Urban Planning Growth
Urban planning
Urban planning requires the consideration of many different factors, it often proves difficult to plan and predict for the future. Another problem which arises in urban planning is the fact that population growth and urbanization is happening at a rapid rate; a rate which urban planners can not keep up with. Before technological advances urban planning was done by drawing plans and the use of primitive technology of building models form wood and paste board (Ranzinger & Gonther, 1997). However with the advancing technology; tools such as Geographic Information System(GIS) and Remote sensing(RS) can prove very useful to the urban planning sector, these tools can save time and money.
Computers have only in the last century been used for transportation and population data, the 1960's was the start of using computers for urban planning (Kistler, n.d). GIS can be used to represent data visually on a map; this is much easier for people to interpret than tables of data. Due to the fact that many cities have not had planning; GIS can be used more for the modelling of urban areas and for future planning. According to Kistler (n.d). GIS is very useful for urban renewal as buildings that are to be demolished, upgraded or left alone; can be portrayed on a map.
Urban planning must make the city healthier, bigger and nicer, together with safeguarding and showing to advantage the city's heritage (Laurini, 2001:13). Although there is a model for urban planning it is argued that there is such a wide range of information to consider for urban planning; which includes zoning, transport planning, environmental policies and housing planning.
In a developing country such as India; the population exceeds the planning of the government and there are many shortfalls in terms of water, sanitation, traffic control and pollution services. Tiwari (2003) believes that urban areas are more efficient if they are well planned. Urban planning can be used to harness the spatio-economic potential of the land and could prove to be beneficial to the people (Tiwari, 2003).
With urban planning there are certain issues which need to be addressed, these issues include; the spatial location of certain institutes such as schools relative to residential areas, or industry relative to residential areas. GIS can prove useful in this regard as once the relative data is input; the user can use the overlay function to find the optimal placement of these functions. An example of GIS being used for an urban issue is for noise pollution of an airport. Worldwide, aircraft pollution is an environmental problem with social, technical and economic ramifications (Van der Merwe & Von Holt, 2006:177). In a country like South Africa there is often no urban planning, this results in urban encroachment into unsuitable areas as there are uncoordinated plans (Van der Merwe & Von Holt, 2006). The problem which arises is that although there was an early realisation of the potential impacts of aircrafts and airports; the rapid expansion of the aviation sector post World War Two 'outstripped planning' GIS saves cost and time when used to map noise contours and identify areas of unacceptable noise levels for sound-proofing programs (Van der Merwe & Von Holt, 2006:177).
Rapid urban expansion inadvertently brought urban industries, commerce and residential living space into ever closer contact with airports initially located well beyond the urban edge (Van der Merwe & Von Holt, 2006:177). Noise pollution is measured in decibels, Arc View GIS allowed the specialists at Cape Town International Airport to use the spatially referenced contours in an overlay function, the specialists where then able to identify the areas which were affected by the noise pollution and were able to put in certain noise polluting buffers (Van der Merwe & Von Holt, 2006:177).
This growth in the urban sector has created many opportunities for planning professionals. GIS and RS are very useful tools in urban development. The use of these tools helps in implementing efficient and economical models for urban development; location of industries, education, housing, water supply, service facility and disposal systems all need effective planning. GIS technologies allow for the integrating and analyzing the layers along with the attribute information which are available creating scenarios for decision making (Tiwari, 2003). Remote Sensing (RS) data provides reliable, timely, accurate, and periodic data, while Geographic Information System (GIS) provide various methods of integration tools to create different planning scenarios for decision making (Tiwari, 2003:1).
Urban Information systems have been developed, thematic maps form satellite data is used, and there is also generation of a spatial framework. Urban sprawl and land use change are identified by the integration of thematic maps (Tiwari, 2003). Aerial Photography proves to be very useful for generation of base maps for urban areas, RS can be used to monitor and study land features and natural resources (Tiwari, 2003). GIS is used for input, storage, manipulation and analysis of the stored data, it can be used to choose the optimal strategy for planning (Tiwari, 2003).
