CH 1: Introduction

Introduction (6 hrs)

• Concept of Planning:
what is planning, why it is done, how it started, etc.,
• Importance / Benefits of Planning :
environment, health, security, efficiency, etc.,
• Planning as a Teamwork :
role of sociologist, economist, physical planner etc,
• Different Types of Planning :
Regional, Urban, Rural, Natural, Development Plan etc.
Planning: A Simple Definition
• To plan, very simply, is to arrange beforehand
• To arrange
• Designing Activities
• Allocating Resources
• Implementation Strategy
• Beforehand
• Clear future vision: objectives and goals setting
• Anticipation: fore-casting
• Impact Analysis
Planning
• Deliberate activity of developing an optimal strategy of future action
towards a desired set of objectives and goals
• Intention to
• Commit resources
• Act as necessary to implement the chosen strategy
• Public planning
• Social activity
• Political commitment (on strategy and resource)
• Pre-assessed future
 Planning

• Planning means pre-thinking and pre-arranging things before an event takes place so as to
achieve good result in health, convenience, comfort and happiness of all living beings. By
careful planning we can eradicate the mistakes of the past and be wiser in the future ( Hiraskar:
1989)
• Planning can be broadly defined as an exercise of forethought before action for the management
of complex systems.
‘Wetmore Cube” in planning

Three axes of cube represent;

1. Scale
world, nation, group of states, state, metropolitan/sub-state, county/city, neighborhood, site.
2. Public function
economic development, social development, transportation, land use, urban design,
energy/environment, housing, public services, natural resources.
3. Planning process
problem definition, study design, inventory, analysis and forecast, objectives and alternatives,
testing and evaluation, specification and implementation, monitoring and post evaluation.
Depending on the scale, function and process, planning can vary from the small and simple to the
comprehensive and complicated.
Planning at the global level
• Done by international organizations such as the IMF (International Monetary Fund), UN
(United Nations) and its allied agencies etc.
• Many large multi-national corporations along with banking and investment firms with
operations spread all over the world also tend to make plans at the global level.
 Planning at the Regional level
• Regional block of nations such as NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization),
EEC (European Economic Community), ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian
Nations) , APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), SAARC (South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation )etc. prepare plans covering the different
countries of the block.
The objectives of the Association as outlined in the SAARC Charter are: to promote the welfare of the
peoples of South Asia and to improve their quality of life; to accelerate economic growth, social progress
and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and
to realize their full potentials; to promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of
South Asia; to contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems; to
promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and
scientific fields; to strengthen cooperation with other developing countries; to strengthen cooperation
among themselves in international forums on matters of common interests; and to cooperate with
international and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes.
Planning Types

• National Planning (Development Planning)

• Policy plan to direct/ guide investments/resources
• Economic factors have traditionally dominated
• plans on an annual or 5 yearly basis
• Regional Planning (Dev. / Spatial Planning)
• Economic/spatial planning of Supra-urban Regions
• Regions: Socio-spatial, eco-spatial, Economic-spatial, etc.
• Plans are also prepared for different regions of a country where co-ordination is required
among many districts which tend to formulate their own district plans.
• Urban Planning (Spatial/Physical Planning)
• Urban area/ Urban sub-region
• Physical planning with Social and Economic consideration
 Planning Types

