THEORIES and PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING

THEORY is a way of understanding the world, a framework for our interpretations of facts and
experience, a framework by which bricks can be built into a coherent structure. At the same time as it
explains facts, theory needs to be applied.

PLANNING is the deliberate social or organizational activity of developing an optimal strategy for
achieving a desired set of goals. Such planning aims to apply the methods of rational choice to
determining a best set of future actions and addressed to novel problems in complex contexts; it is
attended by the power and intention to commit resources and to act as necessary to implement the chosen
strategy.

THE PLANNING PROCESS

1. Problem Diagnosis
2. Goal Articulation
3. Prediction and Projection
4. Alternative Development
5. Feasibility & Analysis
6. Evaluation
7. Implementation

A. HISTORY OF PHILIPPINE PLANNING

I. Pre-Hispanic Period
1. Scattered/dispersed communities
2. Riverine (linear patter)
3. Self-sufficient individual economies
4. Absence of stone structures
5. Barangay is the basic structure as:
a. Consisting of 30-100families
b. Was composed of single kinship with a chieftain as “DATU”.
c. Closed system, protected by substantial fortification
d. Self-sufficient agrarian economy supplemented by fishing and hunting
• Inter-Barangay contacts were minimal
• Supra-Barangay for mutual protection validated through inter-Barangay
marriages
6. No distinct development plan followed to layout the internal structure
7. Planning was more a dictate of environmental conditions rather than a conceived and
willful activity.

II. Spanish Colonization Period

Spanish Settlement Patterns
 Barangay decentralization prevented a formidable obstacle to Spanish colonizers
 Christianization. Spiritual conquest could be achieved only by community consolidation
or “reduction”
 Nucleation Strategy. Resettlement, a necessary condition and logical corollary of
Christian conversion and cultural transformation.
a. 1520s-1570s. First attempts of resettlement but failed
b. 1589. First official resettlement Program.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 1
 c. 1597. Resettlement Policies were institutionalized in the “Laws of the
Indies (indigenous inhabitants)”.
 Compact Villages provided a rapid Christian indoctrination and societal reorganization
 Ciudades. These are urban cluster settlements with non-agricultural population of at least
10,000 persons. It functions as defensive centers, seat of bishoprics, center for education,
regional centers for colonial rule. It has a social mix of Spanish concomicaderos, resident
ecclesiastics, Principalia and Chinese.
 Villas. These are semi-urban nodes strategically scattered for an effective colonial
control.
 Cabeceras are small misson settlements located at the heart of the town. It functions as
center for religious activities and cultural change. With a social mix of Spanish friars and
Principalias, it features:
a. Church/convents located at the center
b. Municipal Building
c. Residences of Chief Citizens (principalias)
d. Approaches to reduction (reducir)
e. Military coercion
f. Enticement (colorful ritual of Catholicism)
g. Children as instrument s of resettlements (seminario de Indio)
Spanish Law: All colonial land and produce belonged to the king.

Table 1. Hierarchy of Governmental Units.

Pre - Contemporary
Conquest Early Spanish Late Spanish (English)

Ranchera Sitio Sitio (hamlet)

Visita Barangay Barrio/Barang Barrio (Village)

ay

Cabecerra Poblacion Poblacion

Baranga (Town) or
y Municipality
Pueblo Municipio
(township)
Ciudad Ciudad City
Atealdia Mayor
Corregimiento
Provinces Province
th th
Hispanic Masterplan derived from the urban formulas of the 15 and 16
Century Italian Renaissance Theories:
a. Used plastic cultural materials
b. Standard Gridiron arrangements
Focused on a central plaza surrounded by an orderly system of rectangular
street blocks, where the public and civil structures with the church as the
nucleus.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 2
III. American Period
a. Daniel Burnham (1905), prepared a physical development plan for Manila and a layout
of the major land uses of Baguio. He advocated the City Beautiful Movement which
features:
i. Aesthetic Values
ii. Visual image of the city
iii. With emphasis on wide boulevards (tree-lined), Park system (landscaped),
Symmetry of Public squares and civic centers.
iv. Focused on themes of devotion to classic-renaissance character in the building
design and commitment to monumental city planning
v. Municipal arts, civic improvements and outdoor arts
Revised Code of 1917 instructing the Public Works director to prepare general development plans
for all cities and municipalities of the country. Local governments enacted zoning ordinances to
regulate the use of private properties.
SANITARY BARRIOS are models of sanitary facilities provisions for nipa neighborhood.
1920s saw the development of “barrio obreros” meaning working class districts.
1926-1933 started the survey of slums by the colonial government. Housing Committees were
formed to undertake slum clearance and housing projects.

IV. Commonwealth Period

Manuel L. Quezon was focused on Social Justice. His key legislations were:
1. 1936 Vitas Tenement Housing Project
2. 1938 saw the acquisitioned land at Diliman Hacienda.
3. National Assembly enacted legislation to authorize upon just compensation, the
appropriation of lands to be subdivided into small lots and conveyed at cost to individuals
(CA20-1936; CA260-1938; CA420-1939; CA 538-1940).
4. CA No. 2 created the National Economic Council to undertake planning and economic
programs
5. Urban Planning and Development Agencies:
 PHC. People’s Homesite Corporation. This agency is responsible for home
building, home ownership and developer of model communities (Diliman Estate)
 NHC. National Housing Commission, 1941 was responsible for the handling of
urban housing, subdivision, slum clearance projects. However, it was never
formally organized due to the outbreak of WW2.
6. CA 502 (1/12/1939) made Quezon City the Charter New Capitol City. A plan was
prepared but was never implemented due to the outbreak of the war.

V. Post War Period Planning (1946-1996)

1. Urgent need to reconstruct or rehabilitate the housing requirements of the masses
2. Emergency Measures-primarily building of workers’ tenement housing, control of
urban tenant-landlord relations
3. Creation of new organizations/ reorganization of old organizations
4. Concentration of policy on economic growth and recovery. However, there was little
support extended to urban housing and development projects.
5. Planning and Development Agencies:
a. National Urban Planning Commission (EO98,1946). This agency was
mandated to rebuild the settlements ruined by war and prepared the general
development plans and formalization of zoning ordinances and subdivision
regulations
b. People’s Homesite and Housing Corporation (1947) was mandated for the
acquisition, construction and management of low-cost housing projects, slum

