Spatial Tool (Geographic Information Systems)

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a tool that connects databases to maps. It combines layers of information about where things are located with descriptive data on information such as locations, roads and parcel sizes all stored digitally in the system in layers called themes. The GIS has revolutionised planning as planners are now able to capture, store, manipulate, manage and present data efficiently and effectively. There are two types of data that the GIS can contain vector data and roster data.

Vector data contains information about points, lines or polygons. Points represent benches, lights e.g. physical items, lines represent streets, water, electrical and sewer lines and polygons represent parcels of land, buildings and landscaped areas.

Roster data on the other hand contains information about the earth’s geographic features which are stored in cells and represent land use, vegetation, slope, elevation and aspect.

GIS Functions:

Query by Location - that is it can search any point within a polygon radius.

Query by Attribute - which is a search on data stored in the hardware e.g. identifying parcels of land and their owners.

Boolean Queries- which are a combination of query by location and query by attribute. E.g. the software could find all parcels less than 0.5 acres in size owned by people with the last name smith.

Buffers- Geographic regions that can depict spheres of influence and areas that are more significantly impacted by a given phenomenon e.g. a flood. 

Measuring Distance- Can calculate how far things are apart (distance) both straight and curved lines. 

Overall the introduction of the GIS has reshaped planning allowing planners to gather and interpret data and make decisions that maximise the potential of cities and inevitability will be the future of all planning decisions.

Metropolitian Regions

A metropolitan area is a combination of urban agglomerations that consists of a densely populated urban core that encompasses multiple jurisdictions and cities that share various infrastructure, services, housing and employment resources.  Metropolitan regions are also described as matrixes of developments that extend over wide areas and include many centres. A major metropolitan region that is discussed throughout the reading is the highly urbanised north-eastern sea bored of the United States which is a major metropolitan area that stretches from Boston to Washington in a 600 mile continuous corridor. This mass agglomeration is possible as the enormous region which is dominated by several older cities and masses of suburban development is linked by a modern and efficient rail and highway system which is used by the communities to commute to services and employment in major cities in the region such as Boston and Washington. Another major metropolitan area in the United States is the San Francisco metropolitan area often referred to as the Bay Area which includes urban areas such as the city of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose and is home to about 7.15 million people within 9 counties.

                                                    San Francisco Bay Area:

Negatives of the Metropolitan Region:

New developments on the urban fringe are a modern and common practice in emerging and expanding metropolitan regions as business and services relocate to the urban fringe for the convenience and to be closer to the people who live in these areas. This however leads to negative trends such as the abandonment of older inner city developments which than become an eyesore on the city whilst also leaving land to be vacant, and not efficiently used. Over the next generation the traditional city centre will no longer be the only venue were business, finance, cultural and entertainment events occur as increasingly these will be dispersed to other parts of the Metropolitan region, closer to where patrons and residents live. The extent of the negative impact this will have on the inner city is unknown and whether to continue expanding metropolitan’s at the cost of the once vibrant urban inner city centre is a debatable issue were a correct answer currently is unknown. I believe although it is necessary for a portion of services to be close to the outer suburbs the inner city should be consolidated and never left to be run down but a vibrant area for business and tourism.

Town Plan - “How to Make a Town”

This week’s reading “How to Make a Town Plan” explores the key principles urban designers and planners follow to create communities that blend the natural and built environment, enhance vitality and increase the pleasure and comfort of its residents.

The following are principals that should be followed to achieve the above goals:

Regional Considerations:  Ideally growth should be located within a regional plan that seeks to limit car usage and preserve open space. Any growth should also be adjacent to existing development and close to transit stops.

Mixed Use Development: Ideally every neighbourhood should be designed with an even balance of residents and jobs. There also needs to be adequate mixture of land uses e.g. commercial, residential. However fully integrated mixed communities take time and is a continual process.

Connectivity: Neighbourhoods must connect wherever practically possible, especially between residential areas. Highways approaching neighbourhoods should not intersect as this breaks up the connectivity between areas and therefore should skirt around.

Making the Most of a Site: Natural features such as waterfronts, hillsides, wetlands and trees should be preserved on a site as they add to property value and character.

Discipline of the Neighbourhood: Most new traditional towns are designed around a 5 min measure. High density surrounds the centre and as you move further out density should decrease.

Making Transit Work: Transit must be frequent and predictable, must follow a route that is direct and stops must be safe, dry and dignified.

Streets: Travel lanes should be no wider than 10 ft. to reduce speed and create a safe environment.

Buildings: Private buildings must also have a manner which contributes to pedestrian life. Setbacks are 10ft in the neighbourhood centre, 30ft neighbourhood edge and there are no setbacks for retail outlets allowing them to engage the public.

Parking: An essential rule of thumb with parking is to provide no more off-street parking than can be concealed behind buildings, and no more buildings than that amount of parking can support.

These principals all contribute to making a town that meets the needs of all members of society.  

The Master Plan

The Master Plan which Charles .M. Haar’s article focuses on this week is defined in simple terms as a document with general descriptions of the city for the future which is accompanied and supported  by plans, maps and charts covering aspects of the city including its streets, public buildings, utilities and open space all under zoning accordance. The modern day Master Plan in general is intended to guide development for the proposed city for at least 10 – 20 years  with the intention to guide local decisions on public and private uses of land , as the well as the provision of public facilities. It is a process that defines what is important about a place and how its character and quality can be conserved, improved and enhanced. In Canberra for example the ACTPLA Australian Capital Territory Planning and Land Authority prepares all master plans for Canberra currently focusing on future transport corridors and unused land adjacent to town centres. This is evident in the Canberra City Action Plan document 2010 – 2014 which outlines the intentions for the Civic area in terms of land were unused land along the Lake Burley foreshore is being proposed to be developed into residential and commercial developments as a priority for the coming years.