• Rural Planning
• Rural planning as encompassing policy that has both explicit and implicit intention to impact rural
conditions, economic, social, and physical is adopted here.
• Process of improving the quality of life and economic well being of the people living in isolated and
sparsely populated areas.
• Development Planning
• A development plan sets out a local authority's policies and proposals for land use in their area.
• The term is usually used in the United Kingdom.
• A Local Plan is one type of development plan.
• Natural Planning
• Involves the development of a detailed plan for managing natural resources within a particular area or
project site.
• The objectives of natural resource management are as follows: to maintain ecological diversity.
To provide resources for future generations. To maintain employment facilities for people.
 Planning Process
• Consists of iterative activities, i.e., The activities can be revised and repeated wherever necessary.
• Not a series of one time linear procedures
• require assistance or seek approval from different experts or concerned agencies at different stages
• For example, the participation of local communities, politicians and administrators would tend
to be high during the earlier and later stages of the process whereas the input of professionals would
be more essential during the middle and later phases of the process.
Planning Process
 Identification of problems and issues
 Identification of goals and objectives
 Collection and interpretation of data
 Preparation of alternative plans
 Evaluation of plans and programs
 Selection and implementation of plans and programs
 Monitoring and evaluation of plan implementation
Importance / Benefits of Planning
• Environment
• Health
• Security
• Efficiency etc.,
 Environmental Benefits of Planning
• As the entire planet faces issues caused by global
warming, cities are starting to adapt more and more to
environmental considerations. In fact, the United
Nations recently issued a list of development goals
with the purpose of reaching sustainability, making
impact assessments mandatory for development
projects in cities.
• City planning is a key element in this regard, as it
allows for proper handling of waste, a level of control
over greenhouse gas emissions, and a more rational
utilisation and distribution of resources.
• Planting trees, emphasizing public transport to reduce
fuel consumption, and raising public awareness about
the environmental impact are all measures that could
slow down and reduce the ecological harm that cities
inevitably cause.
 Environmental Benefits of Planning
• Facilitates decision making to carry out land development with
the consideration given to the natural environment, social,
political, economic and governance factors and provides a
holistic framework to achieve sustainable outcomes
• Create sustainable communities, which aim to conserve and
protect undeveloped land
• Encompass areas such as land use, socio-
economics, transportation, economic and housing characteristics,
 air pollution, noise pollution, the wetlands, habitat of
the endangered species, flood zones susceptibility, coastal
zones erosion, and visual studies among others
• Planning actions currently revolve around the reduction of
emissions and material reuse, not adaptations in order to lessen
future climate change impacts
 Environmental Benefits of Planning
Copenhagen
• The Danish capital dominates the top of the ranking (greenest city) .
• More than half of the city’s inhabitants use a bicycle as their normal form of transport.
• It has over 2,220 hectares of green areas with public access.
• It is currently committed to achieving another goal: becoming the first carbon emissions-free city by
2025.
 Health Benefits of Planning
• When it comes to concerns that most city dwellers share,
quality of life is among the greatest. It’s true that greater
opportunities can attract people to urban environments. But
once they settle in a city, they’re faced with higher costs of
living that have a significant impact on their quality of life.
• And as vehicles keep growing in number, city traffic also
becomes a key factor for the quality of life, requiring
continuous updates to traffic infrastructure and regulations.
With urban planning, the concern about the quality of life
will be taken into account and make the infrastructure and
public spaces regulated and properly distributed.
• With a thoroughly planned layout, a city can provide its
residents with access to all essential services, points of
interest, and amenities. At the same time, the unfavourable
aspects of urban life are reduced, leading to an overall
healthier lifestyle and improved quality of life.
 Health Benefits of Planning
• Urban health reflects the outcomes of the physical and the social environment that impact
residents’ and communities’ well-being and quality of life, within an urban setting.
• The physical and built environment (urban structures, infrastructure, and spaces) may affect
health, especially if there are issues with water quality, sewage, or air pollution.
• The urban environment also presents benefits to health through open, green, and recreational
spaces.
• Social determinants of health influence a resident on a personal level. For instance, economic and
social problems are stressors affecting housing, food, and access to health care.
Security Benefits of Planning
• Urban safety and security: crime and violence, insecurity of tenure, and natural and human-
made disasters.
• Urban violence and crime are increasing worldwide, giving rise to widespread fear and
driving away investment in many cities. This is especially true in Africa, Latin America and
the Caribbean, where urban gang violence is on the rise.
• Recent widespread violence in the banlieus of Paris and throughout urban France, as well as
terrorist attacks in New York, Madrid and London, have all demonstrated that cities within
high-income countries are also vulnerable.
Security Benefits of Planning
• Large numbers of people in cities all over the world, including most of the 1 billion
currently living in slums, have no security of tenure, while at least 2 million are forcibly
evicted every year.
• Forced evictions predominantly affect those living in the worst housing conditions,
especially vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, including women and children.
• Many such evictions are carried out in the name of urban redevelopment, with little regard
for consequences among the poor, who are left without alternative shelter provisions.
• The resulting social exclusion swells the army of the poor and the angry.
Security Benefits of Planning
• There is a very real nexus between natural events and human safety and security.
• The vulnerability of cities is increasing due to climate change, which has accelerated
extreme weather events and rising sea levels.
• At the same time, urban slums are expanding into areas vulnerable to floods, landslides,
industrial pollution and other hazards.

