FLORES, REYNALDO JR., R.

ARC – 4202
PLANNING 3
What is Urban and Regional Planning?
Why become a planner? The American Planning Association has a sampling of
professional planners from across the country tell why they chose the field. Planners share
interests in social justice, affordable housing, sustainable cities, mobility and traffic congestion,
climate and the environment, community development and economic development, to name a
few.
The history of planning in the U.S. started as an attempt to solve public health problems
such as the cholera epidemics that engulfed many American cities in the late 1800s. Planners
worked on providing city infrastructure (providing water, sewers and roads, and attempting to
ease the overcrowding that bedeviled many American cities during this period). Over time, this
evolved into a broader effort to regulate how, where and when building could occur, to make
cities more pleasant and efficient places to live and work. Managing development is a major
function of planning to this day (and is referred to as "land-use planning").
In the last half of the twentieth century, suburbs grew ever faster while most central cities
shrank. Planners became concerned with the environmental and economic consequences of
development. Reducing urban sprawl through growth controls, changing transportation and
development patterns to reduce air and water pollution, and revitalizing distressed regions and
inner city neighborhoods, became priorities. Planners couldn't do this alone: ensuring democratic
citizen participation was essential if major policy changes were to succeed.
Despite many successes, it was soon clear that a more comprehensive approach was
needed. Planners (and others) have now begun to think about the long-term environmental and
economic sustainability of our development patterns. Designing "green" infrastructure, finding
alternatives to new highway construction, ensuring everyone has access to affordable housing in
livable neighborhoods, and stimulating the redevelopment of abandoned, contaminated
"brownfields," are just a few examples of the sustainable alternatives planners work for.

Urban Planning Definition

Urban  Planning is a technical  and  political  process  concerned with the  development
and  use  of  land, protection and use of the environment, public welfare, and the design of
the urban environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban
areas, such as transportation, communications, and distribution networks.
On the other hand, English Lexicon describes Urban Planning as a branch
of architecture dealing with the design and organization of urban space and activities besides
determining and drawing up plans for the future physical arrangement.
 Urban Planning must be accompanied by sustainability concept which enables us to carry
out the urban development process in the right way to keep up the sustainable environment for
future generations.

