Sustainability, Economics, and

Urbanization

People and the Earth’s Ecosystem

ZGE4302
Prepared by: Mr. Mark Anthony P. Lim
 Urban Planning

Urban planning is the process of

developing and designing urban areas to
meet the needs of a community. The
practice draws from a number of
disciplines—architecture, engineering,
economics, sociology, public health,
finance, and more—and strives to
prepare cities and towns for the future. It
is typically used as part of a larger city
plan, and should tie back to your city’s
mission and vision statements.
 Types of Urban Planning
1. Strategic Urban Planning
Strategic urban planning focuses on setting high-level goals and determining
desired areas of growth for a city or metropolitan area. The result of the planning
process is a strategic plan—also called the development plan, core strategy, or
comprehensive plan. The strategic plan’s goals may include easing transportation
throughout the city, creating more community spaces, improving citizens’ quality of
life, or encouraging people to visit or move to the city.
This is generally the highest level of the planning process and other components
of planning typically will fit into this type of plan.
Types of Urban Planning
 Types of Urban Planning
2. Land-Use Planning
Land-use planning largely concerns legislation and policy, adopting planning
instruments like governmental statutes, regulations, rules, codes, and policies to
influence land use. On a broad level, these planning instruments deal with the
type, location, and amount of land needed to carry out different functions of the
city. They also serve to zone or reserve land for certain purposes such as:
● Residential, for buildings like apartment homes, single-family residences,
and condominiums
● Commercial, for buildings like retail shops and office buildings
● Industrial, for structures like manufacturing plants and warehouses
● Municipal, for structures like police stations and courthouses
Types of Urban Planning
 Types of Urban Planning
3. Master Planning
Master planning is typically used for greenfield development projects, or building
on undeveloped land. Instead of modifying pre-existing structures or spaces,
you’re starting from scratch.
This type of urban planning envisions a future state for a given space, and what it
will take to achieve that vision. Urban planners must consider the required zoning
(from your land-use plan) and infrastructure to make the project possible, such as
residential and commercial land, transportation considerations, road locations, etc.
They must also plan the location of urban amenities such as community facilities,
schools, parks, and the like.
Types of Urban Planning
 Types of Urban Planning
4. Urban Revitalization
In contrast to master planning, urban revitalization focuses on improving areas
that are in a state of decline. The exact definition of a declining area will differ from
city to city—for example, areas that have a troubling number of failing businesses
or a stagnant or decreasing population growth. The improvement tactics city
leaders use for revitalization will depend on the root cause of decline, and may
include things like repairing roads, developing infrastructure, cleaning up pollution,
and adding to parks and other public spaces, etc.
Community interaction is especially important with this urban planning concept, as
local residents and business owners often have insights that can help inform and
tailor planning efforts.
Types of Urban Planning
 Types of Urban Planning
5. Economic Development
Economic development is about identifying areas of growth to foster greater
financial prosperity within the city, specifically by enticing companies to build or
move offices there. Subsequently, those companies then hire local talent and drive
commuter traffic to the new office. More workers dining at local restaurants for
lunch, getting gas at nearby gas stations, and stopping by local grocery stores on
the way home will boost visibility and spend in the area.
Sometimes an economic development department lives outside the planning
department of a municipality, so it is important to help that group navigate land use
plans, master plans, and infrastructure plans to ensure that any development
projects are workable. Of course it will be important to coordinate with
environmental plans as well.
Types of Urban Planning
 Types of Urban Planning
6. Environmental Planning
Environmental planning is a type of strategic development that emphasizes
sustainability. Considerations for this type of urban planning include air pollution,
noise pollution, wetlands, habitats of endangered species, flood zone
susceptibility, and coastal zone erosion, along with a host of other environmental
factors dealing with the relationship between natural and human systems.
Environmental plans need to be filed alongside master, revitalization, and
infrastructure plans.
Types of Urban Planning
 Types of Urban Planning
7. Infrastructure Planning
Infrastructure planning deals with the fundamental facilities and systems that serve
a city and its people, and how those facilities can support goals laid out in the
strategic plan. This type of urban planning covers:
● Public works infrastructure such as water supply, sewage, electricity, and
telecommunications
● Community infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, and parks
● Safety and transportation such as roads, police, and fire facilities
Types of Urban Planning
Environmental Planning

