Regional Planning:

Concepts, Need and

Objectives
Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Lashari
 Introduction
• REGIONAL PLANNING:-
• Definition: - Regional planning is a part of land use planning which deals
with different ideal, location activities of people.
• Region: - Region can be an easy administrative area large than a district,
designed or planned to be easily handled or taken care of from the various
viewpoints.
• Regions may be virtual not physical.
 Introduction
• Regional Planning
• Different district plans or development plans policy.
• Local plans. Town, district, tehsil, and statement structure plans
• Regional planning covers other disciplines/subjects, i.e. economics, management, sociology, infrastructure,
and transportation, etc…
• Definition of regions ( Portray Border Line)
• Regional planning can strengthen economy of any region.
• National Level: - Budget allocate at yearly economic level where amount can be distributed at different
targets, departments, sectors.
• Local Plans are made for five years, at local level
 Introduction: Planning
• Planning can be defines as sequence of actions, which are designed to solve problems (existing and futuristic).
• The planning problems vary, but time to be primarily economic and social.
• The planning period time horizon of future also varies according to the type and level of planning, but all
planning involves a sequential process, which can be conceptualized in to a number of stages, such as:
• The identification of problems.
• The formulation of general goals and more specific and measureable objectives relate in to the problems.
• The identification of possible constraints.
• The projection of future situation.
• The generation and evaluation of alternative cosines of actions.
• The development of preferred plane which may include any policy statement or strategy as well as deceptive plan.
 Planning & Physical Planning
• Planning:- planning is primarily a way of thinking about social and economic problems,
planning is oriented mainly towards the future, is a deep concern with the relation of goals
to allocate designs and the making of policies and programs planning varies according to the
types. Certain basic differences between various types or useful in the analysis of regional
planning.
• The first and perhaps most fundamental difference and one which has been a constant source
of confusion in regional planning is that b/w physical planning and economic planning.
• Physical planning: - physical planning is the planning of physical structure such as land
use, communication, utilities, and so on and has its origins in the regulation and control of
town development.
 Economic Planning
• Economic planning:- Economic planning concerned with the more economic structure of an area and its over all
levels of prosperity.
• It works more through the market mechanism than physical planning, it means economic planning, which rely
heavily on direct controls.
• Regional planning usually involves both physical and economic planning. Some regional plans may be purely a
locative,( coordination, the resolution of conflicts insurance that the system is going on according to the policies a
locative planning).
• But, the majority include certain innovative elements(concerns with planning for the efficient functioning of
existing systems, but it more concerned with improving or developing the system, introducing new aims and
objectives for a better change).
• In addition regional planning is in variably multi objectives, but the method of implementation may vary according
to the types and nature of the problems.
•  The region fact or fallers. The first step in an outline of the concept of the region is to
examine
• Whether regions are natural phenomena or measurably the mental constructions.
• There are two types:- Objective view and Subjective view
• Objective view of the region:-
• The objective view describes that the region exists and is linked with the search for natural
regions.
• The famous oxford geographer (A. J. HERBERTSON) adopted an initial approach, divided
the world or globe into natural regions based on four criteria.
• Land configuration
• Climate
• Vegetation
• Population density
• Subjective view:- The Subjective view adopts an opposite approach from the subjective
taking the region as an end in itself, a real entity, that can be identified or mapped.
• Subjective view:-
• The subjective sees the region as means to an end, simply an idea, a model, to
help in the study of the world or globe.
• It is a method of classification, a device to separate real features, with the
only natural regions being the surface of the earth on which man finds his
home.
• Subjective view described regions as descriptive tools, defined according to
criteria, for a particular purpose.
 Aims of Regional Planning

• Utilizing Resources in an optimal manner to realize the development potential of the region over a
given time frame with minimal negative impacts to achieve economic equity.
• Securing the planning and equitable distribution of population and economic resources of a
country.
• The task of arranging the available land in a pattern that is most profitable and productive to the
region and the country at large.
• Allocation of certain basic resources to generate economic activity in backward regions for
stabilization of their economy by planning an adequate number of medium-sized towns and to
provide them with services, employment, and social and cultural facilities.
• Preventing irregular and unhealthy urban expansion.
 Objectives of Regional Planning

• Achieve effective land use planning on regional level

• Promote affordable housing of all types on regional scale

• Assure regional renewal in all inner-city areas

• Reduce air and water pollution as needed. Conserve water.

