1. Re-orienting Urban-Planning
towards Local Agenda 21

2. Urban Planning
• Urban planning (also known as town planning) is
a technical and political process concerned
with the control of the use of land and design
of the urban environment, including
transportation networks, to guide and ensure
the orderly development of settlements and
communities.
• It concerns itself with research and analysis,
strategic thinking, urban design, public
consultation, policy recommendations,
implementation and management

3. Local Agenda 21
• Local Agenda is a process which facilitates
sustainable development at community level.
• It is an approach, based on participation
which respects the social, cultural, economic
and environmental needs of the present and
future citizens of a community.
• 21 stands for 21st Century.

4. Problems in current urban planning
policies
A central goal of urban policy is to improve the living conditions
of the city dwellers. In spite of that, people are facing a declining
quality of life which is connected with environmental and social
conditions.
• Poor industrial and transport planning have given birth to
pollution and stress related illness.
• Most urban planning systems do not effectively address
sustainability, health, environmental and equity issues.
• Some of the powerful organizations that affect the urban
environment such as transport and energy agencies are not
involved.

5. • Sometimes planning policy gives rise to car use and land use
segregation, intensifying environmental and social problems.
If sustainability is the goal, Local Agenda 21 offers
a process by which municipal land use plans can be drawn up
and implemented in partnership with key players in the
health, economic, social and environmental spheres.
This presentation aims to facilitate discussion and
analysis of existing experiences and how can they be helpful
in integrating LA 21 in the urban planning process and
structures and suggests a practical approach that can be
useful for an integrated planning process.

6. Predicted challenges of Urbanisation
for 21st Century
• The environmental challenge of climate
change and cities’ dependence on fossil fuels.
• The economic challenges linked to the
uncertainty of future economic growth, the
new doubts on market led approaches and the
expanding informality of urban activities.
• The challenges linked to social and spatial
inequality, urban sprawl and unplanned
urbanization.

7. Existing Urban Planning System
• Planning system that has evolved has
dependent on the country’s legal systems and
institutional framework.
• Despite the differences, planning systems
have been the forefront of public efforts to
manage development and protect the
environment.

8. Three types of planning systems can be identified.
• The first has a clear centralized pattern, though it
may have more than one planning tier.
• The second has a balanced distribution of
responsibilities through the different levels.
• The third has a totally decentralized system with
a high degree of autonomy at the different levels.
Countries are shifting their planning systems
as per their needs and are trying to implement a
stricter framework to avoid ad hoc decisions.

9. Scope and methods of urban planning generally
comprises of three functions:
• Long-term strategic planning provides an
integrated vision for the future based on an
overall evaluation of strengths, weakness,
opportunities and threats.
• Plan-making is “providing frameworks through
development strategies and plans at different
geographical scales”.
• Development control includes “legal or
administrative procedures operating at the local
level to control the location and form of
development and change of use within buildings”.

10. Types of plans
European countries have introduced different types
of plans which range from structure plans and
strategic plans to local plans.
• Strategic spatial planning has emerged as a
response to the limitations of Master Plans as a
more suitable tool to orient urban spatial
development by focusing on city-wide planning
and selected priorities.
• Traditional planning approaches have proven
inadequate to guide urban development in a
context of rapid urbanization and in the face of
new urban challenges.

11. Strategic Spatial Planning has provided the
needed alternative since it:
• Is more process oriented and contains
broader spatial ideas.
• Prioritizes plans according to participation
and consensus building among stakeholders.
• Aims to provide a spatial dimension to
sectoral interventions as a means of
integrating them.
• Is implemented through the empowerment of
different actors, as opposed to regulation and
enforcement.

12. Analysis of traditional approaches to
urban planning
Historically, master plans have played a central role in the
urban planning process. This type of planning is the
fundamental tool of urban development and
management.
Nevertheless, in recent years it has been much less
effective than it could be:
• It has been severely criticized as being too complex,
bureaucratic, time consuming, static and elitist.
• Many of its policies can become outdated.
• It does not promote public participation.
• Today, there is a new emphasis on decentralization,
transparency and accountability.

13. Agenda 21 needs to be translated into local
agendas with an emphasis on the environmental
and social challenges resulting from damage
partly caused by conventional urban planning. A
more flexible, indicative and proactive type of
planning is needed.

14. Improvements to be made by new
policies
• Sustainable Development
can be defined as development which meets
the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs
Healthy cities are one of the fundamental
inclusions for the sustainable development

15. Local Agenda 21 is intended to translate sustainable
development principles and objectives into practical
action at the local level. Some of the major aims of
Agenda 21 include:
• Reducing the amount of energy and raw
materials society consumes, as well as the
pollution and waste it produces;
• Protecting fragile ecosystems and environments;
• Bringing about a fairer distribution of wealth,
both between countries and between different
social groups within countries – placing a special
emphasis not just on the needs but on the rights
of poor and disadvantaged people.

16. Local Agenda 21
Local Agenda 21 is part of the process of defining and articulating sustainable
development considerations at a local/regional level and identifying how they can be
approached and achieved.
• Many of the principles upon which Agenda 21 is founded were included in the Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development. A number of them are reproduced
below.
• People are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.
• Development today must not undermine the development and environment
needs of present and future generations.
• In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall
constitute an integral part of the development process, and cannot be considered
in isolation from it.
• Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned
citizens.
• Nations shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by
making environmental information widely available.
• Peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent and
indivisible.