Urban Planning Problems

The basic concern of city-town planning is the internal form, structure, function, and
appearance of urban areas.
Physical aspects such as buildings, roads, land use, etc., play an important role in urban
planning, at the same time social, economic and technological forces should also be considered
while planning so that a healthy environment is created in the city/town.
Apart from this problem, some factors also complicate the task of planning as follows:
a)      Urban Sprawl
Urban Sprawl refers to the migration of a population from populated towns and cities to
low-density residential development over more and more rural land which results in:
Increase in Public Expenditure: They can actually play a part in the increases of public
costs because these changes in infrastructures and building must actually be paid for by
someone- and it is usually the taxpayers.
Increased Traffic: Populations will begin to use their cars more often, which means that
there is more traffic on the roads.
Environmental Issues: When you think about going out to develop these lands you will
have to worry about the wildlife that lives in these lands.  You will be displacing them,
and it can really cause a ripple in the environment.
b)      Individual Control or Small Parcels of Land
Private ownership of small parcels of urban land sometimes interferes with the effective
control of the space pattern of the city like the following:
If a private owner enjoys unrestricted right to use his/her land as he wishes, he may build
a shop or a factory in the residential area, thus decreasing the value of the nearby
residences.
If in a continuous residential area where two houses walls are shared, the problem arises
in such areas when one house owner is willing to renovate the house and another is not in
case of deterioration. They may develop conflict, which may turn out to be a problem in
the future.
If a private builder wants to undertake a project developing or reconstructing the building
on the same land, he/she may face two problems, one is he/she may have to pay more
money to the existing house owner and the second is he/she has to face the problems
created by a neighbor. Both such events are detrimental for the urban development.
c)      Unique Environmental Site
Every city/town occupies a unique environmental site, hills, valleys, rivers, waterfronts,
or any other physical features make one city/town look different from another as
following:
Different sections of the city have unequal value as building sites as the underlying soil
and rock formations affect the soundness of the foundations, characteristics of subsoil
drainage, etc. All these make differences in the cost of underground construction. At the
same time, the rough terrain has different advantages and disadvantages for different
kinds of buildings.
Topography affects the routes of transportation. If a heavy rail line has to be constructed,
it needs a level route, but if the city/town does not possess this feature, then
transportation is affected.
Breaks in transportation like from waterway to land-way or from the roadway to railway
prove advantageous for certain manufacturing and commercial activities.
Some parts of the city provide better amenities than others. The amenities can be in the
form of a better view and access to the market.
d)      Housing Affordability
Affordable housing is housing deemed affordable to those with a median household
income. Housing choice is a response to an extremely complex set of economic, social,
and psychological impulses as follows:
Housing expenditures: Housing affordability can be measured by the changing
relationships between house prices and rents and between house prices and incomes.
There has been an increase among policymakers in affordable housing as the price of
housing has increased dramatically creating a crisis in affordable housing.
Economy: Lack of affordable housing places a particular burden on local economies. As
well, individual consumers are faced with mortgage arrears and excessive debt and
therefore cut back on consumption. A combination of high housing costs and high debt
levels contributes to a reduction in savings.
Transportation: Lack of affordable housing can make low-cost labor more scarce, and
increase demands on transportation systems (as workers travel longer distances between
jobs and affordable housing).
Urban Planning Solutions
As we mentioned before Urban Planning must be accompanied by the sustainability
concept. Here where we should stand and understand that the city is more than the sum of its
parts. It is a whole living thing that is constantly changing, evolving and morphing into an ever
more Eco-Friendly and welcoming entity which can be achieved through innovative sustainable
solutions such as following:
a)       Sustainable and Affordable Housing
Census population doubles which require more housing spaces, yet our goal to
meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.
Sustainable Housing means “housing which contributes to community building, to social
justice, and to economic viability at a local level” (Morgan and Talbot,  2001, p. 321).
Morgan and Talbot  argue  that sustainability  should  be  the  main  principle  to 
design  housing  and  one  of  the  important dimensions of the housing quality.
Also, Development of Sustainable Housing refers to not only the development of
building but also the layout of the housing areas since Quality of Dwelling life is not just
simply concerned with having a roof over one’s head and a sufficient amount of living
space, but also with social and psychological satisfaction.
Affordable Housing has become a commonly used term for summarizing the nature of
the housing difficulty in many nations. He identifies six elements of measuring housing
expenditure to an income ratio to measure housing affordability.
b)       Zero-Carbon Cities
There is a need for Zero-Carbon Cities which are urban areas powered
by renewable energy techniques and technologies.
A zero-carbon city runs entirely on renewable energy; it has no carbon footprint and will
in this respect not cause harm to the planet.
Most cities throughout the world produce energy by burning coal, oil, and gas,
unintentionally emitting carbon. Almost every activity human does involve burning one
of these fossil fuels.
To become a zero carbon city, an established modern city must collectively
reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to zero and all practices that emit greenhouse gases
must cease. The aim of a zero-carbon city is reducing carbon emissions from buildings,
reducing waste, transport, materials and food emissions by 50% globally. It can be
achieved by the following steps:

Reducing energy-use wherever possible in the buildings and transportation sector.

