Abstract
Scholarly thought is that planning should be an opportunity for the interface of systems and methodologies that lead to consensus building in addressing the needs of communities. This is because planning is ‘a process which involves decisions on alternative ways of using available resources, to achieve particular goals at some time in the future.' Development is 'the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land.' These definitions miss the planner, who is supposed to champion the development planning processes. In Zimbabwe and other developing countries, the discussion on the efficacy of planning has shifted from the technical to the professional. With the advances made in technology, the increasing civic awareness among both rural and urban communities, planning standards are going down. In urban areas, there is increasing urban sprawl, traffic congestion, environmental degradation, and general disorder. All these issues have led to the need to (re)look at the issue of professional planning practice.
TopIntroduction
In his highly acclaimed book, Planning as a Dialogue: District Development Planning and Management in Developing Countries, Jenssen (1998), argues that planning should be used to provide an opportunity for the interface of systems and methodologies that will lead to consensus building and the implementation of projects and programmes meant to address the felt needs of the communities. Planning is understood among other things to be “a continuous process which involves decisions, or choices, about alternative ways of using available resources, with the aim of achieving particular goals at some time in the future” (Conyers, 1987).
Definition of Key Concepts
Development may be defined as “the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of buildings or other land” (Cullingworth, 1988). This resonates well with Section 22(1)(i) of the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act, 29:12 which sets out the parameters of physical development. Lewis Keeble (1969) defines Town (and Rural) Planning as 'the art and science of ordering the use of land and siting of buildings and communication routes so as to secure maximum practicable degree of economy, convenience and beauty'. What all these key concepts and definition deliberately or otherwise miss is the critical component of the professional who is supposed to champion and regulate the development planning processes: the planner. In Zimbabwe and other developing countries, the discussion on the efficacy of development and physical planning has shifted from the technical to the professional. The basic argument being that with the advances being made in technology, the increasing civic awareness amongst both rural and urban communities, why do the planning standards seem to be going down. In the urban areas especially, there is increasing urban sprawl, traffic congestion, environmental degradation caused by construction of buildings in vleis (wetlands), and waterways, occupation of uncompleted buildings and general disorder. All these issues have brought to the fore the need to (re)look at the issue of professional planning practice and why it has come under so much scrutiny and ridicule.
The author is a qualified planner academically and professionally but has not actively practised orthodox planning since 2007. However, he has previously made several observations about what has gone wrong with the planning profession in Zimbabwe. However, this did not go far enough to interrogate the professional practice of planning. The paper is largely rhetorical and anecdotal in nature and lacks the hallmarks of a scientific paper. However, it points to the confusion and frustration that perhaps non-planners feel when they are encountered by degenerate urban and rural spaces in comparison to what they saw and knew less than a decade ago.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Urban Sprawl: urban sprawl denotes a situation where urban development expands and extends further and further away from the centre of an urban area. Sprawl is viewed negatively because it normally it puts a lot of pressure on services such as water, roads, electricity and even the land. The urban space will develop horizontally more than vertically.
Deemed refusal: this is a legal provision that states that if a development application is not approved by the appropriate authorities, within a specified time, then the development is deemed refused. Under normal circumstances, this means that the onus is on the applicant to prove, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the development is necessary. With the deemed refusal provision in place, urban development will be difficult to attain.
Planning: this is the process of allocating resources among different priority areas. The planning process is determined by the challenges that communities in both urban and rural areas.
Capacity: this refers to the ability of individuals, households and institutions to carry out their mandates. The mandates mainly focus on the different development priority areas.
Resilience: this focuses on the capacity of individuals and communities to absorb and adapt to the changing context. This changing context is mainly due to the disasters, risks and hazards that affect communities in both rural and urban areas. Some of the challenges that communities face are natural, whilst increasingly most of them are man-made.
Development: Development denotes a process, normally positive in nature, of improving people and their areas. Development focuses on integration and holism. Whilst the term has normally been associated with the rural areas, the concept is becoming increasingly used within the urban space and context.
Planning Practice: This is the conduct of planning activities. This complements the theoretical aspects of planning. Planning practice borrows heavily from experiences in the implementation of development interventions in both rural and urban development.