"Challenges to Open Space Planning"

As the cities grow, there are many challenges to create open space planning as the land price became so unbearable which leads greed to the people in low-income countries and cause a serious impact on city itself. The low mentality of people remains strong when it comes "Greed" and biased policy from the government official itself. 

The concept of defining the Land in between rich and poor plays a important role in Nepal as being populist politics which lead the by-laws and rules to be drowned for their beneficial use. The "Unfair" policies, lack of development plans and lack of growth controlling mechanisms lead the failure of addressing to preserve the open space in the developing cities and in Nepal, this often happens as the government is so poor to address the long term plan for overall development of rural and urban areas with the process and procedures of development rights in the Country especially for the provision of good infrastructure facilities  and services. 

Following are the main challenges:

1. Lack of Open Space
2. Lack of Open Space through Urban Expansion 
3. Inefficient distortion of Urban Form
4. Unsustainable Open Space Design
5. Poor Open Space Design 
6. Inequitable distribution of Open Space
7. The need for Institutional Coordination

Lack of Open Space: 

Many cities suffer from inadequate levels of green space and vegetative cover. This situation normally results from the inability to assemble land for open space which is a major, often dominant issues in rapidly growing cities where land costs are very high and rising rapidly. Many cities cannot afford to purchase large tracts of land for open space. Exacerbating the problem is the fact that land costs are often highest where open space is most needed. For example in high density neighbourhood  of large metropolitan areas making it difficult to assemble the large tracts of land for major parks or a system to define for it. On the urban periphery , land use designations which restricts development to preserve agricultural land, natural habitat, scenic beauty and environmental use land are often strongly opposed by the landowners, given the likely decline in the land's market value. Assembling land for open space therefore needs to involve a variety of instruments and stakeholders including the public sectors, the private sectors and the civil society. The most commonly used measures for assessing the adequacy of the stock of open space or major park space are green space per capita and accessibility. 

Lack of Open Space through Urban Expansion 

Urbanization processes on the fringe often lead to the loss of open spaces that should be protected for scenic, recreational, agricultural or environmental services. Urbanization often disrupts ecological systems, with costs to humans and wildlife. For example, hiking corridors may be disrupted or wildlife habitat cut into isolated pieces. This issue has a significant institutional dimension, with similar problems in many cities worldwide. 

One problem is that small towns or satellite communities often have limited green space because they have local leadership that does not value green space or cannot fiscally afford to protect it. As a result, when these communities are enveloped by the outward spread of metropolitan areas, they tend to lack adequate green space. Another problem is that green space is often protected by national sectoral agencies, e.g., ministries of forestry, agriculture, water, etc. 

However, when the land is urbanized, the national ministries often lose jurisdiction to local ones, resulting in the loss of high potential urban green space. 

Inefficient distortion of Urban Form

Green space, especially at the city-wide level, is not always efficiently planned. Greenbelts may force the city to skip over the belt, resulting in longer commuter times, greater energy use, etc. Too many large parks in a city will result in an increased need for land conversion on the edge, or may result in lower densities and large gaps in built form that make rapid transit systems less feasible. Cities must take the role of green space as an “urban shaper” very seriously.

Unsustainable Open Space Design 

Conventional urban greening is often based on unsustainable landscaping and design. Playing fields and sod strips may add to aesthetic and recreational values, but they are resource consuming (requiring more water than natural plants), and they do not contribute to wildlife or habitat conservation. In arid cities, such green space, if on a large scale, is essentially unsustainable. Desert cities, worldwide, are known for inappropriate public and private open spaces, which are excessively water intensive.

Insufficient Tree Cover

Few elements enhance the aesthetics of a city as much as tree-lined streets or boulevards. However, 

care must be taken to locate trees so that roots do not interfere with utilities which run down the front of streets and yards. In cities subject to snow, dust storms, etc., tree lined streets can, to some extent,  protect roadways, leading to safer driving conditions.

Poor Open Space Design 

Few communities are designed with parks as a central component. Green space is usually treated as an “add on” feature and, as a result, potential benefits are not fully realized. In fact, as has be spatial distortions may actually generate negative impacts. At the neighborhood level, similar distortions occur. This is particularly the case where green space is provided by developers as part of a municipal subdivision or planning legal frameworks – a frequent requirement worldwide. Developers often cede the least develop-able land, rather than the most appropriate land, for parks or open space. For example, a developer may cede unattractive land at the edge of the community, rather than at a more centrally located site that would be more accessible. In some cases, these spaces become risky places where a lot of crime and violence take place. Fragmented patches of open spaces in urban areas do not provide for free movement of urban wildlife from one patch to another, which reduces biodiversity in the urban environment.