Bangladesh is frequently cited as one of the most

vulnerable countries to climate change because of its
disadvantageous geographic location; flat and low-lying
topography; high
population density; high levels of poverty; reliance of
many livelihoods on climate sensitive sectors,
particularly agriculture and fisheries; and inefficient
institutional aspects
Security Benefits of Planning
• In terms of improving urban safety and security, urban policy is translated into urban design,
programmes, and operating procedures and measures that can directly affect social
behaviour.
• For example, urban policy could include the strategic decision to decentralize urban
governance in order to multiply and increase the density of public institutional contacts with
the citizenry in a rapidly expanding city. Increased public presence could serve to inhibit
neighborhood crime and violence.
• The first challenge of planning to improve urban safety and security is the assembly of
information to correctly frame the problem.
• For example, surveys of land occupancy and housing in cities could help to identify the
scale of the tenure problem and on what types of land it is most prevalent.
 Security Benefits of Planning
• Systematic risk management plays an essential
role in achieving a high level of security in cities
and communities and thus ensuring good quality
of life.
• Integral hazard and risk analyses, and action
plans based on these analyses: comparison of
social, natural and technical risks
• Crime prevention assessments of planned and
existing spaces and buildings with a focus on
preventing urban crime
• Security concepts for public spaces and large-
scale events
• Risk analyses and strategic planning for disasters
and emergencies
Efficiency Benefits of Planning
• Problem-solving doesn’t necessarily mean
reacting when an issue appears. Instead, a
more efficient way to resolve issues is
through anticipation. If a problem is
anticipated, it can be secured against from
the start or, in the worst case, would require
less effort to solve.
• Sufficient planning allows cities to deal with
potential challenges quickly and more easily
through anticipation and the utilization of
thought-out spatial patterns and
infrastructure. This means that in a properly
planned city, all areas will be made as
efficient as possible and accessible for
maintenance. In the event a swift reaction is
needed, unhindered communication flow and
readiness of city services will be precious. Tokyo Rinkai Disaster management park
Efficiency Benefits of Planning
• Through good planning, cities can decrease
or remove the possibility of significant
issues. And if problems arise, they can be
dealt with promptly with minimal cost or
damage.
• Planning for Better Life in Urban Areas
• Urban planning encompasses and influences
many aspects of city life. 
• From matters of economy, through social and
environmental concerns, to safety and
wellbeing, a thorough, consistent plan can
make life in urban areas almost idyllic. On
the other hand, a lack of such plans can turn a
city into an unlivable environment.
 Urban Planning
 Urban planning, also known as regional planning, town planning, city planning, or rural
planning,
 is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land
use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and
out of urban areas, such as transportation, communications, and distribution networks and
their accessibility.

Town Planning is considered as an “art of shaping and guiding the physical

growth of the town creating buildings and environments” to meet the various
needs such as social, cultural, economic and recreational etc. and to provide healthy
conditions for both rich and poor to live , to work, or to play or relax, thus bringing
about the social and economic well- being for majority of mankind.
(Hiraskar:1989)
 Urban Planning
“Art and science of ordering the land uses and siting building and communication routes
so as to secure the maximum level of economy, convenience and beauty”
(Lewis Keeble, urban planner)

