ENVIRONMENTAL LAND USE PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

Environmental Land Use Planning and Management

Environmental Land Use Planning and Management

Why conventional zoning is inadequate to protect the environment from the impacts of land development.?

In a broad sense, the urban and regional planning is the process by which a community attempts to control or change the design and development of its physical environment. It is designated in different ways: urban planning, urban design, community planning, land use and development of the physical environment. The development is the "physical environment", that is to say, the territory and uses that made, and everything in it, whether underground or surface. It also affects the style of the buildings and how they arranged in a city, as well as the design of public places (John, 2004).

The physical environment is partly natural and partly artificial. The ultimate goal of development is to create a man-made or "built" satisfactory. However, the relationship between the natural and built environments, and between people and their environment, are also of paramount importance. In fact, human activity can have a negative impact on the natural environment, as natural conditions may be hazardous to the well-being. Planners are concerned as to protect the natural environment of the negative effects of human activity (e.g. water pollution) that protect citizens against the environment "at risk" (Calthorpe, 1995).

To develop the physical environment, we must impose some order on the whole the organization so that it meets certain standards of environmental quality. This notion is at the heart of the development, the characteristics of a healthy environment and ordered are not unanimous. Various cultures have tended to assess the quality of the environment in different ways and organize their environment differently. Many factors affect the elements of choice, depending on location and time. Each community defines what a “healthy” environment is for her, using standards established within the framework of social and political processes (Eccles & Bryant, 2007).

The urban and regional planning involves a multitude of issues that depend in part on the geographic territory. Regional planners are interested in various topics such as protection of agricultural land or other natural areas (forest, mineral deposits, lake shores, sea, etc). Safeguard areas of natural or unique historical situation highways and other transport facilities (PIPELINES, airports, etc.) and the growth prospects of the various communities in the region. If the target area is located on the outskirts of a large city, planners must also take into account the problems caused by urban sprawl and its impact on the countryside and nearby towns (John, 2004).

In cities, there are two kinds of problems in development. On the one hand, there should be growth of the city, where and when build, and decide on the vocation of the land: residential, industrial, commercial or recreational. More detailed plans are needed to determine the potentially available to each parcel of land. We must develop a network of streets, reserving land for schools, parks, shops, public buildings and places of worship, establish a system of public transport and ...