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 3
 clearances and relocation. These were not successful due to insufficient funding,
absence of definite policy, and shortage of qualified personnel.
July 17, 1948 saw the organization and operation of the Capital City Planning Commission.
1950, the National Urban Planning Commission, the capital City Planning Commission and the Real
Estate Property Board (RPB) merged into the National Planning Commission (NPC) with functions as:
a. Formulation of plans for all municipalities/cities/regions;
b. Prepare zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations; and
c. Draft a uniform building code
1954. NPC prepared a master plan for Manila
1956, NPC made 194 plans ready for adoption by cities and towns. These were Model subdivision
regulations and building codes, generally oriented to CIVIC DESIGN.
1954. presidential Assistance on Housing (PAH) was created. EO 64 & 68 authorized PAH to propose
and implement a nationwide housing program with functions as:
a. Formulated the uniform housing standards
b. Coordination with all government relocation programs
c. Formulation of Policy proposal
1956, the Home Financing Commission was created to operate a mortgage insurance program, to
encourage/initiate the organization of building and of loans associations; and promoted home building
and land ownership. GSIS, SSS, DBP gave housing loans to low-income groups for home construction.
1959. The Local (Government) Autonomy Act saw the decentralization of planning –zoning and
subdivision regulations
1960. Concept of regional planning introduced to bridge the gap between National development and local
planning efforts for reasons:
a. To stimulate economic development of potential regions that were then underdeveloped,
b. To effect a more even distribution of growth in the different regions of the country.
1961. Mindanao (Mindanao development Authority)-Sulu-Palawan Association was created to:
a. Prepare a comprehensive plan to enhance socio-economic developments of a region based on
the guidelines of NEC.
b. Extend planning, management and technical assistance to private investors
c. Recommend to agencies what agricultural and industrial projects to implement.
d. Coordinate and harmonize diverse programs and operations of different public and private
agencies.
1962. Five year Integrated Socio-economic Plan for Regional development in Mindanao and Cagayan
Valley in Central Luzon. Mindanao plan was for industrial and agricultural development and for
integrated steel mill, aluminum, fertilizers and plywood manufacturing. Cagayan was planned for the
development of water resources. The emphasis was to decentralize planning functions to regional level
RDA and yielded:
a. Mindanao Development Authority
b. Central Luzon-Cagayan Valley Authority
c. Bicol Development Company
d. Laguna Lake Development Authority
1962. Administrative order 31- For the City/Municipality/ Provinces to form its local planning board to
prepare development plans and development control regulations under the supervision of NPC.
1964. Presidential Assistance on Housing was created under the direct supervision of the President and
served as overall coordinator of all agencies related to housing and as liaison office between the
government and the Private Sector.
1968. EO 121 BY president Marcos strengthened the Provincial Planning into the Provincial
Development Committee tasked to prepare provincial development plans and to coordinate public and
private sectors’ implementation of development projects.
1970 saw the impact of uncontrolled urbanization. UNDP Programs under the World Bank were
implemented, as:

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 4
 a. Physical Planning Strategy
b. Manila Bay Metropolitan Development Project
c. Mindanao development Project
1972. PD 1 created the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to replace the National
Economic Committee (NEC). It also subdivided the country into eleven administrative regions with a
regional center or capital designated and a Regional Development Council.
September 19, 1973. EO 419 created the Task Force on Human Settlements to provide a viable
environment and human habitat, with functions as to:
a. undertake and support the National Human settlements program and handle land use
planning and resource management activities
b. In-depth studies on existing human settlements to identify priority areas for project
development
c. Formulate policy guidelines for project implementation.
1978. PD 933 TFHS was elevated to Human Settlements Commission to Human Settlements Regulatory
Commission. PD 1396 created the Ministry of Human Settlements with forces on land use and town
planning, environment management and economic and livelihood programs.
1980. Town Planning Assistance Program extended inter-agency programs – MLGCD, NEDA, MHS.
1970-1975:
a. IRP 1972 Regionalization made:
i. The administration of the national government closer to the people.
ii. To provide a more rational framework for regional planning (ADB, 1990)
b. Creation of RDC and NRC with emphasis on Physical Framework Planning integrating
economic, social and administrative goals.
1976 –1976 saw the following:
a. IAD-Integrated Area Development
b. Human Settlements Approach – 11 Basic needs of Human settlements
c. Industrial Dispersal Policy
d. Shift from Framework planning to Investment Programming (RDIP)
e. PD 1517 created the Urban Land Reform to liberate communities from blight, congestion and
hazard, to promote devel0pment and modernization.
1986 - 1996
a. 1986 is the period of decentralization and autonomy.
b. 1987 saw the reformulation/updating of the 1935 Constitution.
i. More genuine political commitment to regionalization and decentralization
ii. The early years of the Aquino Government has intensified efforts towards
decentralization and creation of autonomous regions (Cariño, 1990).
1987-1989 saw the reorganization of government to strengthen regional units, reduction of national
government office personnel and decentralization of DBM and devolution of authority to lower levels. It
also reorganized RDC, PDC, MDCs and BDCs.

VI. Post War Period (1987-1989)

a. RA 6734 created the Organic Act of ARMM in 1989. EO 820 created the Cordillera
Administrative Region
b. Autonomy of Local Government Units had:
i. Devolve substantial planning and implementation powers to LGUs making a
more viable and effective planning and decision making machineries.
ii. Created the functions for policy guideline formulation and monitoring and
setting planning and implementation standards.
c. RA 7279 created the Urban Development and Housing Act which:
i. Plays down the role of the government as support to private sector in urban
development

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 5
 ii. Focused on the underprivileged and homeless citizens
iii. Decent housing at affordable cost, basic services and employment
opportunities creating the socialize housing Program
iv. Equitable utilization of residential lands
d. RA 7160 created the Local Government Code
i. Land mark decrees:
 PD 144 –Local development offices and established the Local
Development Fund
 PD 231 – Codified the taxing powers of LGUs
 PD 464 – Codified all laws pertaining to the real property tax
 PD 477 – codified all laws regarding the administration of local funds
and budgets.
i. (RA 7160) Services and facilities devolved to LGUs:
 Agricultural extension and on-site research
 Community-based forestry projects
 Field health and hospital services
 Public works and infrastructure projects funded out of local funds
 School building programs
 Social welfare services
 Tourism promotion and development
 Telecommunication Services
 Town planning and reclassification of agricultural lands to urban uses
 Housing projects for provinces and cities
 Investment information and industrial research and development services.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 6
 Theory and Principles of Planning PART II
Urban and Regional Planning

 History of the City and Region –Ancient

 History of the City and Region –Middle Ages
 History of the City and Region –Modern

A. THEORIES OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING – LAND USE PATTERNS

B. THEORIES OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING – SOCIO-ECONOMIC PATTERNS

i. Income Distribution and Population Growth.
ii. Population, Urbanization and Migration

C. Comprehensive Planning
The Master plan or general plan, the comprehensive plan represents the most significant concept
of the 20th Century. The underlying idea is that a long-term plan (20-30 years) for the overall
physical development of an entire area or city can be used to organize and direct the social,
economic, political and physical forces within an urban or regional area in a rational and
productive manner. This plan is an official public document involving not only a set of goals but
also a policy to attain those goals

GOAL
Health
o Requiring sufficient road within new subdivisions to ensure ambulances and fire equipment has
adequate access for emergency.
o Planning for a street geometry that permits children to walk from home to school without
crossing major thoroughfares.
o In high crime areas, laying out patterns of buildings and spaces that provide fewer sites where
muggings and robberies can be committed unobserved.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 7
Public Safety
o Requiring sufficient road within new subdivisions to ensure ambulances and fire equipment has
adequate access for emergency.
o Planning for a street geometry that permits children to walk from home to school without
crossing major thoroughfares. In high crime areas, laying out patterns of buildings and spaces that
provide fewer sites where muggings and robberies can be

Circulation
Providing the community with adequate circulation may mean:
o A system of street, parking facilities that make possible an orderly, efficient, and rapid flow of
vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
o Providing for adequate public transportation.

Provision of Services and Facilities

o Determining the location of facilities as parks, recreation areas, schools, social services, hospitals,
etc.
o Plan for a pattern of land use that facilitates the provision of public services (police and fire
protection, water and sewers).

