The Importance of Urban Strategic Development Planning
Urban strategic development planning aims to determine which model is needed to ensure that energy and resources are spent in the right places. It involves the coordination of private and public efforts towards creating the desired outcome.
Why Is Urban Strategic Development Planning Necessary?
With rapid urbanisation, cities and towns reach their resource and infrastructure limits in managing the increase in population. Urban strategic development planning is an effective tool for addressing such challenges.
The urban strategic development planning approach enables the management of the changes in the area. With such, it is possible to improve the quality of life of the residents. Since people move in and out of urban spaces, it is not possible to just follow the approach once. It is as dynamic and flexible as the movement of the people in the city, since it must reflect the changes within the urban environment.
Part of the strategic development planning process entails decisions regarding growth goals for the various areas. The decisions include, but are not limited to, determining how to improve quality of life and protect such, and how to use and protect the current economic base of the city.
What Makes for a Comprehensive and Effective Urban Strategic Planning Process?
Many factors combine to add to the success or failure of the urban strategic development planning process. For one, the plan focuses on the future and aims to predict how the urban environment could look and function within a specific period of time, such as a decade from now. The planning process will determine the development approach and direction for the urban environment.
The plan should be flexible enough to ensure a true reflection of the ongoing changes in the city. The direction of the development should be aligned with the city’s environment. It provides the framework in which to plan the desired city for the future.
The framework is based on an in-depth analysis of the city and the development potential. With such a strategic development plan in place, the city can respond to events, growth opportunities, development trends, and challenges. The planning process is qualitative rather than quantitative. It uses data of concepts, dialogues, and experiences, rather than just hard data of statistics. It is about dialogue amongst the many stakeholders to create a focus for development.
Dialogue entails getting to answers about the current state of development, the preferred direction of development, and how to achieve the desired outcomes.
Such urban strategic planning is useful in addressing a wide range of problems on organisational, local, and national levels. With this process, it is possible to use resources effectively for the creation of the desired city.
For the process to work, it is essential to involve the citizens of the urban environment. Public participation plays a crucial role in the success of the planning process. What makes the approach different from the more conventional urban planning process is that it is not based on a master plan. Instead, it evolves as the city grows and changes.
While the conventional approach is about the main priorities, this approach is about focusing on selective priorities. The strategic development planning is done in phases. The first phase entails the analysis of the urban situation and the stakeholders. A profile is created regarding the current urban situation and an assessment is made regarding the investment capacity.
The next phase entails a consultation with the town and city planners, and the drafting of the urban strategic development plan. This is followed by the approval and adoption of the plan. Sustainable action planning follows and resources are mobilised in a public and private enterprise relationship.
The final phase entails the implementation of the projects and the ongoing management of such. This phase includes project designs, management reviews, monitoring, reporting, and changes to ensure the goals are reached.
A municipal planning team is normally appointed to handle the planning process. The team works closely with the different departments of the municipality, as it is essential to consider all the perspectives and priorities of the various departments. This team consists of representatives from the different departments and professional town and city planners.
Where to Get Professional Help with Urban Strategic Development Planning?
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