Land Use Planning

1 1 | P a g e land Use Planning Introduction land use Planning is an essential tool for pollution prevention and control. land uses are categories that refer to the different socioeconomic activities occurring in a particular area, the human behavior patterns they create, and their effects on the environment. While these activities take place at the local level, they can also contribute to global processes, such as climate change. Therefore, by appropriately defining land uses, establishing where and how they occur, as well as effectively controlling their performance and interrelation, governments can actively participate in preventing and controlling pollution.

2 This guidance note was prepared by Arturo Samper (Consultant). Peer reviewers included Dan Hoornweg (Lead Urban Specialist, FEUUR) and Ming Zhang (Lead Urban Economist, LCSUW). Additional comments and contributions were provided by Alberto Ninio (Chief Counsel, LEGEN), Dan Biller (Lead Economist, SASSD), Hua Wang (Senior Environmental Economist, DECEE), Maged Hamed (Senior Environmental Specialist, MNSEN), Suiko Yoshijima (Consultant, MNSEN), and Tijen Arin (Senior Environmental Economist, ECSSD).

3 Editorial assistance was provided by Stan Wanat (Consultant), Juliette Guantai (Program Assistant, ENV) and James Cantrell (Communication Analyst, ENV). The task team leaders for this product are Kulsum Ahmed (Lead Environment Specialist, ENV) and Helena Naber (Environmental Economist, ENV). The product was prepared under the guidance of the following World Bank Group management: James Warren Evans / Mary Barton-Dock (Directors, Environment Department, World Bank), Bilal Rahill (Senior Manager, IFC), and Frank Lysy / Ravi Vish (Director, MIGA).

4 Description and Application of land Use Planning land use Planning refers to the process by which a society, through its institutions, decides where, within its territory, different socioeconomic activities such as agriculture, housing, industry, recreation, and com-merce should take place. This includes protecting well-defined areas from development due to environmental, cultural, historical, or similar reasons, and establishing provisions that control the nature of development activities.

5 These controls determine features such as plot areas, their land consumption or surface ratio, their intensity or floor-area ratio, their density or units of that activity (or people) per hectare, the technical standards of the infrastructure and buildings that will serve them, and related parking allowances. In relation to pollution prevention, land use provisions should include, where applicable, levels of gas emissions, light ra-diation, noise, water, solid waste discharges, and on-site or pre-disposal treatment of pollutants.

6 All of these provisions should be included in the jurisdiction s land use or zoning code. This code becomes the legal guide for landowners, developers, citizens, and authorities. A good system of protected areas, together with strong land use provisions, should result in a less-polluted jurisdiction. Planning process. In open societies, the land use plan and zoning code are prepared by Planning institutions (Mandelker and others 1990).

7 The plan and code are subject to the processes of public consultation and participation defined by the juris-diction s laws. The plan and code are approved by 2 | P a g e that jurisdiction s legislative branch, sanctioned by the jurisdiction s chief executive (such as a governor or mayor,), and are subject to the constitutional tests and rulings of the judiciary. The plan is implemented through the permit-issuing process for land subdivision (or development) and the construction-permit process.

8 Through these processes, landowners yield a portion of their properties and pay de-velopment fees that, together with land and real estate taxes, constitute the main source of funding for construction and maintenance of public works and public spaces, as well as for services by the jurisdiction. Ten good practices in land use Planning that can help attain positive environmental effects are described below. 1) Define, make, and effectively protect no-go areas in recognition of their high environmental, historical, or cultural values, for their biodiversity, or because they can help contain unnecessary and costly urban expansion.

9 Protection of no-go areas should be combined with measures that allow transfer of development rights from these areas into ones where development is acceptable. Furthermore, protection of no-go areas should be supported by fiscal measures that preserve lands in their natural condition or preserve the profitability of rural economic activities. Such environmental protections will increase the likelihood of new settlers establishing themselves in developed areas that will likely have pollution-control measures and other environmental protection mechanisms in place.

10 2) Plan for industrial zones, by appropriately defining their location, design, infrastructure, regulation, and the buffers separating them from residential and other activity zones. This should be combined with fiscal and other incentives for remediation and resettlement on contaminated sites. In addition, pollution-control mechanisms that exceed standards should be applied. 3) Establish, within urbanized areas, land uses, densities, and intensity of development that result in increased usage of public transit, decreased usage of private vehicles, and reduced consumption of energy at the household level.