Fiscal Health
There is a relationship between the pattern of development and the fiscal situation of the community:
o Any development will impose some cost on the community and generate revenues for the
municipality.
o Fiscal zoning – the use of its land-use controls to keep out types of housing or economic activity
that are likely to cost the community more for additional services than they yield in additional
revenue.

Economic Goals
Economic growth or maintenance of existing level of economic activity as to develop a pattern of land
use that provides for commercial and industrial sites, provides good access to such sites, and facilitates
supplying utilities to such sites.

Environmental Protection. It might involve:

o Restrictions on building in wetlands, steep slopes or other ecological valuable or fragile lands.
o Preservation of open spaces, ordinance to control discharges into water bodies, prohibitions or
limitations on commercial or industrials activities that would degrade air quality, etc.

Redistributive goals
o Distribution downward both wealth and influence in the political process.

D. COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING – THE LAND USE PLAN

The functional elements and supportive studies:
a. Capital improvements
b. Future land use plan
c. Traffic Circulation
d. Sanitary sewer, solid waste, drainage and potable water
e. Conservation
f. Recreation and open space
g. Housing
h. Coastal Management (for coastal jurisdictions only)
i. Inter-governmental coordination

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 8
Additional elements which are optional but are required for local governments with a population greater
than 50,000:
a. Mass transit
b. Port, aviation, and related facilities plan
c. Non-automotive vehicular (bicycle) and pedestrian traffic
d. Off-street parking
e. Public buildings and related facilities
f. Community Design
g. General Area redevelopment
h. Safety
i. Historic and scenic preservation
j. Economic development

E. MODERN CONCEPTIONS OF THE CITY

I. Columbia, Maryland, Community Research and Development, Inc.:

Neighborhoods, in clusters of five, form 'villages'. Transportation
joins the villages into a new town. The organization is a tree.

II. Greenbelt, Maryland, Clarence Stein: This 'garden city' has been
broken down into superblocks. Each superblock contains schools,
parks and a number of subsidiary groups of houses built around
parking lots. The organization is a tree.

III. Greater London plan (1943), Abercrombie and Forshaw: The

drawing depicts the structure conceived by Abercrombie for London.
It is made of a large number of communities, each sharply separated
from all adjacent communities. Abercrombie writes, 'The proposal is
to emphasize the identity of the existing communities, to increase
their degree of segregation, and where necessary to recognize them
as separate and definite entities.' And again, 'The communities
themselves consist of a series of sub-units, generally with their own
shops and schools, corresponding to the neighborhood units.' The
city is conceived as a tree with two principal levels. The
communities are the larger units of the structure; the smaller sub-
units are neighborhoods. There are no overlapping units. The
structure is a tree.

IV. Mesa City, Paolo Soleri: The organic shapes of Mesa City lead us, at
a careless glance, to believe that it is a richer structure than our more
obviously rigid examples. But when we look at it in detail we find
precisely the same principle of organization. Take, particularly, the
university center. Here we find the center of the city divided into a
university and a residential quarter, which is itself divided into a
number of villages (actually apartment towers) for 4000 inhabitants,
each again subdivided further and surrounded by groups of still
smaller dwelling units.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 9
HOUSING and HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PLANNING
Theory & Principles of Planning Part III

HOUSING

Housing is an essential factor in determining the quality of lives, the stability of

communities, and the health of national economies. Its importance to society is
underscored by the fact that--in the United States, for example--housing accounts for
roughly one-fourth of personal consumption expenditures and about the same proportion
of gross private domestic investment. The status of the housing sector is a leading
indicator of economic activity where the health of the housing industry is extremely
sensitive to monetary and fiscal conditions and policies.

Issues involving housing span numerous areas, including

1. architecture,
2. economics,
3. health,
4. law,
5. finance, and
6. city planning.

In all of these fields, the fundamental housing issue remains--as it has been over the past
50 years--the provision of adequate shelter at affordable prices in suitable locations for all
sectors of the population. Despite considerable progress in this direction over the last
century, housing problems continue to plague large numbers of the populations of most
countries. In developing countries, longstanding problems of low quality and high
relative cost have been exacerbated by high rates of population growth and country-to-
city migration, and by urban infrastructures that are ill equipped to accommodate
residential growth.

SETTLEMENT

It includes buildings in which they live or use and the paths and streets over which they
travel.
The Advanced learner’s dictionary of current English simply defines settlement as the
process of ‘settling in a colony’. But more conceptually, human settlement may be
defined as an assembly of person settled in a locality. Thus, it could be a village,
collection of huts or even houses.
A settlement may be permanent or temporary, however, a temporary settlement may
become permanent over time.

EVOLUTION OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

PRIMITIVE NON-ORGANIZED HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

 The communities take up a smaller area where they are agricultural, and a larger one
where they are hunting and cattle-breeding communities.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 10
  On a macro scale.
 There is no physical lines connecting this primitive settlement with others; there are
no networks between settlements.

PRIMITIVE ORGANIZED SETTLEMENTS

 An era of organized agriculture, settlements also began to show some characteristics
of organization.
 In initial the human had one-room dwelling in circular form, to organize the
relationship of his community with other communities he expanded his dwelling by
placing many round forms side by side.
 Due to the loss of space between them, they developed more regular shapes with no
space lost between them.

STATIC URBAN SETTLEMENTS

 As settlements grew in size, man came to realize that the principle of the single-
nucleus was not always valid in the internal organization of the total shells of the
community, at this single nodal point, which was adequate for the village and for
small cities, no longer sufficed.
 The first thing to happen was the expansion of the nucleus in one or more directions;
it was no longer limited to the settlement's centre of gravity. Example: The small
settlement of Priene, in ancient Greece, where the central nucleus expanded in two
ways:
 First in a linear form along a main street which contained shops that would normally
be clustered in the central agora and secondly through the decentralization of some
functions, such as temples

DYNAMIC URBAN SETTLEMENT

 In the dynamic urban phase, settlements in space are characterized by continuous
growth.
 Hence, all their problems are continuously intensified and new ones continuously
created.
 Dynamic settlements, created as a result of an industrial technological revolution,
multiplying in number and form, and now being created at an even higher rate.
 The evils described in them are the evils of yesterday which are being multiplied
today in a very dangerous manner.
 This makes the dynamic settlement completely different from any other category of
settlements and a real threat to humanity itself.

EARLY DYNAPOLIS
 This is the phase when small independent human settlements with independent
administrative units are beginning to grow beyond their initial boundaries.
 From the economic point of view this development is related to industrialization, and
from the technological point of view to the railroad era, which first made commuting
from distance points possible.

METROPOLIS/DYNAMETROPOLIS

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 11
  Fate of the historical metropolises has been dynamic growth,
 A static phase, and then death static phase for a metropolis is the prelude of its
decline and death
 Dynamic metropolis, after losing its momentum for growth, becomes negatively
dynamic.

MEGALOPOLIS/DYNAMEGALOPOLIS
 A megalopolis has the same external characteristics as the metropolis, the only
difference being that every phenomenon appears on a much larger scale.
 It is characteristic that all phenomenon of the development of human settlements up
to the metropolis shown on a 100 sq.km. Scale, for megalopolis would be
1,000sq.km.

