts of land divided into many smaller parcels.
• If it is used for housing it is typically known as a housing subdivision or housing development,
although some developers tend to call these areas communities.
• Subdivisions may also be for the purpose of commercial or industrial development, and the
results vary from retail shopping malls with independently owned out parcels to industrial
parks.
Sub-division (United Kingdom and Ireland)
• In the United Kingdom and Ireland, subdivisions are
usually areas of land that have been zoned for a particular
type of residential development, often called a housing
estate.
• They can vary enormously in character, density, and
socioeconomic value.
• They have existed for well over a century, but became
prevalent after World War II, as a more affluent population
demanded larger and more widely spaced houses coupled
with the increase of car usage for which terraced streets
were unsuitable.
• Subdivisions were often produced by either local authorities
(more recently, housing associations) or by private An upper middle class housing estate on the
southern side of Swords, Dublin, Ireland.
developers.
• The former tended to be a means of producing public
housing leading to monotenure estates full of council
houses often known as "council estates". The latter can refer
to higher end tract housing for the middle class and even
upper middle class.
Sub-division (Philippines)
• In the Philippines, subdivisions are areas of
land that have been subdivided into individual
residential plots.
• Whereas some subdivisions comprise exclusive
gated communities, others are merely
demarcations denoting a specific
neighborhood.
• Some subdivisions may conduct autonomous
security, or provide basic services such as water
and refuse management.
• Most subdivisions are governed by associations
made up of members who are residents of the
subdivision.
• In the Philippines, subdivisions are also known
as villages. Entrance to a subdivision in Baliuag, Bulacan, Philippines