Town planner tasks govts on effective physical development plan
A town planning consultant, Mr Olutoyin Ayinde has urged the federal and state governments to give priority to urban renewal projects and put in place physical development plans that could mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Ayinde, the National President, Nigeria Institute of Town Planners (NITP), gave the advice at a press conference organised by the Institute in Lagos.
He said that physical development plans and urban renewal/planning remained the veritable tools through which more accommodation could be created for the teeming population.
He said that priority should be placed on developing a planning database that would be accessible to the general public, adding that policies that addressed urban development, homelessness, climate change and adaptation should be at the top hierarchy of urban development initiatives of governments.
According to him, Urban Planning has the capacity to assist in effectively guiding demographic changes (growth, stagnation or decline) and improve the quality of life in existing human settlements, and particularly in new urban settlements.
“Urban/physical planning has an inherent and fundamental economic function, and it is a veritable instrument for reshaping the forms and functions of cities and regions in order to generate internal economic growth, prosperity and employment, while addressing the needs of the most vulnerable, marginalized or underserved groups.
“It is a creative process that is embedded in imaginative engagements, an exploration into the realm of possibilities, where the seemingly impossible is made possible. It seeks to make human settlements livable and sustainable for all strata of the society, which is why it promotes inclusion.
“There is no gain-saying that every activity of man is on land; which is fixed because it cannot be increased. The use of it without planning affects economic fortunes, health and safety of communities and nations.
“As we speak, less than 30% of the States of the federation have adopted physical planning laws deriving from the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Law (NURP), CAP 138, LFN 2004. This attitude amounts to governments either not believing and/or abusing the law and structures that they created.
“The statement, “if you fail to plan, you have planned to fail” is not a mere slogan, but the reality dawns and the consequences of failure to plan are usually severe, leading to low quality of life. It is therefore needless to agitate about the need to plan,” Ayinde said.
The NITP President urged the State and Federal Governments to implement their existing regional physical development plans and encourage town planners to prepare development plans for all other areas that hitherto do not have.
He said that in every clime where physical planning has succeeded, governments have always played a leadership role.
He noted that this responsibility falls on the laps of governments because of a number of reasons; first, only governments possess the power of eminent domain, having the authority to take over private lands for overriding public interest, as well as limit, by regulation, the extent of development on any parcel of land. Second, governments have the power to make policies guiding the functioning of human settlements. And third, it is with governments that the power of political will lies. For these reasons, governments need to be run by those who possess the intellectual capacity to understand the complexities involved and are capable of casting visions that represent the collective will of the citizenry.
According to him, successful implementation of plans always requires strong political will, appropriate partnerships involving all relevant stakeholders and four key enabling components; Enforceable and transparent legal framework, Sound and flexible urban planning and design, A financial plan for affordability and cost-effectiveness and Adequate professional and technical capacity.
“It is also important to take the time, resources and discipline to implement development plans. Failure to implement plans is worse than not preparing plans at all. The one who did not make any plan reserved his resources, but the one who prepared development plans and refused to implement has wasted scarce resources to prepare plans that would not be turned into reality
“The beauty of plans is that when they are prepared and implemented, it makes the pace and pattern of development predictable, and oftentimes, it leads to safety, better health conditions, improved economy, beauty and convenience. But failure to implement plans too has its implications.
“According to UN-Habitat report, even plans that are not implemented have an impact on the real world, for instance by becoming obstacles to sustainable change. Therefore, when we feel the pain of discomfort in our settlements, it is a representation of the implications of failure to plan and/or implement plans,” he said.
