Fields of Urban Planning

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Fields of Urban Planning Planning Process
Geg309 Urban Geography
Instructor Jun Yan Geography Department SUNY at
Buffalo
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Last Class

• Historical Perspective on Urban Planning
• Rationalism Progress through planning
• Philanthropy Reform
• City Beautiful
• City Practical New Deal
• Post-War Planning Golden Age
• The End of Planning

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Outline

• Fields of Contemporary Urban Planning
• Urban Planning Process
• Comprehensive Planning Process
• Buffalo Comprehensive Planning

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Fields of Contemporary Urban Planning

• Urban design
• Comprehensive Planning
• Transportation Planning
• Land Use Planning
• Economic Development Planning
• Growth Management Planning
• Environmental Planning

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Urban Design

• Urban design
• different from urban planning public policy
  and programs of action for urban development
  (economics and social issues) Landscape
  Architecture
• more concern with the physical form of the city
  physical configurations architectural issues
• shift away from exclusive land use zoning to
  mixed uses of urban areas

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Urban Design
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Transportation Planning

• Transportation planning
• improve the performance of current transport
  system accessibility, safety, security, economy,
  efficiency, environment
• based on current or future needs (vision)
• planner provide alternative strategies as well as
  their consequences to decision-makers
• Intelligent Transportation Systems

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Economic Development Planning

• Economic development planning
• sustain or improve the business activity and
  employment of the city
• By influencing the growth and restructuring of
  the economy of the city annexation, pro-growth
  collation, Entrepreneurialism

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Enterprise Zones in Philadelphia
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Growth Management Planning

• Growth management planning
• manage the growth of city urban sprawl
• normally controls the rate time, the location,
  the amount density, the cost, the quality of
  the growth
• example Portland

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Environmental Planning

• Environmental planning
• include environmental quality (air, drinking
  water, safety), housekeeping functions
  (garbage, toxic waste, emissions)
• Also include nature conservation, watershed
  management, natural hazarder management
  biodiversity conservation
• EPAs Smart GrowthInitiatives

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EPAs Smart Growth Principles
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Comprehensive Planning

• Comprehensive planning
• Very broad, and covers physical, economic,
  social, transportation environmental, historical
  issues, thus comprehensive
• Strategies, not detailed actions simply where
  you want to go and how you will get there
• Long term
• Buffalo Comprehensive Plans (2003)

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Planning Process

• Four steps
• Research understanding current situation (both
  problems and advantages) through data analysis
  survey, identify the problems and the priorities
  (where are we)
• Goals objectives form the vision, identify
  future needs (where do we want to go)

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Planning Process

• Four steps
• Plan formulation develop alternative strategies,
  analyze compare their consequences choose the
  best fit (how can we get there)
• Implementation implementing the plan (funding),
  tracking progress and changing the plan in future
  as needed (how can we get there)

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Planning Process
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Who Are Responsible?

• Actors
• City officials city wide, decision making
• Urban Planners analyze the data, recommend
  strategies
• Public through all phase of the process
  interview, focus group, public meeting
• Other stakeholders county/metro-wide, large
  property owners, school boards, DOT officials,
  state federal agencies

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Buffalo Comprehensive Plan

• Background
• took more than 2 yrs
• the first draft completed in June 2003
• currently in the process of public presentation
• long term plan through the year 2025

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Research Phase

• Issue analysis
• Modest urban growth
• Economic issues role of downtown regional
  assets

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Research Phase

• Issue analysis
• Community issues serve residential segregation
  high tensions between resource allocation lack
  of affordable housing, high crime rates lack of
  funding in school

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Research Phase

• Issue analysis
• Environmental issues Great Lakes, green
  infrastructures
• Infrastructure issues transportation, drinking
  water, swage, public building, utility
• Financial capability fiscal crisis

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The Vision

• Buffalo In 2025
• Queen City of the Great Lakes
• Growing Again
• Renewed and rebuilt from its foundations

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Goals

• Goal
• To transform Buffalo as the urban center of
  Buffalo/Niagara through a process of managed
  change

integrating economic, social and environmental
considerations, and restoring economic
well-being, environmental health and population
to the City.
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Recommended Strategy I

• Fix the Basics
• Maintain existing infrastructure
• Deliver quality municipal services
• Restore Ellicott, Olmsted, waterfront

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Recommended Strategy II

• Build on the Assets
• Transform the economy
• Reconstruct the schools
• Implement a Community Preservation Plan
• Rebuild the neighborhoods

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Downtown Revitalization

• Build the Queen City Hub

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Implementation Strategy I

• Strategic investment corridors (A land use
  concept for 2025)
• Main street/Downtown
• Waterfront/Tonawanda
• South Park/East Side

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Implementation Strategy II

• Capital Improvement Program
• The Comprehensive Plan linked to capital budget
• Plan resourced to limits of Citys financial
  capacity
• All possible sources of funds identified
• Add special Buffalo Development Program funding
  from county, state, federal
• Leverage private investment

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Who Are Involved?

• See Acknowledgement of the Plan
• Plan is available at http//www.ci.buffalo.ny.us/
  document_1667_20.html