PLANNING THEORIES CONCEPTS

Ekistics

Science of human settlements; from the Greek term meaning "settling down"

Ekistics - 2 main elements

Man and the Container

Ekistics - 5 elements

Nature, Man, Society, Shells, Networks

Ekistics element: Man

The individual human being, at the center

Ekistics element: Society

People and their interaction: population trends, group behavior, customs, occupation, income, government

Ekistics element: Shells

Generic term for all buildings and structures

Ekistics element: Networks

Transportation, communication and utilities that support settlements and tie them together

Ekistics element: Nature

The ecosystem within which man and society operate and where settlements are placed

Patrick Geddes - planning method

Survey > Analyze > Plan

4 bases of the city

Physical, Political, Economic, Social

Traditional Planning (typology)

Planner prescribes both the goals and the means; corresponds to Technocratic Theory

Democratic Planning (typology)

Public chooses ends and means; planner shapes the alternatives; corresponds to Democratic Theory

Equity Planning (typology)

Offers wider choices to those who have few; corresponds to Socialist Theory

Incremental Planning (typology)

Small scale vs large scale, short vs long timeline; corresponds to Liberal Theory

Technocratic Theory

Effort to deal with the central social problems created by the Industrial Revolution

Democratic Theory

Everyone is equal and has an equal right to advance his or her cause

Socialist Theory

Upper strata keep a disproportionate share of social resources through their power

Liberal Theory

Maximizing individual freedom; zoning ordinances are ideal government activities

Traditional Planning (school)

Imperative, top-down; command and specific directives; grand concept from a dictator or ruling elite; planner = hired consultant/technician

Rational-Adaptive / Synoptic Planning

Allocative or regulatory; application of reason and facts; planner = self-correcting scientist; criticized as normative and utopian; e.g., SURP

Strategic Planning (school)

Innovative; oriented toward results; improve whole systems, introduce new goals; planner = visionary/entrepreneur; e.g., NEDA

Incremental Planning (school)

Transactional; compromise among contending groups; disjointed; planner = mediator; e.g., DPWH, DBM

Equity Planning (school)

Activist/advocacy; redistribute power and resources to the powerless; planner = advocate (pro bono); e.g., DAR, NAPC

Democratic Planning (school)

Indicative; general guidelines, advisory; public participation, bottom-up; planner = educator of citizen's choices

Imperative planning

Top-down; command and specific directives (Traditional)

Allocative / Regulatory planning

Solves chronic problems by allocating resources efficiently and enacting rules and standards (Rational-Adaptive)

Innovative planning

Improve or develop whole systems, introduce new goals, shape change (Strategic)

Transactional planning

Finds compromises among contending groups (Incremental)

Advocacy planning

Works for redistribution of power and resources to the powerless (Equity)

Indicative planning

Lays down general guidelines; advisory in nature (Democratic)

Least Cost Theory

A business locates where its costs are lowest; one isolated country, one market

Least Cost Theory - who?

Alfred Weber (German)

Market Area Analysis

Optimum location is where revenue exceeds cost by the greatest margin

Market Area Analysis - who?

August Losch (German)

Profit Maximization Approach

Costs and revenue both vary with location; best location = greatest profit, which may be neither least-cost nor max-revenue

Theory of Agricultural Location

Balance between land (rent) and transportation costs; higher rents and intensive use near center, extensive use at periphery

Theory of Agricultural Location - who?

Johann Heinrich von Thunen (German)

Bid Rent Theory

Rent and demand change with distance from the CBD; rents fall outward from the CBD

Bid Rent Theory - who?

William Alonso (American)

Bid gradient

Willingness to pay for a central location vs accepting distant locations for lower rent

Central Place Theory

Explains spacing and function of settlements; same-sized central places are roughly equally spaced, with lower-order centers in between

Central Place Theory - who?

Walter Christaller (German geographer)

Growth Pole Theory

Economic growth is not uniform; it happens around a pole, usually a key industry with linked industries developing around it

Growth Pole Theory - who?

Francois Perroux (French economist)

Concentric Zone Theory

City grows in rings around the center; based on Chicago's growth 1875-1925

Concentric Zone Theory - who?

Ernest W. Burgess (American sociologist)

Concentric Zone Model - order of zones

1 CBD; 2 Transition; 3 Working Class; 4 Residential; 5 Commuter

Sector Theory

Housing areas grow in wedge-shaped sectors along transport lines outward from the center; based on residential rent patterns in the USA

Sector Theory - who?

Homer Hoyt (alternative to Burgess' concentric model)

Multiple Nuclei Theory

City grows around several independent nuclei rather than one CBD

Multiple Nuclei Theory - who?

Chauncy Harris and Edward Ullman (American geographers)

Urban Realms Theory

Each realm is a separate economic, social and political entity linked into a larger metro; suburbs have their own downtowns

Urban Realms Theory - who and when?

James E. Vance Jr., 1964 (improved the Multiple Nuclei Model)

Concentric vs Sector vs Multiple Nuclei

Concentric = rings from CBD; Sector = wedges along transport lines; Multiple Nuclei = several centers

Primary Sector

Extracts raw materials from the earth (mining, agriculture, fishing, logging)

Secondary Sector

Makes finished goods from raw materials (manufacturing, construction)

Tertiary Sector

Services; sells goods and provides commercial services

Quinary Sector

Creation, reorganization and interpretation of ideas; evaluation of new technology

Connectivity (urban location factor)

Key to distributing goods and encouraging agglomeration of commercial, industrial and financial activity

Proximity (urban location factor)

Clustering of related activities to collect, transform and distribute resources

Accessibility (urban location factor)

Directly related to the market or population

Bundle of Rights

Property rights seen as separate uses of land, plus public rights to tax, control use and development, and acquire land with just compensation

Planner role: Traditional

Like a referee or umpire who sets the pitch and enforces the rules of property development

Planner role: Technocrat

Powerful expert who has answers to society's problems through the science of town planning

Planner role: Economic Planner

Economic planning as essential, favored by governments with high state intervention

Planner role: Environmental Watchdog

Green movement; concern for resource depletion and the greenhouse effect

Planner role: Social Engineer

Environmental determinism; shapes people's behavior through design of the environment

Planner role: Corporate Manager

Coordinator with an overview of a complex urban system (1960s, McLoughlin)

Environmental determinism

Idea that planning and design of the environment can influence and determine people's behavior (Social Engineer)