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8/2/2019 PPP ASIGNMNT 2

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Mariyam Shany Ahmed (0726648)

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PROFESSIONAL PLANNING PRACTICE (AUP 4265) ASSIGNMENT 2

How can planners address the issue of climatic change when planning for the future of

their cities?

Introduction

Climate change poses clear, catastrophic threats. We may not agree on the extent, but we certainly can't

afford the risk of inaction - Rupert Murdoch

Murdoch,R. makes an excellent point. Climate change, though met with a wide range of opinions and

critics as well as advocators and numerous scientific research is a reality that the entire world faces

today. According to researchers, climate change has been going on since the earth first existed but had

been accelerated by human activities starting from the industrial revolution until now.

The worlds leading earth and climate scientists are saying that, the harmful effects of global warming

on daily life are already showing up and within a couple of decades hundreds of millions of people will

not have enough water, while tens of millions of other people will be flooded out of their homes from

rising temperatures and sea levels in other parts of the globe (Associated Press, 2007 based on IPPC

report). It is inherent that climate change and its impact on cities and livelihoods need to be addressed

immediately to ensure that our cities are not the recipients of natural disasters and other climate

change related impacts.
http://www.finestquotes.com/author_quotes-author-Rupert%20Murdoch-page-0.htmhttp://www.finestquotes.com/author_quotes-author-Rupert%20Murdoch-page-0.htm


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Where do planners come in?

According to UN-HABITAT, global climate change awareness has been around for some time, but it is

only in recent years that cities and urban planners have begun to consider the environment in their

planning of competitive and livable cities. As we can clearly see now, many countries have begun to

address climate change issues through the formulation of national climate change policies with

measures for adaptation and mitigation. UN-HABITAT also highlights that an increase in the use of terms

such as environmental sustainability is seen in development plans in recent years.

The Rotterdam UN-HABITAT workshop in 2009 thus emphasized on the role that town planners play in

mitigating climate change. Research shows there is a growing consensus that appropriate urban

planning approaches and related urban growth models are key to mitigating and adapting to climate

change. The growing number of extreme weather events of the last few years, and their dramatic

impact on the fragile urban infrastructures and on settlements in risk-prone areas, illustrate the urgency

of reducing the risk through better planning practices.

Blakely E. J. (2007) points out that there is little urban planning research combining scientific knowledge

about climate change and its likely effects on the planning and design of cities. He questions what

planners can do, to mitigate and adapt to these natural processes re gardless of their cause. Blakelys

(2007) recommendations thus center around encouraging formulation of integrative research

frameworks to develop new and robust public policies, urban design guidelines and implementation

measures. He further stresses the needs for newer planning legislations to include impact assessments

for future development applications in urban areas to reduce climate change risks.

Yet in most parts of our world, particularly in developing countries, planners and local decision makers

generally lack the tools and means needed to make informed choices about the climate change


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implications of local growth and redevelopment decisions, or to measure their effects (Condon P.M.,

Cavens D., & Miller N., 2009).

Planning for climate change in Southeast Asia

Yuen B. & Kong L. (2009)s paper on climate change and planning in Southeast Asia identifies the lack of

climate change initiative developing countries in this region have taken towards planning cities to

address climate change. According to their study, Southeast Asia is one of the worlds fastest growing

regions in terms of population and urban growth. Scientific assessment indicates that the coastlines of

Southeast Asia are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Thus is it clear that climate change

challenge is real and urgent in Southeast Asia. While Southeast Asia is one of the worlds least urbanized

regions, its urban population is growing at unprecedented rates, 1.75 times faster than the worlds

urban population. Statistics show that more than 45 per cent of people in Southeast Asia lives in urban

areas and is projected to increase to 56.5 percent by 2030 (United Nations, 2004).