Inequitable distribution of Open Space

Many cities, both those with adequate aggregate green space and those with an overall shortage of green space, suffer from inequities and the green space, which does exist, is inequitably distributed, with the greatest shortages occurring in lower-income areas. 

The need for Institutional Coordination

City-level open space planning is further complicated by negotiations between public, private and quasi-public actors. Different public departments may be responsible for managing and maintaining different types of public land, such as: parks and conservation areas; municipal land reserves, including those zoned for future parks, recreation, pathways, roads and utility rights-of-way; boulevards; public golf courses; public cemeteries and memorial parks; land for water retention; and provincial or national lands, such as riverbeds, islands, urban national parks and reserves. For example, while parks generally fall under the auspices of parks departments, golf courses are usually managed by recreation departments, and public utility agencies are often responsible for maintaining water retention lands. Private open spaces that form important parts of a city’s open space system include: landscaped areas of commercial properties; landscaped areas, including parks, and even lakes within industrial parks; setbacks on lots (which are often required by law); utility easements and rights-of-way, which must be kept free of buildings; golf courses; cemeteries and memorial parks; private parks (private companies may develop and maintain urban parks as a community service/goodwill mechanism); and green spaces in large scale urban developments. Quasi-public lands are often owned by semi autonomous agencies, such as school boards, state enterprises or urban/industrial development authorities. Important quasi-public open spaces include: school playgrounds; green space in industrial parks owned and managed by quasi-public entities (e.g., in China); religious facilities (churches, temples, mosques); rights-of-way; and other land frequently granted to state enterprises, such as railroad companies, either for future use or to compensate the costs of developing a railroad system. 

Key Environmental Infrastructure Issues in Land Use Planning

There are three main keys environmental infrastructure issues in Land use planning which can be described below:

1. Provision of adequate and Safe Environmental Infrastructure for the growing urban population
2. Access to Environmental Infrastructure for the Urban Poor
3. Finance and Institutional Capacity to install and Manage the required levels of Environmental Infrastructure.

1. Provision of adequate and Safe Environmental Infrastructure for the growing urban population

Rapid urbanization has brought with it a substantial increase in water consumption, sewage wastes and solid waste generation. The traditional approach of "Disposal" rather than "Treatment and Reuse" of water and solid waste has created serious environmental issues. The uncontrolled and unscientific dumping of sewage wastes has greatly increased the potential hazard to human health through contamination of surface and ground water. Lack of solid waste disposal systems has caused unhealthy living conditions and posed considerable health risks especially for toxic wastes, as well as blocked existing sewers. Indiscriminate extraction of groundwater to augment inadequate municipal supply has caused groundwater depletion and water-supply scarcity.

2. Access to Environmental Infrastructure for the Urban Poor

Environmental services for the urban poor are largely ignored, and piecemeal provision of basic services as a response to populist politics has resulted in a waste of resources with little impact on immediate living conditions. 884 million people, mostly in developing countries lack improved sources of drinking water (Millennium Development Goal, 2009). 2.6 billion people lack access to improved sanitation (WHO, UNICEF, 2010) which is the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa followed by Asia.

3. Finance and Institutional Capacity to install and Manage the required levels of Environmental Infrastructure

Institutional models for service provision need to be tailored to fit local circumstances. Even for a utility that functions efficiently, reaching the poor often requires targeted interventions where partnership between governments, utilities and civil society can play an important role. Where traditional utilities cannot or will not provide service to poor, standards and by-laws should be revised to allow small scale providers to operate efficiently. Including poor people and other traditional excluded groups in priority setting and decision making and allowing interventions to build on local knowledge and priorities are critical to better utilizing limited public resources.

GUIDED LAND DEVELOPMENT

Guided land development (GLD) is a land management technique for guiding the conversion of privately owned land parcels in the urban boundary from rural to urban uses through the infrastructure systems.

The example was taken to make understand why provision of basic service is required for proper urban development to make safe and resilient cities as well as to guide the lands in a proper manner. One of the best design and planned concept to channelized the land with best possibilities of infrastructure development as well as preserving the green belts.
Urban design concept in Moscow. (Image source: Google)

Urban Design, Moscow

Guided land development is undertaken in the partnership with land owners, who can be participated by donating their land for the better levies. To facilitate the area with Infrastructure planning, this process is the best way to achieve the necessary targets. 

