Land Use- Planning

Muhammad Salman Arshad

The need for planning:

A large proportion of the land surface of the world (about one-third to one-half) has been changed by human activity.

Most of this change occurred as people converted the land to agriculture and grazing, but, in our modern world, significant amounts have been covered with buildings, streets, highways, and other products of society.

In many cases, cities grew without evaluating and determining the most logical use for the land.

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Once land has been converted from natural ecosystems or agriculture to intensive human use, it is generally unavailable for other purposes.

As the population of the world grows competition for the use of the land will increase, and systematic land-use planning will become more important.

Furthermore, as the population of the world becomes more urbanized and cities grow, urban planning becomes critical.

Historical forces that shaped land use:

The rural to urban shift:North America remained essentially rural until industrial growth began in the last third of the 1800’s and the population began a trend toward greater urbanization.

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Several forces led to this rural-to-urban transformation.

First, the Industrial Revolution led to improvements in agriculture that required less farm labor at the same time industrial jobs became available in the city.

Thus, people migrated from the farm to the city. The average person was no longer a farmer but, rather, a factory worker, shopkeeper, or clerk (with a regular paycheck) living in a tenement or tiny apartment near where he or she worked.

This pattern of rural-to-urban migration occurred throughout North America, and it is still occurring in developing countries today.

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A second factor that affected the growth of cities was the influx of immigrants from Europe. Although some became farmers, many of these new citizens settled in towns and cities, where jobs were available.

A third reason for the growth of cities was that they offered a greater variety of cultural, social, and artistic opportunities than did rural communities. Thus, cities were attractive for cultural as well as economic reasons.

Urbanization in the developing world:

Traditionally, most of the population of the developing world has been rural.

However, in recent years, the number of people migrating to the cities has grown rapidly.

By 2025, about 5 billion people are expected to be living in urban centers. Most of the increase in urban areas will be in the developing world. Many migrate to the cities because they feel they will have greater access to social services and other cultural benefits than are available in rural areas.

Many also feel there are more employment opportunities. However, the increase in the urban population is occurring so rapidly that it is very difficult to provide the services needed by the population, and jobs are not being created as fast as the urban population is growing.

Thus, many of the people live in poverty on the fringes of the city in shantytowns that lack water, sewer, and other services

MIGRATION FROM THECENTRAL CITY TO THE SUBURBS

During the early stages of industrial development, there was little control of industry activities, so the waterfront typically became a polluted, unhealthy, undesirable place to live.

As roads and rail transport became available, anyone who could afford to do so moved away from the original, industrial city center.

The more affluent moved to the outskirts of the city, and the development of suburban metropolitan regions began. Thus, the agricultural land surrounding the towns was converted to housing.

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As the population of the city grew, demand for land increased. As the price of land in the city rose, people and businesses began to look for cheaper land farther away from the city.

Developers and real estate agents were quick to respond and to help people acquire and convert agricultural land to residential or commercial uses.

Land was viewed as a commodity to be bought and sold for a profit, rather than as a nonrenewable resource to be managed.

As long as money could be made by converting agricultural land to other purposes, it was impossible to prevent such conversion. There were no counteracting forces strong enough to prevent it.

Urban Sprawl:

Urban sprawl has been defined as auto-dependent development outside of the compact urban and village center, along highways, and in the rural countryside.

An aggregation or continuous network of urban communities.

Sprawl is typically characterized by the following:

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Excessive land consumption. Low densities in comparison with older

centers. Lack of choice in ways to travel. Fragmented open space, wide gaps between

development, and a scattered appearance. Lack of choice in housing types and prices. Separation of uses into distinct areas. Repetitive one-story development. Commercial buildings surrounded by large

areas for parking. Lack of public spaces and community centers.

Urban sprawl:

Land use planning:

Land-use planning is a process of evaluating the needs and wants of the population, the characteristics and values of the land, and various alternative solutions to the use of a particular land surface before changes are made.

Planning land use brings with it the need to examine the desires of many competing interests.

The economic and personal needs of the population are a central driving force that requires land-use decisions to be made.

A basic rule should be to make as few changes as possible, but when changes are suggested or required, several things should be considered.

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Evaluate and record any unique geologic, geographic, or biologic features of the land.

Preserve unique cultural or historic features. Conserve open space and environmental

features. Recognize and calculate the cost of additional

changes that will be required to accommodate altered land use.

Plan for mixed housing and commercial uses of land in proximity to one another.

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Plan for a variety of transportation options.

Set limits and require managed growth with compact development patterns.

Encourage development within areas that already have a supportive infrastructure so that duplication of resources is not needed.

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