Who is involved?

Planning is a process which strives to be inclusive of all individuals. In particular all major stakeholders (both those who can influence decisions or who are influenced by decisions) such as governments (all 3 tiers), local authorities, residents, bodies, religions and commissions- the list is endless. The process tries to allow participation from all parties involved in a decision to allow for the best planning outcome for a community to be achieved. The level of participation from such stakeholders is dependent on the status of a community and the scale of a problem. According to A decision makers guidebook in 2005, “No one (level of participation) is intrinsically better and different levels are appropriate for different stages in the development of a plan, or for plans tackling with different scales of problem”. The role of a planner then is to best decide the best level of participation to suit the plan and its desired outcomes.

Source: http://bowlingalone.com/, 26/2/2012.

Talked about in Hitomi’s lecture and in the 20 most influential planning books according to the University’s planning faculty.

Social capital: A key role of a planner is to provide plans that enable communities to build up social capital. Social capital according to outcome is the “connections among individuals”. Whilst a planner cannot force this upon a community, by allowing higher levels of communication participation and consultation in the planning process they can work towards this goal. Achieving this goal will allow for more resilient communities who can better deal with disaster, and create community identities for residents which will reduce conflicts and lower transaction costs.

Do you agree with my statement that an important role of a planner is to enable communities to build up social capital?

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What kinds of plans?

In the design and maintenance of a place many different plans are used. Within the Australian context these stem from the national urban policy, population strategy, regional strategies and locals plans which goals are to create a sustainable Australia. Simply there is a three tier system of planning from national, state and to local in which are set to complement and build on from one another. Currently these systems of planning, in particular state is under review by COAG, in a bid to produce consistency across the board in planning boardies in Australia.

Source: http://www.budget.gov.au/2011-12/content/ministerial_statements/urban/html/ms_urban-04.htm, 20/2/2012

Living in Canberra there is a lot of input in planning systems by national government due to the national significance of the area as an icon of the nation. Areas such as the parliamentary triangle from ANU, to parliament and to Duntroon are controlled by this body. In order to get approval for development one must go through the National Capital Authority. In terms of local bodies in charge of plans here, the ACT is governed by many plans. The territory plan ( Currently under review) which is the statuary planning document in line with the national capital plan and requires lots of zoning, the Canberra special plan which is the key strategic document and is a mixture of aspirations of the community, national capital plan which sets out planning principles and polices to do with places of national significance, master plans which are neighbourhood hubs and are done by the former body of ACTPLA, now the environment and sustainable development directorate and are of places such as the Weston and Erindale group centre in which are then broken  down into neighbourhood plans of one suburb, for example the Braddon neighbourhood plan.

From reading my blog on the planning systems in Australia, it is a wonder that things can get done. It is very complicated, especially in the ACT to comply with all these planning regulations. My question is how can planning be made easier within the national context and the local Canberra scene? Is it possible to make it a clearer and more consistent across the board nationally?

Time to start blogging again!

Welcome to my blog space for Planning Theory and Process 2 ! I hope you enjoy reading my blog and feel free to leave a comment :) B