Planning Studio ~::(RPS 308)::~

:::In the name of Allah. Praise to Allah:::
::>>Welcome to my zone<<::

This zone is dedicated to publish my writings as and when I am able to pen my thoughts and opinions. This zone has been written to accomplish my Studio Requirements for this semester as we can share our ideas about social aspects in urban & regional planning. I hope that my zone would be useful all as well as toward gain knowledge about Urban & Regional Planning. Any suggestion for the improvement will be most welcomed from the readers. I will keep updating my zone from time to time.
Lastly, set our goals right, manage our time well, preserve and with ALLAH’s will, we are all geared to make it into the top. Best wishes to you all well and look forward to our joining the profession of Urban & Regional Planning…

A Sustainable Masterplan

The redevelopment of Kai Tak presents an opportunity to improve urban planning around the Harbour, embracing the principles of accessibility and sustainability that will green and connect major public open spaces for greater public enjoyment and maximise social and environmental benefits for Hong Kong. According to this plan, Kai Tak could become a major tourism node with extensive leisure and recreation facilities set in the context of a unique waterfront community. However, the inclusion of development components of other nature as outlined in the Government's Public Consultation Digest, such as a cruise terminal, helipad, stadium and refuse transfer station, should be subject to critical debate as part of the overall planning review and be fully justified in light of the community's aspirations and needs.

By the same token, transport infrastructure such as the proposed T2 expressway should be treated as an integral part of plan process making so as to minimise its adverse social, environmental and economic impact. This will require a fundamental change to the traditional approach of evaluation on a lowest cost basis. The proposed Kai Tak archipelago is a spectacular design that realises these goals. The archipelago design will:

- bring the Harbour to the people;

- enhance the accessibility of the waterfront by increasing the area available for public recreation;

- create more green open spaces and viewing corridors, extending into Kowloon, as well as along the waterfront towards Tsim Sha Tsui and Lei Yue Mun; and

- connect public open space along the waterfront with the cultural hubs of Hong Kong and help to revitalise its surrounding areas

Social Sustainability

• As a society, we make social investments and we have a "stock" of social and human resources. Economic development can either contribute to or deplete those social resources. Many would argue that the form of economic development championed by Thatcher and Reagan has been socially unsustainable, depleting human and social capital and resources in addition to the damage it has wrought to the natural environment.


• The concept of socially sustainable development including socially sustainable urban development 1992 has received less attention than the concept of environmentally sustainable development. What would constitute socially sustainable development?


• I would argue that it is development that it:
  - meets basic needs for food, shelter, education, work, income and safe living and working conditions;
  - is equitable, ensuring that the benefits of development are distributed fairly across society;
  - enhances, or at least does not impair, the physical, mental and social well-being of the population;
  - promotes education, creativity and the development of human potential for the whole population;
  - preserves our cultural and biological heritage, thus strengthening our sense of connectedness to our history and environment;
  - promotes conviviality, with people living together harmoniously and in mutual support of each other;
  - is democratic, promoting citizen participation and involvement, and is livable, linking "the form of the city's public places and city dwellers' social, emotional and physical well-being"


• The systems and processes that we put in place to achieve these ends can be thought of as the "soft infrastructure" of the community, a term used by Len Duhl, Professor of Public Health and Professor of Urban Planning at the University of California at Berkeley, to describe those elements of the community that contribute to social well-being. This "soft" infrastructure includes formal human services (health, education, social services, recreation and culture, etc.) as well as the community's informal structure the web of voluntary organizations and social relationships that comprise community. Urban planning needs to integrate these elements into all its work, giving as much weight to the soft infrastructure as to the hard infrastructure if we are going to create communities that work
  

::~ Urban Planning & Social Sustainability ~::

• The list of items that constitute the basis of a socially sustainable community suggests an "agenda" for urban planning. In planning the built environment, urban planners need to address issues of basic needs such as urban food production and availability; equitable access to work and education; urban design that enhances social interaction and participation; methods of reducing living costs, especially for low income groups, and other unaccustomed topics. The physical design of communities to promote social sustainability will be the subject of my next column.

~::Urban Planning & Development::~

• Urban planning and development has long been fixated on the community's hard infrastructure the sewers, the roads and the electrical, gas and water utilities and other aspects of the physical structure that define the community's form. In the past decade or two, there has been a growing concern with the environmental sustainability of the community. This has significant implications for the design and operation of the hard infrastructure ecological management of storm water and sewage; energy, water and other resource conservation; an emphasis on walk / bike / transit- supportive environments and so on.
• But a community is much, much more than its physical form. A community is composed of people as well as the places where they live; it is as much a social environment as a physical environment. Thus, communities must not only be environmentally sustainable, they must also be socially sustainable.
• Of course, social sustainability cannot be created simply through the physical design of the community but then neither can environmental sustainability be created by physical design alone. Physical design cannot ensure that individuals, families and communities will lead environmentally sustainable lifestyles, although it can help to make such environmentally sustainable choices more easy. Equally, while there is much that can be done on the "design" of the soft infrastructure of the community to ensure its social sustainability, the physical design of the community can make it either easier or more difficult for communities to be socially sustainable. Thus there is a vital need to integrate the physical and social design of communities if we are to create communities that are both environmentally and socially sustainable.
• In discussing sustainability both social and environmental it is important to understand that both of them require a system of economic activity that is compatible with and not destructive of either the ecological web of life or the social web of life of which we are a part, and upon which we depend for our health, well-being and quality of life. As the Canadian Public Health Association noted in its report on human and ecosystem health:
• Thus, any discussion of socially sustainable communities must include a discussion of the physical design of the community and the economic system of the community. In this series of four columns I will discuss the concept of social sustainability, the implications for urban design and planning, the "new economics" of environmentally and socially sustainable communities, and the integration of these concepts in a human development strategy.

