What is the purpose of urban planning?
Urban planning is the design and control of land use in towns, cities, and other human settlements. It continues to be a hot topic in modern-day society with climate change, rapid population growth, and technological development.
The main goal of urban planning is to make a city or town more livable by improving the quality of life for its residents. What are the advantages of good town planning? How does urban planning improve the quality of life?
Why town planning is necessary for urban mobility
An area of focus for urban planners is urban mobility. Vehicles are one of the main sources of air pollution in cities. With the urban population growth, unless we plan for more sustainable transport systems the pollution problem will worsen.
So, urban planning should decrease the number of vehicles on the road and reduce congestion. We can increase the use of public transport, bikes, and walking, as well as plan for the rapid expansion of electric vehicles.
The importance of urban planning for green infrastructure
Green spaces in a city can have a wide range of functions: they can be used as communal gathering spaces for events or picnics; as the site for children’s play or outdoor education; as a place to sit or walk on a lunch break.
Effective urban planning includes providing open spaces, parks, gardens, green roofs, tree canopies, and green streets that provide functional benefits such as filtration of stormwater runoff (rainwater) or provision of shade. Green infrastructure can be introduced into new developments or retrofitted into existing neighborhoods.
Simply put, planning for green infrastructure is the integration of nature into our cities to provide multiple benefits including climate stewardship, economic development, food security, and public health.
Why do we need urban planning to create epicenter learning and culture?
A city or town is more than just a place with buildings and infrastructure; it is also a hub for culture and learning, work, and recreation.
In the past, cities were organized around a church, a castle, a central marketplace, or a colonial-era college. Today’s urban planners seek to emulate these traditional models of urban design with walkable districts that include schools, libraries, parks, stores, and restaurants.
Cities are also a testing ground for tolerance, diversity, and innovation. Therefore, it is important that we design cities and towns with the goal of creating communities that are inclusive, sustainable, livable, and thriving. The livability of a city is not only about how it looks on the surface but also what it feels like to be inside of it. It incorporates social justice, economic opportunity, ecological sustainability, cultural vitality, and physical comfort.
Reducing poverty by creating affordable housing
To tackle poverty, we must focus on the root causes of poverty including increasing wealth inequality, low wages, lack of access to quality education, and affordable healthcare, among other things.
One way to fix these issues is by ensuring we plan our urban locations to ensure that people have access to quality and affordable housing, so they can afford necessities like food and clothing as well as feel safe at home with their families.
Urban planning improves the quality of life
Urban planning offers benefits to the population and the environment. When cities plan for future needs, they can ensure that there is ample space for public transit, parks, and buildings. This helps to reduce overcrowding and pollution.
Effective urban planning makes certain that education, work, and recreation opportunities are created and catered for in our cities, and creates a brighter future for the communities who live in them.
At ACB Consulting, we are committed to helping improve the communities in which we live, work, and play – including how they are conceived, designed, and created. To learn more, contact ACB Consulting.