Socioeconomic aspects of

planning
Week 2
16 September – 20 September,20113
Arch 305 Architecture and Town Planning
 Week 1: Review

• What is planning/town planning?

• What are the aims of planning?
• What are the forms of planning?
• What are the levels of planning?
• Why we need planning?
• Responsibilities of a Town Planners?
 Contents
• Socioeconomic aspects of planning
• Urban form
• Elements of Urban form
• Automobile and growth of cities
• Inner city and suburban
Socioeconomic aspects of planning(1)
• The economic climate of a city is largely
determined by physical infrastructure and social
policies.
• Urban Planners/Engineers commonly deal with
“physical infrastructure” likes of
• Construction of road/highways
• Planning of new cities, neighborhoods
• Construction of civic facilities
• Municipals facilities
• Powers stations etc
Socioeconomic aspects of planning(2)
• Most physical infrastructure projects directly or
indirectly affected by socioeconomic dynamics, i.e.,
social processes around waste management and
recycling

– The physical part may just be a bin and the data needed
about waste quantities, density, type and this will help in
deciding the size and material of the bin.

– The challenging part of engineering involves understanding

attitudes, behaviors and reactions of people using this
simple technology regularly, leading to a much larger
outcome of recycling targets and resource conservation.
Socioeconomic aspects of planning(3)
• Planning practices and research need to have a better
understanding of the social processes which have a
sustainable impact on their physical infrastructure.

• All residents should have equitable access to

resources, such as housing and water, the absence of
which can lead to unhygienic and dangerous living
conditions and more importantly Regional Conflicts
and Disparities.
Socioeconomic aspects of planning(4)

• The physical form is a variable of the social

and built pattern of the city.
–Acceptability
–Accessibility
–Affordability
–Usability
–Suitability
Socioeconomic aspects of planning(5)
Acceptability: satisfactoriness by virtue of
conforming to approved standards
– Acceptability is a Dynamic Process
• Acceptability does not end with a particular outcome or result; rather it is an
ongoing process.
– Community: acceptance of various project by various
affected communities i.e. Kalabagh Dam
– Socio-Political: satisfied the existing socio-political
norms
– Cultural: must incorporates the cultural values
– Gender: gender and acceptability has become crucial
in planning
Socioeconomic aspects of planning(6)

Accessibility is the degree to which a product,

device, service, or environment is available to
as many people as possible.
– Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to
access" and benefit from some system or entity.
– It is more related with deprived population.
– Mode of accessibility
• Transportation
• Hierarchy of services
Socioeconomic aspects of planning(7)
Affordability: The extent to which something
is affordable, as measured by its cost relative to
the amount that the purchaser is able to pay; e.g.,
affordable housing, green technologies, solar
energy etc

– Factors influencing affordability

• Income level
• Household size
• Geographic variation
• others
Socioeconomic aspects of planning(8)
Usability is the ease of use and learnability of a
projects and policies.
– The primary notion of usability is that an
object designed with a generalize users’
psychology i.e.,
• More efficient to use—takes less time to
accomplish a particular task
• Easier to learn—operation can be learned by
observing the object
• More satisfying to use
Socioeconomic aspects of planning(9)

Suitability: the quality of having the properties

that are right for a specific purpose

– Purposeful allocation of land and recourses

– Suitability analysis: site analysis

– Suitability depends upon social, economic,

environmental, geo-political, cultural factors.

– For example: suitable site for an air port

Socioeconomic aspects of planning(10)
Social acceptability Utility
System acceptability

Usefulness
Easy to learn
Usability
Efficient to use

Practical Easy to remember

acceptability Cost

Few errors
Compatibility
Subjectively pleasing
Reliability

Etc. (performance, manageability…)

 Urban Form(1)
Every human
settlement consists
of certain
elements.
Interaction of
these elements
form a pattern -
the urban
pattern.
 Urban Form(2)

• The urban pattern is a result of the relationships

between people and their social, economic and physical
environments.
• Buildings and spaces are created by people and quite
often characterize them
 Urban Form(3)
• Human-environment relationship is a two-way
process termed as the socio-spatial dialectic.
• urban patterns are influenced by the relationship of;
– Land ownership patterns
– Technology
– transportation
– Communication, and
– Socioeconomic conditions
• Migration. Race, religion, ethnic composition
 Urban Form(4)
The physical form is a variable of the social and
built pattern of the city.
The built form is influenced by factors as
– land ownership
– existing land use
– planning regulations
– street patterns
– economic considerations
– political and historical events
 Urban Form(5)
Urban form:
• The broad overall physical geographic
arrangement of land-use and transportation
facilities determines the urban form.

• Urban form encompasses the nature of the

transportation networks, whether grid, radial,
or other, as well as the configuration of land
use such as mono-centric versus polycentric
 Urban Form(6)
Urban Design:
• The more detailed physical aspects and
relationships of the urban form are usually
referred to as the urban design or site design.

• The orientation of the building on a site

relative to transportation infrastructure
(parking sidewalks, bus stops, etc.) can impact
the choice of modes.
 Urban Form(7)
• The urban design structure defines the urban
form and the building form
 Elements of Urban Form(1)
Urban Design involves the design and coordination of all that
makes up cities and towns:

Buildings:
• Buildings are the most
pronounced elements of
urban design - they shape
and articulate space by
forming the street walls of
the city.
• Well designed buildings
and groups of buildings
work together to create a
sense of place.
 Elements of Urban Form(2)
Public Space
• Great public spaces are the
living room of the city - the
place where people come
together to enjoy the city and
each other.
• Public spaces make high
quality life in the city possible
- they form the stage and
backdrop to the drama of life.
• Public spaces range from
grand central plazas and
squares, to small, local
neighborhood parks.
 Elements of Urban Form(3)
Streets
• Streets are the connections
between spaces and places, as well
as being spaces themselves.
• They are defined by their physical
dimension and character as well as
the size, scale, and character of the
buildings that line them.
• Streets range from grand avenues
to small, intimate pedestrian
streets.
• The pattern of the street network
is part of what defines a city and
what makes each city unique.
 Elements of Urban Form(4)
Transport
• Transport systems connect the parts
of cities and help shape them, and
enable movement throughout the
city.
• They include road, rail, bicycle, and
pedestrian networks, and together
form the total movement system of a
city.
• The best cities are the ones that
elevate the experience of the
pedestrian while minimizing the
dominance of the private automobile.
 Elements of Urban Form(5)
Landscape
• The landscape is the green part of the
city that weaves throughout - in the
form of urban parks, street trees,
plants, flowers, and water in many
forms.
• The landscape helps define the
character and beauty of a city and
creates soft, contrasting spaces and
elements.
• Green spaces in cities range from
grand parks such as Central Park in
New York City and the Washington
DC Mall, to small intimate pocket
parks.
The Automobile and the Urban Form
 Automobile Dependency(1)
Car dependency has increased significantly over the years
Automobile Dependency(2)
Automobile Dependency(3)
 Automobile Dependency(4)
• Causes
– Advantages of automobile use:
• Performance, comfort, status, speed, and convenience.
• Illustrate why car ownership continues to grow worldwide.
– Factors of growth:
• Sustained economic growth (increase in revenue and quality of life).
• Complex individual urban movement patterns.
• Peripheral urban growth.
• Factors of dependency
– Underpricing and consumer choices:
• Most road infrastructures are subsidized (considered a public service).
• Car ownership is a symbol of status
• Single home ownership.
 City structure
Although all towns and cities are different, most have grown and
developed in the same way.