Introduction to Community Planning and Urban Design PDF

# Far Eastern University ## Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts ### LECTURE "Lecture Notes are excerpts from the above mentioned references." # INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN ## PLANNING: DEFINITION ### Conventional (Buted, 2017) 1. Planning is a decision-making process...

# Far Eastern University ## Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts ### LECTURE "Lecture Notes are excerpts from the above mentioned references." # INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN ## PLANNING: DEFINITION ### Conventional (Buted, 2017) 1. Planning is a decision-making process: an activity that one does now, the results of which are expected to happen in the future. 2. Planning is the process of choosing alternatives among different courses of action to attain a certain objective. 3. Planning is problem solving. It is a systematic process of establishing ends that define direction of future development and determining means and procedures to achieve the end. ### Academic (Buted, 2017) - Planning is a deliberate, organized and continuous process of identifying different elements and aspects of the environment, determining their present state and interaction, projecting them in concert throughout a period in time in the future and formulating and programming a set of actions or interventions to attain desired results. - It pays attention to the location, form, intensity, and effect of human activities on the built and un-built environments, anticipating change, and managing such change sustainably. - **American - Urban and Regional Planning** - **British - Town and Country Planning** - **French - Environmental Planning** - **United Nations - Human Settlements Planning** - Urban and Regional Planning refers to the scientific, orderly, and aesthetic disposition of land, buildings, resources, facilities and communication routes, in use and in development, with a view to obviating congestion and securing the maximum practicable degree of economy, efficiency, convenience, sound environment, beauty, health and well-being in urban and rural communities (Canadian Institute of Planners, ca. 1919). - Urban and Regional Planning is the unified development of urban communities and their environs and of states, regions, and the nation as a whole, as expressed through determination of the comprehensive arrangement of land uses and land occupancy and their regulation (American Institute of Certified Planners - AICP). ### Legal (Buted, 2017) - Environmental Planning refers to activities connected with the management and development of land, as well as the preservation, conservation and management of the human environment (PD 1308, 2 March 1978). - Environmental Planning, also known as urban and regional planning, city planning, town and country planning, and/or human settlements planning, refers to the multi-disciplinary art and science of analysing, specifying, clarifying, harmonizing, managing and regulating the use and development of land and water resources, in relation to their environs, for the development of sustainable communities and ecosystems (RA 10587, 27 May 2013). ## ULTIMATE GOAL OF PLANNING - **PEOPLE: General Welfare** - To further the welfare of people and their communities by creating convenient, equitable, healthful, efficient, attractive, ecologically sustainable environment that contributes to the economic prosperity of the present and future generations. - **RESOURCES: Highest and Best Use** A piece of land is said to be in its highest and best use when it is used in such a manner that it provides an optimum return to its operator or to society. The criteria for determining the optimum return varies according to who makes the final decision. (Serote, 2004) - Owner/developer: assessed in monetary terms. - Other stakeholders: assessed in intangible social values. - **LAND/ENVIRONMENT: Carrying capacity** This pertains to the intensity of a particular use in which a land unit can be put without causing significant damage to the land resource. (Serote, 2004) - Exceeded carrying capacity: realize diminishing returns on investment - Increase in investment the unit of return = proportionately less than what is normally expected. For development to be sustainable, the highest and best use of a land unit should not exceed its carrying capacity. ## Shifts in Modern Planning (Buted, 2017) | Before | After | |---|---| | Product Oriented | Process Oriented | | All-Inclusive | Strategic | | Compartmental due to admin boundaries | Transborder | | Agency led | Community based | | Top down | Bottom up | | Open Participation | Focused participation | ## Attributes to the Planning Process (Buted, 2017) 1. Scientific - quantifiable and objective 2. Multi-Disciplinary - expertise of various disciplines 3. Comprehensive - covers all aspects/sectors of development 4. Dynamic - responsive to changes in time 5. Iterative - continuous, cyclical 6. Participatory - values engagement of multiple stakeholders 7. Time-Bound - specified time perspective ## COMMUNITY PLANNING - Concerned with organization of the human communities as basis for good and technical knowledge, imagination, analytical understanding of the systems nature of cities, and political commitment to social justice and democracy. (American Planning Association, 2015) - The goal of community planning is to maximize the health, safety, and economic well-being of all people living the community. This involves thinking about how the people moves around the community, how to attract and retain thriving businesses, where people want to live, and creating opportunities for recreation. Community planning helps create communities of lasting value. (American Planning Association, 2015) - Planning carried out with the active participation of the end users. Similarly community architecture, community design and so on. (Wates, 2000) ### Who to involve A checklist of people and organisations who might need to be involved in any community planning initiative. Customise your own list. - Allotment holders - Archaeological groups - Archaeologists - Architects - Builders - Businesses - Countryside management officers - Craftspeople - Designers - Developers - Disability groups - Ecologists - Economists - Engineers - Environmental groups - Ethnic groups - Estate agents - Farmers - Financial institutions - Local history groups - Migrants - Sports groups - Squatters and squatters' groups - Media groups and organisations - Minority groups - Mothers' unions - Museums (especially local history) - Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) - Parent-teacher organisations - Parish councils - Photographers - Planners - Playgroups - Statutory agencies - Street cleaners - Student groups - Surveyors - Teachers - Tenant groups and associations - Town managers - Traders - Transport groups - Transport operators - Transport planners - Universities - Chambers of commerce - Charities - Children - Churches - Civic societies and groups - Colleges - Community associations - Community-based organisations (CBOs) - Community leaders - Community woodland groups - Companies - Conservation groups - Footpath and access groups - Funding agencies - Health workers - Homeless people - Industrialists - Journalists - Land managers - Landowners - Landscape architects - Lawyers - Local authorities - Police - Postmen and women - Professional institutions and groups - Property owners - Public works departments - Publicans - Ramblers - Religious groups - Residents groups and associations - Rural community councils - Schools - Senior citizens - Shopkeepers - Urban designers - Utility providers - Village hall committees - Wildlife groups - Women's groups - Women's institutes - Workforces - Young people - Youth clubs, guides and scouts ## COMMUNITY PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE - While architects often focus on a single building, a planner's job is to work with residents and elected officials to guide the layout of an entire community or region. - Planners take a broad view and look at how the pieces of a community - buildings, roads, and parks - fit together like pieces of a puzzle. - Planners then make recommendations on how the community should proceed. - One of the greatest challenges for planners is to imagine what can and should happen to a community: how it should grow and change, and what it should offer residents 10, 15, or even 20 years into the future. (American Planning Association, 2010) # URBAN DESIGN Urban design is the discipline between planning and architecture. (APA, 2007) - three-dimensional physical form from policies described in a comprehensive plan - design of the public realm, which is created by both public spaces and the buildings that define them - short time horizon and are typically area or project specific - Issues to be considered include existing development, proposed development, utility infrastructure, streets framework, open space framework, environmental framework, and sustainable development principles - Urban designer integrate the work of diverse range of specialists