17. Local Agenda 21 Process: A Model
Eight step approach to Local Agenda 21:
• Step 1: Recognise existing planning and financial frameworks as
well as other plans and programmes.
• Step 2: Identify systematically, through extensive public
consultation, local problems and causes.
• Step 3: Prioritise tasks to address these problems.
• Step 4: Create a vision of what a sustainable community should be,
again based upon an active participatory process.
• Step 5: Consider and assess alternatives and scope other strategic
options.
• Step 6: Adopt a long-term local action plan which includes pre-
determined targets.
• Step 7: Implement the plan with appropriate allocation of
responsibility to key partners.
• Step 8: Monitor and evaluate on an on-going basis.

18. Strategic Structure Planning
Strategic structure planning addresses spatial, ecological, social,
economic, technical and institutional factors of urban
development. It mobilizes key actors in a dynamic, continuous
and consensual vision-building and policy-making process. This
process runs in parallel along three tracks:
• Vision: Working towards a long-term shared vision on the
desirable development and structure of the city;
• Action: Daily action formulation and implementation;
removing obstacles which hinder progress towards the above
vision;
• Communication: Involving actors in planning and decision-
making processes; resolving disputes between different levels
of civic society.

19. • Prevailing planning and management practices in
diverse institutional contexts show that there is
often a lack of balance between the three lines of
strategic structure planning.
• Vision without action does not yield tangible
results.
• Action without vision does not address strategic
long-term conditions which ensure that essential
resources for a good quality urban life are
available for future generations.
• Vision and action without communication is
deemed to fail as it does not take into
consideration the aspirations of civic society as a
whole.

20. Multi-faceted Capacity-Building
In Order to alleviate these constraints, capacity-
building activities are integrated into the
strategic structure planning process.
The capacity-building efforts are designed to
achieve an equilibrium between vision, action
and communication efforts. Scope of the main
capacity-building components is described
below.

21. • Consultation: The local authority is encouraged to broaden strategy development
by conducting broad based consultation processes to reach consensus on priority
areas for action.
• Action research: Applied research into specific urban issues and exploration of
solutions helps to develop strategies and increases the range of implementation
options.
• Developing tools: Improving planning and management practice through the
development of tools to support the implementation of pilot action plans.
• Encouraging partnerships: Showing the municipalities the advantages of working
in partnership with other interested urban actors to enhance the impact of
environmental planning and management activities.
• Human resources development: Targeted group training is organized for key
actors, often through national institutions for local government training.
• Institutional strengthening: While programme operations are fully integrated
within local government or council operations, institutional change is supported
through sensitization at the appropriate levels when there is sufficient justification.
• Leveraging of resources: Action plans are implemented through technical and
financial support from a wide range of partners. An important way of leveraging
resources is to scrutinize the municipal finances and adopt measures for strategic
and equitable revenue collection and expenditure control.
• Dissemination and exchange: Starting from local experiences, policy dialogue is
promoted through exchange. Dissemination is directed to other cities facing
similar problems but also to national institutions.

22. Case Study
• Nakuru, Kenya
• Nakuru is a rapidly growing urban centre with a diverse
economic base. Particular environmental concerns are
caused by the interrelation between human
settlements
• The Lake Nakuru National Park. Lack of investment and
maintenance in urban infrastructure since the end of
the 1970s has led to a dramatic reduction in the
standards of urban services. This situation is
aggravated by a lack of municipal autonomy in
planning and management of its own affairs and by
inadequate human, technical and financial resources.

23. The key thematic action areas in Nakuru include the following:
• The council’s responsibility in urban planning has been limited to
approving sub-division plans. A strategic structure plan is now being
developed jointly by the local and central government, university
departments and environmental groups, leading to the creation of a town
planning unit to reinforce the council’s planning capability.
• Space use conflicts at the bus park and market area lead to congestion,
environmental degradation and loss of revenue for the council.
Stakeholder meetings were held to resolve conflicts in the short term and
to work out a long-term plan for a more efficient utilization and
integration of this area as part of a municipal transport policy.
• The council’s rental housing stock is a liability because of its irrational rent
structure, lack of maintenance and environmental deterioration. Detailed
revitalization proposals have been formulated for three estates and a pilot
project for upgrading one of these estates is underway.
• Uncollected solid waste in poorly serviced areas of the city results in
blocked drains and health hazards. Alternative options for community
assisted removal of solid waste have been implemented through the
construction of refuse transfer chambers and a task force has been set up
to map out an area based waste management policy.

24. • Unsatisfactory collection of municipal revenues has
compromised the implementation of urgently needed
environmental infrastructure projects. An action plan for
rationalizing the collection of council revenues and for
more equitable prices for housing, water, markets, solid
waste and property rates is being implemented.
• Lack of structured collaboration between the council and
community groups is addressed through the setting up of
zonal development committees which advise the council.
Meanwhile, efforts are made to train elected officials to
better undertake their leadership responsibilities and to
make them more aware of their role as environmental
guardians.
• An innovative inter-municipal partnership with the
municipality of Leuven has resulted in an exhibition on
Nakuru, sensitization campaigns about urban development
challenges in the North and South, and joint
implementation of various projects.

25. Conclusion