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REVIEW QUESTIONS
AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (B)
By
RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Karachi

LECTURE NO. 30
TOPIC: REVIEW QUESTIONS

LECTURE NO. 1: INTRODUCTION TO TOWN PLANNING: PURPOSE AND

SCOPE

1. What is town planning? Explain its purpose and scope.

2. Write down the significance of the subject town planning.
3. What is the role of a civil engineer and a town planner in a city?

LECTURE NO. 2: DEFINITIONS OF TOWN PLANNING

1. Define and explain the following:

i. Town
ii. Municipality
iii. City
iv. Local Government
v. Megalopolis
vi. Mega-cities
vii. New Towns
viii. Guild Towns
ix. Satellite Town
x. Garden City

2. Define and explain the following:

i. City Centre
ii. Central Business District
iii. Outer Business District
iv. Sub Centre
v. Neighbourhood
vi. Neighbourhood Centre
vii. Fringe
viii. Family
ix. Migration
x. Public Utilities

3. Define and explain the following:

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i. Street
ii. Road
iii. Highway
iv. Motorway
v. Transport
vi. Public Transport
vii. Mass Transit
viii. Park and Street Park
ix. Locality Park and Urban Park
x. National Parks and Nature Reserves

4. Define and explain the following:

i. Hard Landscape and Soft Landscape
ii. Townscape
iii. Conservation
iv. Preservation
v. Restoration
vi. Redevelopment
vii. Rehabilitation
viii. Renovation
ix. Rejuvenation
x. Revitalization

5. Define and explain the following:

i. Restitution
ii. Animation
iii. Adaptive Reuse
iv. Urban Renewal
v. Urban Economics
vi. Socialist Economy and Capitalist Economy
vii. Production and Factors of Production
viii. Money, Prices and Market Forces
ix. Supply and Demand
x. Commodity, Goods and Services

6. Define and explain the following:

i. Microeconomics and Macroeconomics
ii. Economic Systems
iii. House, Houses and Housing
iv. Family and Household
v. Public Sector
vi. Private Sector
vii. Cooperative Sector
viii. Formal and Informal Sector
ix. Social and Rental Housing
x. Land Lease and Land Grabbing
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LECTURE NO. 3: TRENDS IN URBAN GROWTH

1. What is Urban Growth and Urban Sprawl?

2. Define the process of urban growth and explain the trends in urban growth
3. Narrate your understanding regarding Metropolitan Cities, Mega Cities, and Small and
Intermediate Cities.

4. Define and explain the following

i. Low – Density Continuous Development Pattern
ii. Leapfrog Development Pattern
iii. Ribbon Development Pattern
iv. Cellular Growth
v. Linear City.

5. Describe in details the theories and models of urban growth and city’s life cycle.
6. In your own words write down the details of Concentric Zones Theory, Axial
Development Theory, Sector Development Theory and Multiple Nuclei Development
Theory.

7. Delineate a definition and description to following terms:

i. Eopolis
ii. Polis
iii. Metropolis
iv. Megalopolis
v. Tyranopolis
vi. Necropolis
vii. Infantile
viii. Juvenile
ix. Mature
x. Senile

8. Delineate the theories of Lewis Mumford and Griffith Taylor about city’s life cycle.
9. Write a critique on Global Urban Population in Developed and Developing Countries.
10. Why is the urban population increasing so fast around the globe?
11. What are the problems and issues associated with rapid urban growth?
12. In your opinion what are the major aspects of urban growth and how the process of
urban planning works? Narrate your answer by citing a suitable example of a city from
the local or global context.

LECTURE NO. 4: OBJECTIVES OF SOUND PLANNING

1. Explain the phrase ‘Sound Planning’ and narrate your opinion regarding ‘Objectives of
Sound Planning.
2. How do we develop the goals and objectives for a city?
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3. In your opinion how do we formulate the objectives of sound planning for Karachi?

LECTURE NO. 05: MODERN PLANNING IN PAKISTAN AND ABROAD

1. Delineate and describe the concepts of Modern, Modernity, Modernism and Modern
Planning.

2. Write short notes on:

i. Authoritarian Planning
ii. Utilitarian Planning
iii. Romantic Planning
iv. Utopian Planning
v. Technocratic Planning
vi. Technocratic Utopia
vii. Organic Planning
viii. Post Modern Planning
ix. Sustainable Planning
x. Smart Planning

3. Write an article about Modern Planning in Pakistan and abroad.

LECTURE NO. 06: INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR TOWN PLANNING

1. What kind of information required for conducting a town planning exercise?

2. What is the significance of information for town planning?
3. What nature of information required for Landuse Planning, Economic Development
and Environmental Quality in a city?

LECTURE NO. 07: MAPS

1. What is the significance of ‘Maps’ in town planning?

2. How many types of maps are required for planning and development of urban areas?
3. Write an essay about ‘Scales of Maps’.
4. Write an inventory and format of maps required for preparation of a Master Plan, Zonal
Plan and Area Plan.

LECTURE NO. 08: NATURAL RESOURCES

1. What is meant by ‘Natural Resources’?

2. How do we classify ‘Economic Resources’?
3. Narrate the relation between natural resources and town planning.

4. Decode and define the following:

i. IEE
ii. EIA
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iii. SIA
iv. LVIA

LECTURE NO. 09: ECONOMIC RESOURCES

1. What is meant by ‘Economic Resources’?

2. How do we classify ‘Economic Resources’?
3. Narrate the relation between economic resources and town planning.
4. What is economics and urban economics?
5. Discuss and deliberate on the following:
i. Market forces in the development of cities
ii. Land use within cities and metropolitan areas
iii. Economic policy in urban areas
iv. Urban transportation and urban economics
v. Housing and public policy
vi. Government expenditures and taxes in urban economics
vii. Natural, human and capital resources
viii. Goods and services
ix. Urban problems
x. Local government and town planning

LECTURE NO. 10: LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROBLEMS

1. What is a Law?
2. What is an Administration?
3. What is Public Administration?
4. What are Urban Problems?

5. Discuss and deliberate on the following urban problems:

i. Unemployment
ii. Inappropriate solid waste management
iii. Urban poverty
iv. Inadequate housing stock
v. Inadequate water/sanitation facilities
vi. Inadequate public transportation
vii. Traffic congestion
viii. Inadequate health & education services
ix. Urban violence/crime/personal safety
x. Discrimination (women. ethnic, poor)

6. Discuss and deliberate on the urban problems of:

i. United States & Latin America
ii. Europe
iii. Africa
iv. Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East
v. Asia and Pacific
7. Discuss and deliberate on the urban problems of Karachi?
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LECTURE NO. 11: CIVIC SURVEY

1. Describe in details the types of surveys and significance of survey and mapping
techniques in any town planning exercise.
2. What is meant by Civic survey or Socio-Economic survey? Discuss.
3. Develop a sample Performa for socioeconomic survey.
4. Discuss in details the description of Survey and Mapping by G.K. Hiraskar and John
Ratcliff.

LECTURE NO. 12: URBAN ECOLOGY

1. What is meant by the phrase urban ecology? Elaborate with suitable examples.
2. What is the significance of urban ecology? Discuss by citing suitable examples.

LECTURE NO. 13: NEED AND SCOPE OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

1. Describe in details the need and scope of comprehensive plan.

2. Write short notes on:

i. Town planning controls
ii. Subdivision regulations
iii. Building and housing codes
iv. Social, economic, and environmental policy
v. The future of cities and town planning

LECTURE NO. 14 and 15: PHASES OF PLANNING & PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING

1. Describe in details the phases of planning and principles of planning.

2. Explain in detail the principles of panning that helps a town planner in decision making
for planning a city.
3. Develop a hierarchy or phases though which town planning is carried out in an
appropriate manner.
4. A planner can be defined as “An artist of rationality with reference to human activity”
Explain this statement with suitable examples.
5. Narrate the seven steps of planning process.
6. Describe in details the principles of planning as described by ‘G. K Hiraskar’ and ‘Abir
Bandy Opadhyay’ in their books on town planning.

7. Elucidate the following four principles of town planning:

i. Health of Citizens
ii. Physical, Social and Economic Convenience
iii. Aesthetics and Beauty
iv. Safety and Security
8. “The planners established the principles of planning from four major directions i.e.
through quantitative techniques, aesthetic considerations, political behavioral imperatives
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and social welfare concerns.” Explain.

9. Explain the details of seven phases of planning as given below:

i. Preliminary Study (Contextual Appraisal).
ii. Formulation of Goals (Public Participation / Views of People).
iii. Identification of Objectives (Public Demand & Details of Policy & Plan).
iv. Preparation of Alternative Strategies (Various Courses of Actions).
v. Evaluation (Strategy for enforcement by Considering the Physical, Social, economic &
Political Realities).
vi. Implementation (Public Private Partnerships, Regulation and Control over
Development).
vii. Monitoring & Review (Redefining Goals & Objectives with Changing Socio-Political
Situations).

10. Explicate town planning by means of at least seven phases of planning and seven
principles of planning.

LECTURE NO. 16, 17, 18 and 19: COMMUNICATION (ROADS, RAILWAYS,

AIRPORTS AND HARBORS)

1. Write a comprehensive essay about ‘Communication’ i.e. roads, railways, airways and
waterways.
2. “Cities are the engines of our civilization, where specialized services are available for
our living, working and recreation. No city can be termed as a good city which does not
possess efficient communication system” Explain these statements.
3. Explain the phrase communication with reference to transportation.
4. Explain the function, necessity and classification of roads and road network within an
urban context.
5. Write an essay about metropolitan railways.
6. Explicate in details the definition, meaning, types and classification of metropolitan
railways and enlighten upon modern developments in urban rail transport.

7. Write short notes on following communication means:

i. Local Road, District Roads, State Highways and National Highway
ii. Ring road, Diagonal road, Radial road and Circular road
iii. Residential road, Commercial road, Avenue, Promenade and Boulevard
iv. Arterial roads, Sub-arterial roads, Local roads, bypass roads, Outer & Inner Ring
roads, Express ways and free ways.
v. Subways, Underground Street Cars, Metro, Metropolitano, U. Bahn, and S. Bahn
Systems

8. Inscribe an article about Airways and Air Transport.

9. Write an article on Airport and its development in an urban context.
10. Elucidate the function, location, planning and design of Airport facilities in an urban
context.
11. Write an essay about water ways, sea ports, harbors and docks.
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12. Explicate in details the definition, need, impacts, efficiency, type and classification of
water ways, sea ports, harbors & docks.
13. Describe in details the natural, functional and location classification of sea ports and
harbor facilities.

14. Write short notes with suitable examples about the types of harbors given below:
i. Natural and Semi-Natural Harbor
ii. Artificial Harbor
iii. Commercial Harbor
iv. Military Harbor
v. Harbor of Refuge

15. Inscribe an essay about waterways and water transport.

16. Write an article on planning & design of sea ports, harbors and docks and dockyards.
17. Elucidate the significance of developing waterways, sea ports, harbors, docks and
dockyards in an urban context.
18. Discuss in details the sea ports harbors, docks and dockyards development in the
context of Karachi.
19. Draw a typical layout of a natural and an artificial harbor, label them and explain.

LECTURE NO. 20: STREET TRAFFIC AND DESIGN

1. Write a comprehensive essay about ‘Street Traffic and Design’.

2. Elucidate the definition, types, function, location, planning and design of a street and
its role in built environment.

3. Write short notes on:

i. Role of street in the built environment
ii. Circulation within streets
iii. Vehicular traffic in streets
iv. Parking for vehicles in streets
v. Pedestrian traffic in streets
vi. Vehicular amenities in streets
vii. Interaction in streets
viii. Identity of streets
ix. Streets as distinct from other spaces
x. Nomenclature of streets

LECTURE NO. 21: URBAN ZONING & LAND USE CONTROL

1. Write an all-inclusive essay about ‘Urban Zoning and Land Use Control’.
2. Compare the definitions of ‘Urban Zoning and Land Use Control’ as defined by G. K.
Hiraskar in his book “Fundamentals of Town Planning” and W.PAUL Farmer and Julie A.
Gibb in the book “Introduction to Urban Planning”.
3. Elucidate the phrase “Urban Zoning and Land Use Control’ and explain its objectives,
purpose, scope, need and significance.
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4. What is meant by ‘Land Use Control’ and how it is exercised by the institutions in an
urban context?
5. Narrate the relation between Land Use and Environment.
6. Explicate in details the origin and history of zoning in United States of America and
United Kingdom.
7. Write a brief note on zoning types i.e. euclidean, performance based, incentive based
and form based.
8. The zoning is classified in three categories i.e. use zoning, height zoning and density
zoning. Explain with suitable examples and sketches.

9. Write short notes on:

i. Use Zoning
ii. Height Zoning
iii. Density Zoning
iv. Residential Zone
v. Commercial Zone
vi. Industrial Zone
vii. Civic Zone
viii. Institutional Zone
ix. Recreational Zone
x. Zoning Powers

10. Mark and make clear the zoning and landuse classification on given map of a town
with appropriate colour coding.

LECTURE NO. 22: PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES

1. Write an all-inclusive essay about ‘Parks and Recreation Facilities’.

2. Government-owned or operated parks are of three types i.e. National Park, Sub
National Parks and Urban Parks. Explain with suitable examples.
3. Define recreation and its significance in an urban context?
4. Elucidate the popular types of recreational activities exists in various urban contexts
around the globe.
5. Write an article on provision of parks and recreational facilities in major urban centers
of Pakistan.

LECTURE NO. 23: LOCATION OF PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC BUILDINGS,

CIVIC CENTERS, COMMERCIAL CENTERS, LOCAL SHOPPING CENTERS,
PUBLIC SCHOOLS

1. What is meant by location? Explain location theory.

2. Write an all-inclusive essay about location of public and semi-public buildings, civic
centers, commercial centers, local shopping centers and public schools.

3. In town planning what are the major factors involved while making decisions about
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location of:
i. Public and Semi-Public Buildings
ii. Civic Centers
iii. Local Shopping Centers and
iv. Public Schools

LECTURE NO. 24: LOCATION OF INDUSTRY & RESIDENTIAL AREAS

1. Write an all-inclusive essay about location of ‘Industry and Residential areas’.

2. In town planning what are the major aspects which needs to be considered while
making decision about location of ‘Industry and Residential areas’.
3. What are the reasons for the location of a particular business or industry in a specific
area?
4. Why people decide about living in a particular housing scheme at a particular location
whereas; different types of residences available at variety of locations within city?
5. How will you decide about the location of your workplace and residence?
6. How do people decide about locating their business and industry within a city?
7. Elucidate the physical, human and economic factors that help in making decisions
about locating an industry, business or a residential area.

8. Define the significance of following contributing factors for locating an industry or

business within a city.
i. Nearness to power
ii. Nearness to market
iii. Nearness to a supply of raw materials
iv. Nearness to a supply of labour
v. Proximity of other businesses– external economies of scale
vi. The reputation of an area
vii. Transport and communication services
viii. Incentives
ix. Competition
x. Opportunities for expansion

LECTURE NO. 25: LAYOUT OF STREET, ROAD CROSSING & LIGHTING

1. Write an all-inclusive essay about ‘Layout of Street, Road Crossing and Lighting’.
2. Define and explain the terms ‘Street and Street Furniture’.

3. Elucidate the following terms with suitable sketches:

i. Lane
ii. Track
iii. Street
iv. Avenue
v. Pathway
vi. Alleyway
vii. Walkway
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viii. Boulevard
ix. Thoroughfare
x. Cul–de–sac

4. Explicate the phrase ‘Traffic Calming’ and elucidate the practical engineering measures
employed for it.
5. Explain the phrase ‘Road Crossing’ and enlighten its characteristics.
6. Elucidate the methods of ‘Street Lighting’ with suitable sketches.

LECTURE NO. 26: COMMUNITY PLANNING

1. What is ‘Community Planning’? Write at least 10 benefits of ‘Community Planning’.

2. How do we start with community planning? Write at least 8 steps’ approach adopted
for ‘Community Planning’.
3. Write an all-inclusive essay about ‘Principles of Community Planning’.
4. Write at least 50 ‘Principles of Community Planning’.

LECTURE NO: 27: SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT

1. Define the meaning, etymology and usage of the term ‘suburb’

2. Explain the process of suburban growth in United States of America and United
Kingdom?
3. Why do suburbs developes? Discuss.
4. Write an essay about suburbs, suburbanisation and suburban development in a global
context

5. Describe the following terms and concepts:

i. Boomburbs
ii. Commuter town
iii. Exurbs
iv. Edge city
v. Ethnoburb
vi. Inner suburbs
vii. Penurbia
viii. Streetcar suburb
ix. Urban rural fringe
x. Urban sprawl.

LECTURE NO. 28 and 29: SLUM AREAS AND THEIR UPGRADING

1. Write an all-inclusive essay about ‘Slum Areas and their Upgrading’ around the globe.
2. Clearly establish the definition and background of ‘Slum Areas and Squatter
Settlements’.
3. Differentiate between the phrases ‘Slum Areas and Squatter Settlements’.
4. Elaborate the definitions of ‘Slum Areas and Squatter Settlements’.
5. Why squatter settlements emerge and formed in a city and what are its socioeconomic
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and physical implications on city and city dwellers.

6. Write a comprehensive article about development of squatter settlements in Pakistan
and in Karachi.
7. What is meant by “Informal / Illegal Land subdivisions”? What are its actors and
processes?
8. Put in writing a wide-ranging critique about development of slums in India.
9. Write at least eight main causes for the formation of slums and seven major effects of
slums on town life.
10. What is meant by ‘Slum Clearance’? What are the two major processes of ‘Slum
Clearance’? Elaborate.

LECTURE NO: 28 & 29

TOPIC: SLUM AREAS AND THEIR UPGRADING

INTRODUCTION:
The theme of current lecture is the slum areas and their upgrading. This theme clearly
identify that there are two main aspects that would be discussed in current lecture. On the
one hand the discussion would be focused on understanding of the slum areas, whereas;
on the other hand the description would be given for upgrading of a slum area within an
urban and regional context. In the following all these issues are discussed and described
in details.

BACKGROUND OF SLUM AREAS:

It is grave reality that, in current urbanizing world the numbers of urban poor are
increasing with enormous speed. Whereas; the formal sector’s efforts of providing
housing to urban poor are inadequate due to absence of political will, extraordinary
growth of population & influx of migrants in urban areas. As a repercussion there emerge
slums & squatter settlements in the cities. The term squatter settlements, leads us to
variety of concepts. The depth in this term is such a huge phenomenon that it compels us
to think of its process of development and address the numerous questions attached to it
such as:

· Why squatter settlements emerge?

· How they are formed in a city?
· What are its socioeconomic and physical implications with human abuse cycles?

In order to understand the phenomenon of slum areas and squatter settlements one has to
look at the existing housing situation, formal sector’s approaches in housing provision
process and development of squatter settlements via informal sector’s mechanism.

DEFINITIONS OF SQUATTER SETTLEMENTS AND SLUM AREAS:

Before going into further details of slums and squatter settlements or Katchi Abadis it is
necessary to understand the definitions of squatter settlements & slum areas in the city.

SQUATTER SETTLEMENTS:
The Oxford English Dictionary explains that “A squatter settlements is defined as the
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occupied land by a group of settlers having no formal or legal title to the land occupied
by them, especially one thus occupying land in a district not yet surveyed by the
government”.

The term squatter settlement if analyzed into some details one can easily find that the
word “Squatter” means “an unauthorized occupant of the land” where as “settlement”
means the “placing of person & things in a fixed or permanent position”.

Therefore one can also conclude that, when an unauthorized occupation of land occurs in
any district or area then the people or things fixed or placed themselves on permanent
basis to their occupied land.

However such occupied land often removed or bulldozed by authorities in the name of
slum clearance or slum upgrading. As a repercussion large number of people becomes
displaced & millions of rupees invested in one such occupied land go waste. Thus the
issue of squatter settlements has a human and financial value attached to it.

SLUM AREAS:

According to “Mr. G.K. Hiraskar”[1] there are three different definitions of slum areas.
These are as follows:

· A slum is predominantly an over crowded area which is in advanced state of decay

where dwellings are unfit for human habitation.
· It is an area which lacks the basic amenities like water supply & drainage for standard
living and where an unsanitary condition prevails & diseases flourish.
· Slum is a poverty-stricken area where there is high birth rate, infant morality,
illegitimacy, juvenile crime, delinquency & death, thus represent the state of hell on the
surface of earth.

Thus these definitions clearly spell out that; slum is menace to health, safety, morality
and general welfare of the inhabitants.

SO, WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT?

Squatter settlements & slum areas are quite common. According to a rough estimate in
Karachi alone, more than 60 percent of population lives in more than 700 squatter
settlements & slums.

SO, HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS ISSUE?

It is a self evident fact that, squatter settlements & slum areas are growing with an
enormous speed in the entire major urban centers of the world. Whether; it is Karachi,
Lahore, Islamabad, Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta, Madras, New York, Tokyo, London, Rio-
de-Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Shanghai or any other large metropolitan or mega city for that
matter.

The basic question always remain that how to deal with this ever enlarging monster in
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which major victims are the human beings themselves?

· The answer to this & such type of questions is to first understand the current situation of
any context where slums & squatters are emerging.
· Secondly what is the process of their making?
· Thirdly who are the actors involved behind squatter making drama?
· Fourthly how to deal with this issue?
· Fifthly what are the good practices in this regard which addressed this issue and
· Finally what are the good practices that exist and needs to be enhanced in order to find
out the solutions to address this problem?

RETROSPECT OF SQUATTER SETTLEMENTS IN PAKISTAN:

After the freedom from British Raj in 1947, Karachi became the capital of Pakistan and
during the first three years after independence a major influx of migrants came to
Karachi. The population of Karachi at that time was 4 lackh inhabitants where as within
three years of time 6 lackhs migrants came to Karachi who has an abject need for
housing. Considering the housing demand government allowed them to squatter in
whatever feasible place for their survival. As a repercussion an unorganized invasion of
government land occurred & city because filled with slums & squatter settlements and
city become very congested with a filthy built environment. Thus in this way the
phenomenon of squatter settlement emerges as housing option for poor people who are in
immediate need of a shelter. In all our cities of Pakistan the government owns a lot of
land which is mainly belongs to C.B.R. i.e. Central Board of Revenue and P.B.R. i.e.
Provincial Board of Revenues in both inside and outside the cities. Likewise, there are
other departments such as Pakistan railways. Owns a lot of land in the country. In 1950
and 60s the people came from India occupy these governments land in the form of cluster
planning of settlements. These were mainly known as “Unorganized invasion” on
government land. In Karachi, this unorganized invasion not only occurred on government
land but private houses and buildings were also occupied by these migrants.

In 1958, Pakistan has seen its first Martial Law Administration or military government.
Now military regime has a particular policy regarding these unorganized squatter
settlements. They particularly do not like them at all in (then) capital i.e. Karachi. They
call it the scars on face of city (just like G.K. Hiraskar) and they like the city to be clean
from these settlements. Therefore, they start bulldozing these settlements and throw them
out of the city. As a repercussion informal sector get into shape. In the informal sector
process, mainly government employees meet the middlemen (A Dalal) and tough guys
(Gundas) and give them protection and advice to make an unorganized invasion or
“Kabza” on government’s land. They jointly occupied the land, subdivided it in
haphazard plots and sell it. In this way occupation of land occurred in 50’s by the
migrants from India.

However later on in 1960s an organized invasion on governments land took place through
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the organized efforts of informal sector actors. This illegal occupation of government land
is popularly known as ISD’s or Informal / Illegal Land subdivisions. The process of this
illegal subdivisions or ISD’s has nine major actors. It includes, a political top, an
administrative top, “Mr. X”, a middle man, police, field personal belongs to different
institutions & departments, land grabbers (plot sellers), tough guys and other services
providers. All these nine actors have different roles to play in the squatter making dram.
Their interrelationships are so strongly organized and in hierarchy that an squatter
settlement establish without any hindrance or spontaneously & in a peculiar manner that
it seems a solution to provision of housing to urban poor. This relationship emerged in
1960s & 70s. it was defined by “Professor Dr. Jan Van Der Linden”[2]to author is a
training course on “Appropriate shelter strategies” held at “SKAA” Karachi.

The process of making a squatter settlement begins with Mr. X; Mr. X may be any body
who has the information about land, contacts in administrative or political setup and a
powerful & sound background. Let’s suppose his name is Mr. Wahab. This Mr. X has a
subordinate or a middle man who may be a “Dalal” or locally known as “Thalla Wala” or
Block Maker, let's suppose his name is Mr. Aqeel. Mr. Aqeel has the contacts with plots
sellers (locally known as land grabbers), tough guys (Shagirds) and informal service
providers. All these actors has different role to play at different period of time during the
development of the settlement. At first Mr. Wahab contacts the administrative top &
political top and identifies a piece of land in the outskirts of city because it is quite risky
business to occupy land within city. On a secret place a meeting held between these three
actors and their shares are decided.

Then Mr. Wahab made a claim to 500 acres to land and asks his subordinate Mr. Aqeel to
take at least 100 families to the site, to occupy the land. Mr. Aqeel then contacts the plot
sellers and tough guys to bring the destitute and all those families who are in need of
house to the site. By the time Mr. Wahab conceptualizes the occupation of land &
establishes contacts with the administrative top and political top, he is informed by Mr.
Aqeel that the plot sellers have prepared a list of destitute and needy people. Thus in the
middle of the night these people are brought into site on the trucks with bamboos posts
and mats for the construction of shacks. After they began to put up their huts, the original
owners of the site arrive on site with people or guards with guns. They inform the people
that the land is leased to them by the government and they will kill any body who tries to
occupy it. A scuffle followed and some of the tough guys get injured in the process. Here
enters the police into the scene and try to control the situation & held negotiation between
the original owner & Mr. Aqeel. Then it is decided that no houses shall be put up however
the destitute can stay on the site until the matters are settled. Next day the original owner
hire a lawyer & made a case in court of law against the occupation of land by Mr. Aqeel
& his associates, which is leased to him. The case gets admitted. On the other hand Mr.
Aqeel filed a complaint with the local police that the guards of original owner had caused
a “bodily harm” to his Shagirds clients & associates. Then further negotiations took place
between the original owner & Mr. Aqeel, under the auspices of mutual friends and local
police. As a result the original owner is given option to receive rupees 500/plot which
was developed by land grabbers of the area & Mr. Aqeel. Where as these mutual friends
& police get few plots as a fee for these negotiations. Then those plots which was given
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to destitute are exempted from the payment to original owner, similarly, Mr. Aqeel also
do not change any profit on these plots. However, Rs. 200/plot was paid to government
officials by Mr. Aqeel for not interfering in this whole event. This money is also obtained
from the plot owners, who also pay Rs. 200 per plot to police directly for not bulldozing
their shacks or removing people from site. Afterwards the negotiations complete. The
original owner withdraws its case against Mr. Aqeel & his Shagirds and Mr. Aqeel also
with draw his case against original owner. However the original owner files a new case
against the government officials for permitting the Squatment of land which was leased to
the original owner. This case never ends for the years to come. After the completion of
negotiations with owner the real process of settlement begins with the sufferings &
miseries of people. At first Mr. Aqeel laid out the plan of the settlement with the guidance
of Mr. X and helps of his Shagirds develop around 2000 plots on grid iron pattern. The
roads of the settlements are leveled with hiring tractors & bulldozers from governments’
line departments. Its charges are taken from people. Plots for mosques & shops are set a
side. This time the negotiations took place with government officials and 30 percent of
plots are given to them & will be sold by Mr. Aqeel on their behalf at an appropriate time.
Now plot sellers become quite active to sell the plots in the settlement except those
reserved for government officials. Now whoever purchases a plot in the settlement, has to
construct his house in a months’ time and move in, otherwise Mr. Aqeel sells his plot to
someone else & refund the money. However this refund never really happens. “The price
of 80 square yards plot was set at Rs. 900 only”.[3] From which Rs. 500 went to original
owner and 200 rupees to government officials and Rs. 200 to Mr. Aqeel as a profit. The
original owner of the land appointed a “Chowkidar” or caretaker to keep track on number
of plots developed so that Mr. Aqeel may not cheat him. Similarly government officials
had their informal representatives who visit the site regularly. Each week accounts are
settled between all the parties involved. Additionally; when the local body elections takes
place the selected members i.e. the councilors also get their share.

Initially in the development process of squatter settlements the major problem is water
provision. This is done through tankers of government agencies on payment for each
tanker. Therefore at first they made a water committee and a water tank is made in the
area. The 2nd problem in squatter settlement was transport, which is solved through the
Dalal’s (Aqeel) pressure group and linkage with transporters. They pressurize the
agencies through political leaders and get the approval of transport route. After land
occupation the poor people starts house building process on incremental basis. At first
through Katcha structure people based build their houses. Then arise another action in
this squatter making dram and that is “Thalla Wala” who gets the plot in settlement and
made contact with material mafia with 20% profit to them. This Thalla Wala sells this
material to people on 30% profit with credit. This Thalla Wala is actually playing a dual
role of technical advisor to poor people for their house building process and work as an
architect. He also works in the squatter settlement as a financer of house; because he
gives building materials on credit. Another actor in the development process of squatter
settlement is police. They also get their share when plot was subdivided and sold to
people or when people made their house as pucca house. The police is a main actor in
squatter development process who get more money than any body else in the settlement.
It is also an evident fact that whenever they need money they bulldoze a house and then
 17

get money form each house. In the mean time the squatter settlement develops with very
fast pace and become larger and larger. Then middleman or (Dalal) or Mr. Aqeel later on,
make a social welfare organization and register it with the government. Then he called a
meeting of people in squatter settlement and invitee a political leader and asks him to
help them in development and getting services of water, electricity or gas. From them
they get the facilities, on the spot such as on the spot they get the sign on documents from
politicians and the engineers and technocrats of bureaucracy. This process is called
lobbying. Now in this case the police left behind, so they made contact to newsmen and
Journalists start writing about the illegal subdivisions in the newspaper. Finally in this
way this process of squatter settlement continues and organized invasion become the
grave reality of the cities & towns in Pakistan.

CASE STUDY OF SLUMS & SQUATTER SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA:

After having a clear picture of slums & squatter settlements in Pakistan; let’s look at the
case example of slums in India. Slum and squatter settlements are too common in India. It
is estimated that about twenty-five percent population of any city in India live under sub-
human conditions of slums. These are commonly called as Bustees in Calcutta,
Jhoparpattis in Bombay Jhuggi Jhonpries in Delhi, Cheries in Madras and Ahataas in U.P.
“It is estimated that more than 6 lakh persons live in bustees in Calcutta, 2 lack in
Jhoparpattis in Bombay, 1.5 lack in Jhuggi Jhonpris in Delhi, and 1.2 lack in Cheries in
Madras”.[4] That is why Bombay is dubbed as a city without ‘Soul’ and its beauty is only
“Skin-Deep”, although it is one of the finest cities, in the world. Even one cane clearly
spells out that all over the world the primate cities are the cities without soul. Similarly
there is a saying that, “God made the country, man made the town and the Devil made the
slums”. This devil that made the slums is avaricious, anti-social, lacks civic sense, and is
beyond the ordinary means of control. Though this notion of slum is quite common;
however one must also realize the causes & reasons behind the development of slums in
urban context of India. Because, it s also a disgrace to both the dwellers and the town
authorities in India who allow the slum to grow and develop as a black spot on the city’s
face with each new slum area or squatter settlement.

CAUSES OF SLUMS AND SQUATTER SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA:

There are eight main causes for the formation of slums in India.

RAPID INDUSTRIALIZATION:
The Industrial growth and employment opportunities in towns and cities have acted as
powerful magnets to attract the rural population to cites the workers employed in the in
these factories & industrial areas generally make their habitation as near as possible to the
place of work. They are low waged persons and cannot afford daily traveling from the
distant places in the city. Hence in a short time the available land or open space is
occupied by them buildings without any proper planning. This gives rise to the formation
of slums.

POPULATION GROWTH:
There is a great demand/supply gap between the tremendous growth of population and
 18

the construction of houses. These shortages manifest themselves in creating slums.

LACK OF ZONING:
If zoning regulations are not enforced in the early development of town, there are chances
for industrial area to encroach upon residential areas. Thus very soon there emerges
overcrowding with the formation of slums.

PHYSICAL & SOCIAL DECENTRALIZATION:

One of the major reasons for slum development is the physical and social decentralization
in which the rich and middle class people move out to the extension areas of city by
leaving the poor in the overcrowded part of the town to make it more unsanitary. As a
result the slum colonies start mushrooming at a fast rat within city.

LACK OF EDUCATION:
If the inhabitants are lacking in education, they may not pay attention to improve the
living conditions, and lose the civic interest and neighbourhood spirit. They are therefore
easily attracted by social evils, and delinquency. As a repercussion an apathy (every thing
goes) emerges in people and they make slums.

POVERTY:
One of the main causes for the slum formation can be described in one word as
“poverty”. The meager and unsteady income leaves the family with no other choice but to
direct all the energies in earning their daily bread and butter with some minimal clothing.
It is difficult for them to pay heavy rent for a decent living. They therefore move in slum
move in slum areas, for nobody with black money builds decent houses for the slum-
dwellers.

REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE:

There is nothing wrong with old houses if they are looked after from time to time. But in
India, repair and maintenance are the foreign words. Hence most of these buildings
remain in a state of decay to favor the formation of slums.

INADEQUATE POWERS:
Lack of adequate powers and enforcing the same by the local authorities for the proper
development of the town are also the reasons for the formation of slums. If preventive
measures are not taken in time, the decent localities of the town will be the slums of
tomorrow. Even Chandigarh which is a planned capital is growing beyond the bounds of
rigid planning in suburbs and slums.

EFFECTS OF SLUMS ON TOWN-LIFE:

There are seven major effects of slums on town life.

PEOPLE’S HEALTH:
Unhealthy conditions are created due to absence of public facilities like water supply,
drainage, sanitation and light etc. the sub-human conditions of the slums considerably
affect the health and life of the people.
 19

LACK OF SOCIO CULTURAL LIFE:

There is complete absence of social and cultural life due to slum formation in the city.

PEOPLE’S MORAL CONDUCT:

The mental outlook of the slum dweller is affected due to his physical environment. He
develops low moral character as such he is easily attracted by vice, delinquency, crime
and clandestine activities in bootlegging, narcotics, drugs, adulteration, etc.

PEOPLE’S PERFORMANCE & EFFICIENCY:

The overcrowding area is full of noise, smoke and congestion. This affects considerably
on the working conditions of the people in offices, schools, hospitals etc.

ACCELERATION OF ACCIDENTS:
Due to slum development the road trend to become congested i.e. children play on roads
so there is a danger from traffic accidents.

LACK OF PUBLIC PLACES:

With the development of slums all open areas being attacked and there emerge no open
space for recreation, pure air etc.

LACK OF CIVIC SENSE:

A slum dweller loses his ambition, civic interest as well as wholesome neighborhood
spirit.
In short a slum as such forms a black spot and spoils the healthy environment of the city
as a whole. Thus it becomes an abject need to improve the physical, social & cultural life
of city. And preventive measures shall be taken to avoid formation of slums.

PRECAUTION AGAINST FORMATION OF SLUMS:

The slums in the towns gradually grow & develop to prevent them. Slums are health
hazards to the cities which later on create serous socio-economic and political problems.
Thus ‘Nip in the bud’ or ‘Prevention is better than cure’ are the watch words against the
formation.First of all, the authorities should make provision for healthy conditions of
living and working. The subsidized cheap housing in sufficient number should be
provided for the workers, Labourers, and poor people with all civic amenities and utility
services. The authorities should enforce the law that the employers should provide better
housing facilities for their Labourers. They should have power to control the rents under
Rend Restriction Act. They should arrest the sub-standard and unauthorized constructions
on vacant lands. Proper wages should be provided to the labors to improve their standard
of living. The laborers in return should maintain and carry out repairs whenever required
so as to keep the existing buildings in a good condition. The laborers should be properly
educated to take care of health, cleanliness and general welfare of their families.

SLUM CLEARANCE:
Even after taking precautions if the slums develop then there emerges only one option for
authorities and that is slum clearance. The process of slum clearance in India is done with
 20

two basic methods. i.e. Improvement Method and Complete Removal Method.

IMPROVEMENT METHOD:
One methods of not aggravating the housing shortage is to take up slum-improvement
scheme. This method has an added advantage of not causing much disturbance to the
slum dwellers. As the slums are developed due to poor drainage system and unhealthy
conditions. Hence the drainage arrangement is modified and improved. Public utility
services like water, drainage, electricity, gas may be provided in the affected area. In slum
area the housing conditions are also fairly good and only a few houses need some
improvement to make them slightly more habitable. Further, any impending structures
coming in the way may be removed. Low portions of the old slums like ditches, or
swamps may be filled up and then the existing roads may be widened. With proper
planning and improvement works it is possible to make the slums slightly more habitable
at the minimum cost.

COMPLETE REMOVAL METHOD:

In this method area may be completely cleared out of the existing locality. In this case
only such buildings which are really in good condition are retained and all other
dilapidated structures are pulled down. Transit Camps in the form of temporary buildings
near the slum areas should be constructed to accommodate those displaced in the process
of slum clearance. Any stinking factory that occurs in slum areas may be shifted to some
other more suitable place. The areas thus cleared up may be used as open spaces and as
sites for new buildings; part of it may also be used for widening the streets. Care should
be taken to keep the density within amenities such as water supply, drainage, sanitary
arrangements, electricity, gas etc. Lastly the legal aspects of this scheme while shifting
the population should also receive due attention. The legal aspect include publication of
the slum clearance scheme; acquiring the land, paying compensation for the acquired
land, making accommodation for the displaced persons in the process of slums clearance
etc. The slum eradication by this method proves to be very costly, but it is certainly
worth-while to bear it in the interest of the community of the city.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR SLUM CLEARANCE SCHEMES:

In India the scheme introduced in 1956 contemplates the grant of financial assistance by
the Central Government to State Government and Union Territories for slum clearance
and improvement schemes. The main principles of the scheme are given below. There
should be minimum dislocation of the slum dwellers. They should be re-housed in nearby
area of the existing sites. To keep down rent within paying capacity of the slum dwellers
and emphasis is given on the provision of minimum standards on environmental hygiene
and utility services rather than on construction of costly structures. The government of
India provides financial assistance to the state government in the form of block grants and
block loans and the state governments are free to make its use as per their requirements.
The state government and local bodies can provide dwelling units viz. open developed
plots, skeletal house, pucca tenements, hostel dormitory type and night shelters, to slum
dwellers. These units will be provided with independent lavatory, pucca bath, and
washing platforms connected with drains and taps. The cost of these dwelling units
ranges from Rs. 1850 to Rs. 8750 per units and the subsidized rental ranges from Rs. 6 to
 21

Rs. 39 per months, depending upon the type and place of construction.
The existing ceiling cost for normal two-roomed house is Rs. 5000 and that for a small
two-roomed house is Rs. 4000. In case night shelters are constructed, the ceiling cost is
limited to Rs. 727 and the rent chargeable for sleeping accommodation for the pavement
dwellers should not exceed 25 paise per person per night including service charges.
Financial assistance is admissible under the scheme which is repayable by slum dwellers
in 25 years with the rate of interest fixed by the central government from time to time.
Such colonies will be provided with water mains, drainage, sewerage, community baths,
latrines, water taps, properly paved roads with adequate widths, street lighting etc. The
government of India has also approved a scheme in 1960 to remove jhuggis and jhonpris
which is applied only to New Delhi. The plots were given on lease for 99 years on paying
the cost (with 50% subsidy) in a lump sum or in ten equal annual installments. Likewise
central government is making all possible efforts by providing financial assistance to
slum dwellers for the improvement of their living conditions.

ANALYSIS & EVALUATION:

The case study of India as described above is taken from the book, “Fundamentals of
Town Planning” by G.K. Hiraskar. The reason behind discussing this case study is that, in
the text books of Town Planning such type of solutions are given for slum clearance &
upgrading; which become obsolete and currently such type of solutions are not
applicable. Whereas; the local authorities still believe in such type of temporary solutions
for slum clearance & upgrading & propagate it their slum clearance & upgrading
programs. Let’s analyze why such type of slum clearance & upgrading programs are
obsolete? First of all one must understand the existing ground realities. In 1992 a report
published by “Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation”[5] which
estimated that there are 330-340 million people in south Asia who lives under the poverty
level. It means that around 30-40 percent of total population of south Asia lives below
poverty live. Furthermore the urban poverty of total poor population has increased from
13% to 18% during the decade of 1986-96. It is also a reality that, “Everyday in Asia the
urban population increases by the equivalent of one city of 140,000 people”[6] where at it
is expected that urban population shall be doubled in next 20 years. The cities have so far
absorbed the growing number of population in settlements with varying quality of living.
However, urban growth has resulted in negative growth of sprawling squatter settlements
& slums. In every city in developing countries, there is a large population of less affluent
people who reside in squatter settlements. A study from the united nations in 1994
(ESCAP) predicted that 60% of the urban population of Asia shall be living in slums &
squatter settlements by the year 2000, whereas; currently the number of squatter
settlements & slum dwellers has increased from this number. For instance in Karachi only
there are more than 700 squatter settlements in which 60% of urban population lives & it
is estimated that by the year 2020 the population of Karachi shall be doubled & 80
percent of population shall be living in slum & squatter settlements. Thus in a city where
60 % of population is living in slums & squatter settlements; can there be any solution
like slum clearance with prescribed “improvement method” or “complete removal
method”? The answer is definitely not because 60 % housing stock neither can be
bulldozed completely nor re-planned comprehensively be pulling down all dilapidated
structures.
 22

The only option available is “muddling through” or gradual & incremental improvement
with the support of public, private & informal initiatives. Because no financial assistance
can be equivalent to human sufferings & decades of hard work in building the housing by
poor or making of squatter settlements & slums. Even then large number of evictions still
takes place in most of the urban centers in Asian countries. For instance, “in the city of
soul, Korea in just three years of time 750000 people was evicted (Between 1985-88)
Similarly Philippines evicted 100000 people each year between 1986-92[7] According to
urban resource centers eviction watch in Karachi alone more than 2000 households are
evicted between the year 1997-2000. Whereas in 2008 an age old project of Lyari
expressway in Karachi may evict around 25000 families with just the compensation of
Rs. 50000 each from which a decent toilet is difficult to build. The evictions may cause
three basic impacts on the affected of forceful eviction i.e. physical, economic &
psychological. It takes around two decades to recover from the misery of eviction from
people’s minds. The eviction reduces the housing stock of city & ruins the economic
value of housing which may be small in real terms but for an individual it is very big. The
eviction detaches the squatter from employment opportunities which are usually in near
by areas or within the settlement itself. The eviction also up roots the community & break
their social & cultural activities which functions as an economic and psychological safety
net. The home is the center of every body’s lives and forceful eviction form home is a
very traumatic experience especially for children its impacts never goes from their
memories. While eviction is a traumatic experience in itself the most harmful impact of
eviction may actually be the fear of being evicted. It makes people fatalistic, with lost
confidence in themselves & discouragement form improving their housing. It can not be
denied that there are occasions such as major infrastructure projects where eviction can
not be avoided or deny the land owners the right to evict. However it is a reality that land
acquisition mostly takes place without compensation. Thus it is quite necessary that
evictions should not take place without a dialogue and solutions which are acceptable to
both parties. Because squatters have often lived on the land for very long time &they
have there by acquitted an informal right to land due to their efforts & hardships of
decades for the development & investments on the land. Whereas their nostalgic values
are also attached with the settlements they live in for a long period of their life. Thus
there is a need to develop a policy regarding slums & squatter settlement while upgrading
the city and its slum areas.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

On the basis of analysis & evaluation of slums & squatter settlements issue following
conclusions can be drawn.

i) The major issue regarding provision of housing to poor is land, which is pure gold as
far as squatter and private sector institutions are concerned.
ii) As the land in urban area is considered a commodity through which money can be
made! So appropriate land management is an abject need of the time and provision of
land to poor by formal sector initiatives can not be avoided.
iii) As the population influx to urban areas reached to its zenith the scarcity of land is a
grave reality and access to land is required by poor communicated through any means.
iv) As the poor people can not have access to the land through formal sector initiatives,
 23

therefore they opt for informal sector processes & occupy the governments land & make
slums & squatter settlements.
v) It is also a reality that in some cases the formal sector it self involved in making
squatter settlements due to there failures in provision of housing to poor.
vi) Once the slums & squatter settlements develop the major issue which requires
immediate attention is the provision of services & infrastructures which is usually
obtained by squatter at a very high cost.
vii) Furthermore it is a bitter reality that population influx to urban centers continues and
shall continue & it can not be eliminated & through formal sector processes housing can
not be provided to poor urban communities.
viii) Thus what options & strategies are available to formal sector? This is the question
which needs to be answered in an appropriate manner. For that matter policies regarding
slums & squatter settlements by different countries & the solutions given by different
institutions should be analyzed. On the basis of which recommendations can be made.
ix) There are two major case examples which can be cited with respect to appropriate
policy option for squatter settlements and slum upgrading. One is Guided Land
development (GLD) Jakarta and other is Katchi Abadi improvement and Regularization
Program of Sindh Katchi Abadi Authority Karachi Pakistan.