This proceed with the preparation of an infrastructure development plan which follows the existing plot boundaries. 

To finance this method and schemes, initially a loan is taken from the government or the PPP (Public-Private-Public Partnership) or joining the hands with multilateral partners and developers to build the necessary infrastructure in that locality which is paid from betterment levies which is provided by the land owners and can be either on limited time frame as partial installment or annual or in lump sump upon the land or in the terms and condition agreed by the land owners.

Guided Land Development is the best options used in different locations as where the areas being spread with urban settlement. When cities grow, people from different locality want to move into the urban areas to live there.

The city changes when areas are expanding into areas of privately owned land and where governments are not able to control the process of land modification from rural to urban use. By installing public infrastructures in those areas where government believes that the growth can be managed and can maintain flow of land, this tools (Guided Land Development) can encourage landowners to realize the increased value of their privately governed land resulting from its sub-division and servicing by either selling it to a builder or developer or sub-dividing and developing their governed land by themselves. 

This point of view requires that land administration office or agencies and the service providers act in a coordinated manner and have sufficient resources to install infrastructure of public basic services (like water-supply pipeline in a link roads to the planned area, drainage, road services, electricity and other most essential services which most of the people want on their daily lives to live for in a proper planning) in advance of demands and without guarantees of repayment. 

Similarly, this method can be adopted to change our land-use policy to preserve the land so as to protect the green growth as well, as day by day increasing number of population cutting trees and the green belts changing into a concrete belts lead to natural disaster threats from one point while climate change issues from the next perception. 

In Nepal this process is also carried out. There are two basic approach carried out but only from the profit and business point of view. People go for plotting of land as the concept of town planning is different in this case. 

However, Land pooling and Guided land development process were carried out in Kathmandu Valley but due to poor regulatory framework, it's ain't working properly. In Nepal the policy is quite different in context of developing lands. 

Here first a buyer buy the land from different landowner and the public facility comes next which is an issues to control the land and to facilitate the people as concerned stakeholders and social group even don't know what actually is the planning? They just know how to plot the land and sell it. Only profit and they do not concern on the basic services and facilities as the trend is that's not their issues. 

However, the regulatory instruments must be carried out for effective planning. Most of the stakeholders associate land use planning toolkit, especially in developing countries and cities. But in Nepal as being under-developed this process is biased in many cases depending upon the location and context. 

However, there are critical limitations to the efficacy of these instruments especially in our cities like Kathmandu Valley and other cities of Nepal where the built form is largely informal, the enforcement of the regulatory framework in its capacity seems much weak as observing thoroughly. 

Therefore, regulatory instruments must be based on appropriate standards targeting for locals, cities and regional development with strong enforcement capabilities. If not, regulatory instruments may be inappropriate or ineffective in shaping the urban form. Cities should be developed as per the designing and planning effective tools as well as prioritize based on their level of development plans and policies with strong laws and bylaws. 

Thus, a cities with severe financial control normally gives higher priority to form urban setting aside land in an organised manner for low-income communities and ensuring that land is plotted to enable basic public services and facilities for better service delivery to the ordering of land use for its own purpose. 

When the cities reaches to the middle or high income ranking, it is imperative that the land needed now or in the future to deliver public services be protected through proper rules and regulation so to avoid significant retrofitting costs which can be help to provide safe and resilient cities which would be a better tomorrow for the upcoming generation with proper infrastructure and a genuine approach for good service delivery.

Thank You,

Amit Pokhrel

M.Sc. Urban Design and Conservation

B.E. Civil

FINANCIAL PLANNING

                                                   


"Beauty of simplicity to address your Business to make it more sustainable around the Globe"

Financial Planning for long term development

(Image Source: Google)

To overcome difficulties in Business sectors, a proper financial tool is the most. It is that strategic tool which would help to sustain business before investing into some industrial or business perspective. The performance of the effective financial device for the business is the growing phase as well as to support your investment which you are investing for service delivery as well as quality. To sustain the business for the long terms, effective methods should be carried out. Financial planning is an ongoing process which help the businessman to take a sustainable decision for his business as well as his money which can lead to a success with quality and a market based strategy for the consumer as well as for the competitive market. Similarly, this can help to achieve goals within a limited time frame. It's not about buying or selling product, its about settling the business with a safe landing as finance is one thing which should be carried out to sustain any business around the world with effective methods, planning and with cost-benefit analysis for security of business as well. 

However, to understand the business, there should be a clear and farsighted plan for your business which would help you to grow in your industry sector for managing employee as well as your goods and the most important thing is your quality which would lead to your business a successful foot steps in the competitive market which is growing day by day in this emerging world. Thorough risk assessment should be carried out to get the targeted audience. The most effective method and tools is to understand the supply and demand of any product in the market with market strategy plans. Before investing any large amount of monetary fund into business sector the thoroughly study should be carried out in economic prices, demand and quality because these three things would define your business which can be effective for a long term for the sustainability as well as a brand name as well. 

Therefore, market study is the most essential in this age. It's should be carried out to understand the product, varieties, its use, its complexity, its demands, its consumers, its various stages employee and risk should be observed from past experiences and in the growing market what would be the strategy to save business should also be studied and 'Alternate" should be also carried out to sustain profit as investment is much higher in any business to established within a targeted time frame. 

There should be a long term business plan and detail study of the geographical location and places should be understood as what the consumer want from your business? Now a days if we don't understand the demand of the consumer then it don't support for the long terms and before exposing our market into new era, we have to prepare for quality, and with a feasible prices for people.

There are many cities growing. Targeting the needs of the people and working together for social and community it can help your business to sustain as now a days the new marketing strategy should be carried out to sustain your business as well as your employees. There are a huge tentacles of market in South Asia, Europe, America and other parts of the world. If we target such product for every citizens which can be of daily use with low price strategy and target for the locals then financial planning can be a effective method to address the demand as well as sustain the business in a achieving time frame. 

There are large number of products, supply chain should be managed properly and effective regulatory framework be the lead to sustain the business and protect the huge amount of monetary transaction. As there are other effective measures should be carried out to save business from leak of documents as well as the policy which a company has made for it.Similarly, to rise in a market, the business owner have a good understanding of his cash flows , investment and a source of revenue generation. To target audience or the customer, there should be no compromise in a quality as if the quality is best and can compete in market then it should be addressed properly to meet the demand of the consumers as if this mentality works then finance can be sustained in any terms. If anyone want to settled then they most focus on "Qualitative" product or goods rather in quantitative way as industries and organization are growing day by day with least competitive policy in their hand. 

To have a better service delivery with good products, a good ethical judgement should be a best policies to settled you down with a long term financial goals as well as a method of adaptability with the demanded options. Before investing the large amount of money to any business or any sectors, the company or the organization or the Industry sector should carry the following and necessary steps in financial planning.

1. Establishing your goal or target in a time frame as it may be short, or long time frame depending upon the geographical context or its composition of the places as may be a mixed culture society .

2. Worked out with your assest and liability as what are your plans to be carried out for what purpose and why?

3. Evaluate your investments as it can be dragged down to your business for profit or evaluate your team how to achieve a good economy policies to sustain your market in the fluctuating environment as now a days there are so many threats as a competitive market as well as leakage of information, cyber attack and economic terrorism.

4. Developing a clear target how your product or goods would be a first and effective tool to understand the consumer demands as if you know it how to invest and understand people's demand then it works. Think for Quality not a quantity because people only want to buy the standardized products and with a good service delivery options.

5. Implementing your plan with patience and understanding the world's economy on industry sector or any sector which can be carried out for long term business plans.

6. Finally main steps, monitoring and evaluation techniques can help your market grow to preserve your financial as it is a critical tool to prevent your from spoiling your business in a second which means if you do not follow up your business plans and maintain the market strategy of your business you can be loosing your company profile and loose all of your investments and a time can make a rich man a beggar and the most important lesson in life is to carry your business with effective goals, focus on people and think about quality and price adjustment which can be a equal for all to buy your products in your locality and a good investment plan. 

Last but not least, A financial planning should have a ethical environment for strategic marketing procedure for the preparation of plan for the long term which can lead your business sector with good merchandise which facilitates the manufacturing, producing and processing of your products which can sustain yourself too as its a critical which directly related with the cash-flow and direct economic policy as well. 

Financial planning should be "Long term Investment for long term profit and no compromise in brand as well as a quality product is a lead to success in business" as well as there is a saying 

"Grow Business Grow People"

"People flow Economic Flow"