User:Raespecht/Land-use planning

Methods

Professional planners work in the public sector for governmental and non-profit agencies, and in the private sector for businesses related to land, community, and economic development. Through research, design, and analysis of data, a planner's work is to create a plan for some aspect of a community. This process typically involves gathering public input to develop the vision and goals for the community.

A charrette is a facilitated planning workshop often used by professional planners to gather information from their clients and the public about the project at hand. Charettes involve a diverse set of stakeholders in the planning process, to ensure that the final plan comprehensively addresses the study area.

Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, is a very useful and important tool in land use planning. It uses aerial photography to show land parcels, topography, street names, and other pertinent information. GIS systems contain layers of graphic information and their relational databases that may be projected into maps that allow the user to view a composite of a specific area, adding an array of graphically oriented decision making tools to the planning process.

A transect, as used in planning, is a hierarchical scale of environmental zones that define a land area by its character, ranging from rural, preserved land to urban centers. As a planning methodology, the transect is used as a tool for managing growth and sustainability by planning land use around the physical character of the land. This allows a community to plan for growth while preserving the natural and historical nature of their environment.

Natural ecology and historical identity of the city are matched to its topography in the Urban Landscape System approach that intends to mitigate effects of climate change and improve city branding through the ontology of place.

Another approach to land use planning is the use of "traditional and local knowledge," or TLK, or local, Indigenous, and place-bound ways of knowing. Categories of TLK include 1) knowledge about the environment, 2) knowledge about the current use of areas, 3) knowledge of management systems, 4) values associate with the environment (i.e., spirituality and culture). There is growing literature about how to effectively incorporate and represent TLK in land use and management plans.

Practical Examples of Land Use Planning

Land Use Planning in Milan city

Milan city is located in northern Italy. It is the second most populous city in the country after Rome with a population of over 4 million (The CBD and its metropolitan Boroughs).

Every area in Milan is a segment that starts from the center and reaches the city limits, so that central areas and peripheral areas are part of the same area. In Milan, zones are not identified by names but numbers. The city hall area 1 of Milan includes the entire historical center, starting from the geographical center of Milan in Piazza Duomo up to the Cerchia dei Bastioni. The town hall area 2 goes from Piazza della Repubblica to Crescenzago, Turro, Greco and Precotto. The town hall 3 goes from Porta Venezia to Lambrate, passing through Città Studi.

Milan, Italy.

The town hall area 4 goes from Porta Vittoria to the Forlanini park, also including Porta Romana, Corvetto and Santa Giulia. The town hall 5 goes from Porta Ticinese to the Agricultural Park, passing through Chiesa Rossa and Gratosoglio. The town hall 6 goes from the Darsena, up to Barona, Lorenteggio and Giambellino. The city hall area 7 goes from Porta Magenta to Baggio and Figino passing through San Siro. The town hall zone 8 goes from Porta Volta to Quarto Oggiaro, passing through QT8 and Gallaratese. And lastly, the town hall area 9 goes from Porta Nuova to Niguarda and Bovisa. The idea here, is to allow members of the nine zones to get easy access to the CBD. Effective measures have been put in place to limit the impact of human activities on the many water bodies in this city such as restricting land development in riparian areas. In fact, the drive for the establishment of the city on the land where it stands was easy accessibility to water.

Land Use Planning in Indigenous Communities

Land use planning is an important method for sustainable development for Indigenous communities. Indigenous peoples in the United States and Canada often have fragmented or diminishing land bases with limited uses. Oftentimes, these land bases are also far from urban centers and with limited expansion ability. This fact leads to the perpetuation of systematic inequity for Indigenous peoples, since livelihoods, preservation of culture and tradition, access to adequate housing, and access to resources are all factors that are deeply rooted in land. Many Indigenous groups are embracing land use planning to determine the future of their territories. In Canada, for example, the Dehcho First Nations have developed a land use plan that honors cultural traditions and Elders' knowledge, and incorporates conservation, development zones, and other categories. This plan, which has been extensively researched, can serve as an excellent model for other Indigenous Nations, and for cities and areas across North America.

Examples of Land-Use Planning in the Global South

While most of the examples discussed in this article were drawn from cities in the Global North, land-use planning has been employed in cities all over the world. The Global North has traditionally been dominant in planning theory and practice. However, as the world continues to quickly urbanize, and the global population increases, most of the new global population growth is occurring in cities in the developing world, or the Global South. Many of the assumptions about land-use planning do not hold true elsewhere in the world, especially as developing nations face urbanization at a more rapid scale than most countries in the Global North. In India, for example, land-use planning, specifically as it pertains to siting industries, has been incorporated into the nation's constitution, and is controlled by the State and Federal levels of government.