The Social & Environmental Aspect Risk Factor Affecting the Cost Performance in a Residential Project

INTRODUCTION

• A city is a collective residential area and other areas which is bigger than a village. A city usually offers four major things for its citizen, trade facility, business opportunity, service business opportunity, and industrial activity. These four things make a city an attractive activity place for local people and out comer.
• Kuala Lumpur as the nation capital is the number one activities centre in Malaysia, the vast economic activities made the need of housing for its residence has increased. In the growing years, all the residential areas in Malaysia had become overcrowded, but the urbanization still keeps flowing. This condition has made the residential area move to the outer part of Kuala Lumpur, hence come the definition sub-urban area have now becoming a preferred residential area to many of Malaysia’s economic people and caused many housing area to flourished in these area of Malaysia’s buffer zones.
• Housing development business is done by developer with the aim to gain profit on the invested project. The developer has 2 major role, the business and technical role. The business role means that every outcome they spent will influence the income and profit they gained. The technical role means that the developer has to built houses and its facilities for the consumers. Both role interact with each other in the sole purpose of gaining for profit.
• The profit is directly influenced by the cost and income. To determine the level of profit, the developer makes an estimation of cost, income and profit at the planning stage. The estimation is then used as a guideline for cost payment and income at the implementation stage. In running its business, the developer will face many profitable matters (opportunity) and loss matters (problems).
• Non-optimal planning process will increase the paid cost, especially in environmental planning or environmental management. The rehabilitation on disaster on housing areas caused by environmental damage has cost a lot. The immaterial loss also made the consumer to be more cautious in deciding a place to live. The environmental issues have also become a main concern for the customer when choosing a residential area. This in turn, forces some of the developer to use the environmental issue as the main selling point for their housing project, which is a perfect thing to do idea considering the lack of residential area with good and sound environmental surrounding.
  

MATERIALS AND METHODS

• The existence of real estate complex generates both negative and positive aspects. The positive aspect is the organized location and clustering of residential areas. The negative aspect is that many of the supposed to be non build areas has been used as real estate area, thus causing many environmental impacts. Flood, waste management and other environmental problems need special attention because of the damage it can cost. The vast growing of housing areas in Kuala Lumpur and neighbor areas is not shared with the developer willingness to care to the environmental problem it caused. The developer mainly concerned about making attractive housing area with unique houses and well built facilities at a suitable price.
• One of the main problems in housing, the big flood in Kuala Lumpur and neighbor areas on mid of February 2002 has caused pro and contra to the housing business. Housing developers were accused as the main cause of the flood due to the improper implementation of drainage system. In respond to that, many on-going housing projects have to be reevaluated and some of them which violated the development rules have to be stopped. Moral responsibilities from the developers were also demanded by the customers because some of them gave flood-free guarantee to their customers when dealing the transaction. Big flood happening in major cities in Malaysia especially in Kuala Lumpur surely has great impact on property business.
  Nowadays, the development of housing project is rapidly growing due to the high demand from the customer. A good housing area has to fulfill the health aspect from the building, drainage, clean water supply, domestic waste management and suitable ventilation.
• Other problems that occurred on a housing project are:
  a. Land hole dug and left behind by the contractors
  b. Muddy road when rainfall
  c. Road damage due to heavy-loaded trucks
  d. Dusts from soil carrying trucks
  e. Water puddle that forms when rainfall
  f. Noises from construction vehicles.
• The problem with the work environment in a housing project must also be considered. A good, safe, sound and healthy work environment will make the workers work more efficiently and effectively. While a bad, unsound and unhealthy work environment will reduce the worker’s productivities. A bad work environment can be caused by insufficient lightings, extreme noises and abundance of dusts and ashes that can caused respiratory problems.
• Although seems relatively small and insignificant, these problems are interesting to study and the result can be used as guideline for the developer to be more cautious in developing its project. An improperly planned housing project can caused may negative impacts, from the lost of materials, environmental problems and the satisfaction of the customer itself.