ECUMENOPOLIS (THE UNIVERSAL CITY)

 Regardless of whether dynamic settlements are simple (Dynapolis), or composite
(metropolises and megalopolises), they have been growing continuously during the
last centuries and this is apparent everywhere at present i.e. the whole Earth will be
covered by one human settlement.

THREE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS GREATLY AFFECTED WHERE PEOPLE

SETTLED:

 Water

The most important environmental factor in early human settlement was water. Physical
features like rivers, lakes, and inland seas are good sources of fresh water. Water is
important for many reasons. People need fresh drinking water to live. They also bathe
and wash things in fresh water. Bathing and washing help to prevent disease. Water is
also a source of food. People catch the fish that live in rivers, lakes, and seas.
They hunt water birds and other animals that gather near water. In addition, farmers need
water to grow their crops. For this reason, farmers often settled near rivers. The river’s
natural flooding could help to irrigate their farms. Farmers could also dig canals or
trenches to direct the rivers water to their crops.
Farmers in Mesopotamia dug canals for this purpose. Water can also be used for
transportation. Cities and towns often used rivers as “highways.” People travelled in
boats to visit relatives and trade goods. Towns near the sea could trade goods with
countries far away.

 Topography (the shape and elevation of the surface features of the land)

The second environmental factor was topography. Topography refers to the shape of the
land. It includes features like mountains, hills, plains, and deserts. The topography of an
area was important for early human settlement. Farmers usually settled in flat, open areas
such as plains and valleys. Large, flat spaces gavethem room to grow crops. Also, the
rich soil in coastal plains and river valleys was excellent for growing crops. Mountains
and deserts were less friendly to human settlement. Steep mountains were hard to cross.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 12
 Their jagged peaks and rocky land made farming difficult. Deserts were hot and dry.
They contained verylittle water for farming. The intense heat and lack of water made
travel difficult. People who settled in mountains and deserts faced many challenges.

 Vegetation (plant life)

A third environmental factor was vegetation, or plant life. There are many kinds of
vegetation, such a trees, bushes, flowers, grass, and reeds. The crops people grow are also
a type of vegetation. Many physical features affect vegetation. Mild weather, regular rain,
and fresh water are good for plant life. The areas around rivers and lakes are usually
green and lush. Mountains are often covered with thick groves of trees.
Deserts, being dry and hot, have very little vegetation. The vegetation in an area
influenced early human settlement in several ways. Most important, plants were a source
of food. People ate both wild plants and crops they had planted. But vegetation had other
uses as well. People learned to make many useful products out of plants, including
medicine, baskets, rope, tools, and even paper. Trees provided shade from the hot sun.
And plants and flowers helped to make a place

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE SETTLEMENT PATTERN IN A PARTICULAR

REGION

Generally, the factors that influence patterns of settlement are four specific variables that exert
the most influence on the nature of human settlement of all kinds, from rural to maritime to
urban. These variables generally dictate the desire of settlers to move to a different location in
order to gain rewards and to begin anew. The first variable listed is the necessary cause of
settlement, the remaining three are the sufficient causes of settlement.

 Economic and Human Influences

Generally, the promise of material reward is the most important factor in human
settlement. In this case, the interest in gaining more profit in proportion to labour exerted
is central in dictating settlement patterns. These are necessary, but not sufficient causes of
settlement. Parts of this variable include the promise of employment and a stable
economy.

 Physical Influences

The physical environment is next in importance. In agricultural settlement, the nature of

the soil and access to both water and transport are essential ingredients in making sense
out of settlement patterns. But even further, things such as the safety and stability of the
existing settlement is equally important.

 Technological Influences

A more specific consideration is the existence of well-established patterns of

communication, transportation system and markets, which are all central to this variable.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 13
 To some extent, it is connected to the physical environment, as the technological makeup
of the existing settlement exists as an adaptation to the nature of the topography and the
availability of resources.

 Historical /Cultural Influences

Ethnic compatibility, speaking the same language and the basic cultural forms of co-
existence cannot be left out of this discussion. The historic nature of settlement speaks to
the specific language and cultural norms that make up a society, making it easier for one
that shares these to fit in, and discouraging strangers.
This not only makes it easy for similar settlers to fit in, but also makes the community
more and more cohesive.

PHILIPPINE HOUSING HISTORY

• 1987 - Teodoro Katigbak succeeded Herminio Aquino as Chairman.
• 1989 - On May 24, 1989 Executive Order No. 357 was issued giving the HUDCC overall
administrative supervision over the key shelter agencies and making it responsible for
meeting targets and objectives for the shelter sector.
• 1990 - On January 24, 1990 RA 6846 or an Act creating the Abot Kaya Pabahay Fund,
was enacted charging the HUDCC with the function of determining the income ceilings
and loanable amounts for borrowers eligible for development financing.
• 1992 - On March 24, 1992, RA 7279 or the Urban Development Housing Act was
enacted. It mandated HUDCC to provide necessary technical support and related services
to local government units.
• ZORAYDA AMELIA C. ALONZO, then Chief Operating Officer of the Pag-IBIG Fund,
is designated as the acting chairman from July to November 1992.
• DIONISIO DELA SERNA succeeded Zorayda Amelia Alonzo in December as the
Chairman of HUDCC.
• 1993 - EO # 72 provided for the preparation and implementation of the Comprehensive
Land Use Plans for Local Government Units pursuant to the Local Government Code of
1991 and other pertinent laws.
• 1994 - RA 7835 (Comprehensive and Integrated Shelter Financing Act) is enacted to
provide sustained funding to socialized housing and make housing more affordale to low-
income groups.
• 1997 - On October 27, 1997 the Congress approved RA 8368, known as "Anti-squatting
Law Repeal Act of 1997", provided for the repeal of PD 772 (Penalizing Squatting and
Other Similar Acts).
• 1998 - KARINA CONSTANTINO-DAVID was sworn in as HUDCC Chairperson in
July 1998 under President Joseph Ejercito Estrada's administration.
• 1999 - On October 12, 1999, Executive Order No. 159 was issued, declaring mass
housing as the centerpiece program of the Estrada Administration and created the
Presidential Commission on Mass Housing.
• LEONORA VASQUEZ-DE JESUS, then Head of the PMS, is designated as acting
Chairperson of HUDCC after the resignation of Karina Constantino-David on October
15,1999.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 14
 • 2000 - On February 22, 2000, Executive Order No. 216 was issued to further strengthen
the functions of HUDCC.
• On March 1, 2000, LEONORA VASQUEZ-DE JESUS was sworn in as full time
HUDCC Chairperson.
• 2001 - January 15 P E O P L E P O W E R II
• On February 9, 2001, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Representative
Michael T. Defensor (LP, Third District, Quezon City) as Presidential Adviser on
Housing and Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council
(HUDCC)

PHILIPPINE HOUSING DATA – TOTAL HOUSING NEED

HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AND POLICY

 PROGRAMS AND DIRECTIONS. The government's housing efforts for the next three
years will focus on the bottom 40 percent of households because of their inability to get
formal housing assistance. This means providing these household with affordable
socialized housing either through efficient production of housing units for ownership or
rental or through sustainable housing finance.

 EXPANDING ACCESS TO SHELTER. Demand for decent housing remains unmet

despite past efforts to address this problem. The supply of houses has not been increasing
and costs of available housing are unaffordable, especially to low- income families who
have no access to credit markets for housing. This matter is exacerbated by a land market

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 15
 that limits reallocation of rights to most valuable use of land. As a result, informal
settlements continue to persist.