GUIDED LAND DEVELOPMENT IN JAKARTA, INDONESIA:

Jakarta suffers from housing shortage & tremendous demand of land for housing the poor
just like any other city. The government of Indonesia changed its housing policy in late
1960s from focusing on conventional Housing delivery system to strengthening the
informal housing sector by providing basic infrastructure & security of land tenure. This
policy of government of Indonesia is manifested in their “Kampungs Improvement
Program (KIP)”. The Kampungs are basically a common form of low income informal
settlements which house around 70% of Jakarta’s population.

The Kampungs Improvement Program (KIP) provided around 70 to 80 percent basic

infrastructure to these Kampungs. As a repercussion overwhelming majority of
Kampungs dwellers have bought the land they live one. However their access to land
remained the same through private & informal land subdivision with a limited land tenure
security, therefore land conflicts are quite common. Considering the growing land
scarcity, rapidly increased land prices and population growth and the growing awareness
and understanding of land management issues the guided land development was
established.

The GLD-program would provide basic infrastructure such as secondary access roads,
foot paths, drainage & water, where as the cost of this development would be recovered
through betterment taxes (or more appropriately termed as the cost recovery tax.) The
GLD-program recognized the current ongoing process of private & informal land
subdivisions; however they guide & control its development & improving its technical
standards.

In this respect betterment tax allow the government to recover around 60 % of the cost. In
1979 it was estimated that, the cost to residents’ ranges between Rs. 20000 to Rs. 230000
 24

depends on type & size of plot. (one US $ = approximately Rs. 24 in 1994) Up till now,
there are three basic objections raised & debated on GLD-program. Some low income
groups may be adversely affected such as tenants. Better income groups also get
benefited directly from this program. Subsidized infrastructure provision created negative
environmental consequences due to without regulating land use changes.

Conclusively there are seven basic objectives, themes, concepts or steps for working of
guided land development GLD-program which are as follows:

i) To assist poor people to build housing by providing technical and financial support as
well as affordable land. The program applies reasonable standards, such as, for example,
as minimum plot size of 20 square meters.
ii) To guide the transformation of Kampungs, informal settlements and villages into
functional urban structures.
iii) To provide infrastructure and services at minimum costs for the government and the
residents, including an element of cross-subsidy between high and low income groups.
Plots adjacent to access roads will for example, be charged considerably higher than plots
with access to only a foot path.
iv) To stimulate the development of small-scale industries and other work opportunities.
v) To set up a special organization within the government for efficient and quick land
registration and land titling.
vi) To set up a special implementation body within each project area consisting of local
land regional government representatives as well as development consultant(s). The
development consultant(s) should act as an intermediary between the private sector and
the local community. The functions of the implementation body are to promote, regulate,
facilitate and coordinate the development.
vii) Finally, to form a management board, consisting of representatives of local
government and the residents, initially represented by an NGO, to solve project
management problems more directly.

After having the clear perception about the guided land development program of
Indonesia it is necessary to see another option for slum upgrading and development of
squatter settlements through the case example of Sindh Katchi Abadis Authority’s
settlement upgrading program.

SETTLEMENT UPGRADING IN SINDH, PAKISTAN THROUGH THE INITIATIVES

OF SINDH KATCHI ABADI AUTHORITY (SKAA):

The government of Pakistan passed the Katchi-Abadis Regularization Act; regularizing

all squatter settlements (Katchi Abadis) located on government land and built before 31
March 1985. At the same time, the authorities announced a freeze on the Katchi Abadis
that could be regularized. In return for paying a one-time charge to cover the costs of raw
land, internal and external development as well as a nominal annual rent, squatters
received 99-year leases that could not be transferred within five years. Although the
involved costs were low, few households applied for titles and cost-recovery became a
major problem. Many residents wanted to see whether fees would be further reduced or
 25

removed completely. Sindh Katchi Abadi Authority (SKAA) in Sindh Province has
adopted a policy whereby they will only provide land titles to households which have
paid the costs of raw land and external development and undertaken internal development
themselves (by community itself).

The concept of internal development is the development & maintenance of primary roads
by community where as external development means provision of infrastructure in
secondary and major roads of the settlements by the Sindh Katchi Abadi Authority. This
concept is applied to all aspects of physical development such as supply of water &
sewerage, sanitation etc.

SKAA has taken the approach to encourage the setting-up of community-based

organization (CBOs) for the provision of infrastructure. Under the UNICEF funded
Urban Basic Program, SKAA has been working closely with the Orangi Pilot Project, a
non-governmental organization, which has proven that CBOs can provide infrastructure
at a substantially lower cost and at mush faster pace than the government. Where as
training & extension services to community based organization is the solution to slum
upgrading.

In 1994, infrastructure was being constructed by CBOs, funded by squatter households, in

several cities in Sindh including Karachi, Sukkur, Larkana, Shikarpur, and was to be
introduced in Hyderabad. As of the second quarter of 1994, out of total of 1293 katchi
abadis, 132 have completed development works, 201 schemes have been approved and
64,190 households have been provided land rights (SKAA, 1994).

FINAL THOUGHT:

In the end it is necessary to recognize that squatter settlements, slum area &their
upgrading is an issue which is humanitarian, functional (because a healthy work force is
more productive) and political (because adequate shelter is a basic human right).

There are one-ninety-two nations in the world who have signed the international covenant
on economic, social and cultural rights. The covenant acquired legal status in 1976, and
provides a legal obligation for its signatories to provide adequate shelter among the other
things. Though the world is changing the governments policies & priorities are also
changing, however it is a reality that if governments whishes they will be more efficient
if they act as a catalyst & facilitators to informal processes in provision of shelter to poor.

It is now proved or rather it is a proven fact that housing the poor as well as squatter
settlements and slum upgrading is actually more political and institutional issue rather
than technical. As most of the observers of squatter settlements have realized that, people
will gradually upgrade their housing overtimes, they invest their capital and labor and
mobilize their social network if they are provided the opportunity and their housing is
considered legitimate.

Thus the three major actors must come together i.e. People, Politicians and Professionals.
 26

It will make the world a better place to live without squatter settlements & slums, or
improved and upgraded settlements.

REFERENCES:
1. Arif Hasan, “Seven Reports on Housing” March 1992, Published by OPP-RTI, Orangi
Karachi, Pakistan.
2. G.K. Hiraskar, “Fundamentals of Town Planning”, 1993, Published by Dhanpat Rai &
Sons, 1682, Nai Sarak Delhi 110006 India.
3. Municipal Land Management in Asia, A comparative study, 1994-95 published by
United Nations economic and social commission for Asia & Pacific (UNESCAP) and
Regional Network of Local Authorities for the Management of Human Settlements (City
Net).

[1] G.K. Hiraskar is the author of the book “Fundamentals of Town Planning” 1993,
Published by Dhanpat Rai and Sons, 1682, Naisarak, Delhi 110006, India.
[2] Professor Dr. Jan Van Derlinden was the processor at free university Amsterdam
Holland, has studied various squatter settlements in Pakistan & India and come across
these interrelationships in the making of squatter settlements in Pakistan. Though he has
published various publications on squatter settlements However two of his marvelous
works are the books, “Dalalabad” and Land is Pure Gold” which defines the process of
developing squatter settlement, and the interrelationships of actors involved in it.
Similarly another book, “Seven Reports on Housing: by Arif Hasan, published by “OPP-
RTI”, March 1992, Karachi, may also define this process quite explicitly.
[3] This price of plot was in 1978. for details please see, “Seven Reports on Housing” by
“Arif Hasan” March 1992, Published by Orangi Piolet Project-Research & Training
Institute (OPP-RTI) Karachi, Pakistan.
[4] For details please see, “Fundamentals of Town Planning” by G.K. Hiraskar, 1993
Published by Dhanpat Rai & Sons, 1682, Naisarak Delhi 110006 India.
[5] The South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation is an independent Commission
which is appointed by SAARC countries in 1991’s Colombo summit of SAARC.
[6] For details please see, Municipal Land Management in Asia, A comparative study,
1994-95 published by United Nations economic and social commission for Asia &
Pacific (UNESCAP) and Regional Network of Local Authorities for the Management of
Human Settlements (City Net).
[7] Ibid No.6

SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT
AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (A&TP-B)
By
RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Karachi
 27

LECTURE NO: 27
TOPIC: SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTION:
In order to understand the process of suburban development; it is imperative to at first
grasp the concept of suburbs and suburban growth and then an interpretation of the
phrase suburban development in the context of a town, city and a region may be possible.
In the following all these three issues are discussed and described in details.

WHAT IS MEANT BY SUBURBS?

Suburbs[1] are commonly defined as smaller residential communities lying immediately
outside a city. In the United States, suburbs have a prevalence of usually detached[2]
single-family homes.[3] Some suburbs have a degree of political autonomy, and most
have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods. Modern suburbs grew in
the 20th century as a result of improved road and rail transport and an increase in
commuting. Suburbs tend to proliferate around cities which ideally have an abundance of
adjacent flat land.[4] Any particular suburban area is referred to as a suburb, while
suburban areas on the whole are referred to as the suburbs or suburbia, with the demonym
being a suburbanite.

ETYMOLOGY AND USAGE OF THE TERM SUBURB:

The word is derived from the Old French subburbe and ultimately from the Latin
suburbium, formed from sub, meaning "under", and urbs, meaning "city". In Rome,
important people tended to live within the city wall on one of the seven roman hills, while
the lower classes often lived outside of the walls and at the foot of the hills. "Under" in
later usage sometimes referred variously to lesser wealth, political power, population, or
population density. The first recorded usage, according to the Oxford English Dictionary,
comes from Wycliffe in 1380, where the form subarbis is used.

SUBURB HAS DIFFERENT MEANINGS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD:

In the United States, Canada, suburb usually refers to a separate municipality, borough, or
unincorporated area outside a town or city. This definition is evident in the title of David
Rusk's book CITIES WITHOUT SUBURBS[5], which promotes metropolitan
government. U.S. colloquial usage sometimes shortens the term to 'burb, and "the Burbs"
first appeared as a term for the suburbs of Chicago. In Ireland and the United Kingdom,
suburb merely refers to residential areas outside the city centre, regardless of
administrative boundaries.

Suburbs in this sense are not separated by open countryside to the city centre. In large
cities such as London, suburbs include formerly separate towns and villages which have
been gradually absorbed during city's growth and expansion. In Australia and New
Zealand, suburbs have become formalized as geographic subdivisions of a city and are
used by postal services in addressing. In rural areas of Australia their equivalent are
called localities. In Australia, the terms inner suburb and outer suburb are used to
 28

differentiate between the higher-density suburbs with close proximity to the city center,
and the lower-density suburbs on the outskirts of the urban area. Inner suburbs, such as Te
Aro in Wellington, Prahran in Melbourne and Ultimo in Sydney, are usually characterised
by higher density apartment housing and greater integration between commercial and
residential areas.

HISTORY OF SUBURBS:
Prior to the 19th century, suburb often correlated with the outlying areas of cities where
work was most inaccessible; implicitly, where the poorest people had to live. Charles
Dickens used the word this way, albeit not exclusively, in his descriptions of
contemporary London. The modern American usage of the term came about during the
course of the 19th century, as improvements in transportation and sanitation made it
possible for wealthy developments to exist on the outskirts of cities. The Australian and
New Zealand usage came about as outer areas were quickly surrounded in fast-growing
cities, but retained the appellation suburb; the term was eventually applied to the original
core as well.

GROWTH OF SUBURBS IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

The growth of suburbs was facilitated by the development of zoning laws, redlining and
various innovations in transport. After World War II availability of FHA loans stimulated
a housing boom in American suburbs. In the older cities of the northeast U.S., streetcar
suburbs originally developed along train or trolley lines that could shuttle workers into
and out of city centers where the jobs were located. This practice gave rise to the term
bedroom community, meaning that most daytime business activity took place in the city,
with the working population leaving the city at night for the purpose of going home to
sleep. The growth in the use of trains, and later automobiles and highways, increased the
ease with which workers could have a job in the city while commuting in from the
suburbs.

GROWTH OF SUBURBS IN UNITED KINGDOM:

In the United Kingdom, railways stimulated the first mass exodus to the suburbs. The
Metropolitan Railway, for example, was active in building and promoting its own
housing estates in the north-west of London, consisting mostly of detached houses on
large plots, which it then marketed as "Metro-land".[6] As car ownership rose and wider
roads were built, the commuting trend accelerated as in North America. This trend
towards living away from towns and cities has been termed the urban exodus[7].

ZONING AND SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT:

Zoning laws also contributed to the location of residential areas outside of the city centre
by creating wide areas or "zones" where only residential buildings were permitted. These
suburban residences are built on larger lots of land than in the urban city. For example,
the lot size for a residence in Chicago is usually 125 feet (38 m) deep, while the width
can vary from 14 feet (4.3 m) wide for a row house to 45 feet (14 m) wide for a large
standalone house. In the suburbs, where standalone houses are the rule, lots may be 85
feet (26 m) wide by 115 feet (35 m) deep, as in the Chicago suburb of Naperville.
 29

SUBURBANISATION:
Manufacturing and commercial buildings were segregated in other areas of the city.
Increasingly, more people moved out to the suburbs, known as
suburbanization[8].Moving along with the population, many companies also located their
offices and other facilities in the outer areas of the cities. This has resulted in increased
density in older suburbs and, often, the growth of lower density suburbs even further
from city centers. An alternative strategy is the deliberate design of "new towns" and the
protection of green belts[9] around cities. Some social reformers attempted to combine
the best of both concepts in the garden city movement.[10]In the United States, since the
18th century urban areas have often grown faster than city boundaries. Until the 1900s,
new neighborhoods usually sought or accepted annexation to the central city to obtain
city services.
In the 20th century, however, many suburban areas began to see independence from the
central city as an asset. In some cases, White suburbanites saw self-government as a
means to keep out people who could not afford the added suburban property maintenance
costs not needed in city living. Federal subsidies for suburban development accelerated
this process as did the practice of redlining by banks and other lending institutions.[11]
Cleveland, Ohio is typical of many American central cities; its municipal borders have
changed little since 1922, even though the Cleveland urbanized area has grown many
times over. Several layers of suburban municipalities now surround cities like Cleveland,
Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Francisco, Atlanta, Pittsburgh,
and Philadelphia. While suburbs had originated far earlier; the suburban population in
North America exploded after World War II. Returning veterans wishing to start a settled
life moved en masse to the suburbs. Levittown developed as a major prototype of mass-
produced housing. At the same time, African Americans were rapidly moving north for
better jobs and educational opportunities than were available to them in the segregated
South. Their arrival in Northern cities en masse – in addition to race riots in several large
cities such as Detroit, Chicago, and Philadelphia – further stimulated white suburban
migration. In the U.S., 1950 was the first year that more people lived in suburbs than
elsewhere. In the U.S, the development of the skyscraper and the sharp inflation of
downtown real estate prices also led to downtowns being more fully dedicated to
businesses, thus pushing residents outside the city center.

SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA:

Urban development in Canada has largely paralleled development in the United States.
After World War II, large bedroom communities of single-family homes and shopping
centers sprouted on the outskirts of Canadian cities. However, Canada has far fewer
suburban municipalities than the U.S. Many large cities, such as Winnipeg, Calgary,
Edmonton, and Ottawa, extend all the way to, and even include the countryside.
However, the fact that literal boundaries of suburbs are not present in Canada does not
eliminate suburbs, per se. The boundaries of Canadian cities are under the jurisdiction of
the provinces, which have imposed city-suburb mergers. Vancouver and Montreal regions
still have suburban municipalities, although their suburban areas are generally grouped
into fewer cities than is typical in the United States. British Columbia created a
"metropolitan" government for the Vancouver area in 1965, but the urbanized area has
 30

since grown well beyond it.

Today, Toronto has some of the largest suburban municipalities in North America, and the
two largest suburbs in Canada are in this metro area. Mississauga (668,549) and
Brampton (433,806) together claim 1.1 million inhabitants, and would be the third largest
city in Canada if merged. Many Toronto suburbs have significantly improved on the
suburban philosophy, adding a downtown to many suburban centers, notably
Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan and Markham. In 1998 the governmental structure was
reorganized to include many of these formerly independent suburbs into the Greater
Toronto Area. Vancouver has several large suburbs, with more than three quarters of a
million people living in Surrey (the third largest suburb in Canada), Richmond, and
Burnaby. Montreal has its two largest suburbs, Laval and Longueuil, as well as a
suburban group of smaller municipalities neighbouring Montreal known as the West
Island.

CHARACTERS OF POST WORLD WAR II SUBURBS IN THE UNITED STATES OF

AMERICA:

Many post-World War II American suburbs are characterized by eight major aspects:

i. Lower densities than central cities, dominated by single-family homes on small plots of
land, surrounded at close quarters by very similar dwellings.
ii. Zoning patterns that separate residential and commercial development, as well as
different intensities and densities of development. Daily needs are not within walking
distance of most homes.
iii. Subdivisions carved from previously rural land into multiple-home developments built
by a single real estate company. These subdivisions are often segregated by minute
differences in home value, creating entire communities where family incomes and
demographics are almost completely homogeneous, although suburban developments
have become and are becoming more diverse.
iv. Shopping malls and strip malls behind large parking lots instead of a classic
downtown shopping district.
v. A road network designed to conform to a hierarchy, including culs-de-sac, leading to
larger residential streets, in turn leading to large collector roads, in place of the grid
pattern common to most central cities and pre-World War II suburbs.
vi. A greater percentage of one-story administrative buildings than in urban areas.
vii. A greater percentage of Caucasians and less percentage of citizens of other ethnic
groups than in urban areas. Black suburbanization grew between 1970 and 1980 by 2.6%
as a result of central city neighborhoods expanding into older neighborhoods vacated by
whites.[12], [13] , [14]
viii. Compared to rural areas, suburbs usually have greater density, higher standards of
living, more complex road systems, and less wildlife

SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLDS:

In many parts of the developed world, suburbs are different from the American suburb,
both in terms of population and in terms of what they represent. In some cases suburbs of
 31

cities outside of North America are economically distressed areas, inhabited by higher
proportions of recent immigrants, with higher delinquency rates and social problems.
Sometimes the notion of suburb may even refer to people in real misery, who are kept at
the limit of the city borders for economic, social and where applicable some argue ethnic
reasons. An example in the developed world would be the banlieues of France, or the
concrete suburbs of Sweden. In most ways, the suburbs of most of the developed world
are comparable to several inner cities of the U.S. and Canada. In the UK, the government
is seeking to impose minimum densities on newly approved housing schemes in parts of
southeast England. The new catch phrase is 'building sustainable communities' rather than
housing estates. However, commercial concerns tend to retard the opening of services
until a large number of residents have occupied the new neighbourhood. In the illustrative
case of Rome, Italy, in the 1920s and 1930s, suburbs were intentionally created ex novo
in order to give lower classes a destination, in consideration of the actual and foreseen
massive arrival of poor people from other areas of the country. Many critics have seen in
this development pattern (that was circularly distributed in every direction) also a quick
solution to a problem of public order (keeping the unwelcome poorest classes together
with the criminals, in this way better controlled, comfortably remote from the elegant
"official" town). On the other hand, the expected huge expansion of the town soon
effectively covered the distance from the central town, and now those suburbs are
completely engulfed by the main territory of the town. Other newer suburbs were created
at a further distance from them. In China, the term suburb is new, although suburbs are
already being constructed rapidly. Many new suburban homes are similar to their
equivalents in the United States, primarily outside Beijing and Shanghai, which also
mimic Spanish and Italian architecture.[15] In Hong Kong, however, suburbs are mostly
government-planned new towns containing numerous public housing estates. New Towns
such as Tin Shui Wai may gain a notorious reputation as a slum. However, other new
towns also contain private housing estates and low density developments for the upper
middle and upper classes. In Malaysia, suburbs are common, especially in areas
surrounding the Klang Valley, which is the largest conurbation[16] in the country. These
suburbs also serve as major housing areas and commuter towns[17]. Terraced houses[18],
semi-detached houses[19] and shophouses[20] are common concepts in suburbs. In
certain areas such as Klang, Subang Jaya and Petaling Jaya, suburbs form the core of
these places. The latter one has been turned into a satellite city[21] of Kuala Lumpur.
Suburbs are also evident in other smaller conurbations including Ipoh, Johor Bahru, Kota
Kinabalu, Kuching and Penang.

MAJOR PROBLEM OF SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT:

Suburbs typically have more traffic congestion[22] and longer travel times than
traditional neighborhoods.[23] Only the traffic within the short streets themselves is less.
This is due to three factors: almost-mandatory automobile ownership due to poor
suburban bus systems, longer travel distances and the hierarchy system, which is less
efficient at distributing traffic than the traditional grid of streets.

In the suburban system, most trips from one component to another component require
that cars enter a collector road, no matter how short or long the distance is. This is
 32

compounded by the hierarchy of streets, where entire neighborhoods and subdivisions are
dependent on one or two collector roads. Because all traffic is forced onto these roads,
they are often heavy with traffic all day. If a traffic accident occurs on a collector road, or
if road construction inhibits the flow, then the entire road system may be rendered useless
until the blockage is cleared. The traditional "grown" grid, in turn, allows for a larger
number of choices and alternate routes. Suburban systems of the sprawl type are also
quite inefficient for cyclists or pedestrians, as the direct route is usually not available for
them either. This encourages car trips even for distances as low as several hundreds of
meters (which may have become up to several kilometres due to the road network).
Improved sprawl systems, though retaining the car detours, possess cycle paths and
footpath connecting across the arms of the sprawl system, allowing a more direct route
while still keeping the cars out of the residential and side streets.

SOME KEY WORDS TO HAVE INSIGHT ABOUT SUBURBS & SUBURBAN

DEVELOPMENT:
Finally it is necessary to know that there are many more expressions of the term suburbs
through which the concept of suburbs and suburban development can be further
elaborated i.e. Boomburbs[24];Commuter town[25]; Developed Environments[26] such
as Rural[27],Exurban[28], and Urban[29]; Edge city[30]; Ethnoburb[31];Exurb[32];
Faubourg[33]; Inner suburbs[34]; Microdistrict[35];Penurbia[36]; Streetcar suburb[37];
Suburbia bashing[38]; Urban rural fringe[39]; Urban sprawl[40]; White Flight[41] etc. In
addition aList of largest suburbs by population[42] may be explored online orLondon
commuter belt[43] (Stockbroker belt) and other Settlement types[44] such as Hamlet[45],
Village[46], Town[47], City[48], andMegalopolis[49] can be studied from the world wide
web.

REFERENCES:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suburb
[2] Land Development Calculations 2001 Walter Martin Hosack. "single-family detached
housing" = "suburb houses" p133 Fromhttp://books.google.com/books?
id=uULJlcYkJ1oC
[3] "Housing Unit Characteristics by Type of Housing Unit, 2005"Energy Information
Association
Fromhttp://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/recs2005/hc2005_tables/hc1housingunit/pdf/tabl
ehc2.1.pdf
[4] The Fractured Metropolis: Improving the New City, Restoring the Old City,
Reshaping the Region by Jonathan Barnett Fromhttp://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=2t2P4t8fkJMC
[5] ISBN 0-943875-73-0
fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0943875730
[6] http://www.transportdiversions.com/publicationshow.asp?pubid=5800
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_exodus
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suburbanization
[9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_belt
[10] Garden Cities of To-Morrow
Fromhttp://www.library.cornell.edu/Reps/DOCS/howard.htm
 33

[11] Comeback Cities: A Blueprint for Urban Neighborhood Revival By Paul S. Grogan,
Tony Proscio. ISBN 0813339529 Published 2002 Page 142 "Perhaps suburbanization was
a 'natural' phenomenon—rising incomes allowing formerly huddled masses in city
neighborhoods to breathe free on green lawn and leafy culs-de-sac. But, we will never
know how natural it was, because of the massive federal subsidy that eased and
accelerated it, in the form of tax, transportation and housing policies." From
http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0813339529
andhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0813339529
[12] Barlow, Andrew L. (2003). Between fear and hope: globalization and race in the
United States. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN 0-7425-1619-9
Fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0742516199
;http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andrew_L._Barlow&action=edit&redlink=1
andhttp://books.google.com/books?
id=2gJhgr0BrooC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA39,M1
[13] . Noguera, Pedro (2003). City schools and the American dream: reclaiming the
promise of public education. New York: Teachers College Press. ISBN 0-8077-4381-X.
Fromhttp://books.google.com/books?
id=bfuFosKIPeEC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA24,M1
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pedro_Noguera&action=edit&redlink=1 ;
andhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/080774381X
[14] Naylor, Larry L. (1999). Problems and issues of diversity in the United States.
Westport, Conn.: Bergin & Garvey. ISBN 0-89789-615-7 From
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Larry_L._Naylor&action=edit&redlink=1
andhttp://books.google.com/books?id=y7-
EyumYyCUC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA82,M1
[15] Modern suburbia not just in America anymore
Fromhttp://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-04-15-suburbia_N.htm
[16] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conurbation
[17] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commuter_town
[18]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraced_house#In_Malaysia_and_Singapore
[19] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-detached
[20] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shophouse
[21] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_town
[22] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_congestion
[23] Why adding lanes makes traffic worse
Fromhttp://bicycleuniverse.info/transpo/roadbuilding-futility.html
[24] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boomburb
[25] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commuter_town
[26] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developed_Environments
[27] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural
[28] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exurb
[29] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_area
[30] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edge_city
[31] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnoburb
[32] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exurb
[33] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faubourg
 34

[34] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_suburbs
[35] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microdistrict
[36] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penurbia
[37] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streetcar_suburb
[38] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suburbia_bashing
[39] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_rural_fringe
[40] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_sprawl
[41] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Flight
[42]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_suburbs_by_population
[43] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_commuter_belt
[44] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_settlement
[45] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_(place)
[46] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Village
[47] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town
[48] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City
[49] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalopolis_(city_type)
POSTED BY TOWN PLANNING AT 6:03 AM NO COMMENTS:

URBAN ECOLOGY
AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (A&TP-B)
By:
RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology Karachi

LECTURE NO: 12
TOPIC: URBAN ECOLOGY

INTRODUCTION:
The theme of current lecture is urban ecology. The phrase urban ecology is composed of
two entirely different terms i.e. urban and ecology. The one way to understand this theme
is to look at both the terms individually and then try to establish a relationship between
them. Whereas; the other way to comprehend this phrase is to define it with an earlier
established definition and identify its application in town planning. In the following a
detailed description of this theme is given.

WHAT IS URBAN?
The term urban means town or a city; whereas; “A city is an agglomerate social organism
containing a population of at least 20,000 (UN definition), in a relative density that
packages a critical population mass necessary for spawning a variety of value systems,
lifestyles, and power constellations. Cities are particularly receptive to, and instrumental
in, creating innovation and change. With this capacity for change is introduced various
kinds of dysfunctional effects, including cultural, sociological, economic, psychological,
and spiritual.”[1]
 35

WHAT IS ECOLOGY?
The term ecology means balance in nature; it is the study of ecosystems. Ecology is
derived from the GREEK word "eko" used for household and understanding “logos”
meaning an understanding of the "household of life."[2]
Ecology is a synthetic & systemic study of an organism or a species and its surroundings:
the basic unit of study is an ecological system or the interdependent populations in any
place as they impact the ecosystems which they occupy, use, or visit.[3]
In both history & natural history, ecology is the study of how organisms depend on one
another and their surroundings.[4]

URBAN + ECOLOGY:
If the terms urban and ecology combined together it would mean a town or city where
living organisms, species of flora and fauna, communities of human beings, and survive
together with interdependency and individualism within their surroundings. In other
words the urban context where all kinds of people, plants, birds, and beasts exist together
must live in harmony because they are interdependent and their survival with one another
in cohesiveness can be termed as urban ecology.

WHAT IS URBAN ECOLOGY?

‘Urban Ecology’ is the study of the relationships between organisms, including humans,
and the particular opportunities for, and challenges to, their survival presented by cities.
[5]
‘Urban Ecology’ is the study of biodiversity in areas that are densely populated by
humans.[6]
‘Urban Ecology’ is the subfield of ecology which deals with theinteraction of plants,
animals and humans with each other and with their environment in urban or urbanizing
settings.[7]

SIGNIFICANCE OF URBAN ECOLOGY:[8]

Analysis of urban settings in the context of ecosystem ecology(looking at the cycling of
matter and the flow of energy through the ecosystem) hopes to result in healthier, better
managed communities. Studying the factors which allow wild plants and animals to
survive (and sometimes thrive) in built environments can also create more livable spaces.
Urban ecology also involves the study of the effects of urban development patterns on
ecological conditions. Emphasis is also placed on planning communities with
environmentally sustainable methods via design and building materials in order to
promote a healthy and biodiverse urban ecosystem. Interactions between non-living
factors, such as sunlight or water, and biological factors, such as plants and microbes,
take place in all environments, including cities. By concentrating humans and the
resources they consume, metropolitan areas alter soil drainage, water flow, and light
availability.
Urban ecologists think of how architecture, such as sidewalks and rooftops, impacts the
way rainwater is received and transported and the way garbage dumps and sewage plants
centralize waste products. Some species of animals have been able to survive or thrive in
a non-natural urban setting. These include rats, Feral Pigeons, and cockroaches.
 36

INSTITUTIONS FOR URBAN ECOLOGY:

The afforementioned description clearly spell out what urban ecology means and how it
is related to urban context? There are various institutions related to urban ecology that is
working at their local context across the globe. These institutions had developed their
own urban models and projects to deal with their urban ecology. Furthermore; they also
developed different methodologies of work and instruments to deal with growing
problems in their urban ecology. As in our local context of Karachi we (Third Year Civil
Engineering Students) have started an attempt for making our city a sustainable one
through research; similarly internationally there are various institutions who have
initiated their own local attempts for an urban ecology.
Few of them included here for the reference of students to surf these websites and learn:
Urban Ecology Agency of Barcelona
Baltimore Ecosystem Study
Central Arizona - Phoenix LTER
ARCUE Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology
Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee, WI
Urban Ecology Research Laboratory at the University of Washington
Urban Ecology Institute (Newton, MA)
Center for Urban Restoration Ecology
BioCity@UniSA research centre

REFERENCES:
[1]
http://www.missionstrategy.org/missionstrategy/Ministries/UrbanNazarene/UrbanCourse/
Session1b/Definitions/tabid/264/Default.aspx
[2] http://web.rollins.edu/~jsiry/ADVANCED%20VOCABULARY.htm
[3] http://web.rollins.edu/~jsiry/Ecology.html
[4] http://web.rollins.edu/~jsiry/Ecology.html#ecology
[5] http://www.solutions-site.org/reference/glossary.htm
[6] http://quizlet.com/print/193792/
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_ecology
[8] Ibid
POSTED BY TOWN PLANNING AT 3:59 AM 3 COMMENTS:

AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (A&TP-B)

By:
RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Karachi

LECTURE NO: 11
TOPIC: CIVIC SURVEY

1. INTRODUCTION:
 37

There are variety of survey & mapping techniques to be learned by a civil engineer.
Though; some of these survey and mapping techniques are already known to a civil
engineer. However it is necessary to understand how different authors explained these
techniques, because the survey & mapping techniques are always subject to refinement
during the course of development & planning. Therefore let us look at different authors
how they perceived the issue of survey & mapping.

2. DESCRIPTION OF SURVEYS BY JOHN RATCLIFFE:

At first let us discuss what Mr. John RatCliffe, defined about survey preparation &
techniques of analysis in his book “An Introduction to Town & country planning”. He
says that; “In order understand the society, for which planning is to be done, to identify
the nexus of needs & problems, to have comprehensive understanding of city elements &
their effect upon each other, to formulate policies & choose between them or adjust them
in practice; a town planner must be equipped with variety of tools & techniques. Because
the planning is based upon knowledge; the knowledge depends upon information &
information depends upon survey. Now the survey of many components from the built
and natural environment is the main concern in this respect”. Here the big question is
that, what are those many components for which the survey is required?According to Mr.
RatCliffe; at first we survey about physical characteristics, then utilities, then population,
then employment, then housing, then shopping, then education, then leisure & recreation,
then movement & management, & finally for evaluation. In this way he defined eleven
types of surveys. Now the big question is that, what are the available sources of
information to carry out these surveys? Ideally the first hand information should be
collected by specifically designed survey forms related to specific problems in a precise
time. However due to ever existing constraints of time & money this is not always
possible.

So what do we do in such situation?

In that case the researchers, the student concerned with thesis or project work are usually
compelled to depend on existing sources of information. The existing sources of
information are mostly,published statistics by the government institutions. There are also
other information database such as individual researches & surveyscarried out by some
non governmental institutions. Now the information sources are various, such as each
state department & ministry has the facts & figures. Then there is census of population,
housing statistics. The department of trade & industry will have census of distribution &
census of production.

Then there are different library sources, currently there is internet. Then there are
professional journals & researches, business & economic reviews. Then there are
different resource centers available such as Urban Resource Center (URC) in Karachi.
Finally there are some international institutions which keep the records and statistics of
major countries and their urban centers. These includeUnited Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), World Band for Development, Asian Development Bank & other
United Nation institutions.

2. DESCRIPTION OF SURVEYS, BY G.K. HIRASKAR:

 38

Mr. G K Hiraskar defined in his book Town planning that; “Survey means collection of
data & information through site visit & personal observations.” Similarly there is a
principle developed by Sir Patrick Geddes (one of the pioneer of modern town planning)
that“always survey before plan”. The survey leads us to information or knowledge which
is used by all planners to prepare a mind map of the region before drawing a plan of
town. The collected data & information through survey is analyzed & presented in the
form maps, charts, tables & models. At present there emerged digital maps, aerial
photography & computerized models of surveys which have enhanced the understanding
of planners with accurate information of the site. However there are certain ground
realities which can only be understood through personal site visit by the planners. This
survey of site before planning is also known as“diagnosis before the treatment” or
diagnosis approach of planners that lead them to make correct decisions about the city.

Types of Survey:
Mr. G. K. Hiraskar also classified surveys in four broad types.
i) Towner city survey
ii) Regional survey
iii) National survey
iv) Civic survey

Town Surveys:
These surveys are conducted to prepare a base map for the Town planning scheme.
Basically these surveys are of three types; i.e.
i) Physical survey
ii) Social survey and
iii) Economic survey

Physical survey:
These are conducted in two ways i.e. through land survey and aerial survey. In physical
survey four types of information or data are collected.
i) Natural Features survey i.e. location in respect to existing towns & region, topography
& soil conditions, climatology etc.
ii) Land Use survey i.e. use of land for residential, commercial, or social purposes, public
& semi public spaces, open spaces, transportation networks, agriculture, water elements,
vacant lands & other uses.
iii) Building Conditions survey i.e. buildings are in very good, good, poor, or in bad
condition?
iv) Communications survey i.e. highways, roads and its network & railway junctions and
its network, availability of parking facilities in the city, origin & destination (O&D)
survey, accidents survey; and future trends of traffic surveys etc.

Social survey:
These are of three kinds, i.e. I) Population II) Housing and III) Community Facilities
i) Population: Trends in population growth for last 50 years, present population
characteristics, future population growth by considering survival, urban Migration &
development of new industries. Demographic survey i.e. classification of population &
 39

town density.
ii) Housing: Housing stock, per annum need, current housing conditions, accommodation
density, building height, material use & tenancy status, rented or owned.
iii) Community facilities: Education, health & recreation

Economic survey:
Occupational conditions, survey of industries, survey of commerce, financial position of
local authorities, utility services.

Regional survey:
The larger scale surveys carried out in different town & villages to obtain general
information about their physical, economic & social conditions is termed as regional
survey. These regional investigations are carried out to develop whole region in a
coherent manner. These include regional transport, highways & regional water supply
system.

National survey:
This survey is conducted at national level which includes different regions. This survey is
conducted to obtain information about, natural resources, potential for locating industries,
fixing railways alignment, hydroelectric works etc.

Civic survey or Socio-Economic survey:

This is local level small scale survey conducted for redevelopment scheme, slum
improvement scheme and master plan development. The socio-economic survey is the
foundation stone of planning structure. Because it is the detailed house to house survey
which helps a town planner to diagnose the core problems & issues to develop its
remedies through planning. There are eleven types of aspect covered in socio-economic
survey.
i) Physical Features:
ii) Communication:
iii) Traffic Problems:
iv) Open Spaces:
v) Industrial Survey:
vi) Housing Survey:
vii) Population:
viii) Health Conditions:
ix) Landscape Survey:
x) Land-cultivation:
xi) Public Services:

The socioeconomic survey is the key survey and foundation stone of Town Planning, in
which a Town is divided into union councils or wards & blocks, and then each block
further subdivided into streets and each street has number of houses. This survey is
conducted through a survey Performa or questionnaire. The sample Performa for
socioeconomic survey is as follows:
 40

THE SAMPLE PERFORMA FOR SOCIOECONOMIC SURVEY

i) Surveyor’s name: ____________

ii) Supervisor’s name:___________
iii) Ward number: _____________
iv) Block number: _____________
v) Street number: ____________
vi) Unit number: _____________
vii) Date of survey: ___________

There are five issues addressed in a socio-economic survey:

i) Housing condition:

House Number: _____________

Address: __________________

House Conditions:
Poor _________
Good _________
Very Good _____

Number of Floors: ___________

Age of house: _______________
Plot area: __________________
Tenancy Status:
Rented ______
Owned ______
Rent per month ________

ii) Family Structure:

Total family members: __ Male __ Female __

Literacy of Male & Female: _____________
Marital status: ______________________
School going children __________
College going children __________
Age groups:
5 & below____
5-10 _______
10-25 ______
25-50 ______
50 & above ___

iii) Economic characteristics:

 41

Total number of Earning Members _____

Occupations _______________
Monthly Income_____________
Expenditure ________________
Savings ___________________
Mode of Transport ___________

iv) Community Facilities:

Nurseries ______
Primary Schools _______
Secondary Schools _______
College ______
Shopping Center _________
Park and Open Space _________
Club Theaters _________
Religious Building _________
Post Office _________
Police Station _________
Dispensary ___________
Clinic ___________
Hospital _________
Any Other _________
(In each category find out the Distance from Residence)

v) Utility Services:

Water Supply _____

Electricity _____
Gas _____
Telephone _____
Water Closet ______
(In each category find out the type of connection as Legal, Illegal, Private, Public etc)

Remarks: ____________________
___________________________
POSTED BY TOWN PLANNING AT 5:52 AM NO COMMENTS:

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROBLEMS

AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (B)

By

RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
 42

NED University of Engineering and Technology

Karachi

LECTURE NO. 10
TOPIC: LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROBLEMS

Introduction:
In order to comprehend the legal and administrative problems in town planning at first it
is important to understand the terms ‘Legal’ and ‘Administrative’. The term legal mean
“established by or founded upon law or official or accepted rules”[1]. Thus; legal
problems in town planning must be either related to law or official accepted rules of town
planning. Here the question arises that in what context the legal problems may be
addressed? Because legal problems in town planning; may vary in each context and urban
setting. Similarly the term administrative mean “of or relating to or responsible for
administration”[2]. Therefore; administrative problems in town planning must be related
to administration of a town. Now; in order to understand the legal and administrative
problems in town planning one must have a thorough understanding about the Law and
Administration of a town. On the other hand the knowledge about urban problems may
also be the way to learn legal and administrative problems in an urban context.

What is a Law?
Law is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics,
economics and society in numerous ways and serves as the foremost social mediator in
relations between people. Law governs a wide variety of social activities. All legal
systems deal with similar issues and behaviors, but each country categorizes and
identifies its legal standards and principals in different ways. A common distinction is
that between "public law" (a term related closely to the state, and including constitutional,
administrative and criminal law), and "private law" (which covers contract and property).
In civil law systems, contract fall under a general law of obligations, while trusts law is
dealt with international conventions. Law spreads far beyond the core subjects into
virtually every area of life. Three categories are of importance here i.e. Law and society,
Law and commerce, Law and regulation. Law and society include Labour law, Civil
rights and Human rights law, Immigration and nationality law, Social security law and
Family law. Law and commerce include Commercial law, Admiralty law and the Law of
the Sea, Company law and Intellectual property law. Law and regulation include Tax law,
Banking law, Competition law, Consumer law and Environmental law. Regulation deals
with the provision of public services and utilities. Especially since privatisation became
popular private companies doing the jobs previously controlled by government; energy,
gas telecomm and water are regulated industries.[3]

What is an Administration?
The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to
jurisdiction.[4] In business, administration consists of the performance or management of
business operations and thus the making or implementing of major decisions.
Administration can be defined as the universal process of organizing people and
resources efficiently so as to direct activities toward common goals and objectives.[5]
 43

What is Public Administration?

Public administration can be broadly described as the development, implementation and
study of branches of government policy. The pursuit of the public good by enhancing
civil society and social justice is the ultimate goal of the field.[6]

What are Urban Problems? [7]

Urban problems remain similar worldwide. The United Nations Development Programme
announced on 28 July 1997 that unemployment remains the world's number one urban
problem, according to a survey of mayors of cities from around the world.

The purposes of the survey was to identify issues and severity of urban problems, to
identify areas where cities are experiencing some successes, and to establish a baseline
for future more systematized surveys to help the United Nations better understand trends,
needs and opportunities.

More than half of the world's population now lives in cities and towns rather than in rural
areas. Urban problems and their solutions, therefore, now on top the world's agenda.