Yuen B. & Kong L. (2009)s study shows that the economic growth pioneered in Singapore through

industrialization and increases in foreign direct investment, is now occurring in the second tier

countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and more recently, Vietnam. In many cases,

the industrialization-led economic growth based on the development approach of grow first, clean up

later has been synchronous with rapid urban population growth, land use change and major

environmental problems, including pollution and contamination of inland and coastal waters,

deforestation and overexploitation of water resources and biodiversity, eroding the regions

environmental sustainability.


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According to the Asia Times, 26 May 2007, Southeast Asia is possibly one of the most vulnerable areas in

the global climate-change scenarios. Extreme climate events are expected to occur more frequently.

However, after the implementation of the Agenda 21, more initiatives have been taken to address

environmental impact of development and creating better awareness in planning cities for the future.

Many cities in Southeast Asia, including medium-sized cities such as Penang in Malaysia now have a

sustainable development initiative.

Considering the slow adoption of more climate change relevant planning approaches, this is an

encouraging development, especially as Roberts and Kanaley (2006, p437) pointed out, Asias future is

urban. It is in developing sustainable cities. In this regard, ASEAN provides an important inter-

governmental framework for regional cooperation on climate change and sustainable development. A

milestone was the ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Sustainability signed by the country leaders at

ASEAN 40th anniversary and 13th ASEAN Summit (Nov 2007) in Singapore. The Declaration recognized

the need to encourage the development of an ASEAN Climate Change Initiative and support the

development of environmentally sustainable cities.

What can planners do?

Some analysts indicate that planning and urban design measures can substantially reduce the number

and distance of vehicle trips by organizing human activity in compact communities with a range of

housing types, providing reliable transit to and from employment, and placing services within easy

walking distance of homes (Condon, P. M., C av e n s, D., & Mi l l e r, N. ,2009). For example, Ewing et al.

(2008) found that miles driven are reduced by between 20 and 40 percent in compact urban

developments compared to miles driven in the auto-dependent suburbs.


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Blakely, E. J. (2007)s views supports this finding as he summarizes just how closely climate change and

planning of cities are related. According to him, cities have essentially three roles in the climate change

arena. The first is to reduce the risk of climate change; second, developing risk profiles for the range of

risk they face based on geography and geology of their location, and finally, developing strategies for

adapting to climate change on a macro and micro-scale.

This goes to show that planners need to not only address climate change through design and policy

making, but also look at the broader picture to ensure that plans are sustainable both on built and

natural environments as well as address aspects ranging from national and regional scales to local and

community level, particularly in developing countries such as Malaysia.

UN-HABITAT (2007)s conference on climate change mitigation highlights the fact that developing

countries are a stakeholder in climate change mitigation that needs special emphasis as they are

currently emitting 25% of the Green House Gases (GHG) emissions. The report further elaborates that

with their resource limitations these countries are unable to take the necessary steps needed for

mitigation, thus needing support in their efforts and to be given incentives to use sustainable

technologies and practices during this high growth period. It is clear that if such countries plan correctly,

they can avoid the mistakes made by the developed countries. With proper planning of their cities, a

joint effort between planning professionals, local governments and communities, they will be able to

develop sustainably from the outset and avoid having to restructure and rebuild in the future as well as

reduce catastrophic impacts caused by climatic change.


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Other stakeholders planners need to work closely with

Governments role in climate change mitigation is different at different government levels. At the

national level, they must create policies, incentives and disincentives that encourage sustainable urban

development. They must also incorporate environmental education/training in all elements of the

educational system, from primary school through to adult education programs (continuing education).

The local levels role includes enforcing policies and regulations (ex: restricting urban sprawl). It is the

local government who must set the future growth strategies through urban planning (UN_HABITAT,

2007).

Research in this subject also shows consensus on the importance on the private sector in planning of

cities that are sustainable and responsive to changes and impacts of climate change. UN-HABITAT

suggests that public sector must continually research and create alternatives to the harmful

technologies and products and services currently on the market.

What are the characteristics of a well planned city with climate change mitigation?