To address the housing problem, the government has to contend with several interrelated
issues: land prices, housing finance and guarantees and high transaction and production
costs in the housing market. This approach recognizes the government’s principal role to
provide the enabling policy and regulatory framework for the development of efficient
housing markets and to use an efficiently-targeted subsidy system to help the bottom 40
percent of households to have access to decent shelter. In this context, the National Urban
Development and Housing Framework has adopted the following objectives: “(i) ensure
that land is available to housing; (ii) ensure that residential infrastructure is provided to
recognized housing development areas; (iii) support housing finance systems; and (iv)
provide mortgage guarantees.”

THE PHILIPPINE HOUSING AGENCIES

HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT COORDINATING COUNCIL

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 16
MANDATES PER E.O. 20 (series of 2001)

E.O. 20 (s. 2001): Reaffirming mass housing as a centerpiece program in the poverty alleviation
efforts of the government and further strengthening the Housing and Urban Development
Coordinating Council
Serves as the lead agency to in formulating the national objectives, policies and strategies for
housing and urban development;
Coordinate and monitor the activities of all government agencies undertaking housing projects,
including those of Local Government Units (LGUs), to ensure the accomplishment of the goals
of the government’s housing program; Encourage the maximum participation of the private
sector in all aspects of housing and urban development;
Formulate the basic policies, guidelines and implementing mechanisms for the disposal or
development of acquired or existing assets of the key housing agencies which are not required
for the accomplishment of their basic mandates; Identify, plan and secure local and foreign
funding for housing programs and projects; Provide directions to the Housing and Land Use
Regulatory Board (HLURB) to ensure rational land use for the equitable distribution and
enjoyment of development benefits. Recommend new legislation and amendments to existing
laws as maybe necessary for the attainment of government’s objectives in housing;Undertake
other functions as provided by existing laws that are not contrary to the above-mentioned.

NATIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY

The NHA is the sole government agency engaged in direct shelter production focused on
providing housing assistance to the lowest 30% of urban income-earners through slum
upgrading, squatter relocation, development of sites and services and construction of core-
housing units. In addition, it undertakes programs for the improvement of blighted urban areas
and provides technical assistance for private developers undertaking low-cost housing projects.

Mandate and Functions:

NHA Charter : Presidential Decree 757 (31 July 1975) - Creating the NHA
 Develop and implement a comprehensive and integrated housing development
and resettlement program
 Formulate and enforce general and specific policies for housing development and
resettlement · Prescribe guidelines and standards for the reservation, conservation
and utilization of public lands identified for housing and resettlement
 Exercise the right of eminent domain or acquire by purchase privately-owned
lands for purposes of housing development, resettlement and related services and
facilities
 Develop and undertake housing development and/or settlement projects through
joint ventures or other arrangements with public and private entities
 Promote housing development by providing technical assistance

HOME GUARANTY CORPORATION

CHARTER

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 17
 Republic Act No. 8763 or the Home Guaranty Corporation Act of 2000
(repealed RA 580 or the Home Financing Act, 1950)

MANDATES
 To guaranty the payment of any and all forms of mortgages,loans and other forms of
credit facilities and receivables arising from financial contracts exclusively for
residential purposes and the necessary support facilities;
 To assist private developers to undertake socialized, low and medium cost mass
housing projects by encouraging private funds to finance such housing projects
through a viable system of long-term mortgages, guaranties and other incentives.
 To promote homebuilding and landownership, giving primary preference to the
homeless and underprivileged sectors of the society.
 To promote housing by the aided self-help method;
 To pursue the development and sustainability of a secondary mortgage market for
housing.

HOUSING & LAND USE REGULATORY BOARD

Formerly the Human Settlements Regulatory Commission, the HLURB is the sole regulatory
body for housing and land development. It ensures rational land use for the equitable distribution
and enjoyment of development benefits. It is charged with encouraging greater private sector
participation in low-cost housing through liberalization of development standards, simplification
of regulations and decentralization of approvals for permits and licenses. It extends
comprehensive and productive planning assistance to provinces, cities and municipalities
towards the formulation of Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUPs).

MISSION
We regulate housing and land use towards shelter security and a balanced urban
development.

VISION
 To have ensured shelter security for at least 1.0 M Filipino families by year 2004
through setting and enforcement of housing regulations and protection of buyers’
rights.
 To have assisted all Local Government Units in planning sustainable communities
by year 2004

The Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) is a national government agency tasked
as the planning, regulatory and quasi-judicial body for land use development and real estate and
housing regulation. These roles are done via a triad of strategies namely, policy development,
planning and regulation.

NATIONAL HOME MORTGAGE FINANCE CORPORATION

The NHMFC is the major government home mortgage institution. Its initial main function is to
operate a viable home mortgage market, utilizing long-term funds principally provided by the

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 18
Social Security System, the Government Service Insurance System, and the Home Development
Mutual Fund to purchase mortgages originated by both public and private institutions that are
within government-approved guidelines. It is also charged with the development of a system that
will attract private institutional funds into long-term housing mortgages

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

 Making the housing market more efficient. The government shall pursue policy, legal and
regulatory reforms to reduce transaction costs and improve the efficiency of the housing
market.

 Creating a sustainable housing finance system. To encourage private sector participation

in the housing market, the government shall improve the policy, legal and regulatory
environment for both the primary mortgage market and the secondary mortgage market.
Housing finance shall rest on market-based principles and the efficient use of subsidies
and incentives to address specific market failures.

 Accelerating assistance and provision of security of tenure for informal sector. The
government will provide priority assistance to those who are in danger areas (river banks,
esteros and other flood prone areas), those in the right-of-way (ROW) of government
infrastructure projects, and those in threat of demolition. Government will also pursue the
regularization of tenure of informal settler families occupying public lands. Greater
resources of the national government will be allocated to address the needs of the
informal sector. Community-led self-help approaches to housing as well as nontraditional
building and management technology in housing production will be encouraged.

 Making housing loans available and affordable to low-salaried members of the formal
sector. The government will make housing loans accessible at affordable rates for the
formal sector or those who are employed and are members of the pension funds.
Developmental financing will be made available for developers who require financial
assistance.

 Strengthening the Shelter Delivery System and accelerating the localization of housing
and development efforts. Institutional strengthening for housing and urban development
will be pursued through the creation of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (DHUD). This aims to strengthen the coordination and supervision of
policy on shelter delivery, finance and regulate housing and urban development services.
Considering the tight fiscal constraints and the government-wide streamlining of the
bureaucracy, the creation of the DHUD will be subject to the "scrap-and-build policy" of
the government. This means that existing units or agencies in the housing sector may
have to be merged or even eliminated to give way to the creation of DHUD.

Theory & Principles of Planning Part IV

The ART AND SCIENCE OF SITE PLANNING and LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 19
SITE PLANNING
The art and science of arranging the uses of portions of land is site planning. Site planners designate these
uses in detail by selecting and analyzing sites, forming land use plans, organizing vehicular and
pedestrian circulation, developing visual forms and material concepts, readjusting existing landforms by
design grading, providing proper drainage, and finally developing the construction details necessary to
carry out the project.

SITE DESIGN
Entails the whole range of concerns relating to the development, or redevelopment, of a piece of ground
for some planned purposes. Common purpose is the construction of a building on the ground of a site;
thus, building/site relations and interactions to direct physical connections and sharing of the site space
are experienced or perceived.

