MINDANAO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
ARCH82: Planning 3

Comprehensive Planning
Process

Submitted to:
Ar. Marcelino E. Dumpa
Instructor
Submitted by:
Group 4 (4-A)
- Belican, Rudessa Mae
- Cansancio, Ciara Mary
- Delos Reyes, Charlene
- Labrador, Ellen Blanche
- Malinis, Kaizer

Comprehensive Planning
I. What is a Comprehensive Plan?
- a process that determines community goals and aspirations in terms of community development. The
outcome of comprehensive planning is the Comprehensive Plan which dictates public policy in terms of
transportation, utilities, land use, recreation, and housing. Comprehensive plans typically encompass large
geographical areas, a broad range of topics, and cover a long-term time horizon. It is a local government's
guide to community physical, social, and economic development.

II. Characteristics of the Comprehensive Plan

A comprehensive plan is general in nature. It does not call for specific action or encourage any particular
legislative strategy. Rather, it provides a framework and policy context within which to make all decisions
relating to land use and future development. The comprehensive plan also must be long-range. Because it deals
with issues as many as thirty years down the road, the plan cannot chart a highly specific course. Instead, it
points the way toward goals and objectives and acts as a reminder of the general policies that the city should
consider when making development decisions. While short-term, more exact planning is important, it is not
within the scope of the comprehensive plan.
Plan document should fulfill six basic requirements:
It should be comprehensive.
It should be long-range.
It should be general.
It should focus on physical development.
It should relate physical design proposals to community goals and social and economic policies.
It should be a policy instrument first, and a technical instrument only second
procedure for creating a comprehensive plan also has six basic requirements:

There should be only one official comprehensive plan.

The legislative body should formally adopt the plan.
There should be a lengthy period of public debate prior to adoption.
The plan should be available and understandable to the public.
The plan should be formulated to capitalize on its educational potential.

History

While often thought of as a modern pursuit, planning has a long history. Hippodamus of Miletus is
considered the first city planner because of his efforts in several Greek cities in the fifth century B.C. These
plans, and much of the collective efforts throughout history, were largely architectural in focus.
After the American Revolution, the focus on property rights turned to self-rule and personal freedom, as
this was a time of very strong personal property rights. Cities had little power, if any at all, to direct
development in the city. The issue of comprehensive planning in the United States has been addressed since
the birth of the country.
The original Williamsburg was one of the first highly successful products of an attempt to create a land use
plan in the colonies.

In 1699, Williamsburg was laid out under the most detailed piece of town-planning legislation adopted in the
English colonies up to that point. Williamsburg reflected what is referred to as axial planning, which means
that it is formal but not pompous
In 19TH century the final plan for the park system was completed, and it left an impression on many cities and
villages throughout the country. Public improvement groups were established in these communities, and they
began the work of applying the new gospel of planning.
Early on, this planning process was referred to as the City Beautiful Movement. This movement established
two aspects of the local comprehensive planning process that are still in use: (1) the professional consultant in
the field of comprehensive land use planning, and (2) the planning commission, which is used in communities
all across the country.
Cities became very dense and full of disease. As a response to the over population and chaotic conditions,
planning became a major focus of many large American cities. The City Beautiful movement was one of the

many responses to the decaying city.

The City Beautiful Movement was the beginning of what is more commonly referred to today as
Comprehensive Planning.2

What Is Included Within a Comprehensive Plan?

The elements of a comprehensive plan can vary from community to community. In most cases though, the plan
consists of a study of existing conditions and a discussion of future trends, goals, and objectives. Land use
patterns, housing conditions, population, roadways, and other infrastructure issues are usually the principle
elements that are studied.
Eight(8) elements of Comprehensive planning

