A checklist of some of the issues that must be considered in urban planning, when developing or implementing a policy or design:

  1. Urban sprawl & inefficient use of land causes housing affordability problems, transport problems, and uses up a finite resource.
  2. Transport: In most cases roads dominate, and the development does not support public transport, and is unfriendly for walking and cycling.
  3. Design for human scale, rather than cars and commerce. Design should inspire community and create a pleasant living environment.
  4. Community or neighborhood identity adds to the feeling of place and cohesiveness of the community.[verification needed] This is helped by access to most facilities within the local area; a strong local economy (includng a local currency or bartering system?) The dominant 20th century model results in isolation, lack of familiarity with neighbors (which contributes to crime) and many more trips out of the neighborhood (esp by car).
  5. Single use vs mixed use developments. Since the rise of the car, Recent decades have favored single use; mixed use may enable more needs to be met locally. 
  6. Environment: water & waste.
  7. Environment: energy usage.
  8. Affordability and accessibility. The social impact of housing costs.
  9. Regional development - decentralization, revitalization of country towns. How, and ask: Why is it needed, why have people left?
  10. To plan or not to plan?
    • Overarching vision and plan? Or a few simple principles to encourage sustainability and quality of life? Note that suburban sprawl was created with regulations, and traditional neighborhoods which grew into the most vibrant and desirable parts of cities had much less regulation, and would certainly not be permitted today.
    • Need for participation by local communities, and ultimate say in their own communities.
  11. Existing communities: gradual & staged improvements. How to create community? How to achieve appropriate density and affordable housing, when residents natural tendency is to fight change, especially change that might negatively affect their house prices.[1]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. Note the conflict between affordable housing (which is affected largely by high average market price for housing) and the interests of residents who want their house prices to increase.
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Authors Chris Watkins
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Translations Turkish, Russian, Bangla, Portuguese, Marathi, Chinese
Related 6 subpages, 12 pages link here
Impact 22,957 page views
Created June 9, 2008 by Chris Watkins
Modified June 9, 2023 by Felipe Schenone
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