Question

Housing design models are an important aspect in planning. Provide an example of how economic, educational, and/or recreational factors are considered.

Answer 1

People have needs that must be satisfied. For instance, they need housing; jobs; education; opportunities for recreation; transport; and basic services like water, electricity, clean air and health care. Social planning and policies attempt to take care of the basic social needs of the country’s population. Economic planning and policies seek to ensure that the country has a sound economic base which provides revenue to finance government operations and pay for provision of services to the public while also ensuring that jobs are available to the country’s labour force.

Land-use planning seeks to accommodate these needs within a technical and spatial framework. While houses must be built for the population for example, they cannot be provided in a swamp; or an area that is unsuitable for housing development because of its terrain, vulnerability to natural or other disasters, or inability to physically support the building; or in an area that endangers the health and safety of the occupants or other members of the public.

Similarly, economic decisions to focus on tourism, manufacturing industry or agricultural development as the basis of the country’s economic development must be translated into land-use terms. First, each of these activities use land. Furthermore, some areas of land are more suitable for some types of activities than others and some activities have negative impacts on the terrestrial (land) and/or marine (sea) environments. Also, use of land for one activity often prevents its use for another activity at the same time.

National social and economic needs are identified and articulated by people themselves, by politicians; community groups and sometimes by the technical experts, like Land-Use Planners. These needs are translated into a spatial form or a land-use activity and reflected in land-use plans, policies and development actions. Land-use planning therefore derives from the need to satisfy these needs on the ground, in a rational manner and within a technical framework. It is a crucial part of the process of Integrated Development Planning which includes social and economic planning and reflects their land-use/spatial components.

Land use planning also takes place within a legal context. At this stage, suffice it to say that the legal context provides the justification for undertaking land use planning and sets out the powers and duties of the agency responsible for the planning function - the Development Control Authority. The legislation also sets out the procedures to be followed, the conditions under which they may be carried out and the matters to be covered in executing both the development planning and development control functions. The law also makes provision for revising and changing land-use plans and policies to ensure that they are always current and relevant to the country’s development needs.