Concepts of Urban Planning: Jeff Soule American Planning Association

Module 1: Introduction and the Context
Concepts of Urban
Planning
Jeff Soule
American Planning Association
Introduction to Planning
American perspective
Observations from Chinese experience
Your role in planning
Value of Planning
Popular planning concepts
How to use planners
Managing your city
Introduction to Planning
(Contd)
This course is designed to help you make better

decisions about the future of your city
NOT a course to make you a professional planner.
Provide a general view and understanding that will
make the rest of the course useful and interesting.
First Parts are the basic core about the use of planning
and planners in shaping the city and the region.
Other modules go into more detail about specific
aspects and issues in planning-- build on the basic
core of understanding in this course.
Goals for Urban

Planning:
Reduce poverty and improve quality of life

for the most people.
Distribute both positive and negative
aspects of development fairly.
Environmental conservation
Cultural and historic preservation
Provide a predictable process for decision

making that is informed by these goals.
Planning in America
Truly Comprehensive:
economics, environment
and social values
Citizen participation
Many approaches
Long term perspective
Enforcement of Plans
Planners represent
public
Aspects of Planning
that Officials Need to
Know
Vision Process
This includes strategic positioning, analysis of the

major issues, regional, social and economic elements
as well as public participation.
Follow through with the vision by developing a detailed
plan: This can be described as a matrix of who is
responsible for each goal in the vision.
Implementation; administrative, incentives and
regulatory structure to carry out the plan
Review and revision: the vision and the plan should be
done in terms that make it clear how progress and
achievements will be measured, and how modifications
are made
Comparing China and US

(1)
In transition from the earlier planned economy to a

market based system.
Central government established regional and city
statistical goals -- the Planning Commission, needs to
have a new role working with the planning bureau
Planning Bureaus were charged w/ implementation of
the goals in these economic development targets.
Role in the area of project construction than US
comprehensive city planning.
Comparing China and US

(2)
Demands of urbanization and market economy

require changes to the planning system.
How the planning system in China may meet
these two goals involves new local systems
You must decide the way you will compete with
other cities
This course offers choices about they way you
want to approach your city's overall development
strategy: less influenced by central government
targets and more influenced by economic
competition.
Planning Practice
Past US Weaknesses
(1)
Preparation of master plans to layout a perfect

final end-state for the city
Issues of economic efficiency or social equity
The importance of the process of planning
was neglected in favor of planning by a few
government departments, with stakeholders
often limited to developers
City governments didnt took these plans
seriously
Planning Practice
Past US Weaknesses
(2)
Implementation was mainly for infrastructure

projects, planned by engineers, uncoordinated
with other services and needs.
A misunderstanding of the function and role of
urban planning now shared by many
developing countries and government
agencies.
Citizen participation in planning was neglected
until very recently.
Your Role in Planning
Represent the public

interest
Look at the different
opportunities for the
city
Balance among
competing interests
Manage development
Development Forces
Demand Good
Planning (1)
Speed of urbanization and size of cities.

Social inequality. The large number of urban
poor requires special attention.
Realizing cities economic potential by
overcoming weaknesses:
i) lack of vision, ii) inadequate consultation
among stakeholders
Development Forces
Demand Good
Planning (2)
Environmental degradation
Weak Sense of Direction, Institutional
Linkages and Coordination.
New and emerging challenges
i) decentralization, ii) proliferation of interest
groups, iii) globalization, iv) information and
communication, v) demand for local control,
vi) citizens concerns and vii) new challenges
in public health and safety
Value of Planning
Understand that
choices have longterm economic
consequences
Improve conditions
for peoples lives
Manage scarce
resources
Short Term Planning

Fads
Bad ideas from elsewhere are not good

ideas in China
CBD, Wide Streets Skyscrapers, Plazas
Architecture alone does not make a city
Design competitions are not good for

planning
Learn from mistakes of other countries
Planning Concepts
Garden City
New Urbanism
Planning with nature
Historic Preservation as a planning strategy
Reinventing Chinese city planning tradition
Developing a Vision
How to use planners
Facilitation of ideas
and interests
Analyze possible
strategies
Present alternatives
for different options
Manage the
implementation of an
overall vision
Managing your city
This program gives

you a background on
planning
Use the knowledge
contained here to use
the professional
services available to
you from the World
Bank, APA and others
Conclusion
Planning is not just the layout of buildings

Planning should involve people in the
process not like design competitions
Plans are useless without a commitment to
law and the implementation of the plan
Planning should be comprehensive:
economic, social, environmental, design

Concepts of Urban Planning: Jeff Soule American Planning Association

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Concepts of Urban Planning: Jeff Soule American Planning Association

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Concepts of Urban Planning: Jeff Soule American Planning Association

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Module 1: Introduction and the Context

Observations from Chinese experience

Your role in planning

Popular planning concepts

How to use planners

Managing your city

This course is designed to help you make better

Goals for Urban

Reduce poverty and improve quality of life

Cultural and historic preservation

Provide a predictable process for decision

This includes strategic positioning, analysis of the

Comparing China and US

In transition from the earlier planned economy to a

Comparing China and US

Demands of urbanization and market economy

Preparation of master plans to layout a perfect

Implementation was mainly for infrastructure

Your Role in Planning

Represent the public

Speed of urbanization and size of cities.

Short Term Planning

Bad ideas from elsewhere are not good

CBD, Wide Streets Skyscrapers, Plazas

Architecture alone does not make a city

Design competitions are not good for

Planning with nature

Historic Preservation as a planning strategy

Reinventing Chinese city planning tradition

How to use planners

Managing your city

This program gives

Planning is not just the layout of buildings

You might also like