In order for the plans to be a success; the plans must be flexible to provide for an expanding city it is important not only to plan for the short term but also for the long term expansion of the city; sometimes this is extremely hard to predict (Tiwari, 2003). The participation of people with regard to planning should be the planners top priority.
A problem faced by many urban planners using GIS is that the infrastructural maps are often not available. Initially GIS was only used for land use planning, forest cover and weather forecasting, the GIS workstation therefore required large investments (Ghatak, n.d).
Urban planners use tools such as zoning to impose restrictions on things such as building height and density and land use types (Wilson, Clay, Martin, Stuckey & Vedder-Rischa, 2003). The intrinsic relationships between zoning and the physical structure of urban environments suggest that mechanisms should be in place through which planners can evaluate the environmental consequences of existing zoning ordinances and improve the scientific basis of future decision making in order to mitigate negative effects of development (Wilson et al, 2003: 303). Remote sensing is often used in conjunction with GIS for urban planning for example; digitizing from a vector aerial photograph can be used to update maps.
The introduction of GIS automates the data handling and computation process, and provides an effective cartographic presentation of the results (Xiang, 1996:8). In urban planning it is extremely important to take into consideration the environment.
There are many environmental impacts which arise when developing form rural to urban; increased asphalt and concrete create artificial surfaces for run-off and a reduction in evapotranspiration (Wilson et al, 2003). The integration of GIS and remote sensing in urban growth management involves two processes: land-use change detection and the evaluation of the impact of land-use change on land resources (Yeh & Xia,1997:196). With the new Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) negative mapping can be used to save time and money of developments. The overlay function can be used; environmental factors such as endangered species, soil type, topology, vegetation type and elevation can be overlayed to determine the best possible site. Buffering can also be used to identify areas not falling in catchment systems, high water marks and the 100 meter flood line. These areas can be zoned and therefore save the developer time and money.
Nairobi is one of the fastest growing cities in the Africa; due to this rapid growth there is a lack of basic infrastructure (Mundia, & Aniya, 2005). It is therefore important to implement a plan to manage the growth effectively. Up to date information is essential in urban planning
Post-classification techniques with the GIS approaches to integrating satellite remote sensing data with demographic and socio-economic data were adopted to examine land use/cover changes and the dynamics of urban expansion (Mundia & Aniya, 2005). GIS shows flexibility, as different buffer zones can be identified and changed to accommodate real life situations
Land use is changing at such a rapid rate that existing maps are outdated to quickly, in many cases new maps have o be prepared before land-use planning can take place (Erbek, Ulubay, Maktav & Yağiz, 2005). However producing maps is a expensive and time consuming exercise so Satellite images prove to be very useful; these images are up to date and easy to manipulate. GIS and remote sensing can be used for a number of different sectors within urban planning such as; developing and updating existing maps, assessing land cover and evaluating urban growth areas, infrastructure planning for utilities and telecommunications, surveillance and mission planning and national security agencies, real estate assessment and travel planning, navigation and transportation network support, environmental impact assessments and preparation of emergency plans for natural disasters (Erbek et al, 2005:776).
GIS has many pro's and con's when it comes to urban planning, it is useful for urban planning as a large amount of information can be stored and processed (Kistler, n.d). Having the information all on one program is much simpler to analyze and make decisions. However a disadvantage of using GIS is the fact that the human element is removed from the planning; there is no contact between people. GIS can also be very expensive to purchase and obtain data (Kistler, n.d). GIS can be used to help planners visualise the future, the planners are also able to maintain an even balance between agricultural, residential and business concerns (Kistler, n.d).
The user of GIS can choose how to portray the relevant information; by querying the geo-database in different ways the information can be portrayed in a table, graphically on a map, or as a paper map (Jere & Sarin, n.d).
