Effective planning critical in increasingly urban world

There is growing awareness of the critical role planning has to play in an increasingly urban world.

Two years ago a call to reinvent planning came from the World Urban Forum in Vancouver, Canada, where governments and civil society organisations agreed it is a key tool for the strategic co-ordination of sustainable urbanisation.

Among the events which bear testimony to a strong response to this call is the signing of the Vancouver Declaration by a growing number of national planning bodies, who committed themselves to promoting the principles of the reformed planning agenda and addressing the most critical issues of the day – rapid urbanisation, the urbanisation of poverty, and climate change.

Positive responses from grass-root planners have also been heard in a series of events around the world over the last two years in Australia, Cameroon, Canada, the Caribbean, the Great Lakes Area of East Africa and the Pacific Islands.

“There is a clear determination to make planning work and recognition that this means doing things differently,” says Christine Platt, President of the Commonwealth Association of Planners. This association is concerned with the planning and management of settlements and regions across the Commonwealth.

She is due to speak at the UN-Habitat World Urban Forum in Nanjing, China, which is being held between 3 and 6 November 2008. This biennial forum was established by the United Nations to examine rapid urbanisation and its impact on communities, cities, economies and policies. The theme for this year’s forum is ‘Harmonious Urbanisation: The Challenge of Balanced Territorial Development’.

Mrs Platt will cite examples of where planning is being used effectively, such as in East Africa, where governments in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have recognised planning’s strategic role.

In spite of this reinvention of planning, she warns that the work is far from complete: “We cannot talk about sustainable development without talking about sustainable urbanisation, and we cannot talk about sustainable urbanisation without talking about planning. But concerns remain, particularly about political leadership, governance, capacity, social inclusion and funding.

“Planning fit for the twenty-first century needs to be strategic, integrated and participatory, otherwise we have no hope of dealing with the challenges we face.”

“Steering a path to harmony and balance requires planning, but planning that ensures that the wealth created by urbanisation is shared fairly,” she will say. “Without it there is no hope of the people for whom and with whom we need to plan accepting, defending or adhering to the outcomes of our efforts.”

The Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) Pacific Project is co-ordinating an event at the forum in Nanjing, which will address the effectiveness and opportunities of a regional approach to planning in small island states in the Pacific. It will focus on the Pacific Urban Agenda, a collaborative plan of action that co-ordinates support to countries to address urban challenges such as urban and rural links, socio-cultural dimensions and climate change.

The CLGF is working alongside the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the UN’s Human Settlement Programme and the Pacific Island Planners Association.

Key Links:

• ComHabitat