Why science?
The science consists in collecting, correlating and analyzing the facts about a town
Why Art ?
The art lies in arranging the components (elements) of a town in such a way that the final
result is in the form of beautiful, convenient, economical and efficient unit.
 URBAN PLANNER
• An urban planner is someone who develops plans and programs for the use of land.
• They use planning to create communities, accommodate growth, or revitalize physical
facilities in towns, cities, counties, and metropolitan areas.
• Act as a team leader to coordinates the activities.
• Acts as a facilitator during the identification of problems, issues, goals and objectives
• determines the nature and extent of data collection,
• Conducts the survey and collection of data, analyses the data, makes population
forecasts and based on that determines the various land use requirements, transport and
other infrastructure requirements.
• Formulate the urban/regional/rural (development) plans.
• Involve others with more specialized knowledge on the subject and coordinate the
works of the expert professionals and concerned agencies.
• Overall supervision and coordinating role is also important during the implementation
and monitoring phase when many line agencies will be directly involved in
implementing their sectoral programs.
 Activities performed by Planner
Planners work as a facilitator, team leader, technical person and in a wide variety of
tasks such as :
• Land Use Planning
• Economic Development Planning
• Environmental Planning
• Transportation Planning
• Housing, Social and Community Development Planning
• Historic Preservation
• Health Care Delivery
• Infrastructure Planning
• Urban Design
• Mediation and Negotiation
• Public Finance
• Public Policy and Management etc.
Sociologists
• Sociologists study human behavior, interaction, and organization.
• They observe the activity of social, religious, political, and economic groups, organizations,
and institutions.
• They examine the effect of social influences, including organizations and institutions, on
different individuals and groups
The Role of Sociologist in Planning
• As such, planning is a form of social action, different from sociology, which analyses the
behaviour and society.
• Socioeconomic factors shape the morphological pattern of the city
• Urban areas in reality are socio-cultural units strongly influenced by ethnic, religious, linguistic
and politico-historical factors.
• An sociologist can provide all the necessary knowledge in the process of planning.
• A sociologist, therefore, plays two major roles in urban planning—first he helps in analyzing and
explaining the social reality dispassionately, objectively and truthfully. This is because they
possess the technical know-how and methodological equipment to understand such a task.
• Secondly, they coordinate with the urban planner and administrator with logi­cally sound and
meaningful alternatives (ideas) for urban development.
• Sociologist seeks to study the structures, processes, changes and problems of urban areas and to
subsequently provide input for planning and policymaking
• Thus, to make the city really beautiful and also dynamic, the physical and social factors have to
be integrated. A sociologist is a right person to integrate these two aspects.
Economist
• An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline
of economics.
• Economists prepare reports, tables, and charts.
• Economists study the production and distribution of resources, goods, and services by
collecting and analyzing data, researching trends, and evaluating economic issues.
The Role of Economist in Planning
• A central goal of urban and economic development planning is producing policies and
programs to promote economic growth. 
• Urban planners and economic planners always struggle to define economic development
policies to improve the growth in way that enhance the quality of life in the community
people live and work. 
• Hence, investigation of factors affecting economic growth at the regional level helps
decision makers such as urban planners and economic development planners develop
smarter policies to increase more opportunities for economic growth.
The Role of Economist in Planning
• Helps to realize community’s economic vision and take control of economic future.
• Helps to bring together community residents with private and public sectors.
• Helps to set economic development goals and outline how to accomplish those goals. 
• Outline the economic vision, mission, and goals of a community
• Outline the economic strategies and specific actions that will be taken
• Help residents, businesses, and local governments understand the economic priorities for a
community
• Help communities respond to economic challenges and seize opportunities.
• Support collaboration and co-ordination between neighboring communities.
Physical planner
• Undertakes feasibility studies on physical, social, economic and environmental
characteristic of land; 
• Implements physical and land use plans and policies within the county
• Maintains physical planning records
The role of Physical planner in planning
• Design exercise that uses the land use plan as a framework to propose the optimal physical
infrastructure for a settlement or area, including infrastructure for public services, transport,
economic activities, recreation, and environmental protection.
• A physical plan may be prepared for an urban area or a rural area.
• A physical plan for an urban region can have both rural and urban components, although the
latter usually predominates.
• A physical plan at a regional scale can also deal with the provision of specific regional
infrastructure, such as a regional road or a bulk water supply system.
• Land use plans and physical plans are not necessarily mutually exclusive. It is common
practice in many countries to prepare comprehensive development plans that address both
land use zoning and the provision of physical infrastructure.
• Such an exercise is more meaningful if carried out in the context of a strategic planning
process, whereby the proposals in the land use plan and the physical plan become part of a
comprehensive development plan.
• While land use and physical plans are outcome-oriented, strategic plans are more process-
oriented.