Problem Scenario Zoning is the classification of an area into land use districts (Jere & Sarin, n.d:1). This is basically zoning the land into different land uses such as residential, commercial, industrial and educational, by doing this it aids in making sure that the development of the land is compatible with the surrounding zoning. Sometimes there is a need to rezone land for example; if the urban population had increased drastically there may be a need for a school so with GIS the best possible site can be identified; this may be on agricultural land which will need to be rezoned.
Since the introduction of GIS into municipalities the zoning and rezoning of land has been much simpler; previously the hard copy would have to be found and whole maps would have to be reprinted; now the change can simply be made on the data base, which can be portrayed on a digital map (Jere & Sarin, n.d).
In a city like Beihai in China the population increased significantly in the years following 1992. It has many geographical advantages and therefore attracted lots of foreign investment, as a result the city planners were sent into over drive (Weibo, n.d). Many problems associated with rapid urbanization were being experienced, so in response to this the Planning committee built the Beihai Urban Information System (BUIS) and in conjunction with this ArcInfo, ArView, AutoCAD, Visual Basic and FoxPro were used. ArcInfo and ArcView proved to be very useful as the user could query information relating to land use, city roads, underground pipeline and this information could be depicted on different layers (Weibo, n.d).
As a result, the examining and approving processes become more scientific and efficient and, with the data shared by the whole system, the data modified in one place will instantaneously be reflected in all the other places, so the possibility of conflicts among roads, buildings, and underground pipelines is eliminated (Weibo, n.d http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/ summer99articles/16-gismakes.html)
References:
Erbek, F., Ulubay, A., Maktav, D. & Yağiz, E. (2005) The use of satellite image maps for urban planning in Turkey. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 26(4). 775-784
Ghatak, T. (n.d) Problem and prospects of adopting GIS in urban development www.gisdevelopment.net
Jere, A. & Sarin, J. (n.d) Urban planning: A GIS experience Accessed through: http://www.gisdevelopment.net/application/urban/overview/urbano0001.htm
Kistler, J. GIS in Urban Planning, Poster accessed through; http://www.personal.psu.edu/jbk5017/GISposter.ppt#256,1,GIS in Urban Planning
Laurini, R. (2001) Information System Urban Planning [a hyper media co-operative approach] Taylor and Francis; London.
Mundia, C.N. & Aniya, M. (2005) Analysis of land use/cover changes and urban expansion of Nairobi city using remote sensing and GIS. International Journal of Remote Sensing 26(13) 2831-2849
Ranzinger, M. & Gonther, G. (1997) GIS databases for 3D urban planning. Comput., Environ. and Urban Systems. (21) 2, 159-173.
Tiwari, D.P. (2003) Remote Sensing and GIS for efficient Urban Planning in India. Map Asia Conference, GIS development.net.
Tripathy, G.K. (2001). Urban Planning and Information System for Municipal Corporations. www.gisdevelopment.net.
Van der Merwe, J & Von Holt, D. (2006) Environmental footprint of Aircraft Noise exposure at Cape Town International Airport. South African Geographic Journal. (88)2. 177-193.
Weibo, D. (n.d) GIS makes city planning managagment more effective in the city of Beihai. Arc news online. http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/summer99articles/16-gismakes.html
Wilson, J.S., Clay, M., Martin, E., Stuckey, D. & Vedder-Rischa, K. (2003) Evaluating environmental influences of zoning in urban ecosystemswith remote sensing. Remote Sensing of Environment 86. 303-321
Xiang, W. (1996) GIS-based riparian buffer analysis: injecting geographic information into landscape planning Landscape and urban planning. 34. 1-10.
Yeh, A. G. & Xia, L. (1997) An integrated remote sensing and GIS approach in the monitoring and evaluation of rapid urban growth for sustainable development in the Pearl River Delta, China, International Planning Studies, 2(2) 193 210
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