The UNDP survey of 14 categories of problems and the percentages of mayors

identifying them as "severe" are as follows:

Unemployment-----------------------------52.0%
Insufficient solid waste disposal -------------42.0%
Urban poverty------------------------------41.6%
Inadequate housing stock-------------------33.8%
Insufficient solid waste collection------------30.9%
Inadequate water/sanitation facilities-------28.4%
Inadequate public transportation------------26.2%
Traffic congestion----------------------------22.3%
Poor health services--------------------------21.5%
Insufficient civil society participation----------20.9%
Inadequate education services----------------18.9%
Air pollution----------------------------------17.4%
Urban violence/crime/personal safety--------13.5%
Discrimination (women. ethnic, poor)---------6.8%

Significantly, 70 percent of the responding mayors who rank unemployment a severe

problem also rank urban poverty as severe. All problems stem from poverty. Thus,
development programmes should be financed to lessen unemployment and hence to urge
people to work a bit harder. The education sector should be highlighted to make people
understand problems related to modernisation and everything related to illiteracy. Urban
problems stem from rural-to-urban migration. The best way to work with the large
number of new comers is to have them share the burden of leadership by taking part in
providing services.
 44

United States:
Although, worldwide, urban violence/crime/personal safety is not ranked high among the
survey's 14 categories of problems, crime is ranked severe by mayors in the United
States. They say "Our biggest challenge is fighting the crime that has been caused as a
result of illegal drug trafficking. Our efforts to strengthen the police department and
involve neighborhoods and citizens in addressing their local problems have helped make
a real difference in safety levels and decision-making processes. Success in addressing
jobs, tax base growth, and road improvement and partnerships, has helped to improve the
economic future of community and the quality of life of each resident." On the other
hand, Canada's Mayer considers unemployment and air pollution as his city's severe
problems and describes "Urban success in the new millennium will hinge on providing
cities with the legislative and fiscal capacity to deal with the challenges they are facing.
Cities need to forge new partnerships with senior governments to address population
growth and employment, the provision of hard infrastructure and social services, and
appropriate governance structures." The diversity of major problems identified among
North American cities is further illustrated by the mayors of Mexico who rates traffic
congestion and inadequate housing as his city's most severe problems, attributable to
rural-to-urban migration, whereas insufficient solid waste disposal as that city's most
severe problem.

Latin America
Illustrative of the prominence of unemployment as a severe problem in Latin America is
the response of the mayor of Leon, Nicaragua. According to Leon's mayor, "Currently the
municipality is facing a truly economic crisis where more than 23% of the population is
experiencing extreme poverty and more than 70% of the economically active population
is unemployed -- implying a clear tendency for the deterioration of health and education
as well as an increase in illiteracy." Similarly, unemployment is reported to be the most
severe problem of Argentina's and Ecuador's cities. Besides unemployment, the most
serious problems reported for Cordoba, Argentina are traffic congestion and air pollution.

Europe
A few European mayors consider unemployment a severe problem. Traffic congestion is
also cited as a serious problem. Few European cities mark urban poverty as a problem.
However, Europe's cities appear to be experiencing problems related to modernization
and technology. They write: "We are transforming a typical fordist town into a modern,
European town. That is a slow and difficult long-term process that needs time and the
participation of the whole city system. The risk of such urban transformation is to forget
large parts of the population. We do not want that -- we are working to bring together
development and solidarity. Relating technological to environmental concerns, Cologne's
Mayor writes: "The success in establishing modern technology enterprises (e.g. media,
bio- and genetic technology, environmental technologies) shows that there is a possibility
for economic progress without interfering with environmental interests, for reconciling
economy and ecology."

Africa
Many African mayors note the interrelatedness of unemployment and poverty, rural-to-
 45

urban migration, and the consequent negative impact on services. "The most serious
problems in our city are interrelated; urban unemployment causes poverty, and because of
such poverty, people are not capable of paying for services such as health and education."
Similarly, Mayor of Uganda cites "the collapse of industries" as causing "urban poverty
arising from unemployment." Also, the mayor of Zimbabwe laments the "low levels of
industrial development leading to unemployment and poverty." Mayor of Nairobi Kenya
comments: "Due to population influx into the city, adequate provision of services -- such
as housing, schools, medical, water, sewerage, roads, etc. -- is a nightmare." Some
African mayors’ link unemployment to problems related to idle youth. Thus, Mayor of
Bobo-Dioulasso writes: "Bobo-Dioulasso was a cleaner town in the past. Young men of
Bobo-Dioulasso spend most of their time drinking tea. They don't want to work." Mayor
of Banjuk Gambia adds: "Problems of drug use and rural-urban migration among our
youth have increased considerably as a result of the persistent drought and
unemployment, consequently causing enormous strain on the already stretched resources
of the city." The city of Dakar Senegal, is undertaking a program to employ youth to
improve the city. Thus, Mayor claims: "In the face of the distressing sight which is
sometimes found in the city, Operation 'Be clean and make clean' has enabled the
municipality to put to work all the young people, grouped in association to clean up the
city of Dakar. Other than the creation of employment, this experience has the benefit of:
developing a sense of citizenship, enabling participation in the management of the city,
and fighting against exclusion and poverty."

Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East

The mayors of both Damascus Syria and Nicosia Cyprus rank inadequate public
transportation as their most serious problem. Damascus Mayor cites "all kinds of
pollution" as a major problem. Nicosia's mayor adds that "Nicosia remains the only
divided city in the world." The mayor of Turkey's fifth largest city, Bursa comments that
its most serious problems (housing, infrastructure, employment, etc.) derive from
immigration from eastern Anatolia, Bulgaria, former Yugoslavia, and Albania. The
mayors of both Rafah and Gaza in Palestine claim that the lack of infrastructure is their
most serious problem, especially inadequate water/sanitation facilities and sewage
systems. Gaza's mayor also emphasizes inadequate housing, whereas Rafah's mayor
emphasizes not enough paved roads, as other serious problems.

Asia and Pacific

The city of Wuhan China has given high priority to solid waste collection and disposal as
city's most severe problems. Same is the case of the cities of Baroda and Guntur in India,
Nagoya of Japan, Kathmandu of Nepal, and Suva of Fiji. Suva's Mayor explains: "The
Fiji land tenure system has made it very difficult for our finding an alternative site for our
solid waste disposal." Mayor of Kawasaki Japan cites an "aging society and declining
birth rate" as that city's most serious problem. "The sudden arrival of the aging society is
a serious problem facing the whole of Japan," he comments. "It is predicted that
Kawasaki's population over 65 years will double by the year 2010." Accordingly, "we
must concentrate on building facilities providing care for the elderly, and find sources of
workers." Likewise, Nagoya's Mayor Lists as City's number one problem as "Preparation
of a care system for a rapidly aging society." Mayor of Pusan Korea claims that traffic
 46

congestion and clean water are his city's most serious problems. The mayor of
Kathmandu Nepal, also cite water supply as their most serious problems and explains:
"The demand for drinking water has been increasing due to the increased population and
rapid urban growth. At present, the total water supply per day from ground and surface
systems in the valley is limited to 60 million litres per day whereas the demand is 114
million litres per day."

KARACHI[8]
The Karachi Development Authority has categorized the critical problems of Karachi as:

Poor environmental conditions in slums and Katchi Abadis;

An abnormal increase in population leading to quick urbanization;
Health hazards owing to lack of proper water supply, sewerage, and storm water
drainage;
Pollution owing to industrial wastes;
A defective transport system and consequent vehicle-created air pollution;
The destruction of historical heritage and green areas;
A haphazard location of some industries;
A disparity in densities of different areas in the city;
Congestion of roads and the downtown area causing, noise and pollution;
A defective refuse collection and disposal system;
Pollution in coastal waters causing harm to marine life; and
Pollution caused by light and electronics.
Other issues may also be added, such as a disregard for architectural heritage, faceless
blocks of commercial and residential buildings, and the conversion of amenity plots into
speculative housing. Urban planning and development in Karachi suffer from many
problems, some of which are listed below.
A lack of evaluation of previous planning attempts—Planning initiatives often start anew
without adequately evaluating possible merits of past plans.
The incapability of the planning authorities to execute the plan—Planning in Karachi has
been under the auspices of Karachi Development Authority (KDA), which does not
possess any legal or administrative control on the nineteen other land development
agencies of the city. Thus the capacity of Karachi Development Authority to execute the
plans has been constrained.
The absence of political mandate for the planning process—Planning processes have
usually been under the direction of the donors or UN agencies, without enjoying the
political mandate necessary for keeping open the possibility of ad hoc adjustments.
Technical shortcomings in the planning process—Assumptions used in planning have
often been drawn from inadequate sample surveys and obsolete physical data. Even
today, Karachi does not have a comprehensive mapping base usually required for all
kinds of planning and development exercises. Adding to the lack of information is the
fact that data gathered by the Defense institutions are not accessible by the public.
The planning authority is usually not the financing agency of the exercise—this fact has
made it nearly impossible for planning agencies to execute the various components
according to the outlined framework.
Conclusion:
 47

Karachi is in chaos, but it is inhabited not only by the prophets of doom and the
merchants of gloom. There are those who care, who have—even if only in their own
small way—achieved results that need appraisal, evaluation, and even propagation. Hope
for the future lies in these informal efforts. In this city globally known for continued strife
and turmoil, the informal sector has indeed managed to keep it alive and thriving. Even
with its ever-increasing population and heterogeneous mix, the city has shown great
resilience and strength to not only survive but to actually evolve its own alternate culture.
Without informal initiatives, this would have been impossible to achieve.

References:
[1] http://www.google.com.pk/search?hl=en&q=define%3A+legal&meta=
[2] http://www.google.com.pk/search?hl=en&q=define%3Aadministrative&meta=
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law (must read)
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administration_(government)
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administration_(business)
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_administration
[7] http://mirror.undp.org/magnet/icg97/SURVEY.HTM
[8] http://www.megacitiesproject.org/network_karachi.asp
POSTED BY TOWN PLANNING AT 5:42 AM NO COMMENTS:

LECTURE NO. 09
TOPIC: ECONOMIC RESOURCES

Introduction:
The phrase ‘Economic Resources’ means “the natural, human and capital resources that
are used to produce goods and services. It is also called factors of production.”[1] In
economics, factors of production (or productive inputs) are the resources employed to
produce goods and services.[2] They are generally land, labor, and capital; the three
groups of resources that are used to make all goods and services.[3]

The definition of economic resources as mentioned above clearly spell out that the theme
economic resources is directly related to production of goods and services. In relation to
production three questions are very important. What to produce? How to produce? For
whom to produce? In addition it is also important to understand that why goods and
resources are related to town planning and how land labour and capital are the significant
elements of town planning? Whereas; it may need a further explanation regarding
economics as well as urban economics so as to understand the details about economic
resources, and its significance in Town Planning. Let’s try to answer all these questions in
the following:

Natural, Human and Capital resources:

Materials or energy from the environment used for human needs are natural resources.[4]
Human resources; is a term with which many organizations describe the combination of
traditionally administrative personnel functions with performance, Employee Relations
and resource planning.[5] It is the collective capabilities, experiences, potential and
commitment of the organization’s board, management team, staff, and volunteers.[6] The
 48

objective of human resources is to maximize the return on investment from the

organization's human capital and minimize financial risk. Capital resources are the things
produced and used to produce other goods and services.[7]

Goods and Services:

In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services.
Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility. We satisfy our needs
and wants by buying goods and services. Goods are items you can see and touch, such as
a book, a pen, a folder etc. Services are provided for you by other people, such as; doctor,
dentist, haircut and eating out at restaurants.[8] Or in other words, things that are
produced by a country's economy examples of goods include food; clothing, machines,
and new roads, examples of services include those of doctors, teachers, merchants, tourist
agents, construction workers, and government officials.[9]

What is Economics?
Economics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption
of goods and services. Economics aims to explain how economies work and how
economic agents interact. Economic analysis is applied throughout society, in business
and finance but also in crime, education, the family, health, law, politics, religion, social
institutions, war, science and research. Microeconomics looks at interactions through
individual markets, given scarcity and government regulation. The theory considers
aggregates of quantity demanded by buyers and quantity supplied by sellers at each
possible price per unit. It weaves these together to describe how the market may reach
equilibrium as to price and quantity or respond to market changes over time. This is
broadly termed demand-and-supply analysis. In microeconomics, production is the
conversion of inputs into outputs. It is an economic process that uses resources to create a
commodity that is suitable for exchange. Some economists define production broadly as
all economic activity other than consumption. Public finance is the field of economics
that deals with budgeting the revenues and expenditures of a public sector entity, usually
government.[10] Thus; the field of economics mainly determines every policy that a
government makes for development or town planning.
What is Urban Economics?[11]
Urban Economics is broadly the economic study of urban areas. As such, it involves
using the tools of economics to analyze urban issues such as crime, education, public
transit, housing, and local government finance. More narrowly, it is a branch of
microeconomics that studies urban spatial structure and the location of households and
firms. Urban economics focuses on these spatial relationships to understand the economic
motivations underlying the formation, functioning, and development of cities. Urban
economics is rooted in the ‘location theories’ [12] that began the process of spatial
economic analysis. Economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources, and as all
economic phenomena take place within a geographical space, urban economics focuses
of the allocation of resources across space in relation to urban areas.[13]
Other branches of economics ignore the spatial aspects of decision making but urban
economics focuses not only on the location decisions of firms, but also of cities
themselves as cities themselves represent centers of economic activity.[14] Many spatial
economic topics can be analyzed within either an urban or regional economics framework
 49

as some economic phenomena primarily affect localized urban areas while others are felt
over much larger regional areas.[15]

Urban economics is divided into six related themes:

Market forces in the development of cities,

Land use within cities,
Urban transportation,
Urban problems and public policy,
Housing and public policy, and
Local government expenditures and taxes.[16]
Market Forces in the Development of Cities
Market forces in the development of cities relates to how the location decision of firms
and households causes the development of cities. The nature and behavior of markets
depends somewhat on their locations therefore market performance partly depends on
geography.[17] If a firm locates in a geographically isolated region, their market
performance will be different than a firm located in a concentrated region. The location
decisions of both firms and households create cities that differ in size and economic
structure. When industries cluster, like in the Silicon Valley in California, they create
urban areas with dominant firms and distinct economies. By looking at location decisions
of firms and households, the urban economist is able to address why cities develop where
they do, why some cities are large and others small, what causes economic growth and
decline, and how local governments affect urban growth.[18]Because urban economics is
concerned with asking questions about the nature and workings of the economy of a city,
models and techniques developed within the field are primarily designed to analyze
phenomena that are confined within the limits of a single city.[19]

Land Use within Metropolitan Areas

Looking at land use within metropolitan areas, the urban economist seeks to analyze the
spatial organization of activities within cities. In attempts to explain observed patterns of
land use, the urban economist examines the intra-city location choices of firms and
households. Considering the spatial organization of activities within cities, urban
economics addresses questions in terms of what determines the price of land and why
those prices vary across space, the economic forces that caused the spread of employment
from the central core of cities outward, identifying land-use controls, such as zoning, and
interpreting how such controls affect the urban economy.[20]

Economic Policy in Urban Areas

Economic policy is often implemented at the urban level thus economic policy is often
tied to urban policy.[21] Urban problems and public policy tie into urban economics as
the theme relates urban problems, such as poverty or crime, to economics by seeking to
answer questions with economic guidance. For example, does the tendency for the poor
to live close to one another make them even poorer?[22]

Urban Transportation and Urban Economics

Urban transportation is a theme of urban economics because it affects land-use patterns as
 50

transportation affects the relative accessibility of different sites. Issues that tie urban
transportation to urban economics include the deficit that most transit authorities have,
and efficiency questions about proposed transportation developments such as light-rail.
[23]

Housing and Public Policy

Housing and public policy relate to urban economics as housing is a unique type of
commodity. Because housing is immobile, when a household chooses a dwelling, it is
also choosing a location. Urban economists analyze the location choices of households in
conjunction with the market effects of housing policies.[24]

Government Expenditures and Taxes in Urban Economics

The final theme of local government expenditures and taxes relates to urban economics as
it analyzes the efficiency of the fragmented local governments presiding in metropolitan
areas.[25]

Conclusion:
Conclusively for any town planning three questions as mentions above are very
important. What to produce? How to produce? For whom to produce? The answer to
these questions is the key factor to understand the whole dynamics of economic resources
in town planning. Because the answer clearly lead us to appropriate use of economic
resources.

References:

[1] http://www.google.com.pk/url?
sa=X&start=0&oi=define&q=http://www.thinkport.org/cff247fc-95fb-4f15-9d14-
3194417d16de.asset&usg=AFQjCNHx7NIsNid6DGbHTVcAulxDdr1e7Q
[2] http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/477991/theory-of-production
[3] Sullivan Arthur, Steven M. Sheffrin (2003) Economics: Principles in action. Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey 07458: Pearson Prentice Hall. pp. 4 ISBN 0-13-063085-
3http://www.pearsonschool.com/index.cfm?
locator=PSZ3R9&PMDbSiteId=2781&PMDbSolutionId=6724&PMDbCategoryId=&P
MDbProgramId=12881&level=4
[4] http://www.google.com.pk/url?
sa=X&start=4&oi=define&q=http://www.deq.state.va.us/kids/library/wstmanvo.html&us
g=AFQjCNG2lwacryszDZ5-VbwuhKRiJ_VeYQ
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_resources
[6] http://www.google.com.pk/url?
sa=X&start=5&oi=define&q=http://www.vodium.com/vs_data/dlfbi/definitions.doc&usg
=AFQjCNF3x1pNIuJiJ8ZplbqZLRg2uFCbcg
[7] http://www.google.com.pk/url?
sa=X&start=2&oi=define&q=http://www.auburn.edu/~owensse/PowerPoint_Definitions.
htm&usg=AFQjCNG8tAND3rL3_w-A7VwZOcwxqkBuwA
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goods_and_services
[9]www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/TLSF/theme_c/mod13/www.worldbank.org/depweb/en
 51

glish/modules/glossary.htm
[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics
[11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_economics
[12] Roberta Capello and Peter Nijkamp, Ed (2004) Urban Dynamics and Growth:
Advances in Urban Economics. Elsvier Inc.
[13] Richard J. Arnott and Daniel P. McMillan, Ed (2006) ‘A Companion to Urban
Economics’ Blackwell Publishing ISBN 1405106298
[14] O'Sullivan, Arthur (2003) ‘Urban Economics’ Boston, Mass: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
ISBN 0-07-248784-4
[15] McCann, Philip (2001) ‘Urban and Regional Economics’ Oxford University Press
[16] O'Sullivan, Arthur (2003) ‘Urban Economics’ Boston, Mass: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
ISBN 0-07-248784-4
[17] McCann, Philip (2001) ‘Urban and Regional Economics’ Oxford University Press
[18] O'Sullivan, Arthur (2003) ‘Urban Economics’ Boston, Mass: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
ISBN 0-07-248784-4
[19] McCann, Philip (2001) ‘Urban and Regional Economics’ Oxford University Press
[20] O'Sullivan, Arthur (2003) ‘Urban Economics’ Boston, Mass: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
ISBN 0-07-248784-4
[21] McCann, Philip (2001) ‘Urban and Regional Economics’ Oxford University Press
[22] O'Sullivan, Arthur (2003) ‘Urban Economics’ Boston, Mass: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
ISBN 0-07-248784-4
[23] Ibid
[24] Ibid
[25] Ibid
POSTED BY TOWN PLANNING AT 7:55 AM NO COMMENTS:

ASSIGNMENT: MY STREET MY NEIGHBOURHOOD

AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (B)

By

RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Karachi

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
TOPIC: ASSIGNMENT: MY STREET MY NEIGHBOURHOOD

1. Introduction:
A Street is a public thoroughfare in the built environment. It is a public parcel of land
 52

adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact,
and move about. A neighbourhood or neighborhood is a geographically localised
community within a larger city, town or union council. Neighbourhoods are often social
communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members.

2. Objective:
The objective of this assignment is to document the physical, social and economic
characteristics and activities of the streets and neighbourhoods of our urban context of
Karachi.

3. Reason for this assignment:

Some of the students in class are left alone and not a part of any group. They wanted to
do an individual assignment instead of doing group work and feel that they can not
clearly spell out their abilities and intellect in the group assignment. Therefore for those
students who are not working with any group this individual assignment is designed so as
they may individually do it in their own personal capacity.

4. Methodology:
The assignment "My Street My Neighbourhood" is very simple where a student will
document the physical, social and economic conditions of his own neighbourhood. The
methodology of this assignment is very easy for anyone who can draw a plan i.e. a base
map and make its overlays showing physical social and economic activities in his street
and neighbourhood through photographs and comments.

Step # 1: At first one has to locate his/her neighbourhood through free online available
Google earth map and then save its picture and identify the boundary of his/her
neighbourhood.

Step # 2: Draw or trace a base map of your neighbourhood showing all four streets
around your house or appartment as well as other buildings surrounding your house.
Mark or highlight your house / appartment in Red and all other buildings in light brown
colour.

Step # 3: Visit all the four streets and take pictures of your neighbourhood showing the
streets and buildings from any corner so as maximum view can be established. The
pictures may also be taken to show the physical conditions of streets and problems in it
such as water and sewerage overflow, garbage disposal, electricity, telephone, and cable
wires etc Similarly document social and economic conditions such as people sitting and
interacting in your street or the commercial enterprises shops in the neighbourhood, Fruit
and Vegetable carts, beggars, eunuchs etc Thus; a whole day activity may be
photographed.

Step # 4: Make maps overlays i.e. first a base map showing the boundary of the
neighbourhood and your house / appartment in red highlight with name of streets and
neighbourhood. Second map overlay showing the physical conditions and your observed
problems with highlighting their location with different colours and legends. Third map
 53

overlay showing the social activities in your street with their identified space/location
highlighted with different colours and legends. Fourth map overlay showing the
economic activities in your street with their identified space/location highlighted with
different colours and legends. Map overlay showing the Master Plan of proposed
improvements in your neighbourhood.

Step # 5: Make report writing about an Introduction of your neighbourhood; it’s Location
with map, observed Problems and identified issues with pictures on A-4 size paper,
Reasons for those problems as observed or discussed with any elder of the
neighbourhood, and proposed Recommendations for Improvements with a Master Plan.
Complete the report with a Title page on A-4 Size paper and Maps maximum on A-3 Size
paper. Ring bind the report and submit.

5. Submission and Deadlines:

The deadlines for each step are as follows:

Step 1: 27th February 2010

Step 2: 6th March 2010
Step 3: 20th March 2010
Step 4: 17th April 2010
Step 5: 1st May 2010

LECTURE NO. 08
TOPIC: NATURAL RESOURCES

INTRODUCTION:
The theme of current lecture is Natural Resources. In the following a detailed description
about natural resources is given for the understanding of students learning town planning.

WHAT IS MEANT BY NATURAL RESOURCES?

Natural resources are naturally occurring substances that are considered valuable in their
relatively unmodified (natural) form. A commodity is generally considered a natural
resource when the primary activities associated with it are extraction and purification, as
opposed to creation. Thus, mining, petroleum extraction, fishing, and forestry are
generally considered natural-resource industries, while agriculture is not.

The term was introduced to a broad audience by E.F. Schumacher in his 1970s book
Small Is Beautiful.[1] Afterwards; different authors used this phrase for different
purposes and interpreted it in their own manner. For instance in United States natural
resources are described as:

“Land, fish, wildlife, biota, air, water, groundwater, drinking water supplies, and other
such resources (including the resources of the exclusive economic zone) belonging to,
managed by, held in trust by, appertaining to, or otherwise controlled by, the United
 54

States, any state or local government or Indian tribe, or any foreign government.”[2]

Similarly other defintions are:

“Assets that are physically consumed or waste away, such as oil, minerals, gravel, and
timber can be said as natural resources.”[3]
“A material source of wealth, such as timber, fresh water, or a mineral deposit, that occurs
in a natural state and has economic value.[4]
“Materials found in the natural state, such as water, soil, sunshine, minerals, that are used
by humans.”[5]
“Any part of the environment that species depend on for their survival can be termed as
natural resources.”[6]

CLASSIFICATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES:

Natural resources are often classified into renewable and non-renewable resources. The
renewable resources may be further categorized as unconditionally renewable (e.g., solar,
tidal or wind energy) and conditionally renewable (e.g., fish, forest products).
Conditionally renewable resources will last indefinitely if not over-exploited because that
part of the resource that is used can be replaced through natural processes.[7]

Furthermore; renewable resources are generally living resources such as fish, coffee, and
forests etc. which can restock (renew) themselves if they are not over harvested.
Renewable resources can be used indefinitely if they are used sustainably or if not over
harvested. Once renewable resources are consumed at a rate that exceeds their natural
rate of replacement, the standing stock will diminish and eventually run out. The rate of
sustainable use of a renewable resource is determined by the replacement rate and amount
of standing stock of that particular resource. Non-living renewable natural resources
include soil, as well as water, wind, tides and solar radiation.”[8]

NATURAL RESOURCES AND TOWN PLANNING:

In case of town planning the understanding of natural resources is very important.

Because; the end product of any town planning exercise is the construction of new built
up structures on a virgin land or in other words change of natural environment into built
environment as per future needs. The other outcome of town planning is the
reconstruction of the existing old built up structures or in other words transforming the
built environment to suit the needs of present time. In both cases there emerge major
changes and transformations in the physical appearance and character of the existing
context. These changes and transformations may occur in the form of large movements of
soil (sand and stones) from one place to another to be used as building material. Grubbing
of natural vegetation and trees from a virgin land in a given context to be use inside
buildings. Thus; these changes and transformations may cause various impacts such as
change in ground water pattern, bearing capacity of soils etc.

Furthermore; the towns, cities and urban areas attracts large number of population that
 55

live and work there and consume lots of natural resources such as oil and gas. Large high
rise buildings also exist in urban context that requires a lot of building material and
natural resources and also become cause of urban heat islands.

Additionally in town planning many mega construction projects are made that require
major changes in the ecology of land, terrains, soils, vegetation, rivers, storm water
drains, coastal belt etc. This change and transformation may be carefully analyzed
through Initial Environmental Examination (IEE), Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA), Social Impact Assessment (SIA), Visual Impact Assessment (VIA); Landscape and
Visual Impact Assessment (LVSIA) etc. So as the town planning may be sustainable.

Initial Environmental Examination (IEE):

IEE is a preliminary attempt to evaluate environmental impacts in order to determine
whether a full-scale environmental impact assessment is needed. It is also called as Initial
Environmental Investigation (IEI), partial EIA or "Preliminary EIA".[9]

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA):

A process by which, the consequences of planned development projects are evaluated as
an integral part of planning the project. The EIA can be defined as the analysis of
biological, physical, social and economic factors to determine the environmental and
social consequences of a proposed development action. The goal of the EIA is to provide
policy makers with the best available information in order to minimize economic costs
and maximize benefits associated with a proposed development.[10]

Social Impact Assessment (SIA):

It is the component of EIA concerned with changes in the structure and functioning of
social orderings. In particular the changes that a development would create in: social
relationships; community (population, structure, stability etc); people’s quality and way
of life; language; ritual; political/economic processes; attitudes/value. Can sometimes
include health impacts.[11] "Social impact assessment includes the processes of
analysing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences,
both positive and negative, of planned interventions (policies, programs, plans, projects)
and any social change processes invoked by those interventions. Its primary purpose is to
bring about a more sustainable and equitable biophysical and human
environment."[12]“This technique is a form of direct impact analysis used to assess how
the costs and benefits of reforms are distributed among different stakeholders and over
time. SIA is based on stakeholder analysis, and is particularly useful for disaggregating
data on assets (physical, financial) and capabilities (human, organizational) into
meaningful social categories. When reasonable national survey data exists, SIA uses a
range of qualitative data collection tools (focus groups, semi-structured key informant
interviews, ethnographic field research, stakeholder workshops to determine impacts,
stakeholder preferences and priorities, and constraints on implementation. In the absence
of adequate quantitative data, SIA supplements qualitative, sociological impact analysis
with purposive surveys that capture direct impacts and behavioral responses to reform, or
specific dimensions (e.g. time-use patterns) that affect reform outcomes.”[13]
 56

Visual impact assessment:[14]

It is an evaluation of the visual impact of resource development proposals on forest
landscape.

Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment:[15]

Landscape and visual impacts are two separate but closely related elements. ‘Landscape’
refers to the appearance of the land, including its, shape, texture and colours. It also
reflects the way these components combine to create specific patterns and pictures that
are distinctive to certain areas. Landscape is not just a visual, phenomenon it relies on a
number of other features/influences that will have shaped its character. For example
topography, geology, ecology, land management and architecture all play a part in the
formation of a landscape.

TOWN PLANNING IN THE 1900S IN UNITED KINGDOM (UK):[16]

The significance of resources in town planning can be further understood through a brief
historical background of Town Planning in the 1900s in United Kingdom. At the turn of
the century, legislation continued to improve conditions for the industrial work force.

This included

Town Planning Act 1909, which forbade the building of back-to-back housing, symbolic
of the poverty of the industrial cities, and allowed local authorities to prepare schemes of
town planning

Housing Act 1919, which gave the Ministry of Health authority to approve the design of
houses

Housing Act 1930, which required all slum housing to be cleared in designated
improvement areas

Around this time, the Garden Cities movement was formed under the influence of Sir
Ebenezer Howard, a visionary who took public health reform further by planning to build
green cities on the principle that: 'by so laying out a Garden City that, as it grows, the free
gifts of 'Nature fresh air, sunlight, breathing room and playing room shall be still retained
in all needed abundance.' This eventually led to the New Towns movement and the New
Towns Act 1946 although, by the time new towns were being built, the rise of the
privately owned motor car had made much of Howard's vision unattainable.

Pressure on the countryside:

With all the new housing, the rise of the motorcar and continued industrial development,
the countryside came under increasing pressure. For example, between 1919 and 1939
over four million new homes were built, the majority on green fields, and advertising
hoardings sprung up unregulated across the landscape. In response to this threat, the need
for planning controls to be extended to cover the countryside as well as towns was
recognised and in 1926 the Council for the Preservation of Rural England was formed
later renamed the Campaign to Protect Rural England. As pressure was put on the
 57

Government to take action, two important acts of Parliament were passed:

Town and Country Planning Act 1932, which was the first legislation to accept the
desirability of countrywide rural planning

Restriction of Ribbon Development Act 1935, which was designed to prevent the sprawl
of towns and cities across the countryside. 'Ribbon development' is linear development of
long rows of buildings built along main roads leading out of towns

Town and country planning comes of age:

The end of the Second World War brought consensus over the need for comprehensive
planning to rebuild bombed out towns and cities and to help reorganise industry. The
Town and Country Planning Act 1947 introduced the basis of the system that we have
today. It introduced two significant changes i.e. Local authorities now had to complete a
local plan, setting out detailed policies and specific proposals for the development and
use of land in a district. Land use would be controlled and planning permission would be
required for development.

However some sectors, such as agriculture, were granted significant exemptions from
planning controls, called permitted development rights, which still exist today. After the
1947 Act, the system continued to evolve. Important events include

1955: The national Green Belt system is put in place to prevent urban sprawl (the first
Green Belts were designated around London before the Second World War

1968: County structure plans are introduced to co-ordinate and guide local plans

1988: Regional planning guidance is introduced to act as a strategic guide for county
structure plans

1990: The Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The act divides planning into forward
planning and development control. Forward planning is about setting out the authority's
strategy for the future - through a development plan - and development control is about
controlling the development that happens

1991: The Planning and Compensation Act 1991 amends the Town and Country Planning
Act and introduces the plan-led system, affirming that planning applications should be
decided in line with the development plan

Conclusion:
Finally it is clearly spelled out that the understanding about natural resources is quite
significant in any town planning exercise.

References:
[1] http://www.cheathouse.com/essay/essay_view.php?p_essay_id=77556
[2] http://www.epa.gov/Region6/6sf/sfsites/oil/acryglos.htm
 58

[3] http://www.berenson.com/n.html
[4]http://www.mms.gov/offshore/alternativeenergy/definitions.htm
[5]http://www.arrowheadkidscamp.com/images/GLOSSARY_OF_SCIENCE_TERMS.d
oc
[6] http://www.pc.gc.ca/apprendre-learn/prof/sub/eco/itm7/index_e.asp
[7]http://www.oceansatlas.org/unatlas/uses/uneptextsph/infoph/gsglossary.html
[8] http://www.cheathouse.com/essay/essay_view.php?p_essay_id=77556
[9] http://www.fao.org/docrep/V8350E/v8350e0f.htm
[10]http://www.oceansatlas.org/unatlas/uses/uneptextsph/infoph/gsglossary.html
[11] http://eia.unu.edu/course/?page_id=177
[12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_impact_assessment
[13]http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTPSI
A/0,,contentMDK:20433436~menuPK:2453409~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSite
PK:490130,00.html [14]http://ilmbwww.gov.bc.ca/slrp/datamanagement/glossary/V.HTM
[15]http://www.shetland.gov.uk/developmentplans/documents/Landscape.pdf
[16] http://www.planninghelp.org.uk/planning-system/history-of-planning-system/town-
planning-in-1900s
POSTED BY TOWN PLANNING AT 2:32 AM NO COMMENTS:

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2009

MAPS

AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (B)

By

RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Karachi

LECTURE NO. 07
TOPIC: MAPS

Introduction:

The theme of current lecture is Maps. In the following a detailed description about maps
is given for the understanding of students learning town planning.

What is a map?[1]
 59

A map is a visual representation of an area or a symbolic depiction highlighting

relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes. Many
maps are static two-dimensional, geometrically accurate representations of three-
dimensional space, while others are dynamic or interactive, even three-dimensional.
Although most commonly used to depict geography, maps may represent any space, real
or imagined, without regard to context or scale.

Map Making or Cartography:[2]

Cartography or mapmaking is the study and practice of making representations of the

Earth on a flat surface. Cartography combines science, aesthetics, and technical ability to
create a balanced and readable representation that is capable of communicating
information effectively and quickly.

History of Map Making:[3]

The earliest known map is a matter of some debate, both because the definition of "map"
is not sharp and because some artifacts speculated to be maps might actually be
something else. A wall painting which may depict the ancient Anatolian city of
Çatalhöyük (previously known as Catal Huyuk or Çatal Hüyük) has been dated to the late
7th millennium BCE.[4]/[5] The ancient Greeks and Romans created maps beginning at
latest in the 6th century BC. As early as the 700s, Arab scholars were translating the
works of the Greek geographers into Arabic. In ancient China, geographical literature
spans back to the 5th century BC. The oldest extant Chinese maps come from the State of
Qin, dated back to the 4th century BC during the Warring States era. Early forms of
cartography of India included legendary paintings; maps of locations described in Indian
epic poetry, for example the Ramayana. Indian cartographic traditions also covered the
locations of the Pole star, and other constellations of use. The Arab geographer,
Muhammad al-Idrisi, produced his medieval atlas Tabula Rogeriana in 1154. He
incorporated the knowledge of Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Far East gathered by
Arab merchants and explorers with the information inherited from the classical
geographers to create the most accurate map of the world up until his time.

It remained the most accurate world map for the next three centuries.[6] In the Age of
Exploration from the 15th century to the 17th century, European cartographers both
copied earlier maps (some of which had been passed down for centuries) and drew their
own based on explorers' observations and new surveying techniques. The invention of the
magnetic compass, telescope and sextant enabled increasing accuracy. In 1492, Martin
Behaim, a German cartographer, made the oldest extant globe of the Earth.[7] In 1507,
Martin Waldseemüller produced a globular world map bearing the first use of the name
"America". Due to the sheer physical difficulties inherent in cartography, map-makers
frequently lifted material from earlier works without giving credit to the original
cartographer. By the 1700s, map-makers started to give credit to the original engraver by
printing the phrase "After [the original cartographer]" on the work.[8]
In cartography, technology has continually changed in order to meet the demands of new
 60

generations of mapmakers and map users. The first maps were manually constructed with
brushes and parchment and therefore varied in quality and were limited in distribution.
The advent of magnetic devices, such as the compass and much later magnetic storage
devices allowed for the creation of far more accurate maps and the ability to store and
manipulate them digitally. In the late 20th century and early 21st century advances in
electronic technology led to a new revolution in cartography. Specifically, computer
hardware devices such as computer screens, plotters, printers, scanners (remote and
document) and analytic stereo plotters along with visualization, image processing, spatial
analysis and database software, have democratized and greatly expanded the making of
maps.

Map types:[9]

In understanding basic maps, the field of cartography can be divided into two general
categories: general cartography and thematic cartography. General cartography involves
those maps that are constructed for a general audience and thus contain a variety of
features. Thematic cartography involves maps of specific geographic themes oriented
toward specific audiences. As the volume of geographic data has exploded over the last
century, thematic cartography has become increasingly useful and necessary to interpret
spatial, cultural and social data. An orienteering map combines both general and thematic
cartography, designed for a very specific user community. A topographic map is primarily
concerned with the topographic description of a place, including the use of contour lines
showing elevation, Terrain or relief. A topological map is a very general type of map. It
often disregards scale and detail in the interest of clarity of communicating specific route
or relational information. “A topographic map is a detailed and accurate graphic
representation of cultural and natural features on the ground. Topographic maps have
multiple uses in the present day: any type of geographic planning or large-scale
architecture; earth sciences and many other geographic disciplines which use highly
detailed maps in its standard requirements.”

Maps for planning and development of urban areas:

Town Planning and allied professions have always been demanding suitable base maps as
a prerequisite to any planning.[10] Maps are not new to town planners and engineers.
However, preparation and use of large-scale maps, especially for urban areas, is not as
good as in developed and other developing countries.

Maps are required by every Department/agency of the Provincial and Federal

Governments having stake in development of urban area. Local authorities, public
undertakings, service organizations require maps. However, the requirement of maps in
terms of contents, quality and accuracy vary from organization to organization. Also,
some organizations use maps every day while some use maps occasionally yet some
others use maps once in a way. It is important to note that all the agencies aforementioned
and others do not need comprehensive map, i.e. all the information in map. In the myriad
of agencies involved in planning and development of towns and cities it is the agencies
responsible for planning for physical development, which need maps most. Municipal
 61

authorities rank second in use of maps - comprehensive maps are required for planning
and execution of works by engineering department, maps of buildings/plots for taxation
and election purposes.

The institutions like urban development authorities, Local authorities - Engineering and
Health Departments, Power Transmission and distribution agencies, Agencies for Urban
Water Supply and Drainage system, Survey, Settlement and Land Records (City Survey)
Department, Agencies for city transport system, Fire Force, Police Department - Traffic
& Law and Order and Postal Department requires the maps on daily basis. Whereas;
other institutions like Public Works Departments, National Highways Authority,
Railways, Housing boards, Education Department, Health Department, Census
Department and Election Commission requires the maps occasionally. Similarly the maps
are required for different purposes. Full topographic maps at different scales are required
by Urban Development Authorities for preparation/ revision of Comprehensive
Development Plans, Zonal Plans (Sectoral Plans), Neighbourhood Plans, Sub-division
Plans, Town Planning Schemes, etc. in the local planning area.[11]

The Scale of Maps:[12]

The scale of a map is the ratio of a single unit of distance on the map, to the equivalent
distance on the ground.[13] Maps are sometimes referred to by relative descriptions of
large scale or small scale. A large scale map displays objects so they appear relatively
large. For example, an island displayed on a 1:10,000 map will appear larger than if
displayed on a 1:100,000 map. Thus, the former is large scale. Maps with a ratio of
1:50,000 or larger (for example, 1:25,000 would be larger) are considered large scale.
Maps with a ratio of 1:50,000 to 1:250,000 are considered medium scale. Any maps with
a smaller scale (for example 1:500,000) are considered small scale.[14]

The scale of map to be used for a particular purpose in a project is determined as to what
topographical features and what plan elements (details) are required to be shown with a
certain degree of clarity on one or more sheets. Thus, to show a concept for circulation
system and layout of plots in a sub-division plan (layout), in any urban area, a 1:2,000
scale map may be adequate. But, if details on plot numbers, entrance to plots, plot
dimensions, centre line of roads, chamfers, asphalt, alignment of services like water,
electricity and telephone, planting of trees, etc. are to be shown, maps at scale 1:1,000
would be needed. If the width of plot and roads is less than 10 m then a 1:500 scale map
would be required to show all the afore cited details.

Process in planning - Best Practice:

Requirement of maps in terms of content, accuracy, scale, etc. in planning and

development of urban areas can be appreciated well when the process involved in
planning for physical development and implementation is known. Planning urban areas,
especially metropolitan areas and cities, may have three stages, although they can vary:
Outline Development Plan (ODP) now re-christened as Perspective Plan, at macro
(city/town) level;
 62

Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) also at macro level. This can also be called
Master Plan;
Zonal Plans for part of city/town to elaborate the details; and
Town Planning Schemes at micro (local) level to implement the plan.
These levels are basically to perceive, conceptualize and see details from city/ town level
to part of city/town and local level. These levels naturally require maps at different scales
with different content with one or fewer maps to see the area under consideration.

For instance for planning a metro rail system or a bypass for rail or road, entire
metropolitan area or city as the case may be has to be on only one or two sheets for all to
see the alignment at metropolitan or city level. To fine tune the alignment, to avoid
insurmountable obstacles, more and more details will be needed for which maps have to
be at larger and larger scales. Only important features are shown on maps at small scale.
All the features would be required at detail planning. What features in base map and what
elements in plan proposal need to be shown on map user (planners, public and decision
makers) determine the scale(s) for maps at a particular level.
Preparation of Master Plan:

Preparation of Master Plan at Metro/city level is highly complex and needs multi-
disciplinary team of experts. However, the experts who steer the work on planning are the
physical planners. Before embarking on making projections for demographic aspects to
estimate the land required to meet the growth during the plan horizon, several studies are
carried out by physical planners apart from other discipline. Most important planning
survey is the use of building and parcels of lands, not only in the existing developed area
but also in the vicinity, what is called Local Planning Area.

Planning studies:

Statutes on Town and Country Planning in all the States require preparation of Existing
Land Use of every plot/property. Land uses are classified broadly in to 8 main groups.
Not only that, a register showing the land use of every property need to be prepared and
maintained along with the existing land use map. Hard copies of maps must be as large as
1:1,000 to mark the land use in field and to prepare fair maps in office; A GIS in deed, but
in hard copy form.

Another planning survey for physical aspect is structural condition survey. This survey
assumes importance in old areas due for redevelopment and/or rejuvenation. Structural
conditions of buildings are classified in to 4 or 5 classes: very good, good, moderate, poor
and obsolete. This survey is for structures for which each and every structure must clearly
be available on maps to mark the appropriate condition in the field and to prepare fair
maps in office. For this purpose also maps must be at least 1:1,000 if not at 1:500. This is
yet another GIS earlier to electronic era.

All these maps need to be documented for reference and record, lest they are called for in
courts of law. Large-scale maps show limited area on a sheet. They need to be generalized
to prepare smaller scale maps: 1:5,000, 1:10,000, 1:20,000 to depict parts of urban area or
 63

the whole urban area on one or two sheets. The principle of Part to whole be applied
which is similar to preparation of smaller scale maps from survey data at larger scale.
Planning studies other than Land Use and Structural Condition are for:
Density of population/house holds;
House hold survey for social, economic conditions which is a sample survey;
Traffic and transportation survey;
Problems in physical condition like congested areas, narrow roads, bottlenecks, bad
junctions, low lying areas, pollution from industry, etc.