The Master Plan is used as a first reference to planner’s and is vital in assisting planners in creating specific plans of areas through six major contributions.

1.   As a source of Information.
2.   A program for Correction.
3. An estimate of the Future.
4. An Indicator of Goals.
5.  A technique for Coordination.
6.  And a device for stimulating public Interest.

The Master Plan’s main purpose and contribution however is that of mutual education that is the planner learns from people who are involved in the development of the plan which in turn leads to planning that meets the public interests. In terms of planning this is key as a planner’s role is to mediate with the public.

 Is 15-20 years too long for a master plan to guide planning decisions? This is a debatable question that I put forward to all you bloggers out there.

Pluralism and Multiculturalism

This week’s reading Pluralistic Planning for Multicultural Cities by Mohammad A. Qadeer explores planning issues that arise from the cultural diversity of local populations. This includes issues such as the uniformity of policies and standards, equity in accommodating the needs of divergent groups and planning for the expression of cultural values, needs and wants. The author (Mohammad A. Qadeer) promotes multiculturalism which is where cultural identities are supported and maintained and believes pluralistic planning which aims to achieve equal opportunities of diverse groups is a necessity in the modern world as multiculturalism permeates even the smallest details of urban life.  

Qadeer in the article describes that the main effect of multiculturalism on the physical urban environment is that of the forced ethnic spatial concentrations or ethnic enclaves that develop due to the agglomeration of ethnic communities. Although the article focuses on enclaves and pluralism planning in Canada a historically multicultural society this can be applied to Australia where ethnic agglomerations or enclaves are observable in major cities for example Sydney. In Sydney enclaves add to the environment promoting diversity in terms of shopping, food and cultural experience and I believe is an asset to the community and “Little Italy” in Leichardt is an example of this were a large proportion of Italians have settled bringing with them a cultural mix to the greater Sydney community.

Pluralistic planning to allow and supply these enclaves with facilities and infrastructure that support their cultural heritage, business and social traditions is often controversial but an obligation of the planner who is obliged to meet the needs of all members of society. In the article Qadeer discusses some controversial points in Canada where discrimination in terms of housing prices and rentals has been reported against ethnic groups which would be against pluralistic planning that is planning for equality which is not documented but I believe also to a extent occurs in Australia. Overall multiculturalism post World War has been a major factor in the change of city demographics and therefore pluralistic planning has also become of importance for planners to promote equity for all.

"Old" New Urbanism "The Downtown is for People"

This week’s reading by Jane Jacobs “The downtown is for People”(1958) is a very influential and critical writing that emphasises the importance of creating cities and in particular streets for people. Jacob’s career as a journalist see’s an unbiased view of the work of planners and Jacob’s in this article is highly critical of planners such as Ebenezer’s Howards Garden City movement and in particular major redevelopments which were happening at the time that she believed would not “revitalize the downtown but deaden it”.

Jacob’s believed that planners became seized with dreams of order and were fascinated with scale models which took away from the atmosphere and exuberance of the downtown. She preached that to create a downtown for the people you must get out there and walk with the people. Jacob’s criticised that modernist planning didn’t consider the pedestrian level and she believed the downtown should be a place of variety with short, pedestrian friendly narrow streets and an atmosphere that is as active in the day as it is in the night (Two Shift Theory). Melbourne is Australia’s best example of such street life with cafes, shopping and business mixed between short and narrow pedestrian friendly streets and streets that accommodate cars creating a vibrant community atmosphere.

Although many of Jacob’s views and opinions on the disapproval of planning and particular planners are questionable and even offensive to some, I believe her work in general has improved planning for the better especially planning downtown urban centres for people. Her work questioned planning notions that hadn’t been questioned before and in doing so allowed for improvement and I believe even promoted public involvement and engagement in planning as Jacobs wasn’t a planner yet her views proved that non planners can make valid contributions to the planning of cities.

New Directions in Planning

In this week’s reading, New Directions in Planning Theory, Susan Fainstein discusses and critiques three schools of planning theory, which are the Communicative, New Urbanism and Just Theory contemporary planning models. These models emerged in response to post industrialization planning issues and where seen as a method of improving the quality of life in capitalist’s economies.

The Communicative Model:

The Communicative model promotes that the planner’s primary function is to listen to all stakeholders’ needs and wants and forge a consensus with the community without showing any bias or technocratic leadership. A deficiency of this approach as outlined in the article however is the gap between rhetoric and action that is the length of time between participatory and communicative processes to the physical implementation of the plan. This is a long process which many see as a flaw of this process in planning.

New Urbanism Model:

New Urbanism refers to the design orientated practical approach to planning which focuses on the urban design of plans and there outcomes rather than the process. New urbanism resembles planning theories from early planning theorists such as Ebenezer Howard however is criticised for its overreliance on physical determinism which doesn’t allow it to address social justice issues adequately. It must be noted however that physical planning can to an extent address social issues as physical planning is often considered a starting point to address such issues.

Just City Model:

The Just Theory model is described by Susan Fainstein as a political economic planning model that is endorsed to combat inequality through civil participation and the equal distribution of wealth of resources. To me this approach is more philosophical and idealistic as unlike the previous two models it doesn’t in the reading that is stipulate a feasible approach to improve the quality of life rather an aspiration and idealistic approach of what a perfect society should be.

These models all pending on individual circumstances are feasible however realistically society and planners need to find a balance between all three approaches in the modern mixed planning environment to optimise their cities potential. A mixture of theories at the one time historically has not been the norm but as the planning profession grows and so too does society it is the most likely approach to future planning directions.