Environmental planning is the

process of facilitating decision
making to carry out land
development with the consideration
given to the natural environment,
social, political, economic and
governance factors and provides a
holistic framework to achieve
sustainable outcomes.
Environmental Planning
 Environmental Planning
The environmental planning assessments
encompass areas such as land use,
socio-economics, transportation, economic and
housing characteristics, air pollution, noise
pollution, the wetlands, habitat of the endangered
species, flood zones susceptibility, coastal zones
erosion, and visual studies among others, and is
referred to as an Integrated environmental
planning assessment.It is the ability to analyze
environmental issues that will facilitate critical
decision making.
 Environmental Planning

Many environmental planning actions currently revolve around the reduction of

emissions and material reuse, not adaptations in order to lessen future climate
change impacts.This is most frequently seen as a result of the difficulty of
predicting the long term effects of climate change. Climate action is very complex
in nature and the timeline of emissions mitigation is unpredictable. However, as an
alternative to avoiding adaptation, several cities in the US have taken an
"anticipatory governance" approach. This method intends to explore the
uncertainty surrounding the impacts of climate change specific to their
communities in order to include adaptation in their environmental planning
Environmental Planning
Environmental Planning in the Philippines
In the Philippines, the Republic Act
10587 governs the practice of
Environmental Planning. The law defines
Environmental Planning as "a
multi-disciplinary art and science of
analyzing, specifying, clarifying,
harmonizing, managing and regulating
the use and development of land and
water resources, in relation to their
environs, for the development of
sustainable communities and
ecosystems.". It is sometimes referred to
as urban and regional planning, city
planning, town and country planning,
and/or human settlements planning.
 Environmental Planning in the Philippines
An Environmental Planner is a person who is registered and licensed to use
environmental planning and who holds a valid Certificate of Registration and a
valid Professional Identification Card from the Board of Environmental Planning
and the Professional Regulation Commission of the Republic of the Philippines. To
be a licensed planner, one must pass the Environmental Planning Board Exam.
Areas of competency for planners are:
1. Physical Planning
2. Social Planning
3. Economic Planning
4. Planning Law and Administration; and
5. Special Planning Studies.
Environmental Planning in the Philippines
Environmental Planning in the Philippines
Environmental Planning in the Philippines
1. There is a current move to require in five
years time the Bachelor of Science in
Environmental Planning as a requisite for
one to be a licensed environmental planner.
As of this writing, the curriculum for BS
Environmental Planning is being reviewed
by the Board of Environmental Planning
and the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED).
2. The only accredited organization for
environmental planners in the Philippines is
the Philippine Institute of Environmental
Planners (PIEP).
 Environmental Planning in the Philippines
Scope of Practice. – REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10587 The practice of environmental
planning, within the meaning and intent of this Act, shall embrace the following:
1. Providing professional services in the form of technical consultation,
rendering of technical advice, plan preparation, capacity building and
monitoring and evaluation of implementation involving the following:
A. National, regional or local development and/or physical framework and
comprehensive land-use plans;
B. Zoning and related ordinances, codes and other legal issuances for
the development and management, preservation, conservation,
rehabilitation, regulation and control of the environment, including all
land, water, air and natural resources;
C. Planning and development of a barangay, municipality, city, province,
region or any portion or combination thereof; and
D. Development of a site for a particular need or special purpose, such
as economic or ecological zones; tourism development zones; and
housing and other estate development projects, including the creation of
any other spatial arrangement of buildings, utilities, transport and
communications;
 Environmental Planning in the Philippines
2. In relation to any of the activities enumerated in paragraph (1) above,
preparing the following studies:
1. Pre-feasibility, feasibility and other related concerns;
2. Environmental assessments; and
3. Institutional, administrative or legal systems;
3. Curriculum and syllabi development in licensure examinations for
environmental planners and teaching in academic institutions and conducting
review courses in environmental planning;
4. Serving as expert witness, resource person, lecturer, juror or arbitrator in
hearings, competitions, exhibitions and other public fora; conduct of hearings,
competitions, exhibits and other public fora;
5. Ensuring compliance with environmental laws including the acquisition of
regulatory permits.
 Urbanization
Urbanization is the transformation of unoccupied or sparsely occupied land into
densely occupied cities. Urban areas can grow from increases in human
populations or from migration into urban areas.
Urbanization is the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding
decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which
societies adapt to this change. It can also mean population growth in urban areas
instead of rural ones.
 Urbanization in the Philippines