All these surveys are not aimed at each and every property and maps at small scales, say
1:5,000, 1:10,000 and 1:20,000 may suffice. Analysis of the physical aspect - Land Use
and Structural Condition - and socio-economic aspects, problems in physical form,
function, need to be made and results shown on small scale maps: 1:5,000, 1:10,000 and
1:20,000. After the land requirement for future growth is established, land availability has
to be analyzed for suitability for development. To show the results of the analysis as
thematic maps also smaller scale maps, say 1:5,000, 1:10,000 and 1:20,000, area
required. Result of each of the study on separate maps (transparencies) at smaller scale
(all at same scale) will be compared with one above the other (sounds like GIS in place!)
to synthesis the studies and draw inference. The maps showing the results of planning
studies at small scales, on one or two sheets, are the basis on which alternative plans at
macro level are conceptualized.

Concept plans:

Concept plans are free hand sketches on the base of accurate maps, at smaller scale
(1:10,000 or 1:20,000 depending on the planning area) on one or two sheets, to show the
boundaries of land areas for different uses, arterial and lower order road system, railway
system, density of population/ house holds, etc. However, boundaries of proposed land
uses and road system will not have any definite geometry.

Master Plan:

After a concept or combination of two or three is accepted, Master Plan (CDP) is

prepared on accurate map at larger scales, say 1:20,000 or 1:10,000 (for Metros and large
cities), and 1:5,000 for others.

Format of maps for Master Plan/Planning Drawings:[15]

Town planners, Architects and Engineers convert topographical maps in to working

drawings to work on. They use the ISO A Series sheet formats for their drawings.
Ammonia prints of drawings on A0 to A3 have to be folded to A4 size to have title block
on top to go into files, storage, used in field and sent across by mail. Planning drawings
must be in Landscape format. Planning drawings at any scale for any coverage must
always be on base of scientifically prepared topographical map. Planning drawings will
have legend and title block column at the right hand side of sheet from top to bottom.
Column width can be 100 to 175 mm. Title block must be at bottom-right corner.
 64

The drawings of Master Plan approved by Government are statutory and need to be
preserved for long time. Album form is best to the purpose. Further, drawings must be
compact and handy to go in to album without folding. For this purpose, A1 size (841 x
594 mm) is best both in album and handling on desk and in field. All the drawings in the
Master Plan may be to A1 size in modular form. Topographical maps at scale 1:5,000
with an 800 x 400 mm format covering 4 x 2 km (8 sq km) fits within A1size with
sufficient margin at bottom for full length for legend and title block and fit in a handy
album.

Preparation of Zonal Plans:

The phase of Zonal Plan is between Master Plan and detail plan. Zonal plans are
enlargement of Master Plan for part of city or town or for a particular land use zone.
Zonal Plan include plan document to supplement the plan (drawing). Zonal plans may
show even the minor roads but may not show individual properties which are very small.
Maps for Zonal Plan must be at 1:2,000 to show all the details; but neither dimensions
nor all properties. Town planners’ role does not end on preparation and approval of
Master Plan and Zonal Plan at small scale to remain as wall maps for adoration. His role
includes translating Master Plan/Zonal Plan in to Action Area Plans.

Preparation of Area Plan:

Area plans are action plans to implement the proposals in Master Plan. It may be for
extension of city/town or rejuvenation or redevelopment of old and blighted areas. Master
Plan is the basis for Area Planning. Maps for Area Plan start at the scale of Master Plan
(1:5,000) to delineate the area for planning. Site plan at scale 1:1,000 will be required
with additional survey data - cadastral boundary and topography and service cadastre.
Maps may be in modular form. But, to see the concept (Master Plan content) for the
whole area on one sheet site plan has to be at smaller scale. The Master Plan may be fine
tuned on the accurate site plan.

Draft details plan, keeping the Master Plan concept as it is or with modifications, is
prepared on a large scale, say 1:2,000, to show all the details in the plan - plots with
numbers, roads, road elements like carriage way, centre line, junction details, plot
dimensions, even entrance to plots, etc. Details plans may be in modular form. After the
Draft Plan is approved detailed plan is finalized on maps at scale 1:1,000 to show all
details and dimensions. Dimensions are also indicated to help setting-out and to prepare
engineering designs. But, Plan is not fit for allotment of plots and for development.
Physical planner’s responsibilities do not end after preparation of Master Plan at small
scale. Physical planner must co-ordinate development as well not only organizing and
overseeing setting-out of his plan on ground but also there after.

Conclusion:

Finally it is quite clearly spelled out that the understanding about maps is very significant
 65

and a prerequisite for the person involved in any town planning exercise.

References:

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maps
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_making
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maps
[4] Robert Kunzig (1999). "A Tale of two obsessed archeologists, one ancient city, and
nagging doubts about whether science can ever hope to reveal the past" Discover
Magazine, May 1999. Fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maps
[5] Stephanie Meece (2006). "A bird’s eye view - of a leopard’s spots The Çatalhöyük
‘map’ and the development of cartographic representation in prehistory" Anatolian
Studies, 56:1-16 Fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maps
[6] S. P. Scott (1904), History of the Moorish Empire, pp. 461-2
Fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maps
[7] http://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/guide/gmillgtm.html
[8] http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/forgery/002035-300-e.html?
PHPSESSID=el7bd0vpd8cto0amsqqq5kaj22
[9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topographic_map
[10] Prabhakar Misra (2001) “The Changing Frame of Town Planning “
Fromhttp://www.gisdevelopment.net/magazine/gisdev/2001/apr/perspective.shtml
[11] L. R. Rudraiah (2003) “Maps for planning and development of urban areas”
published in proceedings Map India Conference 2003
From:http://www.gisdevelopment.net/application/urban/overview/mi03243.htm
[12]http://www.gisdevelopment.net/application/urban/overview/mi03243a.htm
[13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_(map)
[14] http://geography.about.com/cs/maps/a/mapscale.htm
[15]http://www.gisdevelopment.net/application/urban/overview/mi03243b.htm
ASSIGNMENT: BASELINE STUDY OF UNION COUNCILS
AR- 309: Architecture & Town Planning (B)

BASELINE STUDY OF UNION COUNCILS

By

Ravindar Kumar
B. Arch, M. Urban Design
Assistant Professor, DAP-NED

1. Introduction:

It is a grave reality that Karachi is the largest mega city of Pakistan. The city of such
magnitude requires immense efforts for its physical, social economic development.
Similarly it is also quite difficult to manage such city with mega problems & issues.
However if one like to work for the planning of Karachi it would be a huge task to plan
for the city because it requires immense efforts of various disciplines & departments to
 66

plan for Karachi. However for the students of Town Planning it is quite possible to look
at the city from micro scale and establish its realities & work for its physical, social &
economic development.

Thus the method for understanding the city like Karachi needs to be looked at from the
smallest unit of the city. In this regard it is evident that Karachi is divided in 18 towns an
each town is further subdivided into union councils. Thus the smallest basic unit of city is
the boundary of a union council which can be easily documented by a group of students
to understand its dynamics, identify problems & issues in it and devise solutions.

2. Details of Union Council:

For understanding the basics of a union council following data is necessary to be

complied through physical survey.

i) Karachi Map with boundaries of different towns & other Administrative units.
ii) Town Map identifying the boundaries of the union councils.
iii) Union Council map identified with streets & different neighborhoods in it.
iv) Factual data shown on maps as well as in a report form with visuals.
v) Total number of neighborhoods & settlements.
vi) Existing conditions of water & sewerage lines with their diameter & slopes.
vii) Existing system of solid waste management.
viii) Existing system of education, health & other community facilities.
ix) Total number of lanes & streets & problems in it.
x) Total number of housing units its types & details of problems in it.
xi) Total population & ethnic composition.
xii) Contribution of people / NGOs / CBOs in above mentioned developments.
xiii) Contribution of Government in above mentioned developments.

3. Conclusion:

Conclusively it must be clearly spelled out that aforementioned information of union

council shall be quite useful & basic for the understanding of the dynamics of a union
council. However; it is also a question of quite significance that why such exercise shall
be carried out by students? Basically there are two major reasons for that matter.

The first reason is clearly evident that this exercise shall be beneficial for students in
understanding the subject of town planning with actual hands on with practical situations.
This will enable the students with this understanding that what they can do & can not do
as a Professional Civil Engineer.

The second reason of this exercise is an assumption or hypothesis that, the current elected
people in union councils are technically unequipped with the know-how about physical &
socio-economic ground realities in their union councils. And as a Civil Engineer when
one document and analyze the physical, social & economic conditions of union council &
deliver the same information to decision makers it would be easier for them to understand
 67

the problems & issues from an engineer’s point of view and they will take right decisions
for the physical development of their union councils and as a repercussion jobs shall be
generated for Civil Engineers.

Thus students are advised to start this assignment as soon as possible because the groups
are already made by them. The deadlines for the assignment are as follows:

Data Collection: 27th February 2010

Data Analysis: 20th March 2010
Maps Making and Report Writing: 24th April 2010
Submission: 1st May 2010
POSTED BY TOWN PLANNING AT 5:17 AM NO COMMENTS:

TRENDS IN URBAN GROWTH & OBJECTIVES OF SOUND PLANNING

AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (A&TP-B)
By:
RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor, DAP-NED

LECTURE NO: 3 & 4

TOPIC: TRENDS IN URBAN GROWTH & OBJECTIVES OF SOUND PLANNING

1. Introduction:

The current discussion is based on the concept of urban growth trends and objectives
behind sound planning. According to, “Harold MacLean Lewis”[1] the trends in urban
growth can be visualized through population estimates. He classified the towns with
relation to their population sizes. According to his classification the town population
begins from 2500 to 5000 persons. He further classified town in nine categories.

i) 2500 to 5000 persons may be termed as Eopolis or Infantile Municipality Town

ii) 5000 to 10000 persons may be termed as Polis or Juvenile Town
iii) 10000 to 25000 persons may be termed as Mature Trade/Industrial Town
iv) 25000 to 50000 persons may be termed as Metropolis or Medium Size City
v) 50000 to 100000 persons may be termed as Megalopolis Intermediate City
vi) 100000 to 250000 persons may be termed as Trade/Industry/Service Sector City
vii) 250000 to 500000 persons may be termed as Primate City
viii) 500000 to 1000000 persons may be termed as Tyranopolis or a Metropolitan City
ix) 1000000 or more persons may be termed as Senile City or Mega City

The trends in urban growth can be seen from two major perspectives. One is the trends of
emerging urban centers or cities over the period of time and other is the trends of urban
growth within urban centers. Considering the first perspective in mind there are three
different trends of urban growth evident in the world i.e. Development of Mega Cities,
Development of Metropolitan Cities and Development of Small and Intermediate Cities
 68

or Secondary Cities.

i) Development of Metropolitan Cities:

These are cities with population between one million and above up to less than 10
millions. After the First World War up to Second World War the development trends was
of metropolitan cities as a hub of economic activities and centers of administration and
power.

This development trend continued up to Second World War. In this era small
manufacturing towns also developed as industrial cities. After the devastating effects of
2nd world war the redevelopment of cites toll place & large cities emerged as primate
cities with large economic base. Due to both push and pull factors the urban areas
transformed their morphology to greater extent.

ii) Development of Mega Cities:

These are the cities with population of Ten million & above. There are total 25 mega
cities in the world. The background of mega city development is that, “The population
explosions and mass migration towards primate cities caused the phenomenal growth &
development in metropolitan cities and they become the economic base for the countries
at national level and played their respective role in the country’s economic development.

The change in these metropolitan cities not only remains at population level but in
addition their physical nature and morphology has increase to greater extent. These are
termed as mega cities.
Mega cities are those which have mega economics and mega problems and issues. Such
as its administration setup and physical maintenance and management issues. The
devastating effects of Second World War also give birth to importance of small,
secondary and intermediate level cities whose economic base also effect and serve the
neighboring rural areas.

iii) Development of Small and Intermediate Cities:

These are the cities with population range from 2500 to less than one million. The
development trend of these cities occurred in two different times in the history. At first
this trends of cities was evident immediately after Industrial Revolution up to 1st world
war and then after Second World War up till now.

The current trend is development of small and intermediate cites which has to play an
important role in national economics due to security reasons and maintenance and
management. The basic reason behind development of such cities is to reduce the
pressure of population from primate cities. Secondly such cities are having small size can
be better managed and plays a pivotal role in national economics by supporting rural
hinter land.
 69

2. What is Urban Growth?

It is basically the growth and development of urban areas, over a period of time. It can
also be understood by the term urban sprawl.

3. What is Urban Sprawl?

Urban sprawl is the term to describe development pattern in cities. Unfortunately it lacks
a precise definition. However it can be understood through visualizing the on going
process of growth in cities. The urban sprawl can refer to at least three different patterns.

i) Low density continuous development.

ii) Ribbon development.
iii) Leapfrog development

i) Low – Density Continuous Development Pattern:

This is the development pattern on housing and related land uses in all direction of city. It
is also termed as the horizontal growth, which occupy large amount of land and expand
the boundary of the city. This development pattern is manly measure for at least 50 years.
The affects of low density continuous development pattern are as follows:
Waste of land resources. It increase the cost of development i.e. utilities, transport. It
increases the travel time and energy consumption.

ii) Leapfrog Development Pattern:

It is a process of skipping over of parcels of land. This pattern occurs due to various
reasons such as property value increase, deteriorating law and order, opportunities of
better life & upward mobility. The affects of leapfrog development are as follows:
It is unplanned growth that occurs spontaneously. It creates incompatible land uses.

iii) Ribbon Development Pattern:

It is the development that follows street, car lines roads. Subways, and commuter
railroads, by leaving the interstices undeveloped. Mainly the highways promote ribbon
development. Interstices mean space between things / objects. According to Encyclopedia
of Urban Planning by Whittick Arnold, “It is an urban development along main roads
leading to cites”. According to Mr. G.K. Hiraskar, in this growth pattern, the development
takes place in the form of Ribbon or line. It is a single row of house, shops, market,
commercial buildings along the bust routes railway lines, and highways. The ribbon
development mostly occurs in newly developing towns where zoning rules and
regulations have not been strictly enforced.
The affects of Ribbon growth are as follows:
It has only one advantage that resident have access to transport. Its disadvantages are
traffic noise, danger for children, stretch of services, and aesthetically it looks bad that’s
 70

why the UK has Restriction of Ribbon Development Act 1935. Initially this kind of
growth is very small scale along the road side afterwards it occupy whole area and roads
become congested and problem of accidents increase. Same is the case of railway lines.
This kind of growth cause congestion and over crowding of all types of buildings i.e.
Residence, Schools, Factories, Were housing, Petrol Pumps, Shops, Clinics etc. Every
body wants to get frontage advantage of main road and the internal land will be left
undeveloped which cause wastage of valuable land. Over growing at the road and narrow
starts will raise the accidents. All types of buildings will coexist at the road frontage with
no regard to zoning regulations, which will affect the health conditions of resident. The
town spread will be far and wise which is costly to maintain. The future improvement
will become costly. Incompatible land uses will occurs. Ribbon developed is inverse of
planned growth because it is an organic growth which is uncontrollable. Therefore it is
necessary to check this kind of development before it become problem for the planners.

4. Cellular Growth:

As evident from the term itself the cellular growth is the growth and expansion of cells.

What is cell? Cell is basically a unit of planning. Just like different biological organisms
grow and expand, or a cell reproduce itself. Like wise in planning when a planned
settlement is developed in a city; the city expands with it. For example KDA announces
housing schemes in Karachi. Each settlement which is developed in a scheme can be
termed as cell. Therefore, in planning cellular growth means repetition of existing cells in
city structure or it is a planned addition of new neighborhoods to existing towns. Cellular
growth may also means little more than haphazard urban growth.

5. Linear City:

The linear city concept can also be termed as more refined version of ribbon
development. The concept of linear city was developed by Mr. Don Arturo Soria Y. Mata
in 1882, in Madrid. According to his concept, “A city should be designed on the principal
that transport rout will be the main determinant to develop physical shape / form /
morphology of the city.” In linear city the development is arranged in a long narrow belt
along the both sides of road. There may be a series of linear towns along the route to link
existing towns. In Pakistan one can find many examples of this nature such as along
Indus Highway many towns and villages developed in this pattern.

6. Suburbs and Suburban Growth:

Suburbs are the compactly developed / developing areas in the surrounding of a city.
There is no identifiable boundary between city and suburban. However they are
distinguished by their homogenous socio-economic and physical characteristics. Cities
merge gradually into the suburban areas without and break in the physical aspect.

6.1 Character of Suburbs:

 71

Suburbs can be of different form and function depends on their age, location and
circumstances and context within which they are developed. In case of America and
Europe (West) they are of three kind’s i.e. old suburbs, new suburbs and former
independent communities.

a) Old Suburbs:
These are developed before the wise use of automobile and prosperity. These suburbs
were generally located adjacent to central city. Their residents were of varied income
groups. The social classes in old suburbs have commercial area or local shopping and
ethnic background. They have very little amount of vacant land. The example of old
suburb is PECHS area in Karachi.

b) New Suburbs:
These were developed after Second World War. When automobile use increased & people
become affluent. They have low density. They have high rate of automobile ownership,
high income, abundance of land and enough parking and open space facilities. Gulshan-e-
Maymar in Karachi is its example.

c) Former Independent Communities:

These suburban communities developed as independent towns due to industry. They have
a mixture of commercial, industrial and residential activities. They have mix housing type
and varied age income and social class. Steel town, in Karachi is its case example.

6.2 Why Suburban Growth Takes Place:

There are varieties of reasons for suburban growth such as: Rate of land is low, open
space are in abundance, city’s congestion increase, fast transport routes developed, &
access to automobiles increased.

7. Models & Theories of Urban Growth & City’s Life Cycle:

It is a grave reality that city is a growing entity. Over a period of time city grows and
develops. As city grows the habitation starts to takes place in fringe areas. As a
repercussion changes and transformations occurs both in city center and suburbs.
Considering the growth patterns in different cities all over the world the theories and
planners tried to analyze them and established their theories & models for urban growth.
Some of these theories & models are as under.

According to Lewis Mumford, the urban growth or town growth takes place in six stages
with respect to their social order. Each town may pass through these six stages, i.e.
Eopolis, Polis, Metropolis, Megalopolis, Tyranopolis and Necropolis.

Eopolis:
The Eopolis indicates the first stage of town as a village community whose economic
base is agriculture.
 72

Polis:
The Polis indicates and association of population with some mechanization and
specialization.

Metropolis: The metropolis is a city or town which serves as a capital of a state or region.

Megalopolis: The megalopolis indicates the first stage of decline in town or city due to
mega problems & issues, or the reign of town or city shows the signs of decline and
deterioration.

Tyranopolis: the Tyranopolis is the town or city which shows drastic deteriorating
situation for example the trade depression or military powers may occur with different
war lords.

Necropolis: the necropolis is the worst stage of town or city. For example the citizens are
shifting to rural areas or hinter land or village due to war, disease or economic break
down. In that case the town may recover from it after a large internal of time.

According to Mr. Griffith Taylor a town or city passes through four stages, i.e. Infantile,
Juvenile, Mature and senile.

Infantile: this is the first stage of town in which a city is not yet divided in separate zones.
Or the city in which zoning regulations is not being prepared yet.

Juvenile: the juvenile stage of town or city indicates that, shops are being separated from
the houses or residential area and there are some factories or an industry has been
established at a minimal level.

Mature: the mature stage of town shows the divisions of residential zone, commercial
zone and industrial zone in the city. Or the landuse and zoning regulations in town shows
the stage of mature city / town.

Senile: Finally the senile stage of town indicates the physical decay in most of the
portions of the city. Or the physical, social & economic degradation is evident in the built
environment of town or city.

Apart from these theories of urban growth and process of decay there are some models of
urban growth & its pattern of landuse in the form of different theories. These include
concentric zone theory or concentric ring theory, Axial Development theory, Sector
theory and multiple nuclei theory. These theories of urban development patterns are quite
important in landuse planning. Because in landuse planning process the main focus is on
conversion of individual parcels of land from rural to urban uses and the role of public
and private sector in that conversion.

These theories are an attempt to understand and explain that how an urban area grows and
what landuse changes occurs in it. it describes the basic urban structure of a city &
 73

dynamics of urban growth in town or city.

Concentric Zone / Ring Theory:

The concentric zone theory is based on the pioneering work of Ernest. W. Burgess who
have carried out the empirical studies of Chicago and developed the concentric Rings
theory. He identified five zones of landuse in the city. The figure developed by him shows
the typical process of urban growth by five numbers of concentric circles which emerged
& expands form CBD. The fist concentric circle of central business District (CBD)
represents the center of activity generally close to the site of original settlement. The
concentric circle means that some thing which converges to a focal factor. For example if
we think of a smaller commun9ty the house of a land lord will be the focal point or in
ancient or medieval time the palace of king & temple was a focal point in city. Like wise
in this theory CBD is that focal point of an urban area. It also represents the old town
areas or origin of city which has a central position in expansion. The second concentric
circle represents the transition zone which consists of mix commercial and industrial land
uses. It means the areas around CBD are subject to changes and transformations in which
the old residences transform into business and industrial landuse. Such as wholesaling
and warehousing activities. The third zone represents the landuse of low income housing
in metropolitan area which contains old housing units or housing of workers of CBD. It is
developed due to easy access to job or working area proximity to place of living. The
fourth zone represents a middle income housing zone that includes some of the old
suburbs. In this zone good residential facilities are evident for high income group where
as this zone also comprise exclusive districts for high income people. The fifth and final
zone is of newer suburban developments or commuters who use the fastest transport
routes. This zone consists of high class residences and the outer limit of this zone has one
hour journey to CBD. If one analyze this model of given pattern and growth situation it
will be evident that, each zone held to invade the outer adjacent zone with a rippling
effect. With decline enlarges intro central zone. The basic concept of this theory is that
similar activities will locate at the same distance from the center of an urban area. The
landuse in each zone depends upon its ability to pay the price for proximity to city center
or CBD. In this growth model each zone would have a homogeneous landuse as the
physical growth proceed outward from the center and the area occupied would have
similar characteristics. From economic point of view the concentric zone is only possible
when the site of growth will be located equidistant from center irrespective of direction.
According to this theory the process of urban growth is of radial expansion from city
center. Although this model is very simple but it has a certain description value.

Axial Development Theory:

The axial development theory is a continuation of concentric zone theory because its
basic premise is same i.e. accessibility to a single focal point. However in this theory the
accessibility is measured in terms of time and physical distance and focus is given to
transport facilities in an urban area. This theory explains that as the movement will be
concentrated along a particular route therefore development also takes place on this route.
Thus urban expansion can be controlled by available transport facilities. It is an extension
 74

of each landuse type will develop along major transport route and as a repercussion star
shape pattern of landuse will occur in urban built up area. Where as the number of arms
of star depends upon the major transport routes in a city.

The limit to this development along main transport routes is set through the area
development closer to center with less distance to center. Therefore basically this theory
explains about the shape of urban built up areas by introducing some transport routes in
addition to peripheral expansion by transport radials. And in this kind of development the
pattern of internal landuse will be of irregularly shaped zones.

Sector Theory:

The sector theory is the refinement of both axial development theory and concentric zone
theory. The sector theory was first proposed by Homer Hoyt in 1939. In this theory the
focus of attention is a particular landuse growth & development. It suggests the cities
grow not in strict concentric zones but rather in sectors similar type of development. This
theory explains that the growth takes place along a particular axis of transport route with
mainly similar type of landuse. Each sector consist a homogeneous landuse which
expands outward in a particular direction away from the CBD. The residential areas
might expand along with existing transportation links, topographical features or natural
amenities such as Chicago’s gold cost and north suburbs clearly show this pattern. Thus
the major attempt of sector theory is to explain the pattern of urban growth from the view
point of residential landuse changes. According to sector theory the growth of n urban
area is related with extension of residential districts or more appropriately said the
movement of high income residential areas enclosed on each side by middle income
group, develops at the edge of existing settlements. The growth for high income housing
develops along fastest transport routes up to and edge of an urban area. Beyond which
there may be pleasant open country. Some times the direction of this growth may be
established by real estate developers. It is quite common practiced that people try to live
near the similar social and income class which results in separation in the residential
landuse. And as the higher income people can afford better housing & access to amenable
environment therefore they can live away from their work place. Whereas; the low
income people line on those locations which are low cost & affordable to them near their
workplace. The limitation & in adequacy of sector theory is that it can not define rate of
growth in different parts of the city or the causes of urban growth and those factors that
affects the location of employment opportunities. Especially in case of low in come
housing development around the new employment opportunities in suburban or fringe
area as evident in our local context the sector theory is silent.

Multiple Nuclei Theory:

The Multiple nuclei theory was developed in 1945 by the Chauncey Harris & Edward
Ullman after its initial exploration by Mr. R.D. McKenzie. This theory is quite varied
from previous theories & models which explained that down town area or CBD is the
only focal pint or nuclei of the city. This theory advocates that down town area or CBD
can not be considered as an only nuclei or focal point for growth. This theory explains
 75

that in urban area there may be more than one focal point or multiple nuclei that can
affect the location of certain land uses with increased intensity. In this theory the landuse
patterns are visualized as series of nuclei develops in a city in which each nucleus can
have different function. Each center develops as nuclei from the spatial interdependence
of certain functions. For example manufacturing and transport uses may for on nuclei’s.
Like wide hotel, offices and transshipment facilities may develop aro8unjd and air port or
sea port areas as evident in Chicago’s’ O’Hare field or KPT area in Karachi. Basically
this theory suggests four manor principles of separate nuclei and different districts in it.

Principle No 1: Certain activities requires and especial condition of access. For example
retailing activity and accessibility had main coordination.

Principle No 2: Certain activities get benefited from grouping. For example a particular,
single kind of market exists together.

Principle No 3: Certain activities are detrimental to each other location. For example
some activities require supports services.

Principle No 4: Certain activities are unable to afford the market price of most desirable
sites.

With the expansion of an urban area more specialized nuclei can emerge. In all major
urban areas & cities the CBD is located near the inter city transport. The CBD may not be
in the center of city but can be developed at an edge of city or built up areas. It depends
on the asymmetrical growth of city or urban area. In an urban area Industry, whole sailing
& ware housing develops near inter city transport areas. Where as the heavy industry is
located away from the main part of the city or urban areas. As the city size increases the
residential districts will show an increasing differentiation. In this way the cultural center
and entertainment centers or suburban business districts will take a form of other nuclei
in the city. Beyond the built up area, settlements which develops as a repercussion of rail
services for commuters and private car use. This theory also explains about the irregular
pattern of urban landuse because development occurs from different centers, which
means the particular pattern of landuse emerge at each different urban area with no
common basic pattern of development.

Conclusively; all the theories explained above adds to our knowledge of the cities.
Because when the sectors developed in cities and the transit & highways elongated the
landuse patterns; eventually a nuclei develop or more appropriately said that
transportation and economic development added new dimensions to the landuse of the
city. Therefore whenever the landuse patterns of a large old city is evaluated; that has
gone through such changes; it may be possible to find all these landuse patterns. It is very
rare that contemporary cities show entirely one theory of the landuse change. Finally it is
also evident from these theories or models of urban Growth that it only focused on the
affects of growth on urban development pattern. Whereas the causes of urban growth is
not addressed in these theories; because all theories have an assumption that an urban
area will grow in size or physical morphology will change & the growth of city is taken
 76

for granted.

7. Objectives of Sound Planning:

According to Harold MacLean Lewis;

Whatever the plan may be, but it should have reasonable foresight to be adapted to new
conditions with little disturbance and destruction in making improvements. The work of
planning should be assigned to people who have a vision, technical training and
experience. A reasonable plan once decide, should be implemented with its essential
features without any demand and opposition and that is sound planning. However the
objectives of sound planning are to have flexibility in plans to adopt change. Foe instance
if informal development is more than formal development, then it should be regulated.
The efforts & investments of people shall not be destroyed so as resources shall not go
waste & that is the objective of sound planning. The logic behind regulation of informal
sector is the failure of formal sector in provision of services and infrastructure for
example, will it be possible for a poor person to have concrete house? Or can they get the
services of an engineer or hire an architect who can provide low cost solutions? The
answer is definitely no. So if a poor person made his house without standards he must be
regulated not bulldozed. Another thing that must be kept in mind that, who made the great
cities? Princes; Kings; some Powerful People or an Institution of Government. So what is
their objective to make a new city? Mainly their objective is to develop capital cities as a
place of their importance at national and international level to get praise for them from
generations to come. Now what a great city Islamabad is? The planners of Islamabad
wanted to have a capital in cool climate because people work efficiently in cool climate.
Now due to decision maker’s choice of cool climate billion of rupees of a poor country
were spent on it. So can we justify such an objective for sound planning?

8. Conclusions:

Thus conclusively the current discussion leads us to following realities.

i) Urban growth can be spontaneous on its own or planned growth as directed by the
authorities.
ii) The concept of planning is to provide a vision for future well before the people
actually settle in the settlements and planning may also be appropriate enough to facilitate
the process of housing the poor in the city.
iii) The basic planning component is that incompatible land uses should not be allowed or
located together.
iv) Circulation, transport, infrastructure and land use management are the basic tools of
planning to guide the urban growth and transformation in the city.
v) Suburban growth shall be seen as the series of phases through which a particular
location passes or it is the development which proceed from an open land to mature urban
development.
vi) The objectives of sound planning should be to develop a set of simple guidelines, or
principles which should be comprehensive and adaptable to changing conditions of the
 77

future.
[1] Harold MacLean Lewis is the author of book “Planning the Modern City”, 1978, New
York, USA.
POSTED BY TOWN PLANNING AT 4:10 AM NO COMMENTS:

MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2009

OBJECTIVES OF SOUND PLANNING
AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (B)
By:
RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Karachi

LECTURE NO. 04
TOPIC: OBJECTIVES OF SOUND PLANNING

Introduction:

In order to understand the, “Objectives of Sound Planning” at first it is imperative to

comprehend a little bit history of urban planning and the planning attempts made by the
initiators of planning in the urban contexts. Then one may also ask the questions like;
what kind of objectives they had in mind while developing their cities? Whether they
have achieved those objectives or not? Do their defined objectives may be referred as
objectives of sound planning or not? What is meant by Sound Planning? And how the
Objectives for Sound Planning are formulated? In addition it is also important to identify
the urban context for which the planning is to be done so as one may clearly spell out the
objectives of sound planning. Thus in this way one may understand the topic objectives
of sound planning. In the following all these questions are addressed in some detail.

Urban Planning History:[1]

Urban, city, and town planning is the integration of the disciplines of land use planning
and transport planning, to explore a very wide range of aspects of the built and social
environments of urbanized municipalities and communities. Urban planning as an
organized profession has existed for less than a century. However, most settlements and
cities reflect various degrees of forethought and conscious design in their layout and
functioning.

The development of technology, particularly the discovery of agriculture, facilitated

larger populations than the very small communities, and may have compelled the
development of stronger, more coercive governments at the same time. The pre-Classical
and Classical ages saw a number of cities laid out according to fixed plans, though many
 78

tended to develop organically. Designed cities were characteristic of the totalitarian

government. The cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley Civilization (in
modern-day Pakistan and northwest India) are perhaps the earliest examples of
deliberately planned and managed cities. These ancient cities were unique in that they
often had drainage systems, seemingly tied to a well-developed ideal of urban sanitation.
The Greek Hippodamus (c. 407 BC) is widely considered the father of city planning in
the West, for his design of Miletus; Alexander commissioned him to lay out his new city
of Alexandria, the grandest example of idealized urban planning of the Mediterranean
world, where regularity was aided in large part by its level site near a mouth of the Nile.
The ancient Romans used a consolidated scheme for city planning, developed for military
defense and civil convenience. Many European towns still preserve the essence of these
schemes. The collapse of Roman civilization saw the end of their urban planning, among
many other arts.

Urban development in the Middle Ages, characteristically focused on a fortress, a

fortified abbey, or a (sometimes abandoned) Roman nucleus, occurred "like the annular
rings of a tree" whether in an extended village or the center of a larger city. Since the new
center was often on high, defensible ground, the city plan took on an organic character,
following the irregularities of elevation contours like the shapes that result from
agricultural terracing.

A few medieval cities were admired for their wide thoroughfares and other orderly
arrangements, but the juridical chaos of medieval cities (where the administration of
streets was sometimes hereditary with various noble families), and the characteristic
tenacity of medieval Europeans in legal matters, prevented frequent or large-scale urban
planning until the Renaissance and the enormous strengthening of all central
governments, from city-states to the kings of France, characteristic of that epoch.
Florence was an early model of the new urban planning, which rearranged itself into a
star-shaped layout adapted from the new star fort, designed to resist cannon fire. This
model was widely imitated, reflecting the enormous cultural power of Florence in this
age; the Renaissance was hypnotized by one city type which for a century and a half was
impressed upon utopian schemes: this is the star-shaped city Radial streets extend
outward from a defined center of military, communal or spiritual power. And, all this
occurred in the cities, but ordinarily not in the industrial suburbs characteristic of this era
which remained disorderly and characterized by crowded conditions and organic growth.

In developed countries (Western Europe, North America, Japan and Australasia),

planning and architecture can be said to have gone through various stages of general
consensus in the last 200 years. Firstly, there was the industrialised city of the 19th
century, where control of building was largely held by businesses and the wealthy elite.
Around 1900, there began to be a movement for providing citizens, especially factory
workers, with healthier environments. The concept of garden cities arose and several
model towns were built, such as Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City in UK. However,
these were principally small scale in size, typically dealing with only a few thousand
residents. It wasn't until the 1920s that modernism began to surface. Based on the ideas of
Le Corbusier and utilising new skyscraper building techniques, the modernist city stood
 79

for the elimination of disorder, congestion and the small scale, replacing them instead
with preplanned and widely spaced freeways and tower blocks set within gardens. There
were plans for large scale rebuilding of cities, such as the Plan Voisin (based on Le
Corbusier's Ville Contemporaine), which proposed clearing and rebuilding most of
central Paris. No large-scale plans were implemented until after World War II however.
Throughout the late 1940s and 1950s, housing shortages caused by war destruction led
many cities around the world to build substantial amounts of government-subsidized
housing blocks. Planners at the time used the opportunity to implement the modernist
ideal of towers surrounded by gardens. The most prominent example of an entire
modernist city is Brasilia, constructed between 1956 and 1960 in Brazil. By the late
1960s and early 1970s, many planners were coming to realize that the imposition of
modernist clean lines and a lack of human scale also tended to sap vitality from the
community. This was expressed in high crime and social problems within many of these
planned neighbourhoods. Modernism can be said to have ended in the 1970s when the
construction of the cheap, uniform tower blocks ended in many countries, such as Britain
and France. Since then many have been demolished and in their way more conventional
housing has been built. Rather than attempting to eliminate all disorder, planning now
concentrates on individualism and diversity in society and the economy. This is the post-
modernist era. Minimally-planned cities still exist.

Houston is an example of a large city (with a metropolitan population of 5.5 million) in a

developed country, without a comprehensive zoning ordinance. Houston does, however,
have many of the land use restrictions covered by traditional zoning regulations, such as
restrictions on development density and parking requirements, even though specific land
uses are not regulated. Moreover, private-sector developers in Houston have used
subdivision covenants and deed restrictions effectively to create the same kinds of land
use restrictions found in most municipal zoning laws. Houston voters have rejected
proposals for a comprehensive zoning ordinance three times since 1948. Even without
zoning in its traditional sense, metropolitan Houston displays similar land use patterns at
the macro scale to regions comparable in age and population that do have zoning, such as
Dallas. This suggests that factors outside the regulatory environment, such as the
provision of urban infrastructure and methods of financing development, may play as big
of a role in urban development as municipal zoning.

Sustainable development and sustainability have become important concepts in today's

urban planning field, with the recognition that current consumption and living habits may
be leading to problems such as the overuse of natural resources, ecosystem destruction,
urban heat islands, pollution, growing social inequality and large-scale climate change.
Many urban planners have, as a result, begun to advocate for the development of
sustainable cities. However, the notion of sustainable development is a fairly recent
concept and somewhat controversial. Wheeler, in his 1998 article, suggests a definition
for sustainable urban development to be as "development that improves the long-term
social and ecological health of cities and towns." He goes on to suggest a framework that
might help all to better understand what a 'sustainable' city might look like. These include
compact, efficient land use; less automobile use yet with better access; efficient resource
use, less pollution and waste; the restoration of natural systems; good housing and living
 80

environments; a healthy social ecology; sustainable economics; community participation

and involvement; and preservation of local culture and wisdom. The challenge facing
today's urban planners lies in the implementation of targeted policies and programs, and
the need to modify existing urban and regional institutions to achieve the goals of
sustainability.

Aspects of planning:

Aesthetics:

In developed countries, there has been a backlash against excessive man-made clutter in
the visual environment, such as signposts, signs, and hoardings. Other issues that
generate strong debate amongst urban designers are tensions between peripheral growths,
increased housing density and planned new settlements. There are also unending debates
about the benefits of mixing tenures and land uses, versus the benefits of distinguishing
geographic zones where different uses predominate. Regardless, all successful urban
planning considers urban character, local identity, and respect for heritage, pedestrians,
traffic, utilities and natural hazards. Planners are important in managing the growth of
cities, applying tools like zoning to manage the uses of land, and growth management to
manage the pace of development. When examined historically, many of the cities now
thought to be most beautiful are the result of dense, long lasting systems of prohibitions
and guidance about building sizes, uses and features. These allowed substantial freedoms,
yet enforce styles, safety, and often materials in practical ways. Many conventional
planning techniques are being repackaged using the contemporary term smart growth.
There are some cities that have been planned from conception, and while the results often
don't turn out quite as planned, evidence of the initial plan often remains.

Safety:

Historically within the Middle East, Europe and the rest of the Old World, settlements
were located on higher ground (for defense) and close to fresh water sources. Cities have
often grown onto, coastal and flood plains at risk of floods and storm surges. Urban
planners must consider these threats. If the dangers can be localised then the affected
regions can be made into parkland or Greenbelt, often with the added benefit of open
space provision. Extreme weather, flood, or other emergencies can often be greatly
mitigated with secure emergency evacuation routes and emergency operations centers.
These are relatively inexpensive and un-intrusive, and many consider them a reasonable
precaution for any urban space. Many cities will also have planned, built safety features,
such as levees, retaining walls, and shelters. In recent years, practitioners have also been
expected to maximize the accessibility of an area to people with different abilities,
practicing the notion of "inclusive design," to anticipate criminal behaviour and
consequently to "design-out crime" and to consider "traffic calming" or
"pedestrianisation" as ways of making urban life more pleasant. City planning tries to
control criminality with structures designed from theories such as socio-architecture or
environmental determinism. These theories say that an urban environment can influence
individuals' obedience to social rules. The theories often say that psychological pressure
 81

develops in more densely developed, unadorned areas. This stress causes some crimes
and some use of illegal drugs. The antidote is usually more individual space and better,
more beautiful design in place of functionalism.

Oscar Newman’s defensible space theory cites the modernist housing projects of the
1960s as an example of environmental determinism, where large blocks of flats are
surrounded by shared and disassociated public areas, which are hard for residents to
identify with. As those on lower incomes cannot hire others to maintain public space such
as security guards or grounds keepers, and because no individual feels personally
responsible, there was a general deterioration of public space leading to a sense of
alienation and social disorder. Jane Jacobs is another notable environmental determinist
and is associated with the "eyes on the street" concept. By improving ‘natural
surveillance’ of shared land and facilities of nearby residents by literally increasing the
number of people who can see it, and increasing the familiarity of residents, as a
collective, residents can more easily detect undesirable or criminal behaviour. The
"broken-windows" theory argues that small indicators of neglect, such as broken
windows and unkempt lawns, promote a feeling that an area is in a state of decay.
Anticipating decay, people likewise fail to maintain their own properties. The theory
suggests that abandonment causes crime, rather than crime causing abandonment.

Some planning methods might help an elite group to control ordinary citizens.
Haussmann's renovation of Paris created a system of wide boulevards which prevented
the construction of barricades in the streets and eased the movement of military troops. In
Rome, the Fascists in the 1930s created ex novo many new suburbs in order to
concentrate criminals and poorer classes away from the elegant town. Other social
theories point out that in Britain and most countries since the 18th century, the
transformation of societies from rural agriculture to industry caused a difficult adaptation
to urban living. These theories emphasize that many planning policies ignore personal
tensions, forcing individuals to live in a condition of perpetual extraneity to their cities.
Many people therefore lack the comfort of feeling "at home" when at home. Often these
theorists seek a reconsideration of commonly used "standards" that rationalize the
outcomes of a free (relatively unregulated) market.

Slums

The rapid urbanization of the last century has resulted in a significant amount of slum
habitation in the major cities of the world, particularly in developing countries. There is
significant demand for planning resources and strategies to address the issues that arise
from slum development. Many planning theorists and practitioners are calling for
increased attention and resources in this area, particularly the Commonwealth Association
of Planners. When urban planners give their attention to slums, one also has to pay
attention to the racial make-up of that area to ensure that racial steering does not occur.
The issue of slum habitation has often been resolved via a simple policy of clearance.
However, more creative solutions are beginning to emerge such as Nairobi's "Camp of
Fire" program, where established slum-dwellers have promised to build proper houses,
schools, and community centers without any government money, in return for land they
 82

have been illegally squatting on for 30 years. The "Camp of Fire" program is one of many
similar projects initiated by Slum Dwellers International, which has programs in Africa,
Asia, and South America.

Urban decay

Urban decay is a process by which a city, or a part of a city, falls into a state of disrepair
and neglect. It is characterized by depopulation, economic restructuring, property
abandonment, high unemployment, fragmented families, political disenfranchisement,
crime, and desolate urban landscapes. During the 1970s and 1980s, urban decay was
often associated with central areas of cities in North America and parts of Europe. During
this time period, major changes in global economies, demographics, transportation, and
government policies created conditions that fostered urban decay. Many planners spoke
of "white flight" during this time. This pattern was different than the pattern of "outlying
slums" and "suburban ghettos" found in many cities outside of North America and
Western Europe, where central urban areas actually had higher real estate vales. Starting
in the 1990s, many of the central urban areas in North America have been experiencing a
reversal of the urban decay of previous decades, with rising real estate values, smarter
development, demolition of obsolete social housing areas and a wider variety of housing
choices.

Reconstruction & Renewal:

Areas devastated by war or invasion represent a unique challenge to urban planners.

Buildings, roads, services and basic infrastructure like power, water and sewerage are
often severely compromised and need to be evaluated to determine what can be salvaged
for re-incorporation. There is also the problem of the existing population, and what needs
they may have. Historic, religious or social centers also need to be preserved and re-
integrated into the new city plan. A prime example of this is the capital city of Kabul,
Afghanistan, which, after decades of civil war and occupation, has regions that have
literally been reduced to rubble and desolation. Despite this, the indigenous population
continues to live in the area, constructing makeshift homes and shops out of whatever can
be salvaged. Any reconstruction plan proposed needs to be sensitive to the needs of the
community and its existing culture, businesses and needs. Urban Reconstruction
Development plans must also work with government agencies as well as private interests
to develop workable designs.

Transport:

Transport within urbanized areas presents unique problems. The density of an urban
environment can create significant levels of road traffic, which can impact businesses and
increase pollution.

Parking space is another concern, requiring the construction of large parking garages in
high density areas which could be better used for other development. Good planning uses
transit oriented development, which attempts to place higher densities of jobs or residents
 83

near high-volume transportation. For example, some cities permit commerce and multi-
story apartment buildings only within one block of train stations and multilane
boulevards, and accept single-family dwellings and parks farther away. Floor area ratio is
often used to measure density. This is the floor area of buildings divided by the land area.
Ratios below 1.5 could be considered low density, and plot ratios above five very high
density. Most exurbs are below two, while most city centers are well above five. Walk-up
apartments with basement garages can easily achieve a density of three. Skyscrapers
easily achieve densities of thirty or more.