• Minimize freeway expansion through promoting key major street improvements

• Maximize mass transit expansion throughout region

• To achieve quality education on all levels and to all residents
• Assure appropriate job creation and job training
• Maximize airport system balance for all types and sizes throughout region
• Focus on tax base sharing in all forms
• Create and maintain a quality region-wide health care system
• Minimize public sector budgetary waste and balance budgets
 Levels of planning

• (Local, Regional, National)

• Regional Level:- The regional level of planning straddles the national local gape.
• It is concerned with planning of an area with different economic and social, characteristic, opportunities and
problems, setting it apart from the other regions.
• Economic factors have major importance when dealing with areas at this level but there are of course physical
problems as well hence the introduction of a physical and economic split in to the two factors, as physical and
economic elements are present at all levels of planning)
• The sub regional level is most difficult to define it is something of a hybrid relating to a part of larger region.
• In Britain, the sub region may over lap local authority boundaries relating to specific problems than
administrative there is more emphasize on physical elements at this level, and sub region can be regarded as
the highest level at which physical elements are major components of the planning.
• Local level of planning:-
• At the local level of planning town and country planning has played a more
dominant role resulting in a more land use oriented approach.
• Local plans are being prepared at this level, which will set out local authorities
policy and general proposals in respect of development and other use of land,
including major improvement of the physical environment.
• The management of traffic local plans mostly used to develop for the detailed
policy and proposals for that particular area or city.
 National Level
• Planning at the national level of government tends to be strongly economic.
• National economic planning can be subdivided into the short term allocate form concerned with the
stabilization of the economic and the long run innovation form concerned primarily with the achievement
of caution rates of economic growth.
• The five year development plans are the examples of long run form. These plans are multi objectives and
differ in implementation according to the ideology of the country involved.
• Other examples of these planner ten year perspective plans annual plans, economic plans and so on…….
• Of course, not all these levels may be present in any one country at any particular time in some small
countries, the national and regional levels may be collapses in to one another’s, there may be a little
difference between regional and sub regional.
 Conceptual Basis of Region
• Region can be any administrative area, designed and planned for the well-being. Two Types:
• FORMAL AND FUNCTIONAL.
• Formal Regions:-
• Formal regions are a geographical area, which is uniform and homogeneous in the terms of selected
criteria. In formal regions, the criteria predominantly physical, such as topography, climate or vegetation.
• Delineation of formal regions:-
• The delineation of formal regions involves grouping together of local units, which have similar
characteristics according to certain clearly defined criteria, but which differ the resultant.
• Formal regions will never be perfectly homogeneous, but must be homogeneous within certain clearly
defined limits.
• If the criteria are simple and simple static, such as land over 500ft,
identification is relatively simple. but if there are variety of criteria
(dynamic), such as un employment rates, household sizes and migration
trends or dynamic and constantly changing, the task become more
difficult.
 Delineation of Region
• Two techniques important which can be used to delineate the formal
regions
• 1)The weighted index number method
• 2)Factor analysis method
• Example:-
• Unemployment rate
• Per capita income
A2% B2% C2% 4+0=4 4+0=4 4+0=4
$1000 $1000 $1000 A B C

