Land Use
Land Use
Planning a city requires a lot of thought and consideration. Factors like the needs
of the environment, transportation, and economy are important as well as an
understanding of what infrastructure (ie. roads, railways, etc.) are already in place
and buildings that exist. Not to mention, having forward-thinking skills about how
these uses may affect the icty in the future.
Urban Planner
An urban planner (also known as a
land-use planner) is a person who
develops plans to create communities
by reviving facilities and areas and
ensuring growth and projects for land
use.
Urban Land Use
Residential
Land used for living space. This is connected to residential density.
Low-Density: areas have single-family homes, semi-detached homes, and
duplexes
Medium-Density: areas have townhouses and low-rise apartments
High-Density: areas have mostly high-rise apartments and condominiums
Transportation
Land areas are designed for moving people and products from one place to
another.
Examples are sidewalks, roads, highways, subways, streetcars, railroad tracks,
freight yards, airports, and harbours, or marianas.
Institution/Public Buildings
Land use for learning, working, providing care.
Examples are schools, hospitals, government offices, fire and police stations, and
places of worship.
Open Space/Recreational
Land used for outdoor activities or has been left in its natural state.
Examples: parks, wooded area, wetlands
Industrial
Land used for the secondary
industries (manufacturing)
Examples: factories, warehouses,
power plants, or places of resource
extraction (like mines)
Commercial
Land used for buying and selling of goods and service/businesses
Examples: grocery stores, auto-service businesses, restaurants, hair salons, and
malls.
Deciding on Space for Each Land Use
Other Types of Land Use
Infrastructure
Land-use areas need to be connected by infrastructure to support the day-to-day
needs of a community. These involve water, sewage, roads and public
transportation, electrical systems, and telecommunication services.
Why is infrastructure essential to land-use of a community?
Mixed-Land
An increasingly popular type of land use to help with space issues is mixed-land
development. These developments tend to combine residential and commercial
services to reduce the need for people to travel. This promotes active
transportation while reducing the need for public transport or vehicles.
What could a benefit of this type of land use be?
Greenbelt
A “greenbelt” is about undeveloped,
natural or agricultural areas
surrounding urban areas. These
lands can include open space,
wildlands, farms, parks, etc.
A greenbelt helps stop urban sprawl
or further development of
susceptible land areas.
What is Zoning?
The local government divides land into areas called zones.
These zones state how the land can be used.
Some law control the types and amount of development in an area.
For example. The city cannot build a garbage dump beside your house.
Types of Urban Land Use
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Deciding on Space for Land Use
How do urban planners determine what is most important in designing a
community?
1. Community needs are at the forefront - residential space takes up the most
land, typically
2. Transportation, to make sure people get from point A to point B
3. Institutional, open space, industrial, commercial (in no particular order)
Choices of Land Use
Would you consider land to be a renewable or non-renewable resources?
While there is an abundance of land on the Earth, there is only so much that is
available for the multitude of uses: such as recreational, transportation,
agricultural, residential, and commercial, industry, forests, wildlife, etc.
Unfortunately, land used for one of these purposes is usually not available to
accommodate any others. Therefore the choices we make must be carefully
considered as they can have positive or negative effects on the community,
Planning Development
When planning a neighbourhood, urban planners try to ensure that the decisions
made benefit the whole community and not just some individuals; however, there
is always a benefit to someone.
For example, when a new business opens, the owners benefits through income,
local people benefit by bringing in more jobs. However, it can also result in
negative effects such as more noise, traffic, and potentially more pollution,
disrupting nearby home and other businesses.
Land-use choices aim to make a community more livable and healthier.
Positive Effects
● Mix land use of residential, retail stores, businesses help to lessen commute
times
● Walkable neighbourhoods provide exercise
● Greenspaces (naturalization and park areas) support recreational activities
● Ensuring there are spaces for people with and without cars to improve quality
of life
● Public transit helps businesses grow
● The redevelopment of run-down and neglected lands helps communities grow
and become more appealing to tourists
Negative Effects
● Having roads with narrow or no sidewalks deters cyclists and pedestrians
● Getting rid of green space deprives people of recreational areas
● Building more highways, infrastructure close to subdivisions create both noise
and air pollution
● Having subdivisions at a great distance from stores and workplaces make
people drive further for necessities and work
Looking at Land Use in the
Built Environment
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What do you notice about the land use?