City authorities may try to encourage lower densities to reduce infrastructure costs,
though some observers note that low densities may not accommodate enough population
to provide adequate demand or funding for that infrastructure. In the UK, recent years
have seen a concerted effort to increase the density of residential development in order to
better achieve sustainable development. Increasing development density has the
advantage of making mass transport systems, district heating and other community
facilities (schools, health centers, etc) more viable. However; critics of this approach dub
the densification of development as 'town cramming' and claim that it lowers quality of
life and restricts market-led choice.

Problems can often occur at residential densities between about two and five. These
densities can cause traffic jams for automobiles, yet are too low to be commercially
served by trains or light rail systems. The conventional solution is to use buses, but these
and light rail systems may fail where automobiles and excess road network capacity are
both available, achieving less than 1% ridership. The Lewis-Mogridge Position claims
that increasing road space is not an effective way of relieving traffic jams as latent or
induced demand invariably emerges to restore a socially-tolerable level of congestion.

Suburbanization:

In some countries, declining satisfaction with the urban environment is held to blame for
continuing migration to smaller towns and rural areas (so-called urban exodus).
Successful urban planning supported Regional planning can bring benefits to a much
larger hinterland or city region and help to reduce both congestion along transport routes
and the wastage of energy implied by excessive commuting.

Environmental factors:

Environmental protection and conservation are of utmost importance to many planning

systems across the world. Not only are the specific effects of development to be
mitigated, but attempts are made to minimize the overall effect of development on the
local and global environment. This is commonly done through the assessment of
Sustainable urban infrastructure. In Europe this process is known as Sustainability
Appraisal. In most advanced urban or village planning models, local context is critical. In
many, gardening and other outdoor activities assumes a central role in the daily life of
citizens. Environmental planners are focusing on smaller systems of resource extraction,
energy production and waste disposal. There is even a practice known as Arcology, which
 84

seeks to unify the fields of ecology and architecture, using principles of landscape
architecture to achieve a harmonious environment for all living things.

On a small scale, the eco-village theory has become popular, as it emphasizes a

traditional 100-140 person scale for communities. An urban planner is likely to use a
number of quantitative tools to forecast impacts of development on the environmental,
including roadway air dispersion models to predict air quality impacts of urban highways
and roadway noise models to predict noise pollution effects of urban highways. As early
as the 1960s, noise pollution was addressed in the design of urban highways as well as
noise barriers. The Phase I Environmental Site Assessment can be an important tool to the
urban planner by identifying early in the planning process any geographic areas or parcels
which have toxic constraints.

Light and Sound

The urban canyon effect is a colloquial, non-scientific term referring to street space
bordered by very high buildings. This type of environment may shade the sidewalk level
from direct sunlight during most daylight hours. While an oft-decried phenomenon, it is
rare except in very dense, hyper-tall urban environments, such as those found in Lower
and Midtown Manhattan, Chicago's Loop and Kowloon in Hong Kong. In urban
planning, sound is usually measured as a source of pollution. Another perspective on
urban sounds is developed in Soundscape studies emphasizing that sound aesthetics
involves more than noise abatement and decibel measurements. Hedfors coined
'Sonotope' as a useful concept in urban planning to relate typical sounds to a specific
place. Due to urban planning, there has been an increase in light and sound pollution that
destroys the environment.

Urban Planning Process:

The traditional planning process focused on top-down processes where the urban planner
created the plans. The planner is usually skilled in either surveying/engineering or
architecture, bringing to the town planning process ideals based around these disciplines.
They typically worked for national or local governments. Changes to the planning
process over past decades have witnessed the metamorphosis of the role of the urban
planner in the planning process. More citizens calling for democratic planning &
development processes have played a huge role in allowing the public to make important
decisions as part of the planning process. Community organizers and social workers are
now very involved in planning from the grassroots level. Developers too have played
huge roles in influencing the way development occurs, particularly through project-based
planning. Many recent developments were results of large and small-scale developers
who purchased land, designed the district and constructed the development from scratch.
The Melbourne Docklands, for example, was largely an initiative pushed by private
developers who sought to redevelop the waterfront into a high-end residential and
commercial district. Recent theories of urban planning, espoused, for example by
Salingaros see the city as a adaptive system that grows according to process similar to
those of plants. They say that urban planning should thus take its cues from such natural
 85

processes.

Conclusion:

Conclusively it is now quite clear that, “it is the process of urban planning that a society
adopts leads towards determination about objectives of sound planning.” The objectives
of sound planning in current time and space especially in our local context of Karachi
shall be based upon the understanding level of our decision makers at federal, provincial
and local level regarding significance of urban planning and welfare of citizens at large.
Thus the objective of sound planning is quite clear i.e. to provide the city of Karachi a
healthy and socially safe livable environment.

[1] For details please log on to the website:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_planning

POSTED BY TOWN PLANNING AT 2:20 AM NO COMMENTS:

TRENDS IN URBAN GROWTH

AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (B)
By:
RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Karachi

LECTURE NO. 03
TOPIC: TRENDS IN URBAN GROWTH

Introduction:

In order to understand the topic, “trends in urban growth” at first it is imperative to ask;
what is meant by urban growth? “Urban growth is the rate of growth of an urban
population.”[1] The phrase urban growth also described with its synonym ‘urban sprawl’
which means; “The unplanned, uncontrolled spreading of urban development into areas
adjoining the edge of a city.”[2] Similarly another concept is of ‘urbanization’ that needs
to be understood while understanding trends in urban growth. “Urbanization (also spelled
urbanisation) is the physical growth of rural or natural land into urban areas as a result of
population in-migration to an existing urban area. While the exact definition and
population size of urbanized areas varies among different countries, urbanization is
attributed to growth of cities. Urbanization is also defined by the United Nations as
movement of people from rural to urban areas with population growth equating to urban
migration. The UN projects half the world population will live in urban areas at the end
of 2008.”[3] In the following the trends in urban growth shall be discussed in details.

Global Urban Population in Developed and Developing Countries:[4]

 86

The human population has lived a rural lifestyle through most of history. The world’s
population, however, is quickly becoming urbanized as people migrate to the cities. In
1950, less than 30% of the world’s population lived in cities. This number grew to 47% in
the year 2000 (2.8 billion people), and it is expected to grow to 60% by the year 2025.
Developed nations have a higher percentage of urban residents than less developed
countries. However, urbanization is occurring rapidly in many less developed countries,
and it is expected that most urban growth will occur in less developed countries during
the next decades.

The definition of an urban area changes from country to country. In general, there are no
standards, and each country develops its own set of criteria for distinguishing cities or
urban areas. A city is generally defined as a political unit, i.e., a place organized and
governed by an administrative body. A way of defining a city or an urban area is by the
number of residents. The United Nations defines settlements of over 20,000 as urban, and
those with more than 100,000 as cities. The United States defines an urbanized area as a
city and surrounding area, with a minimum population of 50,000. A metropolitan area
includes both urban areas and rural areas that are socially and economically integrated
with a particular city.
Cities with over 5 million inhabitants are known as megacities. There were 41 in the year
2000. This number is expected to grow as the population increases in the next few
decades. It is predicted that by the year 2015, 50 megacities will exist, and 23 of these are
expected to have over 10 million people. Table below is a list of the world’s 25 largest
cities in 1995.

The World's 25 Largest Cities, 1995

Population (Millions)
Tokyo, Japan 26.8
Sao Paulo, Brazil 16.4
New York, USA 16.3
Mexico City, Mexico 15.6
Bombay, India 15.1
Shanghai, China 15.1
Los Angeles, USA 12.4
Beijing, China 12.4
Calcutta, India 11.7
Seoul, South Korea 11.6
Jakarta, Indonesia 11.5
Buenos Aires, Argentina 11.0
Tianjin, China 10.7
Osaka, Japan 10.6
Lagos, Nigeria 10.3
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 9.9
Delhi, India 9.9
Karachi, Pakistan 9.9
Cairo, Egypt 9.7
 87

Paris, France 9.5

Metropolitan Manila, Philippines 9.3
Moscow, Russia 9.2
Dhaka, Bangladesh 7.8
Istanbul, Turkey 7.8
Lima, Peru 7.2
Source: United Nations, Population Division. World Urbanization Prospects. 1994

Why is the urban population increasing so fast?

The rapid growth of urban areas is the result of two factors: natural increase in population
(excess of births over deaths), and migration to urban areas. The natural population
growth rate has always been less than the population growth rate due to migration
therefore we must concentrate understanding the phenomenon of migration in detail.

Migration is defined as the long-term relocation of an individual, household or group to a

new location outside the community of origin. Today the movement of people from rural
to urban areas (internal migration) is most significant. Although smaller than the
movement of people within borders, international migration is also increasing. Both
internal and international migration contributes to urbanization. Migration is often
explained in terms of either “push factors” – conditions in the place of origin which are
perceived by migrants as detrimental to their well-being or economic security, and “pull
factors” – the circumstances in new places that attract individuals to move there.
Examples of push factors include high unemployment and political persecution; examples
of pull factors include job opportunities or moving to a better climate.

Typically, a pull factor initiates migration that can be sustained by push and other factors
that facilitate or make possible the change. For example, a farmer in rural Sindh whose
land has become unproductive because of drought (push factor) may decide to move to
Karachi City where he perceives more job opportunities and possibilities for a better
lifestyle (pull factor). In general, cities are perceived as places where one could have a
better life, because of better opportunities, higher salaries, better services, and better
lifestyles. The perceived better conditions attract poor people from rural areas.

In order to better illustrate the causes of rural migration, we will consider policies that
have led to migration in many developing countries. In order to pay foreign debt and to
be more competitive in international markets, national governments have encouraged the
export of national resources and agricultural products. Agricultural products (sugar,
flowers, coffee, etc.), and primary-sector goods (timber, fish, minerals, etc) become
natural resource capital that can be traded to bolster the national economy. In order to
produce agricultural products quickly, efficiently, and for a decent price, national
governments often look to decrease the number of small producers, and turn agricultural
production and resource extraction over to larger enterprises, with larger production
facilities, and a lower per-unit cost of production. This trend turns land into a commodity,
that can be bought and sold, and it is viewed only in terms of its productive capabilities.
Free market economics pursues economic efficiency to deliver goods at the lowest
 88

possible price, and its advocates maintain that any government intervention diminishes
this efficiency. Consequently, they seek to eliminate farm programs such as farm
subsidies, cheap credit policies, etc. intended to help the farmer, and to maintain stable
prices. This scenario leaves farmers to shoulder the burden of farming, sometimes with
no alternative but to sell their land to a foreign investor or a domestic-owned enterprise,
and move to the cities, where the farmer hopes to have a better life.

Other policies reinforce the above scenario. In this case, in order to boost the production
of cheaper goods, governments have maintained artificially low food prices in urban
areas. The strategy here is to maintain urban food prices below market levels to reduce
the cost of urban labor and urban life. This policy has resulted in inadequate
compensation of rural producers for the costs they incur to produce food products and
thus have aggravated rural poverty. On the other hand, these policies have also made city
life more attractive and pulled them from rural areas. As a result of these policies, an
average of 270,000 rural migrants have been arriving in Mexico City annually over the
last ten years, transforming it into one of the largest cities in the world.

International migration includes labor migration, refugees and undocumented migrants.

Similar to rural-to-urban migration, individuals move in search of jobs and a better life.
Income disparities among regions, and job opportunities, are key motivating factors. The
migration policies of sending and receiving countries also play a key role. The best
current estimate from the United Nations Population Fund indicates that more than 100
million people were living outside their countries of birth or citizenship in 1998. There
are a number of reasons why this figure is rising, but an important one is that the native
labor pool in the industrialized countries is shrinking, while the developing world’s
workforce is rapidly increasing. Today, international migration is at an all-time high.
About 2% of the Earth’s population has moved away from the country of origin.

International refugees contribute to the urban migrant population. The United Nations
High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that most of the 22 million people who
came under its wing in 1997 were fleeing from domestic or international conflict. The
Geneva Convention (1951) on Refugees defines refugees as those individuals who
migrate because of: “….well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race,
religion, nationality, membership of a particular group, or political opinion……”

Nations honoring the Geneva Convention have an obligation to determine whether, in

fact, individuals will truly face persecution at home. Excluded are those who fear famine
or are pushed out by natural disasters. The overwhelming majority of refugees come from
developing nations, and most of them flee to poor countries.

What are the Problems Associated with Rapid Urban Growth?

The urbanization process refers to much more than simple population growth; it involves
changes in the economic, social and political structures of a region. Rapid urban growth
is responsible for many environmental and social changes in the urban environment and
its effects are strongly related to global change issues. The rapid growth of cities strains
 89

their capacity to provide services such as energy, education, healthcare, transportation,

sanitation and physical security. Because governments have less revenue to spend on the
basic upkeep of cities and the provision of services, cities have become areas of massive
sprawl, serious environmental problems, and widespread poverty.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, urbanization resulted from and contributed to
industrialization. New job opportunities in the cities motivated the mass movement of
surplus population away from the countryside. At the same time, migrants provided
cheap, plentiful labor for the emerging factories. Today, due to movements such as
globalization, the circumstances are similar in developing countries. Here the
concentration of investments in cities attracts large numbers of migrants looking for
employment, thereby creating a large surplus labor force, which keeps wages low. This
situation is attractive to foreign investment companies from developed countries that can
produce goods for far less than if the goods were produced where wages are higher. Thus,
one might wonder if urban poverty serves a distinct function for the benefit of global
capital.

One of the major effects of rapid urban growth is “urban sprawl"-scattered development
that increases traffic, saps local resources and destroys open space. Urban sprawl is
responsible for changes in the physical environment, and in the form and spatial
organization of cities. Developed and less developed countries of the world differ not
only in the percent living in cities, but also in the way in which urbanization is occurring.

In Mexico City (950 square miles), as in many other megacities in the developing world,
urban sprawl exists as nearly 40% of city dwellers live in the urban periphery in poverty
and environmental degradation. These high density settlements are often highly polluted
owing to the lack of urban services, including running water, trash pickup, electricity or
paved roads. Nevertheless, cities provide poor people with more opportunities and greater
access to resources to transform their situation than rural areas. In the United States, and
Pakistan poorly planned urban development is threatening environment, health, and
people’s quality of life.

Consequences of Urban Growth:

Increases traffic and Squatter Settlements
Pollutes air, water and other threats to natural environment
Worsens the existing degraded built environment
Destroys agricultural land, parks, and open spaces
Costs cities and counties millions of dollars for new housing, water and sewer lines, new
schools, and increased police and fire protection
Creates crowded schools in the suburbs and empty, crumbling schools in center of cities
Solutions to decrease Urban Growth:
Enacting growth boundaries, parks and open space protection
Planning and promoting public participation in housing and transportation.
Reversing government programs and tax policies that help create sprawl.
Revitalizing already developed areas through measures such as attracting new businesses,
reducing crime and improving schools;
 90

Preventing new development in floodplains, coastal areas and other disaster- prone areas.

Readings and References:

“International Migration: A Global Challenge”, Population Bulletin, Population
Reference Bureau, Inc.., Vol. 51, No. 1, 1996.
Robert Geodes, Ed., Cities in our Future, Island Press, 1997.
Samuel P. Hunting ton, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order,
Simian and Schuster, 1996.
Peter van deer Veer, Nation and Migration, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995
Joel E. Coven, How Many People can the Earth Support?, Norton, 1995.
United Nations, International Migration Policies, UN Publication, 1995.
World Resources 1996 – 1997 : The Urban Environment
www.aag.org, “Global Change and Urbanization in Latin America”
www.prb.org, “Human Population: Fundamentals of Growth Patterns of World
Urbanization”.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_definition_for_Urban_Growth
http://www.answers.com/topic/urban-sprawl
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanisation
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/urban_gc/index.html
[1]http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_definition_for_Urban_Growth
[2] http://www.answers.com/topic/urban-sprawl
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanisation
[4]http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/urban_gc/index.ht
ml
POSTED BY TOWN PLANNING AT 1:38 AM 1 COMMENT:

TECHNICAL TERMINOLOGY USED IN TOWN PLANNING

AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (A&TP-B)
By:
RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor, DAP-NED

LECTURE NO: 1
TOPIC: TECHNICAL TERMINOLOGY USED IN TOWN PLANNING

TOWN, CITY & URBAN

Town:
The ‘town’ name applied generally to small municipalities, larger than the village and
smaller than the city or county. The town is usually operated under its own powers of
local government granted by the government.

Municipality:
According to Anglo-Saxon law, public corporation created by a state and under its
legislative control, typically a town, village, or other regional administrative unit. Until
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recently a special charter designating specific powers formed municipal corporations.

Now, however, they may be formed under general statutes. Among the more important
provisions in a charter and the general laws of a municipality are those that give a
municipality the power to tax and the power to pass ordinances effective as law for the
protection of the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare. The rate of taxation
that a municipality may levy is limited in many states by the municipal charter. Among
other rights that may be granted under a charter are the powers to sell bonds or notes, to
award franchises, to acquire property, to construct public improvements, and to operate
public utilities. Municipalities are essential units of local government.

City:
The city is defined as a large centre of population organized as a community. The word
city is derived from the Latin word civitas, which denotes a community that administers
its own affairs. In ancient Greece such an independent community was called a city-state;
it consisted of a chief town and its immediate neighbourhood. The City is also described
as a place where people live with collective sense of purpose/perception. Where internal
and external processes shape environment. The city can also be defined according to scale
of the settlement and types of services available in it. Some times it is directly connected
to the production of the area. The city is also defined with the system of movement and
relationships with the region. It has distinctive physical, social & economic
characteristics, which differentiate it from the village. There was a big debate in 18th
century that, what is the sense of city? And it was established that, city means, that kind
of settlement which is developed as a result of industrial revolution in which the
production is related to people. Before industrial revolution there were guild towns.
However after industrial revolution it was termed as industrial towns/cities. Thus towns
& cities can be described with respect to pre industrial & postindustrial scenario.

Local Government, the government of smaller units within nations or state, mostly at the
level of the county, town, or district. Local government bodies and structures are
normally creations of the central government, which delegates authority to them. The
personnel of local government are customarily directly elected, because of the immediate
relevance of their decisions to local life, and their powers differ from country to country.
Local government usually provides administrative, fiscal, and other public services and
amenities to local residents. In highly unitary centralized states, such as France or Great
Britain, local government enjoys only limited powers, and in some areas these have been
subject to erosion by central authority. Though some have regarded it as a basic
underpinning for national democracy, local government is ill fitted to resist any
encroachment on its powers by the central government.

Megalopolis (Greek megas, “great”; polis, “city”), the term was first used in the early
1960s to describe the conurbation of the north-eastern United States extending from
Boston in Massachusetts to Washington, D.C. and including the major cities of New
York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. The term “megalopolis” was initially applied to those
urban agglomerations, or super-conurbations, that developed when separate towns and
cities grew together. Such megalopolitan areas are found in many highly urbanized
countries and include the area between London and Manchester in the United Kingdom,
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the Pacific coastal district of Honshu, Japan, and the Randstad region of the Netherlands.
Their growth has depended largely on the economic prosperity of the immediate
surrounding region. Since the 1970s, however, the most rapid large-scale growth of cities
has occurred in newly industrializing nations. Megalopolitan areas are now a major
feature of the countries of Asia and Central and South America. Examples, with their
projected populations for the year 2000 include Mexico City (25.6 million), São Paulo,
Brazil (22.1 million), Shanghai, China (17.0 million), Jakarta, Indonesia (13.7 million),
and Calcutta, India (15.7 million). It is estimated that by the year 2000, 8 of the world’s
15 largest cities will be in Asia.

Mega-cities:
The Modern mega-cities owe their origins to the globalization of international trade and
their ability to attract multinational companies from anywhere in the world. Foreign
investors prefer to locate in a single city where services and economic opportunities can
be concentrated and encourage further growth. The emphasis on export-oriented industry
means that the development of internal markets is generally weak with few opportunities
for other towns to develop as industrial centers. These processes result in a snowballing
of investment in the largest cities. For example, Shanghai, with about 1.5 per cent of
China’s population, accounts for about 12 per cent of the nation’s industrial output.

A characteristic of modern mega-cities is that they dominate the urban settlement

structure with a disproportionate number of people living in them compared to other
towns. Their rapid growth has tended to outstrip local resources, creating environmental
and social problems. The supply of housing, water, sanitation, power, and transport
services is often seriously inadequate. Despite appearances, the supply of jobs does not
always keep pace with the arrival of rural migrants from other parts of the country,
leading to further problems of social segregation and economic inequality. Rapid
migration (frequently coupled with a high birth rate) has lead to the development of
inner-city slums or ghettos, or more often the creation of extensive, makeshift, and
unofficial shanty settlements on the outskirts of the mega-cities. Although the growth of
these cities looks set to continue for the foreseeable future, their vulnerability to changes
in world markets is now being recognized, and controls on their growth and economic
structure are starting to be considered.

New Towns planned urban settlements built either to ease the pressure on existing urban
areas or to regenerate a region’s economic prosperity. New towns are largely associated
with urban planning in the United Kingdom, although similar developments are to be
found in other countries, for example, around Paris, France. During the Communist era,
the Soviet Union built new towns in remote areas for specific economic projects, and in
some countries new capital cities have been built as symbols of development, such as
Brasília in Brazil and Islamabad in Pakistan.

In the United Kingdom, new towns were initially conceived in the 19th century to
improve living conditions in industrial areas. A few enlightened employers provided
model towns for their workers, for example, Port Sunlight near Liverpool; Bourneville,
built by the Cadbury family in the Midlands; and New Lanark in Scotland.
 93

The development of larger new towns did not begin until well into the 20th century. Two
garden cities—Letch worth and Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire—were early
examples but the major expansion of new towns in the United Kingdom occurred after
the New Towns Act of 1946. Eight towns were built on the edge of London’s green belt,
including Stevenage, Crawley, and Harlow, to take overspill population from the capital.
Washington and Peter lee in the north-east of England, Cambrian in South Wales, and
East Kilbride in Scotland were built to revive their region’s depressed economies. All
these towns were designed to create a pleasant residential environment with low housing
density. Homes, shops, and other facilities were clustered to create a sense of community,
and to reduce the need for transport. By 1973, 28 new or expanded towns housed 1.7
million people and provided 200,000 new homes. The best known of the later new towns
is the city of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire which occupies an area of 309 sq km
(119 sq mi) and has a population of 165,000 (1997).

The general principle behind new towns is that they should be socially balanced and as
independent as possible from existing urban areas. However, with the passing of time,
these towns have mainly attracted younger skilled people. Opportunities for work have
not kept pace with housing and commuting to and from the new towns are now at a high
level. The planned residential mixing of different socio-economic groups has also faced
problems. In the future, new towns are likely to be built in countries where economic
growth and urbanization are occurring rapidly. Elsewhere, the preferred approach is now
the careful redevelopment of existing centers or, like Pound bury in Dorset, England, the
building of small new settlements modelled on the lines of traditional villages.

County:
The County is a unit of local government in the United Kingdom, the United States,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and other nations influenced by the Anglo-
Saxon tradition of government. In England a county was originally a tribal settlement, or
even a whole kingdom, known to the Saxons as a shire—a term still preserved, as in the
county of Hampshire. With the formation of the United Kingdom, the English county
form was adopted in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Today counties remain Great Britain's
chief governmental division for administrative and related purposes; though in some
fields their competence has been reduced as a result of governmental centralizing policies
during the 1980s. In the United States they are the largest organized unit in almost all
states. In Canada counties are generally less widespread and important than in England.
In Australia counties are generally referred to as shires.

Guild Towns:
Guilds are the communities living together for the practice of their mode of productions
and professions. For example in medieval times there were production units at the ground
floor and residential units were at upper floors where the communities lived and worked
at the same place.

Satellite Town:
A town conceived as an extension of existing city, Mega city or metropolis which
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provides the employment and residential needs of people and served locally can be
termed as satellite town. In addition it does not provide any commuting facility to the
parent city such as Landhi Korangi and Steel Town and Gulshan-e-Maymar are the few
examples of satellite town.

Garden City:
It is a conceptual outcome of the environmental conditions of city. In which there should
be residential areas, which are linked to the city but located away from the city. For
example in London there are suburbs, which are, located around one hour drive away
from the city of London. In Karachi Maymar Complex was designed on such concept.

CITY/URBAN ELEMENTS

City Centre:
The city centre can be defined as a place where all the major commercial, administrative
and cultural activities of city take place. Where all the major commercial and public
buildings exist or which should be the hub of all these activities and spaces where popular
interaction between people is evident can be termed as city centre. Mostly the city centers
were the places where major cultural activity occurs or where the origin of city is located
from where the city started. For example: Kharadar Methadar, Old Town area or currently
Empress Market or Time Square in New York or Eiffel Tower at Paris etc.

CBD:
CBD stands for Central Business District. CBD is a place where all kinds of shadow
transactions take place. In case of Karachi I.I.Chundrigar Road can be termed as CBD
because of stock exchange and offices of money market or foresee or brokerage forms,
etc.

OBD:
OBD stands for Outer Business District. When the functioning of cities decentralized and
CBD’s activities fails to fulfill the needs of city’s shadow transactions and city centre. For
example in London city of west minister is a CBD which could not fulfilled the needs of
city so OBDs developed in other parts of London. Simultaneously in Manhattan where,
Wall Street exists in known as CBD but because it is located in an island and there were
also other islands in the surroundings so they developed their own OBD. Well take the
case of Karachi. I.I.Chundrigar Road is known as CBD but now there is different
brokerage houses developed in Clifton where the forex business is going on. If this trend
continued the Clifton might develop as OBD.

Sub Centre:
When the city centre cannot grow further and constrained to a particular limit sub-centers
develops in other parts of the city. When the physical accessibility to city centre become
difficult and city centre becomes saturated the sub-centre emerges as a repercussion. For
example Saddar Empress Market area can be termed as city centre, which reached to its
zenith/peak. As a result Tariq Road emerged, as a sub centre, Liaquatabad market, Hydery
market, Babar Market at Landhi Korangi are all examples of sub-centers.
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Neighbourhood:
The neighbourhood is a residential unit, which possesses all the characteristics of
livelihood that is dependent on an economic centre.

Neighbourhood Centre:
It is a commercial centre or market place for the settlement or a neighbourhood. For
example one can observe in their neighbourhood that row of shops develops as the
settlement or neighbourhood grows.

Fringe:
It is the outer boundary of the city where the activities of city diminished. In Karachi its
example is Hawks bay, Pipri, Korangi extension. The city fringes of existing cities, mega
cities, and metropolis are changing continuously. There are also administrative limits of
city. Such as Greater Karachi Metropolitan region, Karachi Divisions, Karachi
Metropolitan/Urbanized area (16000 hectors).

URBAN SOCIOLOGY

Family:
Unit of society with particular context, surviving on each other. Unit of people living in
the one devilling unit (devilling unit is a house where a single family lives. Nuclear
family, joint family).

Migration:
It reflects movement of people from one place to another for any reason (income,
economic, security, natural calamities, etc.).

Public Utilities, business operations that provide essential services to the public—for
example, electricity, gas, water supply, sewage disposal, and telecommunications.
Utilities are an essential part of the infrastructure of modern developed countries, which
require highly integrated networks of distribution or coordination for many essential
services, such as the national grid for electricity suppliers. Many operate under favorable
cost regimes whereby the unit cost of service to a customer falls as the network grows.
However, the existence of these networks often gives public utilities a natural monopoly
of provision of service within their area.

URBAN TRANSPORTATION

Street: It is a path where the pedestrian and vehicular traffic flows.

Road, public way, usually maintained by governmental authority, for the passage of
vehicles, people, or animals. Roads in cities or towns are also called streets, lanes,
avenues, or boulevards. Roads that connect populated areas to one another are often
called motorways or highways.
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Highway:
Highway is a major road where pedestrian movement is discovered and vehicular traffic
is allowed. These are connecting different cities or industries.

Motorway:
Motorway is same as highway where notarized vehicles are allowed to flow with a
certain speed limit.

Transport, conveyance of people or property from one place to another. Modern

commercial transport includes all the means and facilities used in the movement of
people or property, and all services involved in the receipt, delivery, and handling of such
property. The commercial transport of people is classified as passenger service and that of
property as freight service. Transport is one of the largest industries in the world.

Public Transport, conveyance of large numbers of passengers, whether in the town or

country, by vehicle, usually in return for payment of a fixed fare.

Mass Transit: It is an urban transportation mode which addresses the needs of major
urban transit/movement of people especially the movement of people from suburbs to
city centre and vice versa. Example: Karachi Mass Transit/Circular Railway or Urban
Railway System of Bombay.

URBAN LANDSCAPE

Park: It is an open space with natural and man-made landscape.

Street Park:
Basically the street parks are developed from the classical planning of Greeks and
Romans. The street park can be termed as open spaces located at the corners of an
intersection or at the end of street.

Locality Park:
It is designed and developed at the level of a neighbourhood. For example Aziz Bhatti
Park in Gulshan or Jahangir Park in Saddar.

Urban Park:
The Park developed at the city level both by scale and nature, having majority of as
Urban Park i.e. Hyde Park and Kingston Park in London. In New York there is central
park which combines the Manhattan with other spaces. The Urban Park provides a relief
a breathing space for the people living in the city.

National Parks:
It is common term used in geography. It is a park provided at the regional level. It is a
large landscape unit at a regional scale with a focus on conservation of the national
landscape, floors, and fauna natural and wild life. For example, Kheerthar National Park
in Sindh which is more than 23000 hectors of land.
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National Parks and Nature Reserves, areas selected by governments or private

organizations for special protection against damage or degradation. They are chosen for
their outstanding natural beauty, as areas of scientific interest, or as forming part of a
country's cultural heritage, and often also to provide facilities for public recreation.

Hard Landscape: The artificial/manmade landscape can be termed as hard landscape.

Soft Landscape: The natural landscape can be termed as soft landscape.

Townscape:
It is a system of appropriate livable settlements. There are both residential and working
spaces existing in each city with exclusive right of use. Simultaneously there are some
open spaces of common use which are collectively used and managed with no exclusive
right of space use. The system of management, maintenance and utilization of all these
spaces in an appropriate way can be termed as townscape. A townscape always faces the
pressure of population increase and utilization of its spaces.

URBAN CONSERVATION

Urban Conservation: It means protection of built environment. The term conservation

cannot be understood in isolation until and unless one must define a parameter for it. For
example, an architectural conservation, area conservations or urban conservation.

Conservation, means sustainable use of natural resources, such as soils, water, plants,
animals, and minerals. In economic terms, the natural resources of any area constitute its
basic capital, and wasteful use of those resources constitutes an economic loss. From the
aesthetic and moral viewpoint, conservation also includes the maintenance of national
parks, wilderness areas, historic sites, and wildlife. In certain cases, conservation may
imply the protection of a natural environment from any human economic activity.

Preservation:
It means provision of safe guard from any kind of harm. The term preservation gives a
definite meaning of a process.

Restoration:
It means rebuilding towards originality. There is again controversy in this term. It is also
associated to entire field of studies. For example what kind of restoration is required?
There are some 1st grade monuments where one cannot change any thing to modify it.
Where as in 2nd Grade monuments/buildings one can do some modifications.

Redevelopment:
It means re-bring to its visible state. It is again another controversial term. In
redevelopment one has to recapture the sprit of space, in addition maintain the
morphology of the area and its physical density.
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Rehabilitation:
It means reestablish to former state. In rehabilitation an object/space should be
established in such a way that it gets a formal status. Therefore at first it needs restoration
through which the object will get its former sate. This can also be termed as empirical
stage of an object.

Renovation:
It means renew or to make it as if new. In the context of conservation the term renovation
leads us towards renewing the function and no change in spatial quality is allowed. This
term directly related to buildings. Where as in urban context the term urban renewal will
be used.

Rejuvenation:
It means to make young with respect to specific period. In rejuvenation we revive the
object to same layout and function as it was at the time of its youth.

Revitalization:
It means modification. It is very specific term which reflects the changes in the object
with respect to some specific needs of that object. The revitalization also takes place to
reuse that object in current context to suit the existing conditions, needs and demands.

Restitution:
Basically the restitution means to restore. The term restitution is mainly related to the
development of different options for revival in present time conditions. In original terms
it is an option development exercise.

Animation:
It means enliven or make it alive. This term leads us to a situation in which at first it is
assumed that an object or place has lost its functions, characteristics and spirit. So a new
function and sprit is introduced in it/or in computer graphics terms make it a live scene.

Adaptive Reuse:
It means make the object suitable for reuse. This term is mainly applicable to redundant
things or objects which are in dilapidated condition or became obsolete and they needs to
be sued again for some historical or emotional reasons. Where no drastic changes are
required because it would be very vital when used the objects practically.

Urban Renewal, the rehabilitation of decaying urban areas, usually funded by government
finance and directed according to town planning policies. Urban renewal has been
criticized because of the often-accompanying process of gentrification, whereby the stock
of affordable housing is considerably shrunk, and essential facilities such as inexpensive
food shops may disappear. Urban renewal may, therefore, result in a displacement of the
urban poor.

URBAN ECONOMICS
 99

Urban Economics: There are two types of economics Capitalist Economy and Socialist
Economy.

Socialist Economy: In socialist economy state works for people and people work for
state.

Capitalist Economy:
In capitalist economy private entrepreneurs works for people to mobilize the whole
economy i.e. chemical, textile industry etc. In urban economics three things are important
i.e. capital, goods and labour. The free movement of these three elements denotes free
market economy.

Employment: Effort to earn livelihood.

Production, in economics, manufacture and processing of goods or merchandise,

including their design, treatment at various stages, and finance contributed by banks. As
the means by which wealth is created by human labour, it is regarded by some as the
fundamental economic process. Various economic laws, price data, and available
resources are among the aspects of production that must be considered by both private
and governmental producers. The inputs or resources used in production are known as the
factors of production.

Factors of Production, inputs used in the production process. These are conventionally
defined as land, labour, and capital (investment in machinery, for example), but enterprise
or entrepreneurship is often listed as a fourth factor of production. The relative
availability of the various factors of production in a country (its “factor endowment”) is
an important influence on investment and international trade. In order to be successful, a
business needs to achieve as good a mix as possible of the factors of production. The
desirable mix will change from time to time and will depend on such things as the need to
expand, the availability of skilled labour or experienced and enterprising managers, and
new technology, as well as, of course, the market price for the different factors of
production.

Money, any medium of exchange that is widely accepted in payment for goods and
services and in settlement of debts. Money also serves as a standard of value for
measuring the relative economic worth of different goods and services. The number of
units of money required to buy a commodity is the price of the commodity. The monetary
unit chosen as a measure of value need not, however, be used widely, or even at all, as a
medium of exchange. During the colonial period in North America, for example, Spanish
currency was an important medium of exchange, while the British pound sterling served
as the standard of value.

Prices, in economics are the value of things measured in terms of what the buyers in a
market will give in exchange for them.

Prices are usually measured in money—indeed, money's effectiveness as a medium for

 100

expressing prices is the main reason for its existence—but in barter systems prices could
be expressed in other commodities with their own value, so that prices of all commodities
were mutually determining without the intervening medium of money. Prices are the
fundamental mechanism of adjustment of supply and demand, for any commodity in a
free market economy should eventually find the level at which production and
consumption are balanced: this equilibrium price will be the compromise reached
between what the producers can afford to charge and what the consumers are prepared to
pay. Prices will therefore decide what and how much is produced, how it is produced, and
who can buy it. Questions of price are therefore crucial to economics, particularly
microeconomics, and the subject of intensive study.

Market:
Theoretically the market can be defined as a place where transactions take place. These
transactions can be both physical and shadow. However, practically the market is
generally known as a place where sell, purchase and storage take place.

Market Forces, underlying influences on the operation of the economy. They boil down to
supply and demand, which determine price and the allocation of resources. In a pure free
market economy, market forces are unrestrained. However, in all countries, governments
to a greater or lesser degree restrict the operation of the free market and therefore distort
(even negate) the effect of market forces through economic policy. In the former
communist countries the system of central planning left no room for market forces to
operate. In other parts of the world governments have often, for different reasons, sought
to override market forces through such actions as the granting of subsidies to firms or
services that (it is judged) could not survive in a free market, or the imposition of tariffs
or quotas on imports. Increasingly, however, countries are moving towards a position
where market forces are allowed to operate more and more freely. A market revolution is
taking place in the former communist nations, but changes have also taken place all over
the world—from South America to Southern Africa.

An open market in which market forces are allowed to operate freely is at the heart of the
single market programme of the European Union. However, the principle has never been
applied to farming in the EU, which is governed by the Common Agricultural Policy
under which prices for agricultural produce are guaranteed, thus encouraging
overproduction. Market forces vary from market to market and derive their power from
the individuals who make up a market and on whose lives they have enormous influence.
They are determined by such factors as wealth, consumer taste, regulation, and taxation.
Stringent safety requirements may push up the cost (and therefore the price) of a
potentially desirable product beyond that which a sufficient number of consumers can
afford (or are willing) to pay. Tax differentials on alcoholic drinks have encouraged
thousands of Britons to make day trips to France in order to stock up with beer and wine.

Supply and Demand, in economics, basic factors determining prices. According to the
theory, or law, of supply and demand, the market prices of commodities and services are
determined by the relationship of supply to demand. Theoretically, when supply exceeds
demand, sellers must lower prices to stimulate sales; conversely, when demand exceeds
 101

supply, buyers bid prices up as they compete to buy goods. The terms supply and demand
do not mean the amount of goods and services actually sold and bought; in any sale the
amount sold is equal to the amount bought, and such supply and demand, therefore,
always equalizes. In economic theory, supply is the amount available for sale or the
amount that sellers are willing to sell at a specified price, and demand, sometimes called
effective demand, is the amount purchasers are willing to buy at a specified price.

The theory of supply and demand takes into consideration the influence on prices of such
factors as an increase or decrease in the cost of production, but regards that influence as
an indirect one, because it affects prices only by causing a change in supply, demand, or
both. Other factors indirectly affecting prices include changes in consumption habits (for
example, a shift from natural silk to artificial silk fabrics) and the restrictive practices of
monopolies, trusts, and cartels. In the view of many economists, the multiplicity of such
indirect factors is so great that the terms supply and demand are inclusive categories of
economic forces affecting prices, rather than precise, primary causal factors.

The price-determining mechanism of supply and demand is operative only in economic

systems in which competition is largely unfettered. Recourse, in recent times, to
governmental regulation of the economy has tended to restrict the scope of the operation
of the supply-and-demand mechanism. It was greatly restricted in many countries by the
temporary governmental price regulations and rationing during World War II. Under
Communist systems the planned economy is controlled by the state, the supply-and-
demand mechanism being overridden. However, in recent years there has been a
remarkable trend towards the reintroduction of market forces in many former planned
economies.

Commodity, the economic term with two meanings: in economic theory it is a tangible
good or service that is the result of a production process; in general terms it is a primary
product (or raw material) that is grown, such as coffee, tea, rubber, or cotton, or an
extracted mineral resource, such as gold, copper, or tin; it may also be something that is
(in effect) reared, such as wool. Here we concern ourselves only with the second
meaning.

Countries that are rich in commodities or natural resources have the advantage over
others that are not so well endowed in that their economies are (up to a point) less
dependent on the ingenuity and effort of their inhabitants. They are, however, dependent
on the market for commodities, which determines price. Experience has shown that
commodity prices are more vulnerable to dramatic price shifts than are manufactured
goods. In the past two decades many commodities, including oil, tin, copper, and coffee,
have been subject to huge price fluctuations that were often not foreseen or prepared for
by both producers and consumers. Some of these price increases were to a large extent
the result of natural conditions that have resulted in crop failures or crop surpluses. Other
price shifts have resulted from one or other of a combination of politics and changing
markets.

Because, on balance, consumers and producers have tended to be in favour of more stable
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commodity prices, attempts have been made to achieve commodity price stability through
agreements that have involved export and/or production quotas; intervention in the
market by buying a commodity when the price is falling (which helps slow or reverse the
fall) and storing it until the price has recovered; and long-term contracts between
suppliers and purchasers. None of these have worked consistently well, and there have
been some serious failures, notably the dramatic collapse of the tin agreement in the mid-
1980s. Increasingly, international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) have been using other ways to help those developing countries whose commodity
exports are crucial sources of foreign exchange earnings.

There are a number of commodity markets in the world, most of which concern
themselves primarily with rights of ownership rather than physical possession. A “spot”
price for a commodity is the current price. A “future” price is one agreed for transfer of
ownership of a specified quantity of the commodity on a specific date in the future
(perhaps a month, perhaps a year). The futures market allows buyers to know in advance
what they are going to have to pay for a commodity and protects them from unforeseen
fluctations in the spot price. It also offers speculators opportunities to profit from price
fluctuations they have foreseen (or have been prepared to gamble on) but which the
market has not. Suppose you judge that the spot price will be 5 per cent higher in 30 days'
time than the current (30-day) future price for a commodity, you will (if your judgment is
correct) make a 5 per cent profit (less commission costs) by buying at the future price and
selling the commodity on the spot market in 30 days' time. However, if the spot price has
fallen below the future price you paid, you will have incurred a loss.

Goods:
Goods are the commodities, which are produced through a process. These are products
which has some determined value. Goods are all tangible tings which human being
requires/desires.

Services:
Services are the counter part of goods. All the work done for others known as services.
The services cannot be quantified in a materialistic way.

Resources:
Resources are the input required to deliver goods and services. The resources can be
tangible and intangible such as Natural resources, Capital Resources, and Technological
Resources.

Poverty, is the economic condition in which people lack sufficient income to obtain
certain minimal levels of health services, food, housing, clothing, and education generally
recognized as necessary to ensure an adequate standard of living. What is considered
adequate, however, depends on the average standard of living in a particular society.

Relative poverty is that experienced by those whose income falls considerably below the
average for their particular society. Absolute poverty is that experienced by those who do
not have enough food to remain healthy. However, estimating poverty on an income basis
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may not measure essential elements that also contribute to a healthy life. People without
access to education or health services should be considered poor even if they have
adequate food.

Scarcity:
It means fewer resources. It is the limitations of the amount of resources available to
individuals and societies to produce goods and services.

Free Good:
Goods which are available in such abundance that they are able to full fill any quantum of
choice i.e. air, sun light, wind, snow. Land cannot be a free good.

Economic Goods:
Opposite to free goods. Economic goods are those which generate revenue. The economic
goods emerge from scarcity. They are produced to fulfill certain proportion of scarcity i.e.
15 million households in Pakistan and each requires T.V., clothes.

Difference b/w free goods & economic goods:

We always have access to free goods through natural behaviour without any hindrance
where as in economic goods we have one practical hindrance i.e. we pay the price. So it
leads to cost.

Cost:
Cost is the value of opportunity in making choices. What is value of opportunity? It is the
capacity to fulfill choices and cost is the function of it i.e. you can make highways or you
can make missiles. Therefore cost again depends on the availability of resources.

Absolute Cost:
It is the input required for production such as, capital, human resource, and technology. In
theory it works. But in practice it would not. Because one cannot measure the human
factor and its cost. Therefore non-human mechanism of production is the absolute cost.

Opportunity Cost:
It is related to both individuals and societies. It is the value placed on opportunities and
choosing to scarce goods i.e. time has certain value it is a scarce good utilize your fee
hours and get benefit. If you would not get benefit means you loose and pay the
opportunity cost. It’s the choice available to you. For example national parks most people
use it most not, they pay the price for non-utilization.