In 2022, the share of urban

population in the Philippines
remained nearly unchanged at
around 47.98 percent. Still, the
share reached its highest
value in the observed period in
2022.
 Urban Development and Environmental Degradation

At the beginning of the 21st century

more than 50% of the world’s
population lived in cities. By 2050,
this percentage will exceed 60%, with
the majority of growth occurring in
Asia and Africa. As of 2020 there are
31 megacities, cities whose
population exceeds 10 million, and
987 smaller cities whose populations
are greater than 500 thousand but
less than 5 million in the world. By
2030 there will be more than 41
megacities and 1290 smaller cities.
Urban Development and Environmental Degradation

Population growth places

extraordinary demand for natural
resources and exceptional stress on
natural systems. For example, over
13 million hectares of forest land are
converted to agriculture, urban land
use, and industrial forestry annually.
This deforestation significantly
affects both hydrologic systems and
territorial habitats.
 Urban Development and Environmental Degradation
Hydrologically, urbanization creates a
condition called urban stream syndrome.
The increase in storm runoff, caused by
urbanization through the addition of
impervious surfaces, alters stream flow,
morphology, temperature, and water
quantity and quality. In addition, leaky
sewer lines and septic systems as well as
the lack of sanitation systems contribute
significant amounts of nutrients and
organic contaminants such as
pharmaceuticals, caffeine, and detergents.
Ecologically, these stressors and
contaminants significantly affect aquatic
flora and fauna. Habitat loss is the greatest
threat to biodiversity.
 Urban Development and Environmental Degradation

Urbanization not only destroys and fragments habitats but also alters the
environment itself. For example, deforestation and fragmentation of forest lands
lead to the degradation and loss of forest interior habitat as well as creating forest
edge habitat. These changes shift species composition and abundance from
urban avoiders to urban dwellers. In addition, roads and other urban features
isolate populations causing local extinctions, limit dispersal among populations,
increase mortality rates, and aid in the movement of invasive species.
 Urban Development and Environmental Degradation

Cities often have higher ambient

temperatures than rural areas, a
phenomenon called the urban heat
island effect. The urban heat island
effect alters precipitation patterns,
increases ozone production
(especially during the summer),
modifies biogeochemical processes,
and causes stresses on humans and
native species.

The negative effect of the expansion and urbanization itself can be minimized
through proper planning and design. Planning with nature is not new but it has
only recently been recognized that human survival is predicated on coexisting with
biodiversity and native communities. How and if cities apply recommendations for
sustainability depends entirely on the people themselves.
Urban Development and Environmental Degradation
 Economics and Its Role in Urban Sustainability
Urban economics plays an important part
in the planning and design of our cities,
towns and regions. Think back in terms of
early civilisation, many millennia ago,
when communities would establish their
location for the exchange of food, clothing
and the like on mats spread out on the
ground where tribal pathways would
cross. Today, so many of our “places of
exchange” (or well-established local
shopping centres or main streets) are
located at the intersection of those main
streets. It is the “economics” and
“convenience” of exchange that
influenced the early locational patterns of
our town centres.
Economics and Its Role in Urban Sustainability

Today, in the 21st Century,

economics remains as a
critically important consideration
in the location of our centres,
whether we’re planning for
growth areas or planning for the
rejuvenation of existing centres.
Economics
Economics
and Its
andRole
Its in
Role
Urban
in Urban
Sustainability
Sustainability

Once the economic fundamentals are taken into account (trade area population
and spending, etc), we then plan for the urban design, landscape and related
components. This aspect (urban design, etc) ensures the centre is attractive to
residents and visitors, and provides for public transport, bicycle paths, pedestrian
pathways, carparking, etc. In essence, the urban design components provide the
centre with an ‘identity’. Considerable detail is involved in these urban design and
related components that add value to the planned new (or replenished/upgraded)
town centre.