A. ASPECT OF SITE DESIGN

1. Site Development. Concerns items on and below the ground surface of a site, the
buildings and its various building utilities and services.
2. Concerns for Site Development:
o Division of Site Development
o The Micro-Site: Internal Concerns
o The Macro-Site: Extended Environment
o Building/Site Relations.
3. Fundamental concerns:
o Routes of access to building entry point
o Placement and orientation of building on site
o Building base and foundation development
o Underground connection to services/utilities.
o Basic Functional relations
4. General Character of the site
o Neighborhood environment
o Function of the site unto itself

B. SITE CONDITIONS
1. Existing Site Conditions
2. Design Problem considerations
3. Physical Site conditions
4. Site Survey. Maps on boundaries, access road location and transportation
networks, utilities easement, and major site features.
5. Helpful Maps. Geologic Map, Zoning Map, Aerial Surveys, General Map
6. Site Development Plans
7. Site Plans
8. Grading Plans
9. Construction Plans
10. Helpful Data Sources: Surface Drainage, Existing Streets, Existing Utilities,
Adjacent Properties
11. General Information on:
-Ownership Legality/Access availability and usage
-Zoning Ordinance
-Weather and General Climatic Records
-Regional Demographic Studies
-General Community or Regional Development Plans
-Legal Constraints

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 20
 -Ownership
-Usage Restrictions
-Building Codes/Local and National Building laws & Ordinances

C. THE ASPECTS OF SITE PLANNING

1. Defining the site design problem. The problem considered is how to get a building
on the site and which site situations may present constraints or difficulty.
2. Traffic. Management of considerable traffic for both the pedestrian and vehicles.
People and cars must be moved on and off the site and around the site for various
purposes: entry, access roads, pedestrian routes, and vehicular system routes.
3. PARKING. A requirement for all building sites. It may be a surface parking on a
paved area or a structure parking within the building or in a separate building on site.
4. THE VISIBLE SITE. Site Planning generally deals with the visible portion of the site
as to what is seen walked on and participated or used by the users of the site and the
buildings on it. It shall be considered from these views:
a. All possible points: on the site, off the site, inside and outside the
building, from the neighboring buildings, etc.
b. At night, during daylight, with site lighting turned on or off.
c. At different times of the year, different seasons affect landscape
and environment of the site.
d. By persons on vehicles passing through or just walking by

D. BUILDING/SITE RELATIONS
Siting the building establishes the specific geometric, spatial relationship between a building and
its site. Consisting of:

HORIZONTAL POSITIONING.
Establishes the plan location of the building on the site considering the following factors:
1. Setbacks
2. Protection of easements
3. Site space for driveways, walks, underground utilities
4. Protection of views or privacy
5. Construction allowances
6. Topography
7. The shape of the building (building ground level perimeter profile) is
usually strongly related to the site form, especially for tight sites where the building covers a
major portion of the site surface. The building shape is both restricted by the site form and
strongly limits the potential for developing other site areas.

VERTICAL POSITIONING

1. Relation to any existing buildings or other features

2. Relation to existing site features: grades, ground water levels, soil
conditions.
3. Relation to existing underground utilities.
4. Vertical locations of both the edges and buildings will also establish
some conditions for other site elements- most notably sidewalks, driveways,
terraces, breezeways or other elements involving traffic of people or vehicles.

Site drainage, as it affects both the site and the building, will be strongly defined. It is
best to direct surface drainage away from the building edges, especially when there are basement

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 21
 spaces. Controlled drainage on a tight site or one with problem site edges may present a different
situation, and building edges may actually be used as a site drainage collection points that feed
into a sewer system.

ACCESS

The access path typically begins with the concern for access on to the site, which is
usually constrained by adjacent properties or streets for 2 forms of traffic – pedestrian and
vehicular. Access also considers the provision of accessibility for persons with limited abilities

SERVICES. Consist of:

1. Water supply
2. Sewers
3. Electrical power
4. Gas
5. Telephone lines
6. Cable TV
7. General deliver-mail and courier services
8. Trash collection
9. Firefighting
10. Building/Site Spatial Continuity
11. External viewed building as an object on the site
12. Seen from the inside the building
13. Entry and exit passage

E. SPECIAL CONCERNS FOR SITES

1. Lighting
Electrically powered outdoor lighting may serve various purposes. Sometimes
several different purposes can be fulfilled with the use of a single fixture. It is important
to understand the different kinds of illumination needs in order to accurately judge the
value and appropriateness of the many different lighting systems.
2. Height of fixtures
Light intensity decreases rapidly as distance from the source increases; thus, the
higher the fixture, the less illumination will deliver at ground level. However, the higher
the source, the wider the areas it will affect.
3. Spacing of fixtures
Widely spaced fixtures will result in local bright spots with a falloff of
illumination between them; closely spaced fixtures can produce a relatively uniform
illumination.
a. Form of fixtures and type of lighting elements
b. Illumination of the building exterior
c. Illumination of traffic paths
d. Security lighting
e. Accent illumination and decorative lighting
4. Acoustics. Controlling sound on site is somewhat limited, compared to situations inside
the building. Although not much can be done to modify or control this situation, site
development offers some possible solutions for sound control as:
a. Consider the location of sound generating facilities on site (mechanical rooms)
b. Utilize ground forms (hills, etc.)
c. High site walls

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 22
 d. Tall dense plantings

5. Communication and signage

Communication functions are an aspect of site development. All entrances and
exits should have signage for proper communications. It is a good design exercise to walk
through a proposed site to see how much communication is achieved without recourse to
signs. If this form of communication is optimal, the signs will work all the better, and
will not fight with the visual signals on the site.
6. Security
A lot is enclosed through various means of enclosure to present a sense and
actually secure the activities and the users. Nowadays, with the growing threat of
terrorism and insurgency globally, security had been a major system in site development.
Electronic gadgets, equipment’s are being developed to fill the gap in the market demand
in this area. More and more users require a security system not just for their homes but in
all the places, they are using.

F. LAND ANALYSIS

Topography
Topography describes the surface features of land. A topographic map shows the slope and
contour of the land as well as other natural and artificial features. It is developed from a topographic
survey by a land surveyor and includes:
o Property boundaries
o Existing buildings
o Utility poles
o Roads
o Manufactured features
o Trees natural features: rock outcroppings & heavy vegetation

Contour lines on a map are a graphic way to show the elevations of the land in a plan view and are used to
determine the suitability of the land for various uses.
Contour intervals is the vertical distance between contour lines

SLOPE ANALYSIS CATEGORIES:

o Slope 0%-4% Usable for all types of intense activities and are easy to build on.
o Slope 4%-10% Suitable for informal movement and outdoor activity and can also be but
without much difficulty.
o Slopes over 10%-25% Difficult to climb or use for outdoor activity and more difficult
and expensive to build on.
o Slopes over 25% Depending on the conditions of the soil, are subject to erosion and
become more expensive to build on.
Respecting the natural contours and slope of the land is important from an ecological, aesthetic and
ecological standpoint. Ideally, the amount of earth cut away in grading operations should equal the
amount required to fill in other portions of the site.