Accounting Cost:
It is a calculated cost. It is the direct definite cost reflected in monitory terms. All costs
are convertible to accounting cost. It can be applied on both tangible and non-tangible
costs.

Margin:
Margin can be understood as a profit line. It is the difference b/w cost and benefit in any
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given situation. In terms of net benefit it is profit.

Marginal Analysis:
In any mechanism of production how the margining is carried out. In Marginal Analysis it
is calculated that, how much maximization and minimizing of cost and benefit is
possible. Marginal Analysis suggested that, how the optimum benefits can be obtained
while doing an activity.

Prices:
These are opportunity cost/market value of a product. It does not give certain value but
give idea how to maximize opportunity.

Market: It is the Hypothetical arrangement b/w buyer and seller. How market operates? It
operates through barter (exchange of goods or commodities).

Money: It is generally accepted medium of exchange or transaction.

Currency: Currency is the representation of money.

Inflation:
It is the sustained degradation of money against the increase of prices and reduction in
purchasing power of money i.e. in Pakistan inflation rate increased up to 26 percent from
last 12 percent due to devaluation of money in Pakistan.

Microeconomics:
Individual/Personal/Small enterprises. Behaviour of individual units regarding goods
production i.e. Panwala, Dal chawal wala.

Macroeconomics:
It is the study of economy as a whole scale is flexible policy making of govt. or
international agencies affect the whole region.

Economic Growth:
Higher production of a society or sustained increase in productive capacity means
economic growth i.e. more goods, more services and human resources.

Economic System:
The economic system means to determine what, how and for whom the goods and
services to be produced. There are three major economic systems i.e. (i) Traditional
economic system (ii) Command society economic system; and (iii) Market economic
system.

Traditional Economic System:

It is a tribal/jarga, system where the customs, habits and rituals are the determinant forces
of the economic system. This system is unaccountable.
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Command Society Economic System:

In command society a central authority decides about the production of goods and
services. The example of command society is Monarchy, Dictatorship and Communists
where a party leads and makes decisions about every thing.

Market Society:
People on their own interest decide about the economy system. In this system a balance
and accountability is evident for consumers and producers.

URBAN HOUSING

Shelter:
It is one of the three basic necessities for human survival with minimum requirement
(what each human need? i.e. food, clothes and shelter)

Housing, is a permanent shelter for human habitation. Because shelter is necessary to

everyone, the problem of providing adequate housing has long been a concern, not only
of individuals but of governments as well. Thus, the history of housing is inseparable
from the social, economic, and political development of humankind.

History of Housing:
From the beginning of civilization, attention has been paid to the form, placement, and
provision of human habitation. The earliest building codes, specifying structural integrity
in housing construction, are found in the Code of the 18th-century BC Babylonian King
Hammurabi. Town planning activities during the Greek and Roman empires centered
almost exclusively on the appropriate placement of urban housing from the perspectives
of defense and water supply. These same concerns continued throughout the middle Ages.
In 13th-century Europe, the city became a centre of trade, and its walls provided a safe
haven from nomadic warriors and looters. People could find shelter for themselves and
their flocks, herds, and harvests while the open country was being overrun by enemies of
superior force. Demand for urban housing increased. For centuries this demand was filled
by unplanned additions to, and subdivisions of, existing structures. Where climate
permitted, squatting (occupying without title or payment of rent) became commonplace,
but provided only temporary shelter.

By the 19th century, with the Industrial Revolution, people were moving to cities in
unprecedented numbers. Workers lived in sheds, railway yards, and factory cellars,
typically without sanitation facilities or water supply.

In the post-industrial society of the 20th century, housing in developing nations and poor
parts of developed countries continues to be of insufficient quality and does not meet the
demand of some parts of the population. Vacant, abandoned inner-city housing exists
alongside structures that are usable but overcrowded and buildings that are structurally
reclaimable but are functionally obsolete.

At present, there is both a demand for housing and a supply of reusable structures that are
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going unclaimed. This situation is a good example of the complex role housing plays in
society. Its primary function was to serve the need for shelter, security, and privacy, but
housing must now offer other advantages:
(1) location, including proximity to the workplace, shopping, businesses, schools, and
other homes;
(2) environment, for example, the quality of the neighbourhood, including public safety
and aesthetics; and
(3) investment potential, or the degree to which home ownership may affect capital
accumulation.

Housing Policy:
Housing programmes in the United States and in Western European nations share many
similarities. All these countries have initiated public housing, urban renewal, and new-
town programmes. However, public intervention in Europe began sooner and has been
more extensive than in the United States. Great Britain, for example, embarked on public-
housing development in the late 19th century. Labourers' dwelling acts, authorizing local
governments to construct public housing, were enacted as early as the mid-19th century,
more than 75 years before comparable US housing legislation was passed. Urban-renewal
demolition activities were empowered during the same period, almost a century before
equivalent American activity. Massive public-housing programmes were started after
each of the world wars. By the 1970s, approximately one-third of Britain's housing was
publicly subsidized, compared with only 1 to 2 per cent in the United States. Great
Britain has also constructed several new community developments that are in contrast to
the fledgling and largely unsuccessful new-town ventures in the United States.

Housing policies in other Western European nations are similar to those in Britain. For
instance, extensive provision and regulation of housing exists, taking the form of
subsidies for slum demolition and rental housing assistance. Germany, France, the
Netherlands, and other nations provide low- or no-interest housing loans. The
development of new-towns is also encouraged or subsidized; indeed, more than ten have
been built on the outskirts of Paris.

The problems of housing in Canada, both public and private, have been treated with
considerable imagination and effectiveness. Federal funds for housing have been directed
almost entirely at people with lower incomes. The government provides assistance to the
provinces and municipalities and to individuals, to be used for neighbourhood
improvement, the purchase of homes, the rehabilitation of residential housing, and the
development of new communities. At the same time, the private sector has channelled a
high volume of financial support into the mortgage market.

Housing in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)and in Eastern

European nations was almost exclusively characterized by government regulations and
provisions. These countries pioneered the production and installation of massive
prefabricated housing units in urban areas. Housing units, usually of pre-cast concrete,
were manufactured in factories and then transported to the housing site, where they were
assembled into large, multifamily complexes. The former USSR was also a pioneer in
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developing new towns, which were frequently located around massive industrial or
power-generating facilities. One example was the town of Bratsk, near the Bratsk
hydroelectric plant in Siberia.

Housing in economically developing countries is typically inferior in quality and space to

that found in economically developed nations. Government efforts to upgrade housing
conditions are evolving slowly, however. In the 1950s, slum demolition was effected on a
large scale in many cities, such as Manila in the Philippines and Baghdad in Iraq. In the
1960s, new-town development, such as Brasília in Brazil, became commonplace. These
strategies often proved ineffective; demolition was not usually accompanied by
replacement housing, and the new towns sometimes proved to be islands in a sea of
slums. In the 1970s, some developing nations turned to self-help housing. Families were
given plots of land and building materials to construct or improve their own shelter. This
housing approach is commonly referred to as a “sites-and-services” programme; so far it
has been implemented on a large scale in India and many South American countries.
Numerous organizations assist housing development and the upgrading of housing
standards. These include the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the
United Nations Commission on Human Settlements, and the US Agency for International
Development.

Future Trends Housing is a critical component in the social and economic fabric of all
nations. No country is yet satisfied that adequate housing has been delivered to the
various economic groups that make up its populace. Thus, most nations, in one form or
another, continue to claim a housing problem.

As the 1990s began, the West generally was facing a critical shortage of affordable
housing for low- and middle-income wage earners, as well as for the poor, and the
numbers of homeless people were rising, especially in the cities. Higher home prices plus
a reduction in low-income housing led to greater demand for rented accommodation,
which resulted in higher rents and fewer available rental units. In addition, different types
of housing are required to meet the needs of people with disabilities, as well as of the
elderly and of people living alone. A variety of solutions have been suggested, including
rehabilitating public housing, organizing public-private partnerships, issuing housing
vouchers, granting public funds to non-profit-making developers, amending zoning
restrictions, promoting tenant management of public housing, improving mortgage-
guarantee programmes, and encouraging companies to provide housing assistance
programmes for their employees.

Each country also faces its own specific problems. Great Britain and much of Western
Europe must grapple with suburbanization and the decentralization of cities, while in the
former USSR and in Eastern Europe, demand for more private dwelling space has
increased. In developing nations, raw housing demand is still largely unmet, with the
result that many of the population find themselves forced to live in shanty towns,
settlements in which the houses are very poorly equipped to deal with basic human needs.
Shanty towns have very little in the way of infrastructure; they are usually without water,
sanitation, electricity, or roads. The houses are usually built by the residents themselves,
 108

made from whatever materials have come to hand, and constructed often on land where
no building rights exist, or on land illegally squatted.

Household: Nos. of kitchen is the determinant of household in Pakistan.

Public Sector:
The activities and initiatives of state decide on account of people. State is ‘Mumliquat-e-
Khudadad’.

Private Sector:
Individual or group of individuals working within the framework of state for free
enterprise or for earning surplus.

Private Sector, part of the economy that is not owned or controlled by the state. It
includes personal and corporate private enterprise, including what are known as public
companies (those in which there is a market for members of the public to buy shares).
After World War II, in many countries governments organized a shift from the private
sector to the public sector. The countries that fell under the influence of the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics adopted centrally planned economies with maximum state
control. In the United Kingdom, the Labour government elected in 1945 firmly believed
in the principle of common ownership, and that it was better for the public sector to run
certain “essential” industries and services. Its extensive programme of nationalization
included taking control of the Bank of England, the coal industry, most hospitals,
transport, and the gas, electricity, and iron and steel industries. Since the 1980s, as a
result of the policy of privatization championed by Margaret Thatcher, there has been a
big shift in economic activity away from the public sector in the United Kingdom as
many large state-owned companies have been sold to the private sector. Many other
countries have also been following the trend by reducing the public sector in favour of the
private sector, including, most notably, the former Communist countries of Eastern
Europe and what was the Soviet Union, where there always was a small private sector
even if it was not officially acknowledged. Even in current Communist states such as
China and Vietnam, there has been a remarkable shift in emphasis towards private
enterprise. Many African countries, which followed socialist economic principles, are
now too encouraging growth of a private sector.

Cooperative Sector:
One basic difference between private and cooperative sector is, ‘to get the basic need of
people or some specific group identify need and gather around it.

Informal Sector:
Develops around basic needs within the framework of Government rules and regulations.
Where government fails to provide goods and services the informal sector operates
parallel, i.e. water supply, tanker mafia, housing (squatter) lands grabber etc.

Labor Housing/Colonies:
It reflects in the historic development of Industrialization in 1880s. When mass influx of
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people come in the city with no facility available to them. So they occupied the available
plots and no place left for housing expansion. At that time revolution took place by labour
and they had 3 demands. Food, clothes and shelter. So; on that basis the industrialists
accepted their demands and provided them labour colonies.

Social Housing:
This concept developed in the west and their main application is also seen in the west. In
social housing, the houses are provided by government to destitute, disables worriers,
widows and old people they may be groups or individuals who can not survived on their
own, (then the concept of welfare state emerged, in UK and France in 1880s) and state
become responsible for their housing needs. If we look into the housing policy document
of Pakistan and other developing countries this concept is very much alive but not
actually.

Rental Housing:
This concept mainly developed in France where state established the housing stock so
that earning could be done and shelter should be provided to shelter less. It is commonly
used term refers to provision of housing to people with a contract between owner and
tenant. It is different from normal kind of housing. In developing countries only few
countries has this facility but in developed western countries this concept is very popular.

Housing Finance:
What do we mean by finance? It is the system through which the housing process is
monetarily supported. Housing is the process with number of steps. The financial aspect
of housing is a first step. The laid is the first commodity. So, the land and finance is the
both equitable entities. In Sindh we find that state cannot participate in housing finance
because state owns a large amount of land and it got the value and it has certain kind of
financial aspect added to it i.e. KDA started a housing project the first thing is set of
terms and conditions with respect to financial aspect that how much money will be
rotated/revolved. There are three stages of housing finance:
(i) Acquisition of land,
(ii) House building (it takes time because financial institutions given the loans i.e. HBFC)
and
(iii) Infrastructure, it is distributed in components with different institutions that provide
these facilities i.e. water, gas, electricity, telephone, etc. This is the very set system of
housing finance. There are also alternatives for housing finance i.e. from open market
lands, materials, credit.

Housing Construction:
It is the over all process through which the settlement develops and sustains. The actors
involved in it are land grabbers, developers, interest groups and state.

Subdivision:
It has various meanings but division of land is appropriate for housing and landuse. These
are the dimensions assigned by developers for land use pattern of the settlements.
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Lease:
It is the contractual mode of ownership tied up with time frame i.e. in Karachi it is 99
years. In Punjab it is one year ‘Yaksala Pata’.

Freehold Land:
It is the most common pattern of land ownership. It is the land owned by one person and
then inherited.

Trusts hold Land:

It is the ownership acquired by the Government of Pakistan. After independence
government established an Evacuee (eviction) property trust. They make charter that who
ever left the land in India can make claims and get the trust property here in Pakistan.

Demarcation:
It has two angles (point of views) Settlement itself and at city level process of
demarcation. At the plot or unit of house, marked on site according to the reference taken
on site. It is the process of verifying housing unit boundaries. All the right of ownership
develops on the basis of demarcation.

Land Acquisition:
Land is the basic commodity in the process of development of any settlement. Now, the
government can acquire the land, private owners acquire the land, informal owners
acquire the land. A public sector example in this regard is acquisition of Landhi Korangi
Area, which was a rural land. During 1958 Greater Karachi resettlement plan govt. gave
notice to the owners to come and sell their land.

Land Appropriation:
The available land is the first appropriation mechanism used by illegal subdivides.

Eviction:
It is the process through which illegal or undesired settlements are bulldozed or removed
from the (scene) area.

Type of Houses (property unit): In housing census we measure the housing in these three
categories, katcha, semi pucca and pucca.
(i) Katcha house can be considered with no roof, no foundation walls and no permanent
structure.
(ii) Semi pucca house can be considered with no permanent foundation where as walls
and roof structures are permanent.
(iii) Pucca house can be considered with permanent foundation, walls and roof.

Housing Policy:
It is a Federal Document made by EUAD i.e. Environment and Urban Affairs Division
according to National Housing Policy. It describes the housing stock, demand and supply
level at national scale.
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Land Grabbing: It is the illegal occupation of land under the umbrella of various
institutions.

PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES

AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (A&TP-B)
By
RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Karachi

LECTURE NO: 21
TOPIC: PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES

INTRODUCTION:
The theme of current lecture on is Parks and Recreational facilities. In order to
understand this theme it is important to know about the terms; park and recreation. The
term park means a piece of open land for recreational use in an urban area or it is a large
area of land preserved in its natural state as public property; then there are laws that
protect the wildlife in this park.[1] The term recreation means activities which are
relaxing to humans or provide diversions from their normal routine.[2] In town planning
provision of parks and recreational facilities is a part of an overall urban planning scheme
whether a new city is made or improved an existing one. However the provision of parks
and recreational facilities is not an easy task and before understanding the process of its
provision it is also significant to have clear understanding of both the concepts of Parks
and Recreation. In the following these are described in details.

WHAT IS A PARK?[3]
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state or planted, and set aside for
human recreation and enjoyment. It may consist of, rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and
grass areas. Wilderness parks are intact and undeveloped areas used mainly by wild
species. Many parks are legally protected by law. Protected wilderness zones are required
for some wild species to survive. Some protected parks focus mainly on the survival of a
few threatened species, such as gorillas or chimpanzees. The term Park is also used for
many other meanings for instance the term park is also used in reference to industrial
areas, often termed as industrial parks. Some technology research areas are also called
research parks. Small environmental areas, often part of urban renewal plans, are called
pocket parks. The word park may also be used in community names, such as Oak Park or
College Park. Sometimes the active recreational aspect may be expressed in the extreme
of naming as an amusement park, usually privately owned. A car park is an area of land
or a building in which cars are parked. An amusement park, or theme park is a generic
term for a collection of rides and other entertainment attractions assembled for the
purpose of entertainment. Thus; the term park has various uses and meanings however
the parks can be divided mainly in two categories i.e. Government owned or operated
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parks and private parks.

GOVERNMENT-OWNED OR OPERATED PARKS:

There are three main types of Government owned or operated parks i.e. National Park,
Sub National Parks and Urban Parks.

NATIONAL PARK:
A national park is a reserve of land, usually, but not always declared and owned by a
national government, protected from most human development and pollution. National
parks are protected areas as established by International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN). The largest national park in the world is the Northeast Greenland
National Park, which was established in 1974. In the United States the concept of
preserving landscapes for the pleasure of the people was established on June 30, 1864,
when President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill creating the Yosemite Grant.

A policy of preservation, rather than co-usage as in the National Forests, where grazing,
farming and logging are licensed, was implemented four decades later during the
presidential administration of Teddy Roosevelt, and Yosemite became a national park.
Tourism and, later, recreation were the intended purposes of the lands Roosevelt set aside
in the system. John Muir was instrumental in this effort. These parks were termed
national parks and today are looked after by the U.S. National Park Service. U.S. state
governments have also set aside land to preserve for the enjoyment of the public. There
are also national parks in many other countries.

SUB-NATIONAL PARKS:
In Federal systems, many parks are managed by the local levels of government, rather
than by the central government. In the United States these are called state parks and in
Canada provincial or territorial parks, except in Quebec where they are known as
National Parks.

URBAN PARKS:
A park is an area of open space provided for recreational use, usually owned and
maintained by a local government. Parks commonly resemble savannas or open
woodlands, the types of landscape that human beings find most relaxing. Grass is
typically kept short to discourage insect pests and to allow for the enjoyment of picnics
and sporting activities. Trees are chosen for their beauty and to provide shade. The
world's first public park is claimed to be Peel Park, Salford, England opened on 22
August 1846.[4] Park can be divided into active and passive recreation. Active recreation
is that which require intensive development and often involves cooperative or team
activity, including playgrounds, ball fields and skate parks.

Passive recreation is that which emphasizes the open-space aspect of a park and which
involves a low level of development, including picnic areas and trails. Organized football
matches take place in parks. Many smaller neighborhood parks are receiving increased
attention and valuation as significant community assets and places of refuge in heavily
populated urban areas. Neighborhood groups around the world are joining together to
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support local parks that have suffered from urban decay and government neglect. A linear
park is a park that has a much greater length than width. A typical example of a linear
park is a section of a former railway that has been converted into a park (i.e. the tracks
removed, vegetation allowed to grow back). Parks are sometimes made out of oddly
shaped areas of land, much like the vacant lots that often become city neighborhood
parks.

An urban park,[5] also known as a municipal park or a public park or open space (United
Kingdom), is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green
space to residents of and visitors to the municipality. The design, operation and
maintenance is usually done by government, typically on the city level, but may
occasionally be contracted out to a private sector company. The oldest Urban Park in the
world, Phillips Park, is located in the English city of Manchester. Common features of
municipal parks include playgrounds, hiking, running and mixed use trails or paths, bridle
paths, sports field and courts, public restrooms, boat ramps and/or picnic facilities
depending on the budget and natural features available.

In The Politics of Park Design: A History of Urban Parks in America, (Cambridge,

Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1982), Professor Galen Cranz identifies four phases of park
design in the U.S. In the late 19th century, large tracts of land on the outskirts of cities
were purchased by city governments to create "pleasure grounds": semi-open, charmingly
landscaped areas whose primary purpose was to allow city residents, especially the
workers, to relax in nature. As time passed and the urban area grew around the parks, land
in these parks was used for other purposes, such as zoos, golf courses and museums.
These parks continue to draw visitors from around the region and are considered regional
parks because they require a higher level of management than smaller local parks.
According to the Trust for Public Land, the three most visited municipal parks in the
United States are Central Park in New York, Lincoln Park in Chicago, and Balboa Park in
San Diego, respectively.

In the early 1900s, according to Cranz, U.S. cities built neighborhood parks with
swimming pools, playgrounds and civic buildings, with the intention of Americanizing
the immigrant residents. In the 1950s, when money became available after World War II,
new parks continued to focus on both outdoor and indoor recreation with services such as
sports leagues using their ball fields and gymnasia. These smaller parks were built in
residential neighborhoods, and tried to serve all residents with programs for seniors,
adults, teens and children. Green space was of secondary importance. As urban land
prices climbed, new urban parks in the 1960s and after have been mainly pocket parks.
These small parks provide greenery, a place to sit outdoors, and often a play area for
children. All four types of park continue to exist in urban areas. Because of the large
amount of open space and natural habitat in the former pleasure grounds, they now serve
as important wildlife refuges, and often provide the only opportunity for urban residents
to hike or picnic in a semi-wild area. However, these parks can be targeted by city
managers or politicians as sources of free land for other uses; Partly for this reason, some
of these large parks have "friends of X park" advisory boards that help protect and
maintain their semi-wild nature. The largest area of public parks in any city in North
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America is the North Saskatchewan River valley parks system in Edmonton.

PRIVATE PARKS:
Private parks are owned by individuals or businesses and are used at the discretion of the
owner. There are a few types of private parks, and some which once were privately
maintained and used have now been made open to the public. The most prominent of
them may be Hunting Parks. Hunting parks originally referred to an area maintained as
open space where residences, industry and farming were not allowed, often originally so
that nobility might have a place to hunt such as medieval deer parks.

These were known for instance, as deer parks (deer being originally a term meaning any
wild animal). Many country houses in Great Britain and Ireland still have parks of this
sort, which since the 18th century have often been landscaped for aesthetic effect. They
are usually a mixture of open grassland with scattered trees and sections of woodland,
and are often enclosed by a high wall. The area immediately around the house is the
garden.

In some cases this will also feature sweeping lawns and scattered trees; the basic
difference between a country house's park and its garden is that the park is grazed by
animals, but they are excluded from the garden. In some countries, especially the United
Kingdom, the concept of the country park was popular in the 1970s, and many such parks
were established with government support during that time. Country parks are often
located near to urban populations, and provide recreational facilities typical of the
countryside rather than the town.

WHAT IS RECREATION?[6]
Recreation is one (not the only) kind of stress management. Recreation or fun is the
expenditure of time in a manner designed for therapeutic refreshment of one's body or
mind. While leisure is more likely a form of entertainment or rest, recreation is active for
the participant but in a refreshing and diverting manner. As people in the world's
wealthier regions lead increasingly sedentary life styles, the need for recreation has
increased. The rise of so called active vacations exemplifies this. A few individuals view
recreation as largely non-productive, even trivial. Excessive recreation is not considered
healthy, and may be labeled as escapism. However, research has shown that recreation
contributes to satisfaction, and that the stress management aspects of it contribute to
quality of life, health and wellness, happiness, and that the use of recreation as a
diversion may have clinical applications to individuals with chronic pain and other health
impairments.

TYPES OF RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES:

There are various types of recreational activities such as art, computer games, cycling,
dancing, Drawing, Eating and drinking, Hobbies, Hunting and fishing, Kite flying Music,
Martial arts, Partying, Pet ownership, Reading a book, Recreational drug use, Sexuality
and Dating, Sledding, Shopping, Singing, Sports and exercise, Travel and tourism
Texting, Using the internet, Video games, Visiting an amusement park, Watching movies,
Yoga, Painting. In recent years, more exciting forms of recreation have received more
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attention, such as skiing, snowboarding, bungee jumping, sky diving, hang gliding,
paintball, rock climbing, backpacking, canyoning, caving, BASE jumping, adventure
tourism and motor sport.

PROVISION OF PARKS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES IN TOWN

PLANNING:[7]
One of the most critical components in maintaining and enhancing a community's quality
of life is its system of parks, recreation, and open space. The careful location of parks and
open space areas and preservation of the Town's natural resources as a complement to
existing development can be a useful tool in guiding the Town's development into a
logical, orderly and environmentally sensitive pattern. In addition to recreational and
aesthetic benefits, open spaces provide a framework for various land uses. Properly
located, they become boundaries and buffers between conflicting uses of land and a
nucleus for building neighborhood areas. Natural features can be preserved as valuable
scenic and environmental attributes of the Town.

A park system and recreational program can also go a long way toward resolving the age-
old problem of a community offering nothing for young people to do. In order to provide
parks and recreational facilities at first an inventory of existing Town parks and opens
space areas is made. For instance in Karachi one of the first things that can be pointed out
is that there are a fairly large number of parks and the people overwhelmingly use these
parks. These two findings suggest that while Karachi has a lot of acreage for parks, much
of it is undeveloped and/or underutilized. This represents an opportunity to proactively
improve the availability of Parks and Recreation facilities/programs.

Recommended improvements as desirable by the citizens of Karachi included such things

as a playground, bathrooms, water fountain, and picnic facilities. These are all amenities
which are quite necessary that features the public desires, but that these amenities
somehow fall short of their expectations. Perhaps there needs to be more of a particular
amenity or perhaps another is simply in need of modernization and/or repair. The
Visioning process identified the need for Karachi is to develop a park system in each
town and union council. One impediment to this goal is the ownership of the parks and
open spaces in Karachi.

There are a number of Town Parks, quasi-public parks and facilities, and, being the mega
city and home to the largest population base, there are numerous issues such as
encroachment, unavailability of due care to existing open spaces and parks. There are
also private or semi-private recreational spaces like the golf courses, clubs and gyms etc.
A park system would consider all of these lands and evaluate them as a whole as to their
effectiveness in meeting the recreational needs of the residents of Karachi and environs. A
second factor inhibiting the effective development of a coordinated park system is the
way in which these spaces and facilities are managed. There is a Director General Parks
in Karachi Municipal Corporation with not much additional staff and part time assistance
or community backing which is the key factor in regular maintenance and management of
existing parks and recreational facilities.
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One step toward providing more direction and more active participation in planning,
acquiring, and improving Karachi's parks was taken recently by the City District
Government Karachi (CDGK) in the form of road improvements and construction of
signal free corridors in the city. However, there is still much work to be done as this
organization of city is still struggling with determining its role and how it relates to the
Karachi Master Plan 2020, in whom Law vests the authority to make "proposals for the
most appropriate and desirable patterns for the general location, character, and extent of
parks and recreation areas for specified times as far into the future as is reasonable.
Nevertheless, having a group dedicated to examining and making recommendations on
park issues shall be a positive step towards the development of a coordinated Town-wide
Park system.

FUTURE PARKS:
One area, in which it is crucial for the CDGK to work hard, is the planning for future
park sites. There must be a visioning committee to make several recommendations in this
area. There must be a detailed map of Karachi with its complete boundaries, maps of
towns and maps of union councils where parks are graphically depicted. These maps shall
be publicly available for the citizens of Karachi as the locations reserved for parks so as
they may create a check and balance system and cry for parks and recreational facilities if
required. The following recommendations for future parks are highlighted for the
reference.

GOAL:
To provide a coordinated system of parks that meet the recreational needs of all of
Karachi's residents.

OBJECTIVES:
Create/preserve public access and recreational opportunities in every town and union
council. Increase funding for the operation of a Parks and Recreational Facilities.
Develop more of the parks which already exist in Karachi. Identify a site or sites for
regional parks in future for annexation areas of Karachi. Develop Karachi's parks as a
coordinated system in order to insure that all areas of City are equitably served with parks
and that a variety of recreational opportunities are provided. Work with all town and
union council administration to coordinate Town and Union Council Park Planning and
eliminate unnecessary duplication of services. Examine and refine, if necessary, the
policy of requiring usable park/open space during development review and approval.
Provide for the contribution of fees in lieu of parks in subdivisions where such land is not
available or is not needed due to the lack of appropriate lands or the proximity of other
suitable parks or open spaces.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES:
The CDGK and all the towns should increase funding to Parks and Recreational facilities
of approximately 2% of the budget. Town staff should rely upon the mapped
recommendations contained in the Master Plan 2020 for future park lands during the
development review process in order to obtain necessary lands for future larger-scale
parks. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall be made and it should work with the
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D.G Parks to determine which of Karachi's existing parks should be improved and what
types of improvements are needed therein as well as to develop a plan for future park
sites. The CDGK should meet and coordinate planning efforts with Towns up until Union
Council level in order to enhance/increase recreational opportunities available to city
residents and in return to provide Karachi's fair share of Parks and Recreational Facilities.
All the towns should utilize monies collected as fees-in-lieu of providing parks and open
space for the acquisition of new parks and the improvement and/or maintenance of
existing undeveloped or underdeveloped parks.

REFERENCES:
[1] http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=park
[2] http://www.newberry.org/K12maps/glossary/index.html
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parks
[4] Salford City Council: Parks in Broughton and Blackfriars Retrieved on 2008-09-03 ;
Papillon Graphics' Virtual Encyclopaedia of Greater Manchester: The Campaign for City
Parks in Manchester and SalfordRetrieved on 2008-09-06 ; University of Salford: Peel
Park Retrieved on 2008-09-07
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_park
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recreation
[7] http://www.town-
COMMUNITY PLANNING
AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (SECTION-B)
By
RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Karachi

LECTURE NO: 26
TOPIC: COMMUNITY PLANNING

INTRODUCTION:
If you want to know how a shoe fits ask the person who wear it not the person who made
it.[1] All over the world there is increasing demand from all sides for more local
involvement in the planning and management of the environment. It is widely recognised
that this is the only way that people will get the surroundings they want. And it is now
seen as the best way of ensuring that communities become safer, stronger, wealthier and
more sustainable. But how should it be done? How can local people – wherever they live
– best involve themselves in the complexities of architecture, planning and urban design?
How can professionals’ best build on local knowledge and resources? Over the past few
decades, a wide range of methods has been pioneered in different countries. They include
new ways of people interacting, new types of event, new types of organisation, new
services and new support frameworks. This lecture provides an overview of these new
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methods of community planning.

BENEFIT OF COMMUNITY PLANNING:

When people are involved in shaping their local surroundings, the benefits can include:

1. Additional Resources: Governments rarely have sufficient means to solve all the
problems in an area. Local people can bring additional resources which are often essential
if their needs are to be met and dreams fulfilled.
2. Better Decisions: Local people are invariably the best source of knowledge and
wisdom about their surroundings. Better decision-making results if this is harnessed.
3. Building community: The process of working together and achieving things together
creates a sense of community.
4. Compliance with legislation: Community involvement is often, and increasingly, a
statutory requirement.
5. Democratic credibility: Community involvement in planning accords with people¹s
right to participate in decisions that affect their lives. It is an important part of the trend
towards democratisation of all aspects of society.
6. Easier fundraising: Many grant-making organisations prefer, or even require,
communityinvolvement to have occurred before handing out financial assistance.
7. Empowerment: Involvement builds local people¹s confidence, capabilities, skills and
ability to co-operate. This enables them to tackle other challenges, both individually and
collectively.
8. More appropriate results: Design solutions are more likely to be in tune with what is
needed and wanted. Involvement allows proposals to be tested and refined before
adoption, resulting in better use of resources.
9. Professional education: Working closely with local people helps professionals gain a
greater insight into the communities they seek to serve. So they work more effectively
and produce better results.
10. Responsive environment: The environment can more easily be constantly tuned and
refined to cater for people¹s changing requirements.
11. Satisfying public demand: People want to be involved in shaping their environment
and mostly seem to enjoy it.
12. Speedier development: People gain a better understanding of the options realistically
available and are likely to start thinking positively rather than negatively. Time-wasting
conflicts can often be avoided.
13. Sustainability: People feel more attached to an environment they have helped create.
They will therefore manage and maintain it better, reducing the likelihood of vandalism,
neglect and subsequent need for costly replacement.

GETTING STARTED WITH COMMUNITY PLANNING:

How do we get started with community planning? How do we decide which methods to
use, and when? How do we design an overall strategy geared to our own circumstances?
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The approach adopted will be different for every community. There is rarely quick fix or
blueprint. Each place needs to carefully devise its own community planning strategy to
suit local conditions and needs. But there are principles, methods and scenarios which
appear to be universally relevant, and can be drawn on for inspiration and guidance. They
are based on pioneering projects and experience from many countries over the past few
decades. It is unlikely that we would be able to draw up a complete strategy at the outset.
Flexibility is important, in any case, to be able to respond to new circumstances and
opportunities. But planning a provisional overall strategy is a useful discipline so that
everyone understands the context in which the chosen methods are being used arid the
purpose of each stage. First, define the goal or purpose. Then devise a strategy to achieve
it.

1. At first we need to understand the general principles and philosophy of community

planning
2. Secondly we need to understand the methods and range of options available for
community planning
3. Thirdly we need to develop a scenario to see if any case exist elsewhere in the world
that may relate to our own context so as to get inspiration
4. Fourthly we need to sketch out a scenario of our own situation
5. Fifthly we need to develop our strategies and planner i.e. action plan, event plan and
progress monitoring plan
6. Sixthly we think about the people / community to be involved
7. Seventhly we produce an item wise budget and allocate responsibilities to people
8. Finally we need to organise a process planning meeting with the community to review
the implementation of our plan

Once we have done this we will be in a position to assess the options available and
resources required. We will be working with a fixed budget and known contributors, with
our limited options. More likely, securing financial and other support will be part of the
process. Raising funding may not be easy, but organisations of all kinds are increasingly
prepared to contribute as they begin to see how community planning activity can benefit
the communities and there is a great deal that can be achieved by obtaining 'support in
kind'; help and assistance in non-financial terms.

PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY PLANNING[2]:

1. Accept different agendas:

People will want to be involved for a variety of reasons, for instance: academic enquiry,
altruism, curiosity, fear of change, financial gain, neighbourliness, professional duty,
protection of interests, socialising. This need not be a problem but it helps to be aware of
people’s different agendas.
2. Accept limitations:
No community planning activity can solve all the world’s problems. But that is not a
reason for holding back. Limited practical improvements will almost always result, and
community planning activity can often act as a catalyst for more fundamental change.
3. Accept varied commitment:
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Far too much energy is wasted complaining that certain people do not participate when
the opportunity is provided. All of us could spend our lives many times over working to
improve the local environment. Everyone has their own priorities in life and these should
be respected. If people do not participate it is likely to be because they are happy to let
others get on with it, they are busy with things which are more important to them or the
process has not been made sufficiently interesting.
4. Agree rules and boundaries:
There should be a common understanding by all main interest groups of the approach
adopted. Particularly in communities where there is fear – for instance that others may be
trying to gain territorial advantage – it is vital that the rules and boundaries are clearly
understood and agreed. In particular it is important to be clear about what can and cannot
be changed as a result of any community involvement.
5. Avoid jargon:
Use plain language. Jargon prevents people from engaging and is usually a smokescreen
to hide incompetence, ignorance or arrogance.
6. Be honest:
Be open and straightforward about the nature of any activity. People will generally
participate more enthusiastically if they know that something can be achieved through
their participation (eg if there is a budget for a capital project). But they may be quite
prepared to participate ‘at risk’ providing they know the odds. If there is only a small
chance of positive change as a result of people participating, say so. Avoid hidden
agendas.
7. Be transparent:
The objectives and people’s roles should be clear and transparent at events. For instance,
it may seem trivial but the importance of name badges to prevent events being the
preserve of the ‘in-crowd’ can never be stressed enough.
8. Be visionary yet realistic:
Nothing much is likely to be achieved without raising expectations. Yet dwelling entirely
on the utopian can be frustrating. Strike a balance between setting visionary utopian goals
and being realistic about the practical options available.
9. Build local capacity:
Long-term community sustainability depends on developing human and social capital.
Take every opportunity to develop local skills and capacity. Involve local people in
surveying their own situation, running their own programmes and managing local assets.
Help people to understand how planning processes work and how they can be influenced.
Communications and cultural activities are particularly effective at building capacity.
10. Communicate: Use all available media to let people know what you are doing and
how they can get involved. Community newspapers or broadsheets in particular are
invaluable. Community newspapers and, increasingly, websites are invaluable.
Information provision is a vital element of all participatory activities.
11. Encourage collaboration:
Create partnerships wherever possible between the various interest groups involved and
with potential contributors such as financial institutions.
12. Flexibility:
Be prepared to modify processes as circumstances dictate. Avoid inflexible methods and
strategies.
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13. Focus on attitudes:

Behaviour and attitude are just as, if not more, important than methods. Encourage self-
critical awareness, handing over control, personal responsibility and sharing.
14. Focus on existing interests:
Start participatory working with a focus on the existing interests and motivations of local
people. They will then see the relevance of being involved.
15. Follow up:
Lack of follow-up is the most common failing, usually due to a failure to plan and budget
for it. Make sure you set aside time and resources for documenting, publicising and
acting on the results of any community planning initiative.
16. Go at the right pace:
Rushing can lead to problems. On the other hand, without deadlines things can drift.
Using experienced external advisors may speed up the process but often at the expense of
developing local capacity. Get the balance right.
17. Go for it:
This is the phrase used most by people who have experienced community planning when
asked what their advice would be to others. You are bound to have doubts; it is usually a
leap in the dark. But you are unlikely to regret taking the plunge.
18. Have fun:
Getting involved in creating and managing the environment should not be a chore. It can
be a great opportunity to meet people and have fun. The most interesting and sustainable
environments have been produced where people have enjoyed creating them. Community
planning requires humour. Use cartoons, jokes and games whenever possible.
19. Always Work on Human scale:
Work in communities of a manageable scale. This is usually where people at least
recognise each other. Where possible, break up larger areas into a series of smaller ones
and translate regional issues to a local scale. Working on regional planning issues requires
a high level of coordination between community and interest groups and the use of
specific methods.
20. Integrate with decision-making:
Community planning activity needs to be integrated with government decision-making
processes. Participatory processes are undermined if there is no clear link to decision-
making.
21. Involve all those affected:
Community planning works best if all parties are committed to it. Involve all the main
interested parties as early as possible, preferably in the planning of the process. Activities
in which key players (such as landowners or planners) sit on the sidelines are all too
common and rarely achieve their objectives completely. Time spent winning over cynics
before you start is well worthwhile. If there are people or groups who cannot be
convinced at the outset, keep them informed and give them the option of joining in later
on.
22. Involve all sections of the community:
People of different ages, gender, backgrounds and cultures almost invariably have
different perspectives. Ensure that a full spectrum of the community is involved. This is
usually far more important than involving large numbers.
23. Learn from others:
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There is no need to re-invent the wheel. One of the best sources of information is people
who have done it before. Don’t think you know it all. No one does. Be open to new
approaches. Get in touch with people from elsewhere who have relevant experience. Go
and visit them and see their projects; seeing is believing. Do not be afraid of experienced
‘consultants’ but choose and brief them carefully.
24. Local ownership of the process:
The community planning process should be ‘owned’ by local people. Even though
consultants or national organisations may be providing advice and taking responsibility
for certain activities, the local community should take responsibility for the overall
process.
25. Maintain momentum:
Regularly monitor progress to ensure that initiatives are built on and objectives achieved.
Development processes are invariably lengthy; the participation process needs to stay the
course. If there has to be a break, start again from where you left off, not from the
beginning. Periodic review sessions can be very valuable to maintain momentum and
community involvement.
26. Mixture of methods:
Use a variety of involvement methods as different people will want to take part in
different ways. For instance, some will be happy to write letters, others will prefer to
make comments at an exhibition or take part in workshop sessions.
27. Now is the right time:
The best time to start involving people is at the beginning of any programme. The earlier
the better; But if programmes have already begun, participation should be introduced as
soon as possible. Start now.
28. Ongoing involvement:
Community involvement in planning issues needs to be an ongoing and continuous
activity and be supported accordingly. One-off consultations with tight deadlines only
have limited value.
29. Personal initiative:
Virtually all community planning initiatives have happened only because an individual
has taken the initiative. Don’t wait for others. That individual could be you!
30. Plan your own process carefully:
Careful planning of the process is vital. Avoid rushing into any one approach. Look at
alternatives. Design a process to suit the circumstances. This may well involve combining
a range of methods or devising new ones.
31. Plan for the local context:
Develop unique strategies for each neighbourhood. Understand local characteristics and
traditions and use them as a starting point for planning. Encourage regional and local
diversity.
32. Prepare properly:
The most successful activities are invariably those on which sufficient time and effort
have been given to preliminary organisation and engaging those who may be interested.
33. Process is as important as product:
The way that things are done is often as important as the end result. But remember that
the aim is implementation. Participation is important but is not an end in itself.
34. Professional enablers:
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Professionals and administrators should see themselves as enablers, helping local people
achieve their goals, rather than as providers of services and solutions.
35. Quality not quantity:
There is no such thing as a perfect participation process. The search for one is healthy
only if this fact is accepted. Generally, the maximum participation by the maximum
number of people is worth aiming at. But any participation is better than none and the
quality of participation is more important than the numbers involved. A well organised
event for a small number of people can often be more fruitful than a less well organised
event for larger numbers.
36. Reach all sectors:
Use methods to reach all sectors of the community – for example young people, minority
ethnic communities, small businesses, the ‘silent majority’, the ‘hard to reach’. But take
care to avoid further alienation of disadvantaged groups by creating separate processes.
37. Record and document:
Make sure participation activities are properly recorded and documented so that it can be
clearly seen who has been involved and how. Easily forgotten, such records can be
invaluable at a later stage.
38. Respect cultural context:
Make sure that your approach is suitable for the cultural context in which you are
working. Consider local attitudes to gender, informal livelihoods, social groupings,
speaking out in public and so on.
39. Respect local knowledge:
All people, whether literate or not, whether rich or poor, whether children, women or
men, have a remarkable understanding of their surroundings and are capable of analysing
and assessing their situation, often better than trained professionals. Respect local
perceptions, choices and abilities and involve local people in setting goals and strategies.
40. Shared control:
The extent of public participation in any activity can vary from very little to a great deal.
Different levels are appropriate at different stages of the planning process but shared
control at the planning and design stage is the crucial ingredient.
41. Special interest groups:
Important Groups representing different special interests have a vital role to play in
shaping the environment because of its complexity. Decision-makers need to consider
evidence which represents best the variety of interests of current and future communities,
including taking into account views of specific interest groups with particular knowledge.
42. Spend money:
Effective participation processes take time and energy. There are methods to suit a range
of budgets and much can be achieved using only people’s time and energy. But over-tight
budgets usually lead to cutting corners and poor results. Remember that community
planning is an important activity, the success or failure of which may have dramatic
implications for future generations as well as your own resources. Budget generously.
43. Think on your feet:
Once the basic principles and language of participatory planning are understood,
experienced practitioners will find it easy to improvise. Avoid feeling constrained by
rules or guidance
44. Train:
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Training is invaluable at all levels. Encourage visits to other projects and attendance on
courses. Build in training to all your activities.
45. Trust in others’ honesty:
Start from a position of trusting others and generally this will be reciprocated. Lack of
trust is usually due to lack of information.
46. Use experts appropriately:
The best results emerge when local people work closely and intensively with experts
from all the necessary disciplines. Creating and managing the environment is very
complicated and requires a variety of expertise and experience to do it well. Do not be
afraid of expertise, embrace it. But avoid dependency on or hijacking by, professionals.
Keep control local. Use experts ‘little and often’ to allow local participants time to
develop capability, even if it means they sometimes make mistakes.
47. Use facilitators:
Orchestrating group activities is a real skill. Without good facilitation the most articulate
and powerful may dominate. Particularly if large numbers of people are involved, ensure
that the person (or people) directing events have good facilitation skills. If not, hire
someone who has.
48. Use local talent:
Make use of local skills and professionalism within the community before supplementing
them with outside assistance. This will help develop capability within the community and
help achieve long-term sustainability.
49. Use outsiders, but carefully:
A central principle of community planning is that local people know best. But outsiders,
if well briefed, can provide a fresh perspective which can be invigorating. Getting the
right balance between locals and outsiders is important; avoid locals feeling swamped or
intimidated by ‘foreigners’.
50. Visualise:
People can participate far more effectively if information is presented visually rather than
in words. A great deal of poor development, and hostility to good development, is due to
people not understanding what it will look like. Use graphics, maps, illustrations,
cartoons, drawings, photomontages and models wherever possible. And make the process
itself visible by using flipcharts, Post-it notes, coloured dots and banners.
51. Walk before you run:
Developing a participatory culture takes time. Start by using simple participation methods
and work up to using more complex ones as experience and confidence grow.
52. Work on location:
Wherever possible, base community planning activities physically in the area being
planned. This makes it much easier for everyone to bridge the gap from concept to reality.