D1% E2% F3% 2+3=5 4+0=4 6+3=9

$850 $1000 $850 D E F

G11/2% H2% i3% 3+1=4 4+1=5 6+2=8

$950 $950 $900 G H
B I

4+1=5 6+2=8 8+1=9

J2% K3% L4% A
J K L
$950 $950 $950

Standard deviation Region a: 1 per% $50 income

L $ 1000
Localities with weight to criteria
4, 5=a
2 per% UN employed X+-15$ 9, 8=b
• Region A
• 4*5=20
• 5*3=15
• So, 20+15=35, 35/9 = 4.37
• 5.5/4.5 the region is homogeneous
• Region B
• 9+8+9+8=34/4=8.5 =9.5/8.5
• The region b is also homogeneous x=+-0.5
• The region is homogenous within the kind of employment
 FUNCTIONAL REGION

• A functional region is geographical area which displays a certain functional coherence, an

interdependence of parties, when define on the basis of certain criteria.
• It is sometimes referred to as nodal or polarized region and is composed of hydrogenous units
such as cities, towns, and villages which are functionally interrelated.
• The functional relationship are usually revealed in the form of flows, using socioeconomic
criteria, such as journey to work trips or shopping trips linking the employment or shopping
center with subsidiary centers.
• EBNEZER HOWARD was one of the early pioneers of the concept of the nodal region. He
suggested that the solution to the problems of large urban areas, such as London lay in
developing a cluster of new towns linked to the central city in a functional relationship.
 Delineation of functional region:

• The delineation of functional regions involves the grouping of together of

local units, which display a consideration degree of inters dependence.
• The concern thus more with fellows link to a central point rather than with
the uniformity of the region as a whole there are two concepts in this
regards,” flow analysis” based on actual observations of what people do
end” gravitational analysis” based on theoretical observations of what
people might do.
 Delineation of functional region:

• Flow analysis:
• It builds up functional regions on the basis of the direction and intensity of flows between the dominant center
and surrounding small satellite towns. Each flow will show decreasing intensity as it becomes more distant
from the main center and increasing intensity as it approaches another centers.
• The boundary of the sphere of influence of the dominant center will be where the fellow intensity is at the
minimum the flow may be of several types.
•  Economic, characterized according to type such as cargo or passengers, road or rail
• Purpose, such as shopping or community
• Social, such as the flow of standards/hospitals patients
• Political, special the flow of government expenditure
• Information such internet mobile/telephone calls, telegraphs and news which infect may provide a proxy indicator for the rest.
 Delineation of functional region:

• An interesting variation of simple flow analysis is graph theory, which is

very simply approach, but more ordered and systematic way of identifying
functional or nodal regions,
• e.g. : no: of telephone calls is the flow criteria, which can provide a useful index of
a wide range of economic and social relationships the flows of or plotted in matrix
form, through which the primary and secondary flows into an out of each sector can
be identified.
The resulting hierarchy of nodes can be plotted as a simple network providing and insight
into the form at functional relationship with in the area. The above figure provides and
examples of simple graph theory, showing that “D” is the major center from with B, E and G
subsidiary centers

A B C D E F G H I
A   40   20           60

B 10     60           70

C       30         10 40

D   60     40         100

E       30   10       40

F         20   10     30

G       50       20   70

H       20     30     50

I     10 40           50

Horizontal lines shows telephone calls (000 per day from center)
 Gravity Model
• Gravitational analysis:-
• This concerned with the theoretical forces of attraction between centers rather
than actual fellows. As such it could be regarded as
•  Best approach, but of used with care it can provide a guide to the actual
fellows and perhaps more important the potential between centers.
• The simple gravity models assume that the interactions between two centers
are directly proportional to the mass of the centers and inversely proportional
to the distance between the centers.
• The variables used to measure mass and distance depend on the problem
and data availability.
• And recent planning developments. of the model, has represented by such
variable as population, employment, income, expenditure and re-take turn
over and distance in physical terms miles, K.M, time, types and inter
veining opportunities in mathematical notation.
• Tij=K [Pi Pj]
  D2
• Where,
• Tij = gravitational force between i and j
• K = constant
• Pi Pj = mass of two center
• D = distance between two centers
•  The concept of demographic or gravitational potential is a development of the original concept of
delineate the regions