G. NATURAL FEATURES
a) View analysis may be required to determine the most desirable ways to orient buildings, outdoor
areas, and approaches to the buildings. Undesirable views can be minimized or blocked with
landscaping or other manufactured features.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 23
 b) Significant natural features such as rock outcroppings, cliffs, caves, and bogs should be identified
to determine whether they must be avoided or can be used as positive design features in the site
design.
c) Subsurface conditions of groundwater and rock must be known also. Sites with high water tables
(about 1.80-2.40 meters below grade) can cause problems with excavations, foundations, utility
placement, and landscaping. The water table is the level underground in which the soil is
saturated with water. Generally, the water follows the slope of the grade above, but it may vary
slightly. Boring logs will reveal whether groundwater is present and how deep it is.
d) Sites with a preponderance of rocks near the surface can be very expensive and difficult to
develop. Blasting is usually required, which can increase the site development costs significantly
(or may not be allowed by the city code restrictions)

H. DRAINAGE

Every site has some type of natural drainage pattern that must be taken into account during
design. In some cases, the drainage may be relatively minor, consisting only of the runoff from
the site itself and a small amount from adjacent sites. This type of drainage can be easily diverted
around roads, parking lots, and buildings with curbs, culverts, and minor changes in the contours
of the land. In other cases, major drainage paths such as gullies, dry gulches, or rivers may
traverse the site. These will have a significant influence on potential site development because
they must, in most cases, be maintained. Buildings need to be built away from them or must
bridge them so that water flow is not restricted and potential damages are avoided. If
modifications to the contours are required, the changes must be done in such a way that the
contours of the adjacent properties are not disturbed.
The development of the site may be so extensive that excessive runoff is created due to roof
areas, roads, and parking lots. All of these increase the runoff coefficient, the fraction of total
precipitation that is not absorbed into the ground. If the runoff is greater than the capacity of the
natural or artificial drainage of the site, holding pools must be constructed to temporarily collect
the site runoff and release it at a controlled rate.

I. SOIL
Soil is the pulverized upper layer of the earth, formed by the erosion of rocks and plant remains
modified by living plants and organisms. Generally, the visible layer is topsoil, a mixture or
mineral and organic material. The thickness of topsoil may range from just a few inches to a foot
or more. Below this is a layer mostly mineral material, which is above a layer of the fractured and
weathered parent material of the soil above. Below all these layers is solid bedrock. Soil is
classified according to grain size and as either organic or inorganic

J. GRAIN SIZE CLASSIFICATION and CHARACTERISTICS

o Gravel particles over 2 millimeters in diameter
o Sands particles from 0.05 to 2 millimeters in diameter, the finest grains visible to the eye.
o Gravels and sands are excellent for construction loads and drainage and for sewage drain
fields, but they are unsuitable for landscaping.
o Silt particles from 0.002 to 0.05 millimeters in diameters, the grains are invisible but can be
felt as smooth
o Silt is stable when dry or damp but unstable when wet. It swells and heaves when frozen and
compresses under load. Generally building foundations and road bases must extend below it
or must be elastic enough to avoid damage. Some non-plastic silts are usable for lighter loads.
o Clay particles under 0.002 millimeters in diameter, smooth and floury when dry, plastic and
sticky when wet.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 24
 o Clay expands when wet AND IS SUBJECT TO SLIPPAGE. It is poor for foundations and
unless it can be kept dry, it is also poor for landscaping and unsuitable for sewage drain fields
or other types of drainage.
o Peat and other organic materials are excellent for landscaping but unsuitable for building
foundations or road bases. Usually, these soils must be removed from the site and replaced
with sands and gravels for foundations and roads.

K. TRANSPORTATION and UTILITY INFLUENCES

1. Roads provide a primary means of access to a site.
Their availability and capacity may be prime determinants in whether and how a parcel of
land can be developed. Basic Categories of Roads:
a) Local Streets have the lowest capacity and provide direct access to building sites.
They may be in the form of continuous grid or curvilinear systems or may be cul-
de-sacs or loops.
b) Collector Streets connect local streets and arterial streets. They have a higher
capacity than local streets but are not usually intended for through traffic.
Intersections of collector and local roads may be controlled by stop signs,
whereas intersections with arterial streets will be controlled with stop lights.
c) Arterial Streets are intended as major, continuous circulation routes that carry
large amounts of traffic on two or three lanes. They usually connect expressways.
Parking on the street is typically not allowed and direct access from arterial
streets to building sites should be avoided.
d) Expressways are limited access roads designed to move large volumes of traffic
between, through and around population centers. Intersections are made by
various type of ramp systems, and pedestrian access is not allowed. Expressways
have a major influence on the land due to the space they require and their noise
and visual impact.

2. Public Transit
The availability and location of public transit lines can influence site design. A site analysis
should include a determination of the types of public access available (whether bus, subway, rail line or
taxi stop) and the location relative to the site. Building entrances and major site features should be located
conveniently to the public transit. In large cities, site development may have to include provisions for
public access to subway and rail lines.

3. Service Access
Service to a site includes provisions for truck loading, moving vans, and daily delivery services.
Ideally service access should be separated from automobile and pedestrian access to a site and a building.
Space for large-truck turning

4. Utility Availability
5. Local Government Services

Theory of Landscape Design

Landscape design is a complex process that combines the practical with the artful in a unified, functional
composition.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 25
The difference between the Landscape Architect and Landscape Designer
1. Landscape Architect
o an architect of the landscape, bringing together the natural balance between the needs of
people and ecology
o they consider the wise land use and aesthetics in their work
o they have the ability to create designs for everything from small intimate gardens to new
cities and parks of varying sizes
o they understand the interrelationships of people and their surroundings and enables them
to solve the problems of land planning
2. Landscape Designer
o employed by landscape nurseries to design the work that the firm builds
o familiar with the basic design principles, plant cultural requirements and landscape
construction methods
o projects are usually residential or small commercial jobs and consist primarily of
planting design
o they have a flair for design who has an ornamental horticultural background

A. FIELDS OF SPECIALIZATION IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

1. Community and Multifamily Housing Development
New Towns, Planned Housing Communities, Condominium, Apartment Complexes, Site
Selection, Environmental Assessment, Rezoning, Code Compliance, Site Planning
2. Parks and Outdoor Recreation Facilities
Mountain and Seaside Resorts, Golf Courses, Theme Parks, Tennis Centers, Water Parks,
Family Fun Centers, Outdoor Amphitheaters, Ski Areas
3. Commercial and Industrial Development
Shopping Centers, Malls, Office Complex, Mixed-use commercial projects, Rooftop
Plazas, Urban Plazas, Public Transportation Facilities, Airport environs, Industrial Parks,
Corporate Headquarters, Other Corporate Facilities
4. Planning and Analysis Projects
Scientific, Research and Feasibility Component, establish criteria, provide vision and set
goals for future design and development, Land Planning for residential communities,
large-scale urban mixed-use development and campus planning, Setting criteria and goals
for the wise and sustainable use of natural and cultural resources
5. Institutional Projects
Foundations, Associations, Church Organizations, Private Social Agencies, Youth Organizations,
Museums, Zoos, Private Universities
6. Single-family Residential and Garden Design Projects
7. Land and Water Reclamation and Conservation Projects
Reclamation of Disturbed Landscape, Conservation of Open Spaces, Marsh and riparian,
landscapes, Beachfronts and dunes, Mines and Landfill Operations, Logging and
Agricultural landscape, Manage the Team of ecologists, botanists, wildlife biologists,
fisheries experts, archeologists, others with expertise in natural and cultural resources
work
8. Interior Landscape Architecture
Deal with climate controlled spaces, natural or artificial light conditions for plants and
maintenance issues, Atriums, Lobbies, Shopping malls, Airports, Conservatories, Indoor
Walkways
9. Historic Preservation and Restoration Projects
Residential Gardens, Parks, Scenic Routes, Explorers Routes, Settlers Routes, Parkways,
Arboretums, Zoos, Cemeteries, Residential Areas, Towns, Villages, Industrial Sites,

