Environmental Planning Concepts - Lecture 1

Lecture 1: Environmental Planning Concepts

• Ekistics is the study of human settlements, developed by Constantino Doxiadis.
• Man and his environment are interconnected through nature, society, and the shell (built environment), and a network of systems.
• Man's needs include biological, emotional, moral, and sensory needs.
• Society involves population, social classes, cultural patterns, economic development, education, healthcare, and law.
• Nature includes geological, topographic, soil, and water resources, as well as plant and animal life, climate, and the atmosphere.
• The shell (built environment) includes housing, community services, shopping centers, recreational facilities, civic & business centers, industry, transportation centers, sewerage, and drainage systems, plus the basic physical layout.
• The network involves systems of water supply, power supply, transportation, and communication.

Definition of Planning

• Planning is a systematic process establishing goals (policies), gathering and analyzing facts, comparing alternative proposals and programs, measuring resources, and deploying resources to meet those goals.
• It involves understanding different types of decisions, assessing opportunities and limitations, identifying short-term and long-term consequences of alternative choices, relating decisions to established goals and objectives, and reporting the information clearly to decision-makers.

Definitions of Environmental Planning

• Environmental planning concerns society's collective stewardship of Earth's resources, focusing on providing basic life support and contributing to psychological well-being. It's a generic activity involved in anticipating and planning for the future.
• This concept aims to improve and protect environmental quality for urban residents, both by managing pollution and separating incompatible activities.

Components of Environmental Planning

• Effective environmental planning relies on the interaction of three primary components: hardware, software, and heartware.
• Hardware refers to the physical infrastructure of a community (buildings, roads, railways, ports).
• Software comprises rules, regulations, laws, legislation, and customs that govern conduct.
• Heartware involves individual emotional needs, desires, behaviors, and attitudes which impact interactions with the surrounding environment.

Need for Environmental Planning

• The need arises from increasing consumption of resources, waste production, and environmental uncertainties.

Mechanisms of Environmental Planning

• Environmental planning employs various mechanisms, including command and control regulations (licenses, permits), free market mechanisms influenced by economic measures, information, education, state ownership, and collaboration/negotiation.

Nature and Scope of Environmental Planning

• Environmental planning is dynamic, evolving over time due to technological change, cultural norms, and changing community needs.

• It's cyclic, as planners continually review and re-evaluate plans in light of new information and demands.

• Environmental planning is multi-disciplinary, requiring expertise from various fields (economics, engineering, sociology, architecture, law, geography, etc.).

• Environmental planning is ongoing, continually looking ahead, and assessing the plans.

• Planning needs a time frame, and consideration of short, medium, and long-term time horizons.

• Environmental planning is comprehensive, aiming to cover all relevant aspects of people and their environments

Levels of Planning (Geographic Areas)

• Environmental planning is organized on different geographic scales (provincial, regional, city, etc.).

Levels of Planning (Sectors)

• Specific areas of focus, (tourism, infrastructure, industry, housing, agriculture, land transportation, etc.).

Levels of Planning (Timeframe)

• Plans can have different timelines for implementation (short-term, medium-term, long-term).

Contributions of Various Countries in Environmental Planning

• Various countries, including France, Germany, Scandinavia, Netherlands, Spain and the US have contributed unique ideas and approaches to environmental planning. These include regional planning, decentralized planning, zoning, city-region concepts, transportation corridors, and consideration of water, sanitation, and drainage.

Key Environmental Planners

• Key figures in the field include Ebenezer Howard, Daniel Burnham, and Constantinos Doxiadis who developed different concepts of environmental planning and their applications.

Explore the fundamental concepts of environmental planning in this quiz. Understand the connection between humans and their environment, as well as the significance of various systems, needs, and societal aspects. Perfect for students interested in urban planning and sustainable development.