METHODS OF COMMUNITY PLANNING:[3]

There are so many methods of community planning some of which are given here for the
reference of students. The students are advised to search the following sites.

Activity week Architecture centre Art workshop Award schemeBriefing workshop

Choice catalogues Community design centre Community planning event
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Community planning forum Community profiling Design assistance team Design fest
Design game Design workshop Development trust DiagramsElectronic map
Elevation montage Environment shop Feasibility fund Field workshop
Future search conference Gaming Ideas competitionInteractive display
Local design statement Mapping Microplanning workshopMobile unit Models
Neighbourhood planning office Newspaper supplement Open house event
Open space workshop Participatory editing Photo surveyPlanning aid scheme Planning
day Planning for real Planning weekend Prioritising Process planning session
Reconnaissance trip Review session Risk assessmentRoadshow Simulation Street stall
Table scheme display Task force Urban design studio User group Video soapbox

References:
[1] http://www.communityplanning.net/aboutcp/aboutcp.php
[2] http://www.communityplanning.net/principles/principles.php
[3] http://www.communityplanning.net/methods/methods.php
POSTED BY TOWN PLANNING AT 7:18 AM NO COMMENTS:

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

LAYOUT OF STREET, ROAD CROSSING AND LIGHTING
AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (SECTION-B)
By
RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Karachi

LECTURE NO: 25
TOPIC: LAYOUT OF STREET, ROAD CROSSING AND LIGHTING

INTRODUCTION:
The theme of current lecture is, “layout of street, road crossing and lighting”. The main
purpose of this theme is to get a clear understanding about the physical features of a street
along with its’ major elements. The term street itself is a very vast term and it is explained
and interpreted in various ways. Similarly the characteristics of streets are also plentiful.
Thus in the following all these aspects of streets shall be discussed in details.
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WHAT IS STREET?
A Street is a paved public thoroughfare in the built environment. It is a public parcel of
land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble,
interact, and move about. A Street is characterized by the degree and quality of street life
it facilitates, whereas a road serves primarily as a through passage for vehicles or
pedestrians.[1]

STREET FURNITURE:
‘Street furniture’[2] is a collective term for objects and pieces of equipment installed on
streets and roads for various purposes, including traffic barrier, benches, bollards, post
boxes, phone boxes, streetlamps, street lighting, traffic lights, traffic signs, bus stops, grit
bins, tram stops, taxi stands, public lavatories, fountains and memorials, and waste
receptacles. An important consideration in the design of street furniture is how it affects
road safety.

STREET NAME SIGNS identify streets, for the benefit of visitors, especially postal
workers and the emergency services. They may also indicate the district in which the
street lies.

A BENCH is essentially a chair made for more than one person, usually found in the
central part of any settlement (such as plazas and parks). They are often provided by the
local councils or contributors to serve as a place to rest and admire the view. Armrests in
between are sometimes provided to prevent people lying down and/or to prevent people
from sitting too close to someone who likes to keep some distance.
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BOLLARDS are posts, short poles, or pillars, with the purpose of preventing the
movement of vehicles onto sidewalks or grass etc.

POST BOXES, also known as MAIL BOXES, are found throughout the world, and have
a variety of forms: round pillar style found in Japan and the U.K. (the two feature a
difference in that the Japanese version has a round lid while the UK version is flat);
rectangular blue boxes in the United States; red and yellow boxes with curved tops in
Australia, some on poles. The Canadian version is a red box with a slanted back top.

PHONE BOXES or TELEPHONE BOOTHS are prominent in most cities around the
world, and while ranging drastically in the amount of cover they offer users, e.g. many
only cover the phone itself while others are full booths, are instantly recognisable. The
widespread use of mobile phones has resulted in a decrease in their numbers.

STREETLAMPS are designed to illuminate the surrounding area at night, serving not
only as a deterrent to criminals but more importantly to allow people to see where they're
going.
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TRAFFIC LIGHTS (or TRAFFIC SIGNALS) usually include three colours: green to
represent "go", amber to inform drivers that the colour will alternate shortly and red to
tell drivers to stop. They are generally mounted on poles or gantries or hang from wires.

TRAFFIC SIGNS warn drivers of upcoming road conditions such as a "blind curve",
speed limits, etc. Direction signs tell the reader the way to a location, although the sign's
information can be represented in a variety of ways from that of a diagram to written
instructions. Direction signs are usually mounted on poles. Recently, illumination has
started to be added in order to aid nighttime users.

PUBLIC LAVATORIES allow pedestrians the opportunity to use restroom facilities,

either for free or for a per-use fee.

STREETS TYPOLOGY:
Streets are of many types and there are different names attributed to a street. For instance
street can be termed as an alley, lane, avenue, boulevard etc. In addition there are streets
names such as Main Street, side streets, two way streets, numbered streets, walkways and
cul-de-sacs etc. Similarly there are processes attached to streets such as traffic calming
etc.
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An ALLEY[3] or ALLEYWAY is a narrow, pedestrian lane found in urban areas which

usually runs between or behind buildings. In older cities and towns in Europe, alleys are
often what is left of a medieval street network, or a right of way or ancient footpath in an
urban setting. In older urban development, alleys were built to allow for deliveries such
as coal to the rear of houses. Alleys may be paved, or simply dirt tracks. Blind alleys have
no outlet at one end and are thus a cul-de-sac.

Many modern urban developments do not incorporate alleys. In some locations

installation of gates to restrict alleyway access have significantly reduced burglary rates.
On blocks where gates are not installed, residents sometimes erect home-made barricades
at alley entrances.

Alleys which are narrow pavements between/behind buildings can be known as

SNICKETS, GINNELS, JENNELS or ALLEYWAYS. This has led to the word
SNICKELWAY, originally in York, though the term has become more widespread.

In Sussex the term TWITTEN is commonly used whilst in Liverpool the term ENTRY or
JIGGER is more common.

The word JITTY is also often used in Derbyshire and Leicestershire.

GULLEY is the term sometimes used in the Black Country.

In Karachi and Mumbai the term ‘PATLEE GALLEE’ (Narrow Street) is usually used as
an admonition for cowards to runaway.

In Nottinghamshire TWICHELL is a common name.

In Scotland the terms CLOSE, WYND AND PEND are commonplace.

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JENNEL is local to Sheffield.

In Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast, and the surrounding areas, certain alleys are known
as ENTRIES, ENTRY, AND ANTRIM.

In Australia and Canada the terms LANE, LANEWAY and SERVICEWAY are also used.

In the United States and Canada alleys are sometimes known as REAR LANES or BACK
LANES because they are at the back of buildings.

The word LANE[4] has several meanings and types, it can be a portion of a paved road
which is intended for a single line of vehicles and is marked by white or yellow lines or a
lane is a narrow road or street, usually lacking a shoulder or a median; this is typically
applied to roads, but can also be applied to urban streets or areas that used to be streets.

A TRAFFIC LANE OR TRAVEL LANE is a lane for the movement of vehicles traveling
from one destination to another, not including shoulders and auxiliary lanes.

A THROUGH LANE or thru lane is a traffic lane for through traffic. At intersections,
these may be indicated by arrows on the pavement pointing straight ahead.

A CARRIAGEWAY is a series of lanes (or part of a road) in which vehicles travel.

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A LOADING LANE is an area next to a curb, which is reserved for loading and
unloading passengers. It may be marked by a "LOADING ONLY" sign or a yellow or
white curb.

A TRAM LANE is a lane reserved for the use of buses, trams and taxicabs.

AN EXPRESS LANE of a road is used for faster moving traffic and has less access to
exits/off ramps.

AN AUXILIARY LANE along a highway or motorway connects slip roads, with the
entrance ramp or acceleration lane from one interchange leading to the exit ramp or
deceleration lane of the next.

A DECELERATION LANE is a paved or semi-paved lane adjacent to the primary road

or street. It is used to improve traffic safety by allowing drivers to pull off the main road
and decelerate safely in order to turn, so that the traffic behind the turning vehicle is not
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slowed or halted. Deceleration lanes are primarily found in suburban settings.

A FIRE LANE is the area next to a curb, which is reserved for firefighting equipment,
ambulances, or other emergency vehicles. Parking in these areas, often marked by red
lines, usually warrants a parking ticket.

A PASSING LANE is often provided on steep mountain grades, in order to allow smaller
vehicles to pass larger, slower ones. This is sometimes called a climbing lane if on the
uphill side. Passing lanes may also be provided on long stretches of other roadway. On
two-lane roads, passing in the lane of oncoming traffic is sometimes allowed given a long
enough straightaway, if the broken line is on the normal side of travel.

A COLLECTOR LANE of a road is used for slower moving traffic and has more access
to exits/off ramps.
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A TRANSFER LANE of a road is used to move from express lanes to collector lanes, or
vice-versa; it is somewhat similar to an auxiliary lane.

A MERGE LANE is a lane or onramp used to merge two flows of traffic into one, with
the merge lane being the lane that disappears at the end of the merging area. Merge lane
lengths depend mainly on the speed differential of the two merging flows, as the slower
flow has to use the lane to accelerate.

THE EMERGENCY LANE of a road (also known as the breakdown lane, shoulder or
hard shoulder) is reserved for breakdowns, and for emergency vehicles. The inner
boundary of the lane often features rumble strips in order to physically warn drowsy or
inattentive drivers that they are drifting off the roadway. This feature is seen especially
often on highways and motorways, where the minimally-stimulating and monotonous
nature of high-speed driving at night increases the chances for driver disorientation and
serious injury or death if an accident does take place.

A DESIGNATED BICYCLE LANE is a portion of the roadway or shoulder designated

for the exclusive or preferential use of bicyclists. This designation is indicated by special
word and/or symbol markings on the pavement and "BIKE LANE" signs.
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A BUS LANE is reserved for buses providing public transportation on a fixed route,
sometimes with overhead catenary for trolleybuses. In some countries, bus lanes may also
be used by some other traffic, such as taxis, bicycles and motorbikes.

A TRUCK LANE (United States) or crawler lane (Great Britain) is a lane provided on
long and steep uphill stretches of high-speed roads to enhance the ability of vehicles
which can maintain speed up the incline to pass those vehicles (usually heavy trucks)
which cannot. In addition, these lanes are intended to optimize pavement performance
and minimize pavement fatigue.

A REVERSIBLE LANE, which uses overhead lights, signs, poles or barriers to indicate
the current direction of travel it is to be used for. Typically, it is used at rush hour to
accommodate extra traffic, and at other times as a center turn lane. In between, there is
approximately one hour where no traffic is allowed. While the idea is very simple, the
term suicide lane became a common slang description for this design, because many
people ignored their driving or the lights. Because of their history of numerous accidents
and collisions, reversible lanes are rarely used now.
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AN OPERATIONAL LANE OR AUXILIARY LANE is an extra lane on the entire length

of highway between interchanges, giving drivers more time to merge in or out.

AN OVERTAKING LANE is the lane furthest from the shoulder of a multi-lane

carriageway (sometimes called the fast lane, although this is deprecated by the
authorities).

AN AVENUE[5] is a straight road with a line of trees or large shrubs running along each
side, which is used, to emphasize the "coming to," or arrival at a landscape or
architectural feature. In most cases, the trees planted in an avenue will be all of the same
species, so as to give uniform appearance along the full length of the avenue. The French
term, allée, is confined normally to avenues planted in parks and landscape gardens. In
urban or suburban settings, "avenue" is often a qualifier for a road name, along with
"lane", "street", "way", etc. In some cities which have a grid plan, such as Manhattan,
there is a convention that avenues run in a north-south direction, while streets run in an
east-west direction, or vice versa.

BULEVARD[6] has several generally accepted meanings. It was first introduced in the
French in 1435 as boloard and has since been altered into boulevard; As a type of road, a
boulevard is usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down
the center, and roadways along each side as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle
and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery.
Some people also use the term boulevard to refer to the division or central reservation in
a road. It can consist of anything from a simple thick curb of concrete, to a wide strip of
 136

grass, to a thoroughly landscaped space of trees, shrubs, and other foliage; in urban areas,
boulevards can also contain public art or memorials. Wide boulevards also sometimes
serve as rights-of-way for trams or light rail systems. Another use for the term boulevard
is for a strip of grass between a sidewalk and a road, and located above a curb. Though in
Europe the two are often adjacent, many residential neighbourhoods in the United States
and Canada feature strips of grass or other greenery between the sidewalk and the road,
placed in order to both beautify the street and to provide a buffer between vehicles and
pedestrians.

MAIN STREET[7] is the metonym for a generic street name of the primary retail street
of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world. It is usually a focal point for
shops and retailers in the central business district, and is most often used in reference to
retailing and socialising. Main Street is commonly used in the United States, Canada, and
Ireland, some parts of Scotland and also in some countries in central Europe.

HIGH STREET is the common term in the United Kingdom.

In Jamaica as well as North East England and some sections of Canada, the usual term is
FRONT STREET. In Cornwall, the equivalent is FORE STREET.

In some larger cities, there may be several Main Streets, each relating to a specific
neighborhood or formerly separate city, rather than the city as a whole.

In Hong Kong, "Main Street" can be translated in Chinese into"ZHENG JIE" or "DA
JIE"; however, in Hong Kong, officially "CENTRE STREET" is a branch road off
Sheung Wan District.

In England, the terms "MARKET STREET" or "MARKET PLACE" are often used to
designate the heart of a town or city, as is the more common High Street (certainly in
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newer urban developments, or towns or cities which were not original market towns).

HIGH STREET is often the name of a fairly busy street with small shops on either side,
often in towns and villages.

In Sweden, almost all towns and cities have their own main street, a street called
"STORGATAN" (Literally means, "THE BIG STREET"). They are typically surrounded
by stores and restaurants, and in most cases open for pedestrians only, where no vehicles
are allowed.

Likewise in Norway, this type of street is called "GÅGATE" (Literally means

"WALKING STREET").

JALAN BESAR (roughly translated from Malay as "MAIN ROAD") is a common street
name used in Malaysia when referring to main streets of older urban centres in the
country. Such main streets were originally constructed during British colonisation, and
were named in English as "Main Street" or "Main Road", depending on the size and
nature of the urban centre.

In rural Sindh there are many small villages or sub districts or taluka level settlements
that have one main central street bazaar (market) also known as “DHAK BAZAAR”
(literally means a “COVERED MARKET”) which is an example of Main Street in our
local context of Pakistan.
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A SIDE STREET[8] is a street that intersects a main street and ends there. Most side
streets are lined with residences. Side streets when built are mostly intended only for the
traffic of their residents and visitors.

A TWO-WAY STREET[9] is a street that allows vehicles to travel in both directions. On

most two-way streets, a line is painted down in the middle of the road to remind drivers
to stay on their side of the road. If there is no line, a car must stay on the appropriate side
and watch for cars coming in the opposite direction and prepare to pull over to let them
pass. A two-way street can also be used as an idiomatic metaphor to indicate that
something goes both ways. For example, "Communication within a relationship must be a
two- way street that is heavily traveled in both directions."

A NUMBERED STREET[10] is a street whose name is a number rather than a worded

name. Numbered streets, are commonly identified with names like "street," "avenue,"
etc., are among the most common street names found in North America. Numbered
streets exist in cities which have grid-based naming systems, with numbers usually
starting at 1 and then proceeding in numerical order. Some cities also have lettered street
names. For example, Washington, D.C., has streets identified as a letter followed by
"Street," such as Street A. New York has avenues titled "Avenue" followed by the
respective letter of the alphabet, such as Avenue D.

A WALKWAY[11] is an umbrella term for all formal surfaces which support the act of
walking. This includes sidewalks, trails, paths, stairs, ramps and open passageways. The
walkway is a path for walking that is generally not enclosed. It can be at ground level, or
it can be elevated, such as a boardwalk, or a floating dock/trail. It can be a simple
constructed path or something more complex to cross a road or a body of water. An open
pedestrian overpass or a special tunnel is also an element of a walkway. It can also be
used to board and remove passengers from aircraft to the terminal building.
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A CUL-DE-SAC[12] is a dead-end street with only one inlet/outlet. In urban planning

culs-de-sac are created to limit through-traffic in residential areas. While some culs-de-
sac provide no possible passage except in and out of their road entry, others allow
cyclists, pedestrians or other non-automotive traffic to pass through connecting easements
or paths. The word "cul-de-sac" and its variants, "dead end" and "no exit", have inspired
metaphorical uses in literature and in culture too.

TRAFFIC CALMING[13] is a set of strategies used by urban planners and traffic

engineers which aim to slow down or reduce traffic, thereby improving safety for
pedestrians and bicyclists as well as improving the environment for residents. Traffic
calming was traditionally justified on the grounds of pedestrian safety and reduction of
noise and local air pollution which are side effects of the traffic. However, streets have
many social and recreational functions which are severely impaired by car traffic.

The Livable Streets study found that residents of streets with light traffic had, on average,
three more friends and twice as many acquaintances as the people on streets with heavy
traffic which was otherwise similar in dimensions, income, etc.

For much of the twentieth century, streets were designed by engineers who were charged
only with ensuring traffic flow and not with fostering the other functions of streets.
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The basis for traffic calming is broadening traffic engineering to include designing for
these functions. There are 3 "Es" that traffic engineers refer to when discussing traffic
calming: Engineering, (community) Education, and (police) Enforcement.

Because neighborhood traffic management studies have shown that often it is the
residents themselves who are contributing to the perceived speeding problem within the
neighborhood, it is stressed that the most effective traffic calming plans will entail all
three components, and that engineering measures alone will not produce satisfactory
results.

A number of visual changes to roads are being made, to many streets, to bring about more
attentive driving, reduced speeds, reduced crashes, and greater tendency to yield to
pedestrians.

Visual traffic calming includes lane narrowing (9-10'), road diets (reduction in lanes), use
of trees next to streets, on-street parking, and buildings placed in urban fashion close to
streets.

Physical devices include speed humps, speed cushions, and speed tables, sized for the
desired speed. Such measures slow cars to between 10 and 25 miles (15-40 km) per hour.
Most devices are made of asphalt or concrete but rubber traffic calming products are
emerging as an effective alternative with several advantages.

TRAFFIC CALMING CAN INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ENGINEERING

MEASURES:
Narrower Traffic Lanes — streets can be narrowed by extending the sidewalk, adding
bollards or planters, or adding a bike lane or parking. Narrowing traffic lanes differs from
other road treatments by making slower speeds seem more natural to drivers and less of
an artificial imposition, as opposed to most other treatments used that physically force
lower speeds or restrict route choice.
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Speed Bumps, sometimes split or offset in the middle to help emergency vehicles reduce
delay.

Speed Humps, parabolic devices that are less aggressive than speed bumps and used on
residential streets. Speed Tables, long flat-topped speed humps that slow cars more
gradually than humps. Speed Cushions, a series of three small speed humps that slow cars
down but allow emergency vehicles to straddle them so as not to slow response time.
Chicanes, which create a horizontal deflection causing vehicles to slow as they would for
a curve; Raised Pedestrian Crossings and Raised Intersection.

Curb Extensions (also called bull bouts) which narrow the width of the roadway at
Pedestrian Crossings. Pedestrian Refuges or small islands in the middle of the street;
Median DIVERTERS to prevent left turns or through movements into a residential area;
Changing the surface material or texture (for example, the selective use of Brick or
Cobblestone); Additional give way (yield) signs; Converting One-Way Streets into Two-
Way Streets. Chokers, which are curb extensions that narrow the roadway to a single lane
at points.

Allowing parking on one or both sides of a street, converting an intersection into a Cul-
De-Sac or Dead End, Boom Barrier, restricting through traffic to authorised vehicles only.
Close streets to create the Pedestrian Zones. Watchman traffic calming system etc.
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ROAD CROSSING:
A pedestrian crossing[1] or crosswalk is a designated point on a road at which some
means are employed to assist pedestrians wishing to cross. They are designed to keep
pedestrians together where they can be seen by motorists, and where they can cross most
safely with the flow of vehicular traffic. Pedestrian crossings are often at intersections,
but may also be at other points on busy roads that would otherwise be perilous to attempt
to cross. They are common near schools or in other areas where there are a large number
of children. Crosswalks can be considered a traffic calming technique.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ROAD CROSSING:

Crossings are of various types. The simplest crossings may just consist of some markings
on the road surface. These are often called Zebra crossings, referring to the alternate
white and black stripes painted on the road surface. Depending on local laws, pedestrians
crossing the road may or may not have priority over road traffic when using the crossing.
If the pedestrian has priority, then they have an incentive to use the crossing instead of
crossing the road at other places. In some countries, pedestrians may not have priority,
but may be committing an offence if they cross the road elsewhere. In this respect term
Jaywalking is used. Jaywalking[2] is an informal term used to refer to illegal or reckless
pedestrian crossing of a roadway. Examples include a pedestrian crossing between
intersections (outside a crosswalk, marked or unmarked) without yielding to drivers and
starting to cross a crosswalk at a signalized intersection without waiting for a permissive
indication to be displayed.

Some crossings have special signals consisting of electric lamps or light-emitting diode
(LED) panels. The signals allow pedestrians and road traffic to use the crossing
alternately. On some traffic signals, pressing a button is required to trigger the signal.
These signals may be integrated into a regular traffic light arrangement or may be on their
own if the crossing is not at an intersection. Audible or tactile signals may also be
included to assist people who have poor sight. Sites with extremely high traffic or roads
where pedestrians are not allowed (freeways or motorways) may instead be crossed
pedestrian bridges or tunnels. A variation on the bridge concept, often called a skyway or
skywalk, is sometimes implemented in regions that experience inclement weather. In
many cities, countdown clocks are being added to give notice to both drivers and
pedestrians the time remaining on the crossing signal. Special markings are often made
on the road surface, both to direct pedestrians and to prevent motorists from stopping
vehicles in the way of foot traffic.

There are many varieties of signal and marking layouts around the world and even within
single countries. In the United States, there are many inconsistencies, although the
variations are usually minor. There are several distinct types in the United Kingdom, each
with their own name. Pedestrian refuges or small islands in the middle of a street may be
added when a street is very wide, as these crossings can be too long for some individuals
to cross in one cycle. In places where there is very high pedestrian traffic, pedestrian
scrambles may be used, which stop vehicular traffic in all directions at the same time.
Another relatively widespread variation is the Curb extension (also known as a bulb-out)
which narrows the width of the street and is used in combination with crosswalk
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markings.

STREET LIGHT:
A Street light, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of
light on the edge of a road, which is turned on or lit at a certain time every night. Modern
lamps may also have light-sensitive photocells to turn them on at dusk, off at dawn, or
activate automatically in dark weather. Also, it is not uncommon for street lights to be on
posts which have wires strung between them, such as on telephone poles or utility poles.

HISTORY OF STREET LIGHTING[14]:

Before incandescent lamps, gas lighting was employed in cities. The earliest lamps
required that a lamplighter tour the town at dusk, lighting each of the lamps, but later
designs employed ignition devices that would automatically strike the flame when the gas
supply was activated. The earliest of such street lamps were built in the Arab Empire,
especially in Córdoba, Spain.[15]

The first electric street lighting employed arc lamps, initially the'Electric candle',
developed by the Russians in 1875. This was a carbon arc lamp employing alternating
current, which ensured that the electrodes burnt down at the same rate.
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Thames Embankment in London had the first electric street lighting in Britain.

The United States was swift in adopting arc lighting, and by 1890 over 130,000 were in
operation in the US, commonly installed in exceptionally tall moonlight towers. The first
street in the UK to be lit by electric light was Mosley Street, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The street was lit by Joseph Swan's incandescent lamp in February, 1879.[16]

First in the United States, and second overall, was the Public Square road system in
Cleveland, Ohio, on April 29, 1879. Wabash, Indiana holds the title of being the third
electrically-lit city in the world, which took place on February 2, 1880. Four 3,000
candlepower Brush arc lamps suspended over the courthouse rendered the town square
"as light as midday."

Kimberley, a city in the centre of South Africa, was the first city in Africa to have electric
street lights - first lit on 1 September 1882. In Latin America, San Jose, Costa Rica was
the first city; the system was launched on August 9, 1884, with 25 lamps powered by a
hydroelectric plant.

Timişoara, in present-day Romania, was the first city in mainland Europe to have electric
public lighting on the 12 of November 1884. 731 lamps were used. In 1888 Tamworth,
New South Wales, Australia became the first location in the Southern Hemisphere to have
electric street lighting, giving the city the title of "First City of Light".

Arc lights had two major disadvantages. First, they emit an intense and harsh light which,
although useful at industrial sites like dockyards, was discomforting in ordinary city
streets. Second, they are maintenance-intensive, as carbon electrodes burn away swiftly.
 145

With the development of cheap, reliable and bright incandescent light bulbs at the end of
the 19th century, they passed out of use for street lighting, but remained in industrial use
longer.

Incandescent lamps were primarily used for street lighting until the advent of high-
intensity discharge lamps. They were often operated in high-voltage series circuits. Series
circuits were popular since the higher voltage in these circuits produced more light per
watt consumed.

Furthermore, before the invention of photoelectric controls, a single switch or clock could
regulate all the lights in an entire district. To avoid having the entire system go dark if a
single lamp burned out, each street lamp had to be equipped with a device that ensured
that the circuit would remain intact.

Early series street lights were equipped with isolation transformers that would allow
current to pass across the transformer whether the bulb worked or not. Later the FILM
CUTOUT was invented. The film cutout was a small disk of insulating film that separated
two contacts connected to the two wires leading to the lamp. If the lamp failed (an open
circuit), the current through the string became zero, causing the entire voltage of the
circuit (thousands of volts) to be imposed across the insulating film, penetrating it as
described in Ohm's law.

In this way, the failed lamp was bypassed and illumination restored to the rest of the
street. (This is the same principle used in Christmas tree lights. The street light circuit
contained an automatic device to regulate the voltage in the circuit, preventing the current
from increasing as additional lamps burned out, preserving the life of the remaining
lamps.

When the failed lamp was replaced, a new piece of film was installed, once again
separating the contacts in the cutout. This style of street lighting was recognizable by the
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large porcelain insulator that separated the lamp and reflector from the light's mounting
arm. The insulator was necessary because the two contacts in the lamp's base may have
operated at several thousands of volts above ground/earth.

Today, street lighting commonly uses high-intensity discharge lamps, often HPS high
pressure sodium lamps. Such lamps provide the greatest amount of photopic illumination
for the least consumption of electricity. However when scotopic/photopic light
calculations are used, it can be seen how inappropriate HPS lamps are for night lighting.
White light sources have been shown to double driver peripheral vision and increase
driver brake reaction time at least 25%. When S/P light calculations are used, HPS lamp
performance needs to be reduced by a minimum value of 75%. This is now a standard
design criterion for Australian roads.

PURPOSES OF STREET LIGHTS:

There are three distinct main uses of street lights, each requiring different types of lights
and placement. Misuse of the different types of lights can make the situation worse by
compromising visibility or safety.

BEACON LIGHTS
A modest steady light at the intersection of two roads is an aid to navigation because it
helps a driver see the location of a side road as he comes closer to it and he can adjust his
braking and know exactly where to turn if he intends to leave the main road or see if
someone is at the intersection.

A beacon light's function is to say "here I am" and even a dim light provides enough
contrast against the dark night to serve the purpose.

To prevent the dangers caused by a car driving through a pool of light, a beacon light
must never shine onto the main road, and not brightly onto the side road. In residential
areas, this is usually the only appropriate lighting, and it has the bonus side effect of
providing spill lighting onto any sidewalk there for the benefit of pedestrians. On
Interstate highways this purpose is commonly served by simply placing reflectors at the
sides of the road to reflect the light coming from people's headlights.

ROADWAY LIGHTS:
Street lights are not normally intended to illuminate the driving route (headlights are
preferred), but to reveal signs and hazards outside of the headlights' beam. Because of the
dangers discussed above, roadway lights are properly used sparingly and only when a
particular situation justifies increasing the risk. This usually involves an intersection with
several turning movements and much signage, situations where drivers must take in much
 147

information quickly that is not in the headlights' beam.

In these situations (A freeway junction or exit ramp) the intersection may be lit so that
drivers can quickly see all hazards, and a well designed plan will have gradually
increasing lighting for approximately a quarter of a minute before the intersection and
gradually decreasing lighting after it.

The main stretches of highways remain unlighted to preserve the driver's night vision and
increase the visibility of oncoming headlights. If there is a sharp curve where headlights
will not illuminate the road, a light on the outside of the curve is often justified. If it is
desired to light a roadway (perhaps due to heavy and fast multilane traffic), to avoid the
dangers of casual placement of street lights it should not be lit intermittently, as this
requires repeated eye readjustment which implies eyestrain and temporary blindness
when entering and leaving light pools.

In this case the system is designed to eliminate the need for headlights. This is usually
achieved with bright lights placed on high poles at close regular intervals so that there is
consistent light along the route. The lighting goes from curb to curb. Research a few
years ago suggested that by comparison to other countries, more pedestrians are hit by
motor vehicles at night in Britain.

The theory behind this was that Britain almost exclusively, used low pressure sodium
street lighting, (LPS); unlike the rest of the world that use mercury vapour gas discharge
lighting. This was most noticeable when flying in from Europe at night and seeing a
warm orange glow when approaching Britain. LPS lighting, being monochromatic, shows
pedestrians as shadowy forms, unlike other forms of street lighting. In recognition of this,
pedestrian crossings are now lit by additional "white" lighting, and sodium lighting is
being replaced by modern types.

SECURITY LIGHTING:
Security lighting is similar to high-intensity lighting on a busy major street, with no pools
of light and dark, but with the lighted area extending onto people's property, at least to
their front door. This requires a different type of fixture and lens. The increased glare
experienced by drivers going through the area might be considered a trade-off for
increased security. This is what would normally be used along sidewalks in dense areas of
cities. Often unappreciated is that the light from a full moon is brighter than most security
lighting.

DANGERS OF STREET LIGHTS:

There are two optical phenomena that need to be recognized in street light installations.
The loss of night vision because of the accommodation reflex of drivers' eyes is the
greatest danger. As drivers emerge from an unlighted area into a pool of light from a
street light their pupils quickly constrict to adjust to the brighter light, but as they leave
the pool of light the dilation of their pupils to adjust to the dimmer light is much slower,
so they are driving with impaired vision. As a person gets older the eye's recovery speed
gets slower, so driving time and distance under impaired vision increases. Oncoming
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headlights are more visible against a black background than a grey one. The contrast
creates greater awareness of the oncoming vehicle. Stray voltage is also a concern in
many cities. Stray voltage can accidentally electrify light poles and has the potential to
injure or kill anyone who comes into contact with the pole.[17]

Some cities have employed the Electrified Cover Safeguard technology which sounds an
alarm and flashes a light, to warn the public, when a pole becomes dangerously
electrified. There are also physical dangers. Street light stanchions (poles) pose a collision
risk to motorists. This can be reduced by designing them to break away when hit
(frangible or collapsible supports), protecting them by guardrails, or both. High winds or
accumulated metal fatigue also occasionally topple street lights.

REFERENCES:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_furniture
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alley
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avenue_(landscape)
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulevard
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_street
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side_street
[9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-way_street
[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbered_street
[11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walkway
[12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cul-de-sac
[13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_calming
[14] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_light
[15] S. P. Scott (1904), History of the Moorish Empire in Europe, 3 vols, J. B. Lippincott
Company, Philadelphia and London. F. B. Artz (1980), The Mind of the Middle Ages,
Third edition revised, University of Chicago Press, pp 148-50.
[16] http://home.frognet.net/~ejcov/jwswan.html
[17] http://scienceline.org/2006/08/04/physics-grant-manholes/
[18] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedestrian_crossing
[19] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaywalking
POSTED BY TOWN PLANNING AT 6:42 AM NO COMMENTS:

LOCATION OF PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC BUILDINGS, CIVIC CENTERS,

COMMERCIAL CENTERS, LOCAL SHOPPING CENTERS, PUBLIC SCHOOLS
AR-309: ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING (A&TP-B)
By
RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Karachi
 149

LECTURE NO: 23
TOPIC: LOCATION OF PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC BUILDINGS, CIVIC
CENTERS, COMMERCIAL CENTERS, LOCAL SHOPPING CENTERS, PUBLIC
SCHOOLS

INTRODUCTION:
In order to understand the theme of current lecture i.e. location of public and semi-public
buildings, civic centers, commercial centers, local shopping centers and public schools; it
is imperative to identify the meaning and interpretation of location, location theory,
building, building types, and public property as mentioned above. Whereas; it is also
important to clearly spell out, the activity generated via these building types. Afterwards;
it will be eminent that where these building types and their activities shall be located
within an urban context. In the following all these issues are discussed in details.

WHAT IS MEANT BY LOCATION?

Location in geography is one of the five geographic themes and a specific position or
point in physical space that be exact and relative. In geography, location is a position or
point in physical space that something occupies on Earths' surface. An absolute location
is the exact spot where something is on the earth. An example would be the longitude and
latitude of a place. An absolute location is the coordinates on a grid that leads to an exact
spot somewhere on earth. Absolute location can also be the exact spot where something is
within a city, such as saying that the Department of Architecture and Planning NED
University is at intersection of Burns road and Kachehry road. Relative location is where
something is in relation to something else. For example: By the NIPA, two miles from
NED University main campus.

LOCATION THEORY:
In town planning location theory is quite significant theme especially in the context of
urban economics. The reason for its significance is quite evident when a town planner
place or decide about a particular building type at some particular location in an urban
context. Because; location theory is concerned with the geographic location of an
economic activity; it has become an integral part of economic geography, regional
science, and spatial economics. Location theory addresses the questions of what
economic activities are located where and why. Location theory rests — like
microeconomic theory generally — on the assumption that agents act in their own self
interest. Thus firms choose locations that maximize their profits and individuals choose
locations that maximize their utility.

LOCATION OF PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC BUILDINGS:

A public space refers to an area or place that is open and accessible to all citizens,
regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or socio-economic level. The example of public
space is the place for commons (or Ghareeb Awam). For example, no fees or paid tickets
are required for entry, nor are the entrants discriminated based on background. Non-
government-owned private sector malls are examples of 'private space' with the
appearance of being 'public space' because; poor people avoid or hesitate in entering into
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such malls. The term 'Public Space' is also often misconstrued to mean other things such
as 'gathering place' which is an element of the larger concept. Most streets, including the
pavement are considered public space, as are town squares or parks. Government
buildings, such as public libraries and many other similar buildings are also public space.
However, not all state-owned buildings fall under such a definition. Some parks, malls,
waiting rooms, etc, are closed at night. As this does not exclude any specific group, it is
generally not considered a restriction on public use.

Entry to public parks can be restricted based upon a user's residence. In the United States,
one's presence in a public space may give him or her certain rights not otherwise vested.
In a public space, known as a public forum, the government cannot usually limit one's
speech beyond what is reasonable (that is, screaming epithets at passers-by can be
stopped; proselytizing one's religion probably cannot). In a private space—that is, non-
public—forum, the government can control one's speech to a much greater degree; for
instance, protesting one's objection to medicare reform will not be tolerated in the
Pentagon. This is not to say that the government can control what you say in your own
home or to others; it can only control government property in this way. In some cases,
privately-owned property can be considered a public forum. England, too, has a tradition
of public spaces permitting public speech, at Speakers' Corner, for example. In general,
there is no expectation of privacy in a public space. Eating and drinking in an outside
public place during Ramadan in an Islamic country is sometimes not appreciated.

Public spaces are attractive for budget tourists and homeless people, especially those that
are relatively comfortable, e.g. a shopping center that provides shelter and, in a cold
climate, is heated (or cooled in a hot climate). Whilst it is generally considered that
everyone has a right to access and use public space, as opposed to private space which
may have restrictions, there has been some academic interest in how public spaces are
managed to exclude certain groups - specifically homeless people and young people.
Measures are taken to make the public space less attractive to them, including the
removal or design of benches to restrict their use for sleeping and resting, restricting
access to certain times, locking indoor/enclosed areas. Police forces are sometimes
involved in moving 'unwanted' members of the public from public spaces. In fact, by not
being provided suitable access, disabled people are implicitly excluded from some
spaces. Further, beginning roughly in the 1960s, the wholesale privatization of public
space (especially in urban centers) has become a fact of western society, and has faced
criticism from citizen groups such as the Open Spaces Society. Private-public
partnerships have taken significant control of public parks and playgrounds through
conservancy groups set up to manage what is considered unmanageable by public
agencies.

Corporate sponsorship of public leisure areas is ubiquitous, giving open space to the
public in exchange for higher air rights. This facilitates the construction of taller
buildings with private parks; accessible only to those deemed fit. In one of the newer
incarnations of the private-public partnership, the business improvement district (BID),
private organizations are allowed to tax local businesses and retail establishments so that
they might provide special private services such as policing and increased surveillance,
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trash removal, or street renovation, all of which once fell under the control of public
funds and thus public interests. Clearly these services are necessary; the methods by
which they are provided can be debated but not their ultimate utility. Additionally, public
areas facilitate public interaction, and their existence can scarcely be questioned in
democratic states; we may debate how they are provided, but to question their utility
would seem to question our basic rights. Privatization of public amenities should not go
unnoticed, whether in this form or the tacit co-opting of sights and sounds known as
advertising.

A broader meaning of public space or place includes also places where everybody can
come if they pay, like a café, train, movie theater or brothel. A shop is an example of what
is intermediate between the two meanings: everybody can enter and look around without
obligation to buy, but activities unrelated to the purpose of the shop are not unlimitedly
permitted. The halls and streets (including skyways) in a shopping center may be declared
a public place and may be open when the shops are closed. Similarly for halls, railway
platforms and waiting rooms of public transport; sometimes a travelling ticket is required.
A public library is also more or less a public place. A rest stop or truck stop is a public
space. For these semi-public spaces stricter rules may apply than outside, e.g. regarding
dress code, trading, begging, advertising, propaganda, riding rollerskates, skateboards, a
Segway, etc. Typical differences between a public space and a private space are illustrated
by comparing sitting on a public bench and sitting on a seat in a sidewalk cafe: In the first
case, usage costs nothing, in the second it requires a purchase to be made. In the first
case, there is no time limitation (though loitering laws might apply), while in the second,
money has to be spent at certain intervals. In the first case, one is allowed to consume
brought-along food and drink (alcohol consumption laws may restrict this), in the second
case, this is usually prohibited. In the first case, only general laws apply in terms of dress
(such as prohibition of public nudity) and other aspects of public decency, in the second,
stricter rules (such as a prohibition of being shirtless) may apply.

Thus the location of public and semi public buildings in the city can be at any suitable
place where accessibility of all citizens and availability of public and private transport
can be ensured.

LOCATION OF CIVIC CENTERS:

A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is
constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public
buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the term "civic
center" has been used in reference to an entire central business district of a community or
a major shopping center in the middle of a community. In this type of civic center, special
attention is paid to the way public structures are grouped and landscaped. In some
American cities, a multi-purpose arena is named "Civic Center", for example Columbus
Civic Center. Such "Civic Centers" combine venues for sporting events, theaters, concerts
and similar events. In most cases civic centers in the UK are a focus for local government
offices and public service buildings.

With reforms of local government in London in 1965 and across England in anticipation
 152

of the implementation of the Redcliffe-Maud Report in 1974, a number of local

authorities commissioned new civic centers sometimes funded by disposing of their 19th
Century Town Hall buildings. In case of Karachi the civic center is a building located in
the center of the city and contains activities such as municipal institutions, development
authority, utility institutions, banks, airline offices, city district government offices to
serve the people of Karachi.

Thus civic centers must be centrally located in city where they are accessible from all
parts of the city at equidistance if possible.

LOCATION OF COMMERCIAL CENTERS:

Commercial Centers (also called Downtowns, Central Business Districts, and Urban
Villages) contain a concentration of business, civic and cultural activities, creating
conditions that facilitate interaction and exchange. This increases overall Accessibility.
Vibrant commercial centers have the following attributes:

• DENSITY AND CLUSTERING: Commercial centers should be medium to high

density; with multi-story buildings. Densities of 50 employees or more per gross acre are
desirable. As much as possible the ground floor of buildings should have activities and
services that involve frequent public interaction (such as retail, professional services,
civic offices, etc.), with office or residential activities above, which creates an attractive
street environment while accommodating dense employment.

• DIVERSITY: Centers contain a diverse mix of office and retail space, banks and law
offices, public institutions (such as city hall, courthouses, and other government offices),
entertainment and arts activities, and other suitable industries. Increasingly, commercial
centers also have residential buildings, either within or nearby.

• LOCAL AND REGIONAL IMPORTANCE: Commercial Centers should contain a

significant portion of total regional employment and business activity.

• WALKABILITY: Most Commercial Centers are less than 250 acres in size so all
destinations are within about 10-minute walk, with good sidewalks and pathways,
pedestrian shortcuts, attractive Streetscapes, pedestrian scale and orientation, relatively
narrow streets (4 lanes or less is desirable), relatively slow vehicle traffic (30 miles-per-
hour or less is desirable), Universal Design, and a high degree of pedestrian Security.
Some have Pedways, which are indoor walking networks that connect buildings and
transportation terminals.

• TRANSPORTATION DIVERSITY: The area should be accessible by walking, cycling,

taxi, automobile, and public transit.

• PARKING MANAGEMENT: In order to avoid the need to devote a large portion of

land to parking, Commercial Centers require that parking be managed for efficiency
(Manfille and Shoup, 2004) It is often appropriate to use structured or underground
parking, and to limit the total amount of parking in a commercial center.
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• TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT: This refers to districts designed with

features that facilitate transit accessibility, with maximum developing within convenient
walking distance of Attractive Transit Stations.

There are many types of Commercial Centers, ranging from Downtowns (also called
Central Business Districts or CBDs), which are the primary Commercial Center serving a
region, to Secondary Business Districts and Village Centers. A large Central Business
District can contain thousands of businesses with tens of thousands of employees, while a
local village center may be considered successful if it has a dozen businesses with two or
three hundred employees. Some have a particular base or specialty, such as a cluster of
medical facilities, a wholesale district, a tourist district, or an adjacent university campus,
but such centers include a diverse range of businesses providing support services.

Business activities tend to be more efficient in a Commercial Center that contains related
industries, because clustering allows convenient interaction between staff, and convenient
access to the services they use. A typical business district contains offices for finance,
insurance, real estate, law and research companies, government agencies, plus various
support services such as stationary retailers, janitorial services and computer supplies.
This allows more specialization, for example, lawyers that specialize in a particular
subject, translators who support trade and cultural activities with a particular region, and
suppliers of specialty equipment for a particular industry. Commercial Centers also
contain conference centers, hotels and other types of meeting facilities. As a result,
people working in such areas can meet with several colleagues each day (a banker, a
lawyer, a translator) with minimal time spent traveling. This high degree of accessibility
that occurs when related industries are clustered together tends to increase economic
productivity, called Economies of Agglomeration.