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 26
 College, Campuses, Waterfronts, Other Culturally Shaped Landscape, Historic
Inventories and surveys, preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and reconstruction
10. Landscape Art and Earth Sculpture

B. DESIGN ANALYSIS
o It consists of both a site analysis and an analysis of people’s needs.
o It identifies problems to be solved during the landscape designing process
o Identifying all landscaping problems is the first step toward their solution

1. Site Analysis
o Includes measurement of lot dimensions, location of the building on the lot, easements
setbacks, other legal requirements, measurement and recording of building features and
utilities, direction of prevailing wind, site terrain, locate and assess the value of natural
features, note all good off property views as well as bad property features, note to screen
noise and other nuisances, existing macroclimate and microclimate conditions, check soil
depth, rock content for analysis, etc.
2. Analysis of People’s Needs for Residential
o People’s needs can be varied as the people themselves. Good designer should stimulate
their thoughts
o A comprehensive analysis of people’s needs includes, whenever possible, their plans for
the future as well as the present:
o Ages, sex, hobbies, personal plant preferences, time spent in the maintenance, whether
permanent or interim, driveways, car requirements, patios or decks needed, suitability of
walks and paths, swimming pool or other water features, activity areas, service area
requirements, children’s play area, storage needs, any other special accessories desired in
the landscape, etc.

C. AREAS AND CIRCULATION

1. Defining Areas in the Landscape
oCirculation between areas should be of prime importance when locations for those areas
are determined
o Proportions should be a factor at all times as general areas are designated. Areas
should be more wide than deep for the best appearance
2. Circulation
o Circulation elements should be provided in the landscape for both motor and pedestrian
traffic
o Distinguish primary walks (for more than one person) and secondary walks (for one
person, only if necessary)
o Driveways should be designed for easy use, regardless of car size, but generally should
be inconspicuous as possible
3. Decks and Patios
o Should be designed for the normal, daily amount of traffic, with overload capability built
into surroundings areas
o Choices between decks and patios, the size of these elements, and their importance
evolve from the design- analysis information

IV. LAND FORMS

Nature has blessed us with a terrain that sheds excess water and adds much interest to the landscape of the
country. It is the designer’s duty to work within the boundaries of nature when altering the land forms in
any way.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 27
1. Studying Land Forms
a. Drainage.
The Rules of Drainage is simple. Water runs downhill, and the steeper the hill, the faster
the pace of the drainage. In a depressed area, water will stand, causing natural swamps
and lakes. River and streams occur at the lowest points of surrounding terrain, where
decreasing relative heights, in coordination with the earth’s gravitational pull, cause
surface to flow. When people design drainage patterns, they create hills and valleys that
will function in harmony with surrounding natural patterns. By using the minimum slope
to drain a steep site, spreading the drainage over a wide base, and protecting the surfaces
of the drainage areas as well, the designer minimizes the erosion effects of drainage.
b. Surveying
The determination of the relative levels of a land mass for the purpose of making a
topographical map is accomplished by taking a survey.
c. Mapping Survey Results
A topographical map results from interpolating all whole-numbered contour lines located
within the grid system of a survey, then connecting lines between all contour points of
equal number. Contour interpolation is a mathematical process for locating a whole-
numbered contoured line that falls between two sightings on a grid-system survey
2. Alteration of Land Forms
Grading is a process by which the land forms are molded to the physical configuration necessary
for a given set of circumstances.
Cut and Fills.
Cut is the removal of a prescribed depth of soil within the space between an existing and
proposed contour lines.
Fill is the addition of a prescribed amount of soil over the existing contour in the space between
existing and proposed contours.
The manipulation of contours for landscape purposes is always dependent on the rules of
topography, for example, water follows the steepest route, flowing at right angles to contour
lines; and so forth.
o Alteration of land forms results in designing the following
o Terraces – provides a more level space or series of spaces. It can be built with or without
retaining walls. If used with retaining walls, it allows the maximum useful space because of the
vertical structure of the walls
o Retaining walls – used to retain the soil, thus allowing the maximum usable space between
changes in level, while at the same time controlling the surface-water drainage
o solid walls, dry rock walls, dry block retaining walls, railroad-tie or landscape-timber walls, post
walls, wooden retaining walls, bio-engineering
o Criteria in Choosing the Type of Retaining Wall
a. Height and strength requirements
b. Surface drainage behind the walls
c. Materials used in other features on the property
d. Shape of the retaining wall
e. Availability of materials
f. Cost
o Berms or mounds – provides screening, wind protection, and a higher platform from which to
start young trees and shrubs must look natural, not contrived, and must be in keeping with terrain
features found around the property
o Subsurface drainage – used when surface drainage system cannot solve a problem. It is used with
area drains and catch basins to collect and filter the water entering the drainage system

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 28
V. WALLS AND CEILING
The walls, ceiling and floor are the dimensions of the outdoor “room.” A ceiling (the sky) and the
floor (the ground) are always present, though they might require modification. The walls are created as
part of the landscape design. The structure of any one of the three may affect the appearance and/or
function of the other two
1. Walls – the most satisfactory landscape walls often combine both structural and planting materials
o Screening – requires walls of certain sizes and densities
o undesirable views
o the view into the landscape from the outside area
o dust and other pollutants
o noise
o Framing good off-property views
o Protecting and insulating from the wind
o Filtering breezes into the property
o Providing enclosure – either absolute (impenetrable) or implied
2. Ceiling – may be provided by structural roofs, awning, arbors, or the like, or by shade and ornamental
trees
o Shade from the hot summer sun – it will depend on accurate recognition of the time of day when
the shade is necessary, the path of the sun over the property, and the angle at which the sun
penetrates the area during the time that the shade is needed. Recognition of the density of the
shade desired is necessary
o Protection from the elements (rain, snow, etc.)
o Screening from the dust and other pollutants

VI. PRINCIPLES OF PLANTING DESIGN

Physical Properties of Plants
1. Form
o Plant forms tend to reflect the natural terrain of the areas to which they are native. Good design
calls for the use of these predominant forms to blend with the natural surroundings
o Typical tree forms are oval, columnar, round, pyramidal, weeping, conical, irregular, vase,
fustigate
o Typical shrub forms are horizontal-spreading, weeping, round, leggy, upright vase, arching-
spreading, mounded, erect, prostrate, trailing, mat-like, horizontal-creeping, narrow pyramidal,
conical
2. Texture
o ranges from fine through coarse. It is created by the stems, leaves, bark and buds and can be seen
and felt
3. Color
o it results from light penetration, absorption and reflection. The lighter rays are reflected, the
brighter the color; the more absorbed, the darker the color will be.
o Hues are the result of light rays of variable lengths being reflected in mixtures

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING 29