Urban Plaining in developing countries

Urban Planning in developing countries

From the crisis of urban planning to a basic-plain … urban plain/ing.

By Corrado Minervini

Abstract

It is clearly understood: urban planning is a complex matter, which regulates and enhances the spatial growth to support human, social end economic development. Often such a complex matter is unfortunately jeopardized by the collusion between private and public sector in favour of a few private interests to the detriment of the many others.

It is also understood that the world population is increasingly urbanizing and that is happening particularly in the south of the world.Urbanization is due to the difference of the development potentials between rural and urban areas. It is also understood that in sub-Saharan areas urban poverty has developed its own economy (the informal one) within the urban areas and that they are called slums or bidonvilles.

Despite all this (complex and difficult matters, increasing urbanization, well developed slum economy) the approach to urban planning in developing countries is still general, controversial and debatable instead of being clear, effective and operative.

If all that is astonishing, on the other hand it leads us to think over the most likely and renewed functions of urban planning for developing countries, which could be, in some cases, also applicable to the so-called developed countries and particularly to those who believe to be already developed.

-Starting from simple thoughts over the role of urban planning, which is actually weak and awkward while    operating in emergency situations and strong only when it is a tool in the hands of mayors/planners;

-starting from the urgent need to draft a substantial number of urban development plans given the urge of the South to improve the living conditions of its inhabitants and to generate economic development opportunities;

-starting from rethinking over urban planning field works and experiences in developing countries,

in order to address urban development on the basis of the above-mentioned trivial assumptions, a proposal is tested here. It is easy and based on the actual common places of urban planning and appropriate technologies, and it aims at (a) reducing the drafting duration, (b) linking the spatial development to the population growth, (c) identifying sustainable development spatial issues, (d) giving emphasis to participation and (e) to common interests and an equitable use of common resources. In one word, from urban planning to “urban plaining”.