 Increase Renewable Energy Resources by Adding as much renewable energy as possible.
Offsetting any CO2 emitted through purchasing carbon credits.
Developing distributed power and water systems.
Increasing photosynthetic spaces as a part of the green infrastructure.
Improving Eco-Efficiency.
Developing cities without slums.
c)       Green Roofs
Green Roofs (roofs with a vegetated surface and substrate) provide ecosystem
services in urban areas, including improved storm-water management, better regulation
of building temperatures, reduced urban heat-island effects, and increased urban wildlife
habitat.
Just imagine if this technology was applied to every building within your city, it
comes with unlimited benefits as following:
Storm Water Management and Water Retention since Green roofs can help with
controlling the stormwater runoff which is a major problem in many cities. They have the
ability to retain water at a rate of 50-90% depending on the design of the roofs.
Improvement of Micro-climate as rainwater evaporates, it humidifies the air above it,
making the air cooler. This reduces the ambient temperature of the air above rooftops,
improving the micro-climate. Since the rooftop becomes cooler, the efficiency of the
building’s AC units is improved.
Dust and Toxic Particles Binder where air pollution is a common phenomenon in
all major cities. Green roofs can play a vital role in filtering the air pollutants, improving
the quality of air. When the air flows, the foliar surface of green roof reduces the speed of
air flowing above it. This filters 10-20% of dust particles from the air, thus, helping to
purify the air.
Protection from Noise Pollution as green roofs can be of great advantage when it
comes to noise pollution. Urban areas are mostly subjected to sources of loud sounds and
noises particularly because of buildings being located under flight paths, adjacent to
nightclubs, markets, malls, and fairs and so on.

d)       Sustainable Transportation

 Transport has a major impact on the spatial and economic development of cities
and regions. The attractiveness of particular locations depends in part on the relative
accessibility, and this in turn depends on the quality and quantity of the transport
infrastructure.
The concept of sustainable transportation promotes a balance between
transportation’s economic and social benefits and the need to protect the environment.
In further articulating this idea, the Center for Sustainable Transportation has
defined a sustainable transportation system as one that:
Allows individuals and societies to meet their access needs safely and in a manner
consistent with human and ecosystem health, and with equity within and between
generations.
Is affordable operates efficiently, offers a choice of transport mode, and supports
a vibrant economy.
Limits emissions and waste within the planet’s ability to absorb them minimizes
consumption of non-renewable resources, limits consumption of renewable resources to
the sustainable yield level reuses and recycles its components, and minimizes the use of
land and the production of noise.

Regional Planning Definition

Regional Planning encompasses even larger area when compared to city planning;
Number of cities might be covered when considering a region but rural area remains at the core
for which planning is to be done. Along with rural areas many lower level towns in addition to
the villages witnessing transformation to towns also adds up to area for which regional plans are
made. Regional plans can cut across the boundaries of different states.
Integrating a much wider areas for overall growth of “region” is the purpose served by
regional planning; Planning for integration of rural area and the overall balanced development of
the region. Fulfilling the needs of a backward region and providing higher order services for
relatively developed areas. Strategies are formulated carefully to keep the goods and resources
available to all the places as per their requirements.
Regional planning also helps in reducing the conflicts and competition for resources
between cities in a region. Developing small towns or satellite towns helps in relieving the stress
from higher order town thus increasing efficiency.

Regional plans takes into account the economic, spatial and environmental goals and
tries to address national level issues. Integrated development and critical analysis of functional
linkages is one of the key to achieve the desired growth.
 Unlike city planning where land use plans are prepared regional planning lays emphasis
on policy for the region. Policies are them elaborated and objectives are formed which differ
from area to area within the region.
Regional plans are a must when cities start to influence development even in far places
which might end up in under-utilization and wastage of resources without proper planning.
Polices have a larger and longer impact on the overall growth of region and might
conflict with the land use plan or plan prepared for a specific city; Generally a new body is
formed which takes up the work of coordinating between all the individual departments working
in the region especially with the development authorities and local bodies.
Allocation of funds for different activities and different areas can also be taken up by the
regional planning board/authority. Government intervention such as implementing a new scheme
or policy for a region can also boost the growth perspectives and aide the policy prepared by
regional board.
Reduced disparities help directly and indirectly by reducing forced migration, reducing
trip lengths, providing better and more job opportunities in nearby areas, having the required
services instead of letting them emerging randomly. A special economic zone (SEZ) are also
established to support the growth of a region and attract investments.