THE SIGINIFICANCE OF THE PROBLEM

• The complexities of developing housing project has already cost a lot, added with improper environmental and social aspect planning means a lot more has to be spend on the planning process. For example, the developer in Bukit Antarabangsa area has to make a new drainage channel because the rainwater on the housing project flooded the surrounding residential area. Meanwhile, the developer in that area has to pay allowance to surrounding resident due to road damage and pollution caused. There are also many examples on the impact of housing project to surrounding neighborhood.
  Therefore, there is a need to implement proper environmental management in a housing project. Improper environmental management will caused environmental problems, giving bad image for the developer in the eye of the customer and the government.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

• Based on the problem identification, the research is mainly concerned with the following problems:
  1. Which environmental risk factor is dominant on the cost performance of housing development project
  2. How to implement and respond environmental management aspect on housing project that can reduce the dominant risk on the cost performance

Social Aspects of Planning & Management

• Planning and management or urban areas is carried out to ensure that development is sensibly located and undertaken in the best interests of the public and with the least possible damage to the environment.
• Development is central to urban life. It provides housing, facilities such as schools and hospitals, provision for commerce and industry, good transport links and essential services such as power and water supply. But it needs to be carried out to good standards and in the right places. This is dealt with through building and other regulations and planning of the use of land. Urban areas also become outworn and require re-generation and renewal. This often requires the effects of past development and processes, such as industrially contaminated land, to be properly dealt with.
• Industry and transport are needed for a thriving economy. Wastes are produced and have to be dealt with. These activities can give rise to noise and pollution that can seriously affect the quality of life of residents and the nearby natural environment. Environmental regulation, imposed to minimise these effects, needs to be properly targeted.
• The protection of wildlife, landscapes and the conservation of the historical heritage are commonly amongst the aims of planners. This needs to be achieved through appropriate location of development and the proper control of activities and processes to reduce pollution and contamination.
  Some hazards can be reduced but cannot be eliminated. We need to understand the nature and extent of these so that effective emergency planning and relief measures can be agreed well in advance.
• Securing the proper balance between social, economic and environmental interests both now, and for future generations, is the basis of more sustainable development. But urban planners and managers, quite properly, think mainly in social and economic terms. While some aspects of the environment, particularly ecology, and the archaeological record have become more widely appreciated there is often limited background in geosciences even though these relate to securing safer, more cost efficient development and more sustainable conservation. It is part of the purpose of this website to try to address these gaps.

Defining Social Aspect

Social Aspect
-Social interaction
-Social institutions
-Dutch omgang. Stafleu translates this as 'keeping company', companionship or even just 'meeting people'.
-The human being among others, adapting oneself to those others.
-Classes (of people, as in Marxist ideology)
-Gatherings, packs, as in wolves
-Some central themes

In interpersonal relations:
-Friendship
-Politeness, rudeness, manners
-Respect, mutual respect
-Friends v. strangers
-Agreement, consensus, disagreement, etc.
-Standards (which are agreements about how things should be)
-Respect and associates it with being civilised, with politeness, 'cosiness', conviviality.

In groupings and associations:
-Community
-Clubs, societies, guilds, etc.
-Both voluntary and involuntary association
-Social role, status
-Leadership

In some circles, 'social' is taken to mean 'soft', 'normative', and is opposed to 'hard', 'determinative'. e.g. 'Socio-technical' (Mumford, 1979) means an approach that tries to go beyond a technology-centred view while recognising technological realities. In these circles 'social' has a wider meaning than Dooyeweerd gives it, and includes such things as aesthetic, ethical, lingual. However those circles are starting to differentiate e.g. ethical from other 'social' things; Dooyeweerd's ontology could help them - if only they allowed an ontological approach!
All aspects later than the social (the economic, aesthetic, juridical, ethical and pistic) involve the social. This might mean three things:
-not only that they all normally involve social functioning with a person or people other than the actor,
-not only that the repercussions of our functioning in them impact those other people,
-but also that our functioning in them gives a longer-term impact on society as a whole. For example, one selfish act, especially by a role model, can set an example that other follow and so a selfish tone permeates throughout society.
This, however, is a hypothesis that requires discussion and refinement. If this is so, then it means that repercussions in post-social aspects are likely to be not mainly on the perpertrator, but mainly spread throughout the social group. We can see this in vandalism (which is currently on the up in the UK). Vandalism occurs for various reasons, but one is lack of vision among young people, who hang about, get bored, and start 'enjoying' minor acts of deconstruction, and then major acts of destruction. Lack of vision is a pistic functioning. It can be one person, such as a parent or church or youth worker who can give them vision, and then those who would suffer from the vandalism would not longer do so. This means that the sciences of post-social aspects should seek to find, not direct person to person impacts but social spreading impacts. Also, it implies that the indiviudalistic notion of legal culpability is misconceived (even though it is assumed without question).

::Analogies::
'Companion' is often used metaphorically when we want to speak of some relationship between entities of more-or-less equal status. e.g. 'companion volume'.
etc.

::Antinomies::
'Social construction of reality'. This phrase emphasizes that our corporate view of reality has been worked out not just by reason, nor just by individuals, but by corporate activity among us. However, it tends to go further, and in the extreme to propose that there is no 'real reality' but that all is merely an outcome of the social processes. This leads to various antinomies.