URBAN PLANNING?WHAT IS

Urban PlanningChapter 1

Urban planning i s a process that helps

a c i ty make decis ions for i t s future.

Sometimes referred to s imply as

“planning,” urban planning touches

many aspects of our l i ves . For example,

i t helps a c i ty answer quest ions l ike:

• Whereshouldhomesandbusinessesbebuilt?

• Whatshouldbuildingslooklike?

• Whenshouldroadsandsidewalksbefixed?

• Howshouldjobsbecreated?

From smal l towns to big c i t ies , most

governments go through some sort of

urban planning process . Sometimes

i t i s smal l process involv ing only

government off ic ia l s ; sometimes i t

i s a large process involv ing a c i ty ’ s

ent ire populat ion.

RESEARCHEvery good decis ion i s based on

accurate information. That i s why

most planning processes s tart wi th

some sort of research. Urban planning

considers where a c i ty has been, where

i t i s now and where i t expects to go in

the future.

For example, urban planners might

ask quest ions l ike:

• Wherearepeoplemovingto?

• Whichroadsgettheheaviesttraffic?

• Howmanyschool-agedchildrenliveinthe

city?

• Whatkindofjobopportunitiesexist?

In addit ion to data, urban planners

consider res ident preferences and

an area’ s phys ica l character in order

make the bes t decis ions poss ible.

WE ALL PLAN You might not rea l ize i t , but in a

sense, we’re a l l p lanners. Most of us

do i t every day. Take for example, a

household budget. When we budget

for our famil ies , we try to decide

what i s the bes t use of our resources

- whether to spend money eat ing out,

to spend t ime f ix ing the ki tchen s ink,

or to save up for a new car.

Urban p lann ing i s l ike a budget that a fami ly makes for i t se l f , on ly on a much b igger sca le .

Planning i s a col lect ive process between

c i ty leaders and res idents to envis ion a

bet ter future. Such decis ions are of ten

hard — we must decide which needs

are most important to bes t prepare

for the future and then plan careful ly

how to use our t ime, money, and other

resources.

RESOURCESMoney i s usual ly the f irs t — and

sometimes only — thing that comes to

mind when we consider resources. But

i t ’ s not the only resource avai lable to

a c i ty . A c i ty can a l so ut i l i ze resources

such as:

• Skillsandcultureofitsresidents.

• Landandwaterwayswithinthecity.

• Connectionstoneighboringcitiesandplaces.

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Considering a l l ava i lable resources

a l lows us to make bet ter decis ions.

L ike a fami ly ’s budget , urban p lann ing bu i lds on the resources we have , not the resources we w ish we had .

INVESTMENTS After examining the various resources

ava i lable, a c i ty must a l so look at the

bes t ways to spend those resources.

Plann ing Is The Br idge Between Resources And Oppor tun i t ies .

There are many inves tments a c i ty can

make and every opportunity comes wi th

i t s own benefi t s and cost s .

Planning involves di f f icul t trade-offs .

As a family chooses between inves t ing

in food, housing, educat ion, and

enterta inment, a c i ty must choose

between inves t ing in things l ike

transportat ion, parks, jobs, and safety.

A c i ty can rarely spend as much resources

as i t would l ike on these inves tment

opportunit ies . A c i ty therefore has to

decide which resources can be matched

to potentia l inves tments - in both the

near future and long-term.

TYPES OF PLANNINGA large-sca le planning process that

involves an entire c i ty might include

many dif ferent k inds of planning such

as:

• LANDUSE PLANNING - planning that focuses

on where businesses, homes and parks should be

located.

• ECONOMICDEVELOPMENT-planningthatis

primarilyconcernedwiththejobskillsandtryingto

attractcertaintypesofbusinessestoacity.

• TRANSPORTATIONPLANNING-planningthat

addresseshowpeoplegetaroundthecityandregion.

• ENVIRONMENTALPLANNING-planningthat

considershowtoconserve,protectandutilizeour

naturalresources.

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Detroit’s Future!

There i s a large amount of over lap

between dif ferent types of planning.

Bet ter resul t s of ten come from a

planning process that addresses

land use, economic development,

transportat ion and the environment.

Of course, a plan i s only as good as

the act ions that fol low i t . Success ful

c i ty plans require act ion, not only

from local government, but a l so

from i t s people, organizat ions, and

businesses.

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