1) Population and demography

- Should be looked at in terms of existing conditions and future trends.
2) Land use
- Existing land use map should be included along with projections of future use.
3) Traffic circulation and transportation
- As automobile use rises and traffic worsens, the need for roadway expansions, system improvements, and
public transportation increases.
4) The park and open space
- element is fairly easy to grasp. Changes to the existing system should be outlined as well as projections of
future need based upon forecasted growth.
5) Housing
- information can include provisions for affordable housing, planned residential growth, and building and
density requirements.
6) Utilities and services
- should include water, sanitary and storm sewer, and treatment information.
7) Community facilities
- include hospitals, schools and government buildings, and so forth.
8) Economic development
- will also be a necessary element of the plan for most communities. Whether geared toward serious efforts to
attract major employers or toward business retention and improvement, an economically strong community is a
common goal.
In some cases, educational facilities are reviewed along with recreational and other government facilities.
Social service facilities may also be discussed. Comprehensive plans deal with the land-use-related issues
relevant to each of these topics.
The Comprehensive Planning Process
typically follows a planning process that consists of eight different steps. By following this process, planners
are able to determine a wide range of interconnecting issues that affect an urban area. Each step can be seen
as interdependent and many times planners will revise the order to best fit their needs.
1. Identifying issues
The planner must first address the issue they are investigating.
To be relevant, the planning process must identity and address not only contemporary issues of concern to

residents, workers, property owners, and business people, but also the emerging issues that will be important
in the future
2. Stating goals
Once issues have been identified by a community, goals can then be established. Goals are community
visions. They establish priorities for communities and help community leaders make future decisions which will
affect the city. Stating goals is not always an easy process and it requires the active participation of all people
in the community.
3. Collecting data
Data is needed in the planning process in order to evaluate current city conditions as well as to predict future
conditions.
- The most typical data collected for a comprehensive plan include data about the environment, traffic
conditions, economic conditions, social conditions (such as population and income), public services and
utilities, and land use conditions (such as housing and zoning).
Once this data is collected it is analyzed and studied. Outcomes of the data collection process include
population projections, economic condition forecasts, and future housing needs.
4. Preparing the plan
The plan is prepared using the information gathered during the data collection and goal setting stages. A
typical comprehensive plan begins by giving a brief background of the current and future conditions found in
the data collection step.
Following the background information are the community goals and the plans that will be used in order to
implement those goals into the community. Plans may also contain separate sections for important issues such
as transportation or housing which follow the same standard format
5. Creating implementation plans
During this stage of the process different programs are thought of in order to implement the goals of the plan.
These plans focus on issues such as cost and effectiveness. It is possible that a variety of plans will result from
this process in order to realize one goal. These different plans are known as alternatives.

6. Evaluating alternatives
Each alternative should be evaluated by community leaders to ensure the most efficient and cost-effective way
to realize the community's goals.
During this stage each alternative should be weighed given its potential positive and negative effects, impacts
on the community, and impacts on the city government.
One alternative should be chosen that best meets the needs and desires of the community and community
leaders for meeting the community goals.
7. Adopting a plan
The community needs to adopt the plan as an official statement of policy in order for it to take effect. This is
usually done by the City Council and through public hearings.
The City Council may choose not to adopt the plan, which would require planners to refine the work they did
during previous steps. Once the plan is accepted by city officials it is then a legal statement of community

policy in regards to future development.

8. Implementing and monitoring the plan
Using the implementation plans defined in the earlier stages, the city will carry out the goals in the
comprehensive plan. City planning staff monitor the outcomes of the plan and may propose future changes if
the results are not desired.
A comprehensive plan is not a permanent document. It can be changed and rewritten over time. For many fast
growing communities, it is necessary to revise or update the comprehensive plan every five to ten years. In
order for the comprehensive plan to be relevant to the community it must remain current.
Legal Basis
The basis for comprehensive planning comes from the government's ability to protect the health and welfare of
its citizens.
The power for local governments to plan generally comes from state planning enabling legislation; however,
local governments in most states are not required by law to engage in comprehensive planning.
State statutes usually provide the legal framework necessary for those communities choosing to participate
while allowing others to disengage themselves with the process.
However, a comprehensive plan is not usually legally binding. A community's ordinances must be amended in
order to legally implement the provisions required to execute the comprehensive plan.
Comprehensive plans in philippines; manila, cebu, davao, baguio,