Strong Commercial Centers are an important component of Smart Growth and New
Urbanism. Many central business districts and nearby neighborhoods are experiencing
new residential development in the form of high- and medium-density condominiums and
apartments, townhouses, and small-lot single-family homes. Urban living is particularly
popular among young adults and retirees. Market surveys indicate that about a third of
home buyers would prefer to live in mixed-use new urbanist community if available
(Hirschhorn, 2001). Some central business districts are still losing business and
population, but there are numerous indications that, with proper support, downtowns can
be successful and provide numerous economic, social and environmental benefits.

Transportation planning decisions have significant impacts on the success of Commercial

Centers. Walking, Public Transit and Parking Management are particularly important, and
Commute Trip Reduction programs tend to be particularly effective. Public Bike Systems
increase the convenience of cycling in downtown areas.

People who work, shop and live in a Commercial Center can satisfy many of their daily
needs without using an automobile. For example, employees who work in the area will
find a diverse range of cafes and restaurants for refreshments and meals, shops that sell
 154

daily items (such as groceries, books and stationary goods) and more specialized items
(such as gifts, clothing and hardware). Similarly, a vibrant Commercial Center contains
medical and dental services, gyms for exercise, daycare facilities, and other types of
services. It is therefore beneficial to locate affordable housing near Commercial Districts,
so non-drivers have convenient access to such services, called Location Efficient
Development.

Commercial Centers are an alternative to more Automobile Dependent commercial land

use patterns, such as suburban strips (activities are scattered along major arterials, which
requires a car trip between each destination), and private malls or campuses (which have
a high degree of internal walkability, but are generally surrounded by large parking
facilities, are widely dispersed, and contain a limited range of activities, and so tend to
require numerous automobile trips).

Residents living in or near Commercial Centers tend to own fewer cars than residents of
more dispersed, isolated areas (Land Use Impacts on Transportation). People who work
in major centers tend to commute by transit significantly more than those who work in
more dispersed locations, and they tend to drive less for errands (Ewing, Pendall and
Chen, 2002). While; about 90% of the suburban employees drive to work, but this
declines to about 50% among downtown employees (even less in cities with major transit
systems).

Franks and Pivo (1995) found that automobile commuting declines significantly when
workplace densities reach 50 75 employees per gross acre, since this tends to support
transit and ridesharing commutes, and improved access to local services, such as nearby
coffee shops and stores. Because activities and people are concentrated, road and parking
Congestion tend to be relatively intense in major Commercial Centers, but because
people use alternative modes and travel shorter distances, particularly for businesses
meetings, per capita traffic congestion costs tends to be lower. Commute trips may be
somewhat longer if employment is concentrated in a central business district. For this
reason, many urban planners believe that the most efficient urban land use pattern is to
have a Central Business District that contains the highest level business activities “main
offices” and smaller Commercial Centers with retail and “back offices” scattered around
the city among residential areas.

A commercial building is a type of building that is used for commercial use. These can
include office buildings, warehouses, or retail (i.e. convenience stores, 'big box' stores,
shopping malls, etc.). In urban locations, a commercial building often combines
functions, such as an office on levels 2-10, with retail on floor 1. All municipalities /
cities / regions maintain strict regulations on commercial type zoning, and have the
authority to designate any zoned area as such. A business must be located inside of an
area zoned at least partially for commerce to operate a business in (and out of) a
commercial building.

LOCATION OF LOCAL SHOPPING CENTERS:

A shopping mall or shopping centre is a building or set of buildings which contain retail
 155

units, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit.
Strip malls have developed since the 1920s, corresponding to the rise of suburban living
in the United States after World War II. In the United Kingdom, these are called retail
parks, out-of-town shopping centers, or precincts. In most of the world the term shopping
centre is used, especially in Europe and Australasia; however shopping mall is also used,
predominantly in North America. Shopping precinct and shopping arcade are also used.
In North America, the term shopping mall is usually applied to enclosed retail structures
(and may be abbreviated to simply mall) while shopping centre usually refers to open-air
retail complexes.

Malls in Ireland, pronounced "maills", are very small shopping centres placed in the
centre of town. They average about twenty years in age, with a mix of local shops and
chain stores. These malls do not have shops found in the high street or modern shopping
centres. Shopping centres in the United Kingdom can be referred to as "shopping
centres", "shopping precincts", or "town centres".

A strip mall (also called a shopping plaza or mini-mall) is an open area shopping center
where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically
developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. They face major traffic arterials
and tend to be self-contained with few pedestrian connections to surrounding
neighborhoods. Strip malls vary widely in architecture. Older strip malls tend to have
plain architecture with the stores arranged in a straight row; in some cases there are
vacant stores. Newer strip malls are often built with elaborate architecture to blend in
with the neighborhood and to attract the upscale consumer. In some cases, strip malls are
broken up into smaller buildings to establish a more appropriate sense of scale and to
create architectural articulation. A current trend with the purpose of screening the parking
lot from the street and nearby residences is locating the buildings with little to no setback
from the street. Some stores may allow for entrances from both the street sidewalk and
the parking lot. Due to land use issues, strip malls in the United Kingdom are typically
found on the edges of cities on Greenfield land sites, and are known as "out of town
shopping centres". Those in more urban areas (often Brownfield land redeveloped sites)
are more typically known as retail parks.

LOCATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

The term public school has two distinct (and virtually opposite) meanings depending on
the location of usage. In the United States, Australia and Canada: A school funded from
tax revenue and most commonly administered to some degree by government or local
government agencies. This usage is synonymous with its British English equivalent, state
school. In the United Kingdom and a few other Commonwealth countries: A traditional
privately operated secondary school which usually requires the payment of fees for its
pupils, and is often a boarding school. This usage is common in the United Kingdom
(although can be ambiguous in Scotland). These schools, wherever located, often follow a
British educational tradition and are committed in principle to public accessibility.
Originally, many were single-sex boarding schools, but most independent schools are
now co-educational with both boarders and day-pupils. This usage is synonymous with
preparatory school in American English, though preparatory school in British English has
 156

a different meaning. Public-school education is the most common form of education in

the United States and is provided mainly by local governments, with control and funding
coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Curricula, funding, teaching, and other
policies are set through locally elected school boards by jurisdiction over school districts.
The school districts are special-purpose districts authorized by provisions of state law.
Generally, state governments can and do set minimum standards relating to almost all
activities of primary and secondary schools, as well as funding and authorization to enact
local school taxes to support the schools -- primarily through real property taxes. The
federal government funds aid to states and school districts that meet minimum federal
standards. School accreditation decisions are made by voluntary regional associations.
The first tax-supported public school in America was in Dedham, Massachusetts. The
vast majority of adults born in the U.S. have attended a U.S. public school.

Public school is normally split up into three stages: primary (elementary) school
(kindergarten to 4th or 5th or 6th grade), junior high (also "intermediate", or "middle")
school (5th or 6th or 7th to 8th or 9th) and high school (9th or 10th to 12th, somewhat
archaically also called "secondary school"), with some less populated communities
incorporating high school as 7th to 12th. Some Junior High Schools (Intermediate
Schools) contain 7th to 9th grades or 7th and 8th, in which case the High School is 10th
to 12th or 9th to 12th respectively. The middle school format is increasing in popularity,
in which the Elementary School contains kindergarten through 5th grade and the Middle
School contains 6th through 8th grade. In addition, some elementary schools are splitting
into two levels, sometimes in separate buildings: Primary (usually K-2) and Intermediate
(3-4 or 3-5). Some middle schools consist of only 7th and 8th grades. The K-8th format is
also an emerging popular concept, in which students may attend only two schools for all
of their K-12 education. Many charter schools feature the K-8 format in which all
primary grades are housed in one section of the school while the traditional junior high
school aged students are housed in another section of the school. Some very small school
districts, primarily in rural areas, still maintain a K-12 system in which all students are
housed in a single school.

In the United States, institutions of higher education that are operated and subsidized by
U.S. states are also referred to as "public." However, unlike public secondary schools,
public universities charge tuition, though these fees are usually much lower than those
charged by private universities, particularly for "in-state" students. Community colleges,
state colleges, and state universities are examples of public institutions of higher
education. In particular, many state universities are regarded as among the best
institutions of higher education in the U.S., though usually they are surpassed in ranking
by certain private universities and colleges, such as those of the Ivy League, which are
often very expensive and extremely selective in the students they accept. In several states,
the administrations of public universities are elected via the general electoral ballot.

Thus the location of public school may vary in each context i.e. it may be located within
city center in old city down town areas or in the outskirts of the city in more natural
environments.
 157

REFERENCES:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Location
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4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Location_theory
5. “Illegal to be Homeless” National Coalition for the Homeless (2004)
6. Malone, K. "Children, Youth and Sustainable Cities". Local Environment 6 (1)
7. "Conclusions of the International Seminar on the Planning of Collectively-Used Spaces
in Towns", in: Monumentum (Louvain), Vol. 18-19, 1979, pp. 129-135.
8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_center
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Control It), National Trust for Historic Preservation (www.nationaltrust.org)
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Urban Villages, Urban Land Institute (www.uli.org).
18. Michael Carley (2000), Sustainable Transport and Retail Vitality: State of the Art for
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And Neighbourhood Regeneration, (ISBN 1 84263 49 0) Joseph Roundtree Foundation
(www.jrf.org.uk).
20. Cities For Mobility (www.cities-for-mobility.org) is a global network of cities that
promotes the development of sustainable and efficient transportation systems.
21. Congress for New Urbanism (www.cnu.org) is a movement centered on intelligent
neighborhood planning, and human scale urban communities.
22. CNU (2003), Civilizing Downtown Highways: Putting New Urbanism To Work On
California’s Highways, Congress for the New Urbanism (www.cnu.org).
23. Eichenfield and Associates (2002), Strategies for Revitalizing Our Downtowns and
Neighborhoods: Evaluating California Main Street Programs, Local Government
Commission.

24. Reid Ewing, Rolf Pendall and Don Chen (2002), Measuring Sprawl and Its Impacts,
Smart Growth America (www.smartgrowthamerica.org).
25. Lawrence Frank and Gary Pivo (1995), “Impacts of Mixed Use and Density on
Utilization of Three Modes of Travel: SOV, Transit and Walking,” Transportation
Research Record 1466, TRB (www.trb.org), pp. 44-55.
26. Joel Hirschhorn and Paul Souza (2001), New Community Design to the Rescue;
Fulfilling Another American Dream, National Governor’s Association, (www.nga.org).
 158

27. International Downtown Association (www.ida-downtown.org) is a world leader and

champion for vital and livable urban centers.
28. David Jacobs (2008), Eight is Enough, Business Report, 4 August 2008; at
www.businessreport.com/news/2008/jul/28/eight-enough-edvl1.
29. Christopher B. Leinberger (2005), Turning Around Downtown: Twelve Steps to
Revitalization, Metropolitan Policy Program, The Brookings Institution
(www.brookings.edu/metro).
30. LGC (2004), Creating Great Neighborhoods: Density in Your Community, Local
Government Commission (www.lgc.org), US Environmental Protection Agency and the
National Association of Realtors; at
www.lgc.org/freepub/PDF/Land_Use/reports/density_manual.pdf.
31. Todd Litman (2003), Evaluating Criticism of Smart Growth, VTPI (www.vtpi.org); at
www.vtpi.org/sgcritics.pdf.
32. Todd Litman (2003), The Value of Downtowns, VTPI (www.vtpi.org);
www.vtpi.org/downtown.pdf.
33. Todd Litman (2004), Understanding Smart Growth Savings: What We Know About
Public Infrastructure and Service Cost Savings, And How They are Misrepresented By
Critics, Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/sg_save.pdf.
34. Todd Litman (2006), Community Cohesion As A Transport Planning Objective,
Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org/tca); available at
www.vtpi.org/cohesion.pdf.
35. Todd Litman (2006), Parking Management: Strategies, Evaluation and Planning,
Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/park_man.pdf.
36. Todd Litman (2008), Recommendations for Improving LEED Transportation and
Parking Credits, VTPI (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/leed_rec.pdf.
37. Livable Centres (www.gvrd.bc.ca/livablecentres), by the Greater Vancouver Regional
District (GVRD), provides information about the design and benefits of compact urban
centers.
38. Main Street Center (www.mainstreet.org) provides information on ways to revitalize
traditional commercial areas through historic preservation and grassroots-based economic
development.
39. Michael Manfille and Donald Shoup (2004), “People, Parking, and Cities,” Access
25, (www.uctc.net), Fall 2004, pp. 2-8.
40. Hugh McClintock (2004), Urban Regeneration, University of Nottingham Online
Planning Resources (www.nottingham.ac.uk/sbe/planbiblios/bibs/urban). Includes many
bibliographies related to urban redevelopment and downtown planning.
41. National Trust for Historic Preservation (www.nationaltrust.org) focuses on
preserving downtown areas and historic buildings.
42. NRTEE (2003), Environmental Quality in Canadian Cities: The Federal Role,
National Round Table on the Environment and Economy (www.nrtee-trnee.ca).
43. Oregon Downtown Development Association (2001), Parking Management Made
Easy: A Guide to Taming the Downtown Parking Beast, Transportation and Growth
Management Program, Oregon DOT and Dept. of Environmental Quality
(www.lcd.state.or.us/tgm/publications.htm).
44. Project for Public Spaces (www.pps.org) works to create and sustain public places
that build communities. It provides a variety of resources for developing more livable
 159

communities.
45. San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) (www.spur.org) is a
leading organization doing research to develop more livable urban areas.
46. SGN (2002 and 2004), Getting To Smart Growth: 100 Policies for Implementation,
and Getting to Smart Growth II: 100 More Policies for Implementation, Smart Growth
Network (www.smartgrowth.org) and International City/County Management Association
(www.icma.org).
47. Toolbox for Regional Policy Analysis Website
(www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/toolbox/index.htm) by the US Federal Highway
Administration, describes analytical methods for evaluating regional economic, social
and environmental impacts of various transportation and land use policies.
48. Urban Land Institute (www.uli.org) is a professional organization for developers,
which provides practical information on innovative development practices, including
infill and sustainable community planning.
49. Urban Renaissance Institute (www.urban-renaissance.org) works to help cities and
their regions flourish by applying innovative market-based policies.
50. USEPA, Smart Growth Policy Database, US Environmental Protection Agency
(http://cfpub.epa.gov/sgpdb/browse.cfm).
51. USEPA (2002), Smart Growth Index (SGI) Model, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/topics/sgipilot.htm). For technical information see
Criterion (2002), Smart Growth Index Indicator Dictionary, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/pdf/4_Indicator_Dictionary_026.pdf).
52. Kenneth H. Voigt and Jeffrey S. Polenske (2006), “Applying New Urbanism Street
Principles in Downtown Milwaukee, WI, USA,” ITE Journal, Vol. 76, No. 5
(www.ite.org), May 2006, pp. 26-30.

TEN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN THESIS QUESTIONS

TEN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN THESIS QUESTIONS

1. What is a hypothesis? Write down your own hypothesis and justify it with references
to authors whom you reviewed in literature review.
2. Make a list of parameters of your study with variables and their values. Explain how
they relate to your hypothesis.
3. What is Research Design? What methodology you developed for data collection and
analysis?
4. What is a design concept? Explain your design concept for the thesis project.
5. List and explain the criteria for site zoning. With reference to your own design,
explain where you have made trade-offs and why?
6. What are the main considerations for landscape design? Explain how landscape can
help create a micro climate.
7. Explain the relation of land use zoning and circulation, while explaining how
vehicular and pedestrian circulation shaped the organization of spaces in your design.
8. What is an Architectural Style and how it is established?
9. Give examples of monumental architecture in Karachi and explain the importance of
scale to creating of iconic architecture.
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10. In Pakistan, since the beginning of the century, architectural styles have become
pluralist. Justify your answer by citing the architectural trends in Pakistan.
POSTED BY TOWN PLANNING AT 8:31 PM 1 COMMENT:

FINAL JURY REQUIREMENTS

FINAL JURY REQUIREMENTS

All students of final year architecture are advised to read very carefully the following
instructions concerning the final jury requirements to follow for their own benefit.

1. Statement of Hypothesis
2. Research Findings
3. Research Conclusions
4. Design Concept i.e.
4.1. Design theme and
4.2. Concise design brief
5. Site Studies i.e.
5.1. Site selection process
5.2. Location map showing the surrounding built environment
5.3. Site Analysis i.e.
5.3.1. Dimensions of Site
5.3.2. Accessibility
5.3.3. Sun path and Wind direction
5.3.4. Existing Site Characteristics
5.4. Zoning Plan showing the allocation of spaces on site
6. Case Studies:
6.1. Graphics i.e. Plans, Elevations, Sections, Views and Elements taken
6.2. Learning from the case examples
7. Master Plan showing:
7.1. Good scale of drawing
7.2. Clearly labeled buildings and spaces
7.3. Clearly visible building form
7.4. Circulation (pedestrian and vehicular)
7.5. Entrances and
7.6. Landscaping
8. Building Plan or Part Plan must consists:
8.1. Blowups on the scale: 1/8”=1’-0”
8.2. 04 Elevations on the scale: 1/8”=1’-0”
8.3. 02 Sections on the scale: 1/8”=1’-0”
8.4. Views
9. Design Development in 5 stages i.e.
9.1. How design started?
9.2. How it is developed?
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9.3. How developed the plans elevations and sections?

9.4. How many options developed?
9.5. How came down to details?
10. Compulsory Detailed Model and prepare for Oral Presentation
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MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2010

RESEARCH IN APPLIED ARCHITECTURAL DISCIPLINES
RESEARCH IN APPLIED ARCHITECTURAL DISCIPLINES

By

RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Karachi

1. RESEARCH IN URBAN DESIGN:

Urban Design consists of making proposals for the form and management of extensive
environments. Urban designers also find themselves responsible for carrying out the
changes they propose, either directly by serving as the packager, coordinator, or manger
of projects or indirectly by establishing and enforcing guidelines for them.

Urban Design is practiced by a loose cadre of professionals, some prefer to call

themselves urban designers while others insist to be called architects, landscape architects
or even city planners.

In regrettably smaller number of instances, urban design in initiated to improve the social
construction of communities or increase.

What differentiates UD from planning, development and management its control focus on
experiential and aesthetic quality of the environment.
UD is not as commonly supposal, confined to large sale projects only. The scale largely
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varies (with the approach off course) from metropolitan region to a single plaza.

In UD exercises there is no single client. One of the attributes is to develop a single client
group for the purpose.

In majority of the cases the role of urban designer is that of an interventionist nature.

Urban designers also help shape the future by proposing new environmental
arrangements that are popular and change peoples expectations.

For routine problems, there is need for research to develop and test environmental
standards, and this is specially critical where the instrument of design is some public
regulation. All standards are valuable but can be modified and change as per need.
A basic question here is how people structure cities in their minds, how they orient
themselves in time and space, and how areas acquire particular environmental meaning.

Designers have to deal with specific form of knowledge demanding their own style of
research – the possibilities of environmental form. Design research of this kind is largely
speculative, the product of exscind experiments.

Knowledge about effective processes is another area of research which can be grouped in
several categories – methods of analysis, proposal decafting and ways of organizing
design processes in their political and institutional contrast etc.

Recent studies have revcaled that public development control and guidance systems are
important in framing strategies.

In majority of the cases the apprsaithes / proposals / techniques in urban design are
situation dependent.
RESEARCH, STATUS AND OPPORTUNITIES:

Spatial Dynamics:

Urban Designer is forced to draw upon a highly elective set of sources to in for the spatial
consequences of demographic, social, economic and life style changes occurring in the
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cities.

Several phenomena have gained importance. Revitalization of inner city, back to the city
monument are some examples.

Three areas deserve special attention.

Long term effect of the massive growth of communication technologies (like the
industrial revolution).

Combined impact of demography, changing location preferences, changing higher real

housing costs, and increased travel costs on the form and character of currently built
residential areas.

Further of older industrial, and especially warehousing, districts that rim the centers of
many cities.

Environmental Precedents:

Documentation of specific projects is fairly important in the practice of urban design.

Each urban designers has a list of projects that according to him are worthy of
documentation.

UD Standards:

The task of improving standard can be aided if researchers explicitly establish the basic
norms of such condition where these norms can be applied. Public sentiment is also of
great importance here.

Use, Meaning and Behavioral Aspects of Urban Environment:

Considerable literature & available on matters like social aspects of urban form,
environmental cognition, the securities of urban form, perception and meaning of natural
environments, activities in public spaces, environmental learning, site design, subdivision
design, street design play spaces, neighborhood design etc.

For future – we need to research upon peoples attitudes and knowledge towards urban
settings.

Secondly accurate protocols and time budgets of urban residents – how different acuities
of different people correlate with the and space.

Urban Form Possibilities:

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Different forms have been presented in different ways by the western designers. Ideal
city, good city etc are certain notions existing in this regard.

How different events are going to affect the city form are yet to be studied.

Procedural Issues (Design Techniques):

The field of UD methods has continued too long to espouse the ideal of deductive
rationality, assuming that the optional process of designing proceeds smoothly and
irreversibly through steps of problem definition analysis, developing and testing options,
choosing among these and carrying out the preferred design.

Political & Institutional Arrangements:

Public sector when design is almost inevitably a political act, one of the key research
areas is the coalition – building process, which must be an integral component of any
design process.

Design Guidance Systems:

One issue often missing in the research is the pattern of beneficiaries and losers of the
system that enforces design intentions and the rules applied.

Broader Issues (Intellectual Origins of the Field):

- Resin the area of intellectual origins should be guided, first and last, by the strong
intellectual curiosity of researchers, rather than by any calculation of immediate
relevance.

Urban Planning – Evolution and Status:

Up evolved at a body of knowledge, field of study and profession during early twentieth
century in US.

This was a direct outcome of the city beautiful movement of late nineteenth century to
replace the sooty grimy city of industrial evolution by aesthetically pleasing, attractive
and clean cities.

Political invest of 1960s in US caused the expansion of the profession.

REFERENCES:
Synder, james. C. Editor(1984) “architectural research” new york: van nostrand reinhold
company ‘research for urban design, gray hack. Pp. 124-145
‘Urban planning within architectural design research’ by anthony james catanese, pp.
 165

146-160:
Khan ahmad nabi “multan – history and architecture” islamabad: inst. Of islamic history,
culture & civilization – 1983

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ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING RESEARCH

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING RESEARCH

By

RAVINDAR KUMAR
B. Arch; M. Urban Design
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING
NED UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY KARACHI

INTRODUCTION:
Discussions of the ethics of research involving human beings usually center on issues
regarding research design and approval and how individuals' rights and welfare are
protected when they are enrolled in research protocols. The same has been true of the
application of the Common Rule, which addresses only tangentially what happens after a
research project has ended by requiring that research participants must be informed in
advance about what benefits will be provided by the research. In recent years, however,
as research sponsored by government agencies, foundations, and private companies in
developed countries increasingly has been conducted in developing countries, officials in
some of these countries—as well as leaders of international bodies concerned with
research ethics—have begun to insist that the ethics of research address what happens
when a study ends.

WHAT ARE THE

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MAIN ETHICAL ISSUES IN HUMAN SUBJECTS RESEARCH?

There are several ethical issues that must be considered when designing research that will
utilize participants who are human beings.

• The primary concern of the investigator should be the safety of the research participant.
This is accomplished by carefully considering the risk/benefit ratio, using all available
information to make an appropriate assessment and continually monitoring the research
as it proceeds.

• The scientific investigator must obtain informed consent from each research participant.
This should be obtained in writing (although oral consents are sometimes acceptable)
after the participant has had the opportunity to carefully consider the risks and benefits
and to ask any pertinent questions. Informed consent should be seen as an ongoing
process, not a singular event or a mere formality.

• The investigator must enumerate how privacy and confidentiality concerns will be
approached. Researchers must be sensitive to not only how information is protected from
unauthorized observation, but also if and how participants are to be notified of any
unforeseen findings from the research that they may or may not want to know.

• The investigator must consider how adverse events will be handled; who will provide
care for a participant injured in a study and who will pay for that care are important
considerations.

• In addition, before enrolling participants in an experimental trial, the investigator should

be in a state of "equipoise," that is, if a new intervention is being tested against the
currently accepted treatment, the investigator should be genuinely uncertain which
approach is superior. In other words, a true null hypothesis should exist at the onset
regarding the outcome of the trial.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN ETHICAL PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN RESEARCH WITH
HUMAN SUBJECTS?

There are three primary ethical principles that are traditionally cited when discussing
ethical concerns in human subjects research.
 167

• The first ethical principle cited as autonomy, which refers to the obligation on the part
of the investigator to respect each participant as a person capable of making an informed
decision regarding participation in the research study. The investigator must ensure that
the participant has received a full disclosure of the nature of the study, the risks, benefits
and alternatives, with an extended opportunity to ask questions. The principle of
autonomy finds expression in the informed consent document.

• The second ethical principle is beneficence, which refers to the obligation on the part of
the investigator to attempt to maximize benefits for the individual participant and/or
society, while minimizing risk of harm to the individual. An honest and thorough
risk/benefit calculation must be performed.

• The third ethical principle invoked in research with human subjects is justice, which
demands equitable selection of participants, i.e., avoiding participant populations that
may be unfairly coerced into participating, such as prisoners and institutionalized
children. The principle of justice also requires equality in distribution of benefits and
burdens among the population group(s) likely to benefit from the research.

WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF AN ETHICALLY VALID INFORMED

CONSENT FOR RESEARCH?

For an informed consent to be ethically valid, the following components must be present:

DISCLOSURE: The potential participant must be informed as fully as possible of the

nature and purpose of the research, the procedures to be used, the expected benefits to the
participant and/or society, the potential of reasonably foreseeable risks, stresses, and
discomforts, and alternatives to participating in the research.

• There should also be a statement that describes procedures in place to ensure the
confidentiality or anonymity of the participant.
• The informed consent document must also disclose what compensation and medical
treatment are available in the case of a research-related injury.
• The document should make it clear whom to contact with questions about the research
study, research subjects' rights, and in case of injury.

UNDERSTANDING: The participant must understand what has been explained and must
be given the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered by one of the
investigators. The informed consent document must be written in lay language, avoiding
any technical jargon.
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VOLUNTARINESS: The participant's consent to participate in the research must be

voluntary, free of any coercion or promises of benefits unlikely to result from
participation.

COMPETENCE: The participant must be competent to give consent. If the participant is

not competent due to mental status, disease, or emergency, a designated surrogate may
provide consent if it is in the participant's best interest to participate. In certain emergency
cases, consent may be waived due to the lack of a competent participant and a surrogate.

CONSENT: The potential human subject must authorize his/her participation in the
research study, preferably in writing, although at times an oral consent or assent may be
more appropriate.

USING DECEPTION WHEN DOING RESEARCH?

• As a general rule, deception is not acceptable when doing research with humans. Using
deception jeopardizes the integrity of the informed consent process and can potentially
harm your participants.

• Occasionally exploring your area of interest fully may require misleading your
participants about the subject of your study. For example, if you want to learn about
decision-making practices of physicians without influencing their practice-style, you may
consider telling them you are studying "communication behaviors" more broadly.

• The research supervisor will review any proposal that suggests using deception or
misrepresentation very carefully. They will require an in-depth justification of why the
deception is necessary for the study and the steps you will take to safeguard your
participants.
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TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 2010

TIMELINE / THESIS PROGRESS DEADLINES
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POSTED BY TOWN
PLANNING AT 7:45
AM NO
COMMENTS:

THURSDAY,
MARCH 18, 2010
A BROAD BASED
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
AR – 501:
ARCHITECTURAL
DESIGN IV
By
RAVINDAR
KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of
Architecture and
Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Karachi

TOPIC: A BROAD BASED RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1. WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL:

The first and foremost step of any research initiative is writing a research proposal. In this
regard a researcher is required to have some theoretical knowledge regarding contents of
the research study undertaken. After carrying out the basic preparatory work i.e.
identification of the area of interest and an initial literature review for the research the
researcher put together all the contents of proposed research. It includes the topic on
which research would be conducted, the objectives and methodology of work and the
expected outcomes of the research. This can also be termed as an overall plan which tells
the reader regarding research problem and how the researcher has planned to investigate
it? Or “It is the detailed practical plan of obtaining the answers to research questions in
which the reader would be assured about the validity of the methodology to obtain
accurate answers. It is necessary to mention that each institution, discipline & supervisor
has different requirements regarding the contents of a research proposal however majority
of the institutions or supervisors requires checking three items within a research proposal.
i) First what the researcher has proposed to do?
ii) Second how the researcher has planned to proceed?
iii) Third why the researcher has selected his / her proposed strategy?
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Therefore for every researcher it is highly recommended that the research proposal must
contain ten basic ingredients.
I. First, what are the objectives of proposed study?
II. Second, the statements of hypothesis if the researcher intends to test any.
III. Third research design or study design proposed for research.
IV. Fourth the study area physical setting or the context of study.
V. Fifth the research instrument to be used i.e. questionnaire, interview or any other.
VI. Sixth the selected sample size or sampling design.
VII. Seventh the method of analysis or data processing procedures.
VIII. Eighth table of contents or proposed chapters for the report.
IX. Ninth scope & parameters or the problems & limitations of the study.
X. Tenth the work schedule or time table or time frames for the research.
If any research proposal contains all these contents there is a better chance for approval of
the research project because this information would satisfy an evaluator or supervisor of
the research regarding the research whereas for a researcher this proposal would be a
detailed guide line for proceeding on his / her research endeavor.

2. A BROAD BASED RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

It is a grave reality that research is taught as a supporting subject in many academic

disciplines and in each discipline there are specific spheres of influence on which
research is conducted. These specific spheres of influence give birth to different
paradigms of research. However; there are quite similar activities in each research
process. For instance the substance & contents of each research would be different
however the broad approach of researcher in making inquiries about the research and
incorporating his or her opinion in a research are the commonalities of all researches.
Thus there is a need to understand a broad research methodology followed by each
researcher in his or her research. This generic process of research can be outlined as a
broad based research methodology.

2.1: RESEARCH PROBLEM FORMULATION:

The initial thought behind every research process is to know that, what the problem is?
Why this research? What is the issue on which research is to be done? Thus formulating a
research problem is based on the intensions of an author & prevailing situation. Basically
the research problem develops with two basic determinants. One is the area of interest of
researcher & other is the initiator of research or client of researcher. For the formulation
of research problem of any research the basic issue is the understanding of the subject
matter & that emerges from the review of the literature or physical observation of any
context. Then there are various constrains which compel the researcher to formulate the
research problem for instance, financial resources, availability of time, expertise of the
supervisor, and knowledge of the allied subjects, i.e. computer, statistics etc. Basically
formulating a research problem means to answer the question what?
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2.2: CONCEPTUALIZING A RESEARCH DESIGN:

The research design is again a very significant issue which develops on the basic of
chosen research method. Therefore conceptualizing a research design means develop the
concept that how the research would be conducted. The research design would describe
that, what are the parameters of research, what its indicators are? And how the process of
data collection & analysis would be comprehended & practically applied? It is the
detailed method of research variable analysis and conducting the practical steps of
research. The research design is again based on some ground realities of the researcher.
For example, what type of research method is intended by a researcher? How this
research method would be valued? What is the level of knowledge & skills of analysis
possessed by a researcher? It again requires a literature review and number of
measurement procedures known, by a researcher on the basis of which analysis &
evaluation would be done & conclusions would be drawn. Or more appropriately it can
be said that, research design permits a researcher to predict accurate outcomes of research
in any given set of conditions. Secondly it identifies all the gaps in knowledge of a
researcher. Another important aspect in research is that, the validity of “what” one finds
out as an answer of research question is mainly based upon “how” it was found.
Therefore basically a research design defines about this how of all the findings or
answers of research questions.
Conclusively a research design consists of six basic ingredients, i.e.
a) Study design per se
b) Logistical arrangements
c) Measurement procedures
d) Sampling strategy
e) Framework of analysis
f) Timeframe

2.3: CONSTRUCTING A DATA COLLECT INSTRUMENT:

The third operational step of any research is the construction of an instrument for data
collection. At this step the required theoretical knowledge is about methods & tools of
data collection where as the required intermediary knowledge is about the validity and
reliability of the research tool. Thus the basic issue which needs explanation here is that,
what is meant by a research tool or research instrument. The research tool or instrument
can be anything which becomes the means of collecting information for the study
undertaken by a researcher.
These include:

i) Note Book
ii) Sketch Book
iii) Camera / Audio Visual Recorder
iv) Observation Form
v) Map of the Area
vi) Plans of the Building
vii) Interview Schedules
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viii) Questionnaires
ix) Interview guides
x) Checklist of issues
Thus constructing a data collection instrument is the first practical step of carrying out a
research / study. However before constructing a data collecting instrument a researcher
needs to decide about the process of collecting data for proposed study and then construct
that tool. Basically there are various methods of data collection. Broadly they are
categorized as primary and secondary data collection process. For primary data collection
a researcher either construct an instrument or select from already constructed tool.
However if the researcher wants use secondary data which is already obtained for other
purposes; then an analytical form is developed to extract the required data from
secondary data. One of the integral parts of constructing an instrument for data collection
is the Field Testing which is a prerequisite for constructing an appropriate data collection
tool. However if the researcher is using computer for data analysis then the coding space
is provided on the research instrument.

2.4: SELECTING A SAMPLE:

Another significant aspect of any research is selecting a sample. Because; it in not

possible to study a whole universe due to constraints of time and money. For selecting
and designing a sample the required intermediary knowledge is of sampling theory and
sampling designs. Basically the selection of sample determines the accuracy of the
estimates made by a researcher. The main reason of sampling design is to minimize the
limitation of cost and obtain those values which are prevalent in the larger population.
The good sampling design is that which reduces the gap between the value obtained
through sample and actual characteristics of total population. Secondly the basic premise
of sampling is to select those minor units of community which can provide a sufficiently
high degree of probability or a true reflection of complete community. As discussed
earlier that, a researcher must have intermediary knowledge about sampling theory and
sampling design. So what does it mean? Basically sampling theory gives us two basic
principles i.e. avoid any bias in sample selection and attain the maximum precision in
given layout of resources or in other words the researcher must clearly think about his /
her available resources and select sample without any preconceived assumption. As far as
sample design is concerned there are various options of sampling design available to a
researcher. However, there are three basic categories of sampling design i.e. Random
probability sampling designs, or random sampling, Non random probability sampling
design or non random sampling and Mixed sampling design. The details of sampling
shall be discussed later however it is necessary to mansion here that, a researcher must
acquaint him / herself with maximum no. of sampling designs, the strengths &
weaknesses of sampling and selection of most appropriate sampling design for the
research study undertaken. Because the type of sampling strategy that a researcher use in
a research and the type of statistical tests performed on the data determines the ability of
researcher regarding generalizing from a sample to total population.

2.5: DATA COLLECTION:

The sixth operational step of any research is the collection of data. Once a research
 173

proposal is approved the next step for researcher is data collection through designed
research instrument. At this operational step the researcher requires five types of
intermediary knowledge.
I. First the field test of the research tool.
II. Second the process of editing the data.
III. Third, the development of a code book.
IV. Fourth, the process of encoding.
V. Fifth the ethical issues in data collection.
At this operational step the researcher actually collect the data from the context through
his / her devised data collection tool i.e. mail survey, questionnaire, interview, focus
group discussion, physical observation, photographic visual survey, map making etc.

2.6: DATA PROCESSING (ANALYSIS, EVALUATION & CONCLUSIONS):

The seventh operational step of any research is the processing of data. At this step a
researcher requires a theoretical knowledge of data processing methods computer
application and statistics. The process of data analysis or data processing in a research
mainly depends upon two basic premises.
I. One the type of collected information
II. Two the way a researcher intends to write his / her research report.
As far as the type of collected information is concerned it may be descriptive, qualitative
or attitudinal and quantitative. Whereas the way of writing a report varies as per
researcher’s writing skills and intellect. Another skill which is required in the processing
of data is displaying techniques or presentation skills. Because the best presented data is
also necessary for the audience to understand the research. This presentation & display of
data is the final step for data processing. Thus for a researcher it is necessary to make data
analysis with qualitative & quantitative distinction i.e. manual or computer analysis. For
example in order to analyse qualitative data a researcher review his / her field notes and
manually analyse his / her observations. Whereas for quantitative analysis use of
computer is must. Where, a researcher decides about required type of statistical analysis.
Such as: frequency distribution, cross tabulations or statistical procedures such as
regression analysis, factor analysis or analysis of variance.

2.7: REPORT WRITING:

The final & most difficult aspect of any research is the writing of a research report. At
this step the required theoretical knowledge is of scientific writing principles. The basic
considerations for report writing are those, where a researcher inform the world what is
being done? What is discovered and what conclusions are drawn from the research
findings. If a researcher is clear about the whole research process he / she will also be
clear about the way of writing a report. It’s like a buffet party with eight tables each with
different dishes but the dishes are made with similar ingredients and the researcher would
select the dish which he / she like the most from each table. And fill his / her plate &
present it to others. As mentioned earlier that a researcher must have the theoretical
knowledge of scientific writing so what is that scientific writing? Basically science
depends upon logical hierarchy. Similarly a research report follows a logical sequence
with different sections & chapters based upon different themes of study. Where chapter to
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chapter, topic to topic, paragraph to paragraph and sentence to sentence there shall be
complete hierarchy or logical sequence.
Conclusively a research report consist six basic chapters i.e.
I. Introduction
II. Literature review,
III. Research design,
IV. Data Presentation and Analysis i.e. Contextual realities / Case Studies
V. Research Findings i.e. Design Brief or Problem Statement
VI. Conclusions and Recommendations
VII. Research Appraisal.

PERSONAL NOTE:
THIS GENERIC PROCESS OF RESEARCH OUTLINED ABOVE IS INTENDED TO
ENHANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF MY DEAR STUDENTS CONCERNING
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE
BEGINNERS AND ATTEMPTING THE RESEARCH FOR THE FIRST TIME. THIS
BRIEF WOULD CLARIFY THEIR CONFUSIONS REGARDING RESEARCH.
POSTED BY TOWN PLANNING AT 10:07 AM NO COMMENTS:

SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2010

ARCHITECTURAL RESEARCH REPORT WRITING FORMAT
AR-501: ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IV

by

RAVINDAR KUMAR
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Karachi

Topic: ARCHITECTURAL RESEARCH REPORT WRITING FORMAT

i. Abstract
ii. Acknowledgements
iii. Table of Contents
iv.List of Maps, Charts, Graphs & Tables
v. List of Abbreviations and Acronyms

Chapter # 1 - Introduction
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1.1: Background – Problem statement; Research questions

1.2: Objective – Sub-objectives
1.3: Methodology
1.4: Scope and Parameters
1.5: Rationale and Justification
1.6: Expected results
1.7: Use of Study

Chapter # 2 – Literature Review

2.1: Definitions and descriptions (background of literature review)
2.2: Different Authors and their books, articles etc. (Summary of whatever literature
reviewed)
2.3: Architect’s perspective
2.4: Research Arguments ( view points of different authors both for and against)
2.5: Theoretical Framework (Identification of the gaps in arguments where you want to
work)
2.6: Conceptual Framework (Hypothesis development)

Chapter # 3 – Research Design

3.1: Lessons learned through literature review
3.2: Breakup of Hypothesis in Parameters / Variables; Indicators/Values and Sources.
3.3: What data shall be collected (Based on Hypothesis breakup)
3.4: What shall be the method to collect the data
3.4.1: Observations
3.4.2: Interviews
3.4.3: More literature review
3.4.4: Questionnaire Survey
3.4.5: Photographic Survey
3.4.6: Map making (GIS/Remote Sensing)
3.4.7: Retrospective Prospective Study or Before and After study
3.4.8: Case studies method etc. Comparison of Local as well as International cases
3.4.9: Experimentation (Practical Modeling)
3.5: Method of data presentation
3.6: Method of analysis

Chapter # 4 – Architectural Research

4.1: Factual data presentation (Local and International Case Studies/Contextual
Information)
4.2: Data analysis as per selected method of Analysis
4.3: Synthesis (Summary of Arguments)

CHAPTER # 5 – CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1: Summary of Research Findings
5.2: Interpretation of Research Findings into Design Brief
5.3: Justification of Design Brief
5.4: Site Selection Criteria; Site Selection and Analysis
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5.5: Design Philosophy, Concepts and its Justification

Chapter # 6: Design Proposal

6.1: Design Development Process
6.2: Master Planning Process and Alternatives Development
6.3: Detailed Design Process and Alternative development
6.4: Proposed Master Plan
6.5: Proposed Detailed Design (Floor Plans, Elevations, Sections, Views, Details below
ups, Block Models and Detailed Models

Chapter # 07 – Research Appraisal

7.1: Brief Presented to the Jury
7.2: Questions asked by Jury Members
7.3: Answers given to Jury Members
7.4: Jury’s Final Remarks (Unanswered questions)
7.5: Avenues for further research in future

8: REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

9: ANNEXURES

HOW TO GIVE THE REFERENCES? BOTH IN FOOT NOTES AND IN

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Following is the style of references that may be followed in the thesis report.

Book (Elements of the citation) Author(s) of book – family name and initials Year of
publication, Title of book – italicised, Edition, Publisher, Place of publication.

Chapter in a book (Elements of the citation)

Author(s) of chapter – family name and initials Year of publication, ‘Title of chapter – in
single quotation marks’, in Editor(s) of book (eds), Title of book – italicised, Edition,
Publisher, Place of publication, Page numbers.

Conference paper (Elements of the citation)

Author(s) of paper – family name and initials Year of publication, ‘Title of paper – in
single quotation marks’, Title of published proceedings which may include place held and
date(s) – italicised, Publisher, Place of Publication, Page number(s), (viewed date-in-full,
URL – if accessed electronically).

Journal Article (Elements of the citation)

Author(s) of journal article – family name and initials Year of publication, ‘Title of
journal article – in single quotation marks’, Title of journal – italicised, Volume, Issue or
number, Page number(s), (viewed date-in-full, URL – if accessed electronically).

Thesis (Elements of the citation)

Author of thesis – family name and initials Year of preparation of thesis, ‘Title of thesis –
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in single quotation marks’, Award, Institution issuing degree, Location of institution.

Report (Elements of the citation)

Author(s) of report – (person or organisation) Year of Publication, Title of report -
italicised, Report number (if available), Publisher/ Institution, Place of publication,
(viewed date-in-full, URL - if accessed electronically).

Newspaper and magazine article (Elements of the citation)

Author(s) of article – family name and initials Year of publication, ‘Title of article – in
single quotation marks’, Title of newspaper – italicised, Day month, Page number(s).

Web page (Elements of the citation)

Author(s) of page – (person or organisation) Year (page created or revised), Title of page
- italicised, description of document (if applicable), name of the sponsor of the page (if
applicable), viewed date-in-full, URL.

Patent (Elements of the citation)Author(s) of patent – family name and initials Year of
issue, Title of patent- italicised, Number of patent including country of issue.

Standard (Elements of the citation)

Corporate body issuing standard Year of publication, Title of standard- italicised, Number
of standard including identifier of issuing country or body, Publisher of standard, Place of
publication.

Map (Elements of the citation)

Issuing body Year of publication, Title of map – italicised, Series (if available), Publisher,
Place of publication.

Personal communication (Elements of the citation)

Information obtained by interview, telephone call, letter or email should be documented
in the text, but should NOT be included in the list of References.