Several key characteristics of sustainable, climate change resilient cities were expressed during the

Rotterdam (2009) conference. According to them, better planned cities would be more energy efficient,

in particular when combined with a push for green buildings and related building codes, sustainable

transport, energy and waste management and the greening of cities. Such cities would have urban

planning and urban design that have the potential to reduce vulnerability to the different climate

change related hazards such as floods, sea-level rise, and landslides. The conference recommends new

planning practices that can help mainstream climate change considerations into urban development

processes. For new urban planning and design practices to be efficient, it is said that they will need to

find a way to incorporate the current urban realities of informal urban growth and slum development,


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while pursuing a pro-poor approach in a global context of financial crisis and food insecurity.

Are young planning professionals ready to tackle this issue?

According to the Global Report on Human Settlements 2009 by UN-Habitat, one third of planning

schools worldwide has taught climate change in their curricula. It is however rather unfortunate that

most of these planning schools are from developed countries while their counterparts less developed

countries are still lagging behind (Rafee Majid. , Foziah Johar, , & A. Hafiz Hardy, 2011).

Of the 28 planning schools in Southeast Asia, apparently none has a teaching program on climate

change. Education on planning for climate change is urgently required. Very few are undertaking

research on sustainable urban development. Much of the existing climate research is oriented around

technologies, for example, air quality, water and energy, such as fuel cells, bio-energy and bio-fuels.

According to a study done in 2011 by Malaysian researchers, it was found that due to the vagueness of

climate change education in the current curricula in most Malaysian planning schools, several problems

has arisen that need to be dealt with. Firstly, students are expected and required to figure out for

themselves on the details of climate change including how urban planning works in mitigating climate

change, while at the same time, lecturers do little to explain or elaborate extensively due to lack of in-

depth knowledge on the subject, which is deemed new in Malaysian planning schools.

This is an aspect that needs to be addressed immediately to ensure that future planners of this country

are well equipped to ensure their planning practices will address the pressing issues of climate change in

a more educated and comprehensive manner.


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Conclusion

A speaker at one of the UN-HABITAT workshops pointed out we should not expect planners to be super

heroes as on the one hand they are overloaded and on the other hand their formal responsibilities are

limited. For planners to be able to plan effectively and sustainably taking into consideration the effects

of climate change and its impending impacts, a formal planning process needs to be in place and the

adaptive capacity of individuals needed to be promoted.

Planners need to interact very closely with communities and need to take on conflict resolution, which

in fact should be their core competency. Planners also need to take responsibility and should see

planning as a creative skill. It was not only the planners that shoulder this responsibility but also local

governments and local communities that need to work together to ensure that the cities and town they

live in are resilient to disasters caused by climate change impacts and sustainable in the long run.

Planning is of course no use if its implementation is not done properly. Plans that reflect sustainable

development principles carry no meaning if they are not implemented well. There is an urgent need to

strengthen the institutional capabilities that are prerequisite to effective plan implementation. More

attention needs to be given to the functioning of the planning system, to legislation, regulations and

processes that are out of date or are insufficiently reformed to be able to deal with the major challenges

such as climate change in this 21st

century.

The famous words by Gandhi We must be the change we wish to see in the world

are certainly wise words of advice to live by. It reminds us that we as planners need to plan ahead,

effectively and sustainably to enjoy a better, safer future.


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References :

1. Blakely, E. J. (2007). Urban planning for climate ch. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy2. Condon, P. M., C av e n s, D., & Mi l l e r, N. (2009). Urban planning tools for climate change mitigation.

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

3. UN-HABITAT. (2007). Un-habitat and climate change mitigation4. UN-HABITAT. (2009). Workshop on climate change and urban planning. Rotterdam5. Rafee Majid. , Foziah Johar, , & A. Hafiz Hardy, (2011). Urban planning education and climate change: A

brief survey of curriculum adaptation in malaysian universities.

6. Wahlgren, I. (2007). Climate change in urban planning. Finland's National Strategy for Adaptation toClimate Change

7. Yuen, B., & Kong, L. (2009). Climate change and urban planning in southeast asia. Cities and ClimateChange, Volume 2(no:3)

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