What is Urban Planning and its importance key role into the development of a country? How does Urban Planning affect us and how does urban planning venture its capacity to tap economic needs, the people and future of our country? Let us shed and share’s urban planning major role in every one of us and learn its key role in our existence.
What is Urban Planning?
Urban planning is define also as regional planning, town planning, city planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportation, communications, and distribution networks and their accessibility.
Urban Planning answers our question about how are the people going to live, work and the progress direction into the given areas they have, how they are going to be guided by the orderly development, community settlement and development infrastructure.
Urban Planning is responsible for the following developments and functions:
- Planning the efficient transportation of goods, resources, people and waste;
- The distribution of basic necessities such as water and electricity;
- A sense of inclusion and opportunity for people of all kinds, culture and needs; economic growth or business development;
- Improvement or better public health.
- Conserving areas of natural environmental significance that actively contributes to reduction in Carbon Dioxide as well as protecting heritage structures and built environments.
- How to involve more community members in city planning processes.
- A vibrant Economy with sustainable use of resources to attained a greatest social equity.
Who is in charge of urban planning in the Philippines?
Urban planning in the Philippines is a shared responsibility of national and sub-national levels of government but local governments are considered to be the key in urban development.
RA7279 – Urban Development and Housing Act
“The National Urban Development and Housing Framework is mandated by the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 (RA 7279) to provide a macro framework for urban development and housing and consists of policy statements and strategies intended to guide the Philippine government’s efforts towards improving the performance and efficiency of the country’s urban system.
It identified urbanization trends and the issues and drivers of the urban system. It lays out the vision and guiding principles and the strategic recommendations for the country’s urban development. The overall vision of this framework focuses on urban competitiveness and poverty reduction, housing affordability and delivery, development and management of sustainable communities, and performance-oriented governance.”
What is the main purpose of National Urban Development and Housing Framework for?
- It is to primarily guide the formulation and Implementation of plans, program and activities of National Government agencies and local government.
- It provides information and possible collaboration to private sectors, non-government organization, professional organization, people’s organization and other stakeholders.
According to National Urban Development and Housing Framework National 2017 – 2022 Abridged Version the essential role of Urban Planning framed its importance to the following principles:
- Urbanization as catalyst for inclusive growth – Urbanization must drive and influence the creation of and transformation towards culturally, socially, economically, and politically inclusive development. Citizenship and equal rights for all inhabitants whether permanent or transient, with added focus on the right to housing and urban services
- Climate change resilience as a base for spatial structuring and sectorial development – Resilience as the foundation in planning and decision-making for spaces and resilience as the ability of the citizen to withstand with impacts, rebuild and reorganize.
- Spatially and thematically integrated settlements within coherent and efficient urban systems and forms across scales
- Urban design that aids in the integration and efficient function of urban elements and ensures social and economic inclusion
- Efficient urban planning and design should be considered across scales from the smallest to the largest unit or element
- Physically, spatially, functionally connected and accessible systems
Importance of Urban Planning
- If Urban Planning System is properly executed it will reflect Filipinos vision of having competitive system: a strong economy and a place that is livable for all.
- Having a Systematic Urban Planning will give as a sustainable environment, safe and climate resiliency.
- It will provide a universal access to political, economic and social services and will definitely benefits to Filipinos.
- There will be an equality opportunity to livelihood projects and social protection programs.
- It will give also families of informal settlers to live in a more a pride living and more security.
- It will recognize the importance of integration of rural to urban linkages.
Urban Planning is one of the most important factor of societies integration to economy of emerging business in terms of investments, infrastructure towards connecting and building easiest way and conducive to everyone, the volume of residential like real estate, the livable spaces for Filipinos like affordable house and lot for them, condominiums development and rent to own housing, the transportation system, environmental impact and commercial projects. Urban Planning affects our daily life from our personal transactions to business, to residents and to our own economic autonomy. Without properly planning our cities will become inefficient and undesirable to us and to our neighboring countries. It will affect the factor appearance of our city and the possible development that may occur.
Our world spaces keeps on changing rapidly and it is rapidly evolving into different phases and stages that is why urban planning and developing strateging is very important. The transformation is significantly fast that urban planning needs to simultaneously emerge with the transformation so that it can provide to expanding population, needs density and emerging urban buildings.
In urban planning when the proper Integration to all factors is properly laddered it will enhance our economy to be competitive not only the infrastructure of roads and housing, utilities, or livelihood but it will significantly enhance our economic improvement through investment, real estate and it will create jobs and opportunities for all of us. Urban planning and its key importance integration to all of us will give us the goal that everybody in the society is moving forward to improvement, development, success, growth and opportunities. With proper urban planning integration we can all have that favorable and beneficial progress as individuals and as one country.
Written by Rowena Lansang
