Blog Post Two: Summary of planning system in Australia

The planning system in Australia is very diverse, ranging from the national level to a more local community level. Each jurisdiction has a different form of responsibility in the context of strategic and social planning. I'll be further elaborating on the national, regional and local levels of planning and their level of authority in the field of planning.

National level of Planning
The Australian Commonwealth government has been increasingly playing their role in planning in Australia through the implementations of regulations in development which relate to national environmental significance such as conservation and heritage. It is through this approach they ought to provide strategic guidance and oversight in urban policy through the recent National Urban Policy 2011. This framework provided by the Australian federal government provides initiatives and goals for the national cities in the context of achieving its primary objectives in make it them more productive and sustainable. The main legislative framework impacting urban planning decisions is the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. This piece of legislative enactment allows the government to estimate the impacts of listed world heritage sites etc.

State/Regional Level of Planning
Each state has their own legislative framework to work around with. They are much broader since larger parts of the planning responsibilities lies within state or territorial jurisdictions. An example I like to use is New South Wales. NSW planning department aims their planning responsibilities to assure employment and economic growth whilst aligning infrastructure provision to growth priorities. Regional parts of NSW have been broken up into eight strategic areas based upon location and they are drafted together in collaboration with the local councils to create direction plans for long term regional growth in these areas. These areas include the Illawarra, the South Coast and the Murray region.

Local Level of Planning
Local councils also have a vital role to play in ensuring successful planing initiatives become reality. In NSW (again my example) the main framework for which local councils use as a guide to successful planning decisions is the Local Environmental Plan (LEP). This framework legislated by the NSW government is designed to allow local councils to manage the way in which land is used through zoning and development controls. This is considered as the primary tool in shaping communities in the long term.

References
Standard Instrument . 2014. Standard Instrument . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/en-us/planningyourlocalarea/standardinstrument.aspx. [Accessed 31 March 2014].

Blog Post One: Great Planning Pioneer - Robert Moses

Robert Moses was a highly tenacious and successful city planner for New York city for nearly half a century.  He was less an ideologist and more of a master builder. He masterminded the great modern day metropolitan parkways and bridges, built New York city like their was no tomorrow, instigated land preservation for parks. instrumented the removal of slums and implemented the program of urban renewal in New York, ruthlessly. He successfully achieved his goal of knitting Manhattan and its surrounds together during the 1930's and 40's which led to high substantial economic growth however some questioned his antipathetic approach in doing so. During the Great Depression, New York became a city filled with unemployed workers, slums and high levels of poverty. He was also responsible for the establishment of Long Island State Park Commission and the State Council of Parks. Robert Moses, along with his collaboration with New York mayor at the time Fiorello La Guardia instrumented high profile public works projects such as building many swimming pools which led to high levels of job growth, which also coincided with President Roosevelt's New Deal. His core idea was the development of New York to facilitate the automobile. It was no doubt that his vision for a more modern city through bridges, parkways and tunnels makes him, in my opinion, the greatest planner of the 20th century. His great works include the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, the Cross County Parkway, Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts, Shea Stadium, two hydroelectric dams and Jacobs Beach. He also oversaw over 2 million hectors of park preservations within the state of New York. In total he built a staggering 13 bridges and 35 highways. His vision of modern city planning has highly influenced many metropolises around the United States and the rest of the world.


The proposed and controversial Manhattan express way which was never implemented.















Robert Moses - The great Urban Planner of the 20th Century

References

Did Robert Moses Ruin New York City? - Barrons.com. 2014. Did Robert Moses Ruin New York City? - Barrons.com. [ONLINE] Available at:http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052748704759704577271393988247900.html. [Accessed 03 March 2014].

Slums and City Planning - Robert Moses - The Atlantic. 2014. Slums and City Planning - Robert Moses - The Atlantic. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/01/slums-and-city-planning/306544/. [Accessed 03 March 2014].

UC Berkeley. (2009). Planning Past and Future: Early 21st Century Reflections. [Online Video]. 22 October. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V63cTMbrHE. [Accessed: 03 March 2014].

Back Again!!!!

Hey all,

Good to be back again for semester one 2014. More posts set to come by once again. Same story, ill be reflecting and critically analyzing readings, videos etc. Stayed tuned for the first blog post which will be about my chosen planner and how he was influential