How We Use Spatial Planning To Improve Modern Urban Centres
Navigating (driving or walking around) cities can create one of three experiences: joy, irritation, or indifference. A well-designed city will mostly evoke the first and last responses the most (the latter in particular, as people tend to not notice things that do not actively aggravate them), with the second response being less common. If you find it easy to navigate a city or urban centre, or if you do not think about it much, that means the spatial planning for that area succeeded in its main purpose (whether the inverse is true if you have trouble finding your way without extensively consulting maps and a GPS).
Spatial planning is the process by which architects, engineers, and developers plan and design urban areas to meet the needs of the people in those areas or to satisfy certain developmental requirements. It is an ancient discipline with some unfortunate connotations in South Africa and the USA. While contemporary spatial planning is all about improving people’s lives and getting them better access to resources, there was a time when it was used to create the opposite effect by limiting the movement of people and resources and keeping people confined to designated areas. As a company, we must acknowledge these past mistakes and move forward by delivering on our commitment to make things better through urban development.
The Strategy Behind Developing Urban Spaces
The main challenges in the urban development process are improving access to resources and services while ensuring that the infrastructure can support these developments. Another major challenge is to keep developmental costs down as much as possible, because initial development costs can cause future property prices to skyrocket. These challenges can be overcome with a comprehensive strategy that addresses them in a sustainable and affordable way. In other words, it is not about finding a cheap and temporary fix for these challenges, but rather designing and implementing long-term solutions that can prevent (or reduce the likelihood) recurrence of problems in the future.
Are Spatial And Urban Planning The Same?
While these terms are often used interchangeably (even in this article), there is a subtle difference. Urban development is primarily concerned with the development and expansion of cities, towns, and other major metropolitan areas. It falls into a subcategory of spatial planning, but the degree to which it describes a subset of functions that are sufficiently different from its parent category is up for debate. The consensus, however, is that urban development is a process meant to achieve specific socio-economic objectives.
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