Local Level Planning Framework

This week's presentation focused on the Planning Framework at a local level, and was delivered by Hamish Sinclair, Director of the Planning Institute of Australia. Although perhaps a little overwhelming in terms of volume of information, having a solid understanding of the framework under which we may work is imperative.

After exploring The Codes Project website (http://codesproject.asu.edu/), it is evident that the idea of codes and laws relating to urban form is not new, with examples of building codes on the site dating back to the 10th century. Many of these early codes have a strong focus on security measures like city walls and trenches, and tend to have a prescriptive planning approach with an abundance of measurements relating to height and width of buildings etc. Today, this focus on details and measurement is still important, however, there has been a shift away from prescriptive planning to performance based planning. This shift aims to encourage diversity and creativity in urban design so as to avoid the creation of areas like that pictured below.

The Victorian Coastal Council's Siting and Design Guidelines (http://www.vcc.vic.gov.au/siting/sitingdesignguidelines.pdf) provide an example of a set of guidelines that have a strong emphasis on place making and urban design. Whilst this style of planning guidlines and codes are positive in the sense that they enhance the character and sense of place within areas, the detail required to convey information without simply using statistics leads to lengthy documents.

A Monotonous American Suburb
Source: Word Press 2010

Another important (and perhaps disconcerting) point raised was that regarding the difficulty of actually implementing plans in a market based society. The idea that one can create great plans, but their effectiveness is restricted by economic viability and will of developers. This concept is highlighted by the actions of great planners such as Ebenezer Howard, who placed great emphasis on the self sustainable economy of his garden cities, but had to make significant changes to his ideas when actually implementing the plan. Although disheartening to hear that as professionals, our plans, no matter how wonderful, are unlikely to be fully implemented in the way we desire, it just demonstrates the importance of taking into consideration economic viability when they are created. Instead of looking upon this as a negative, it is simply another challenge in the already multi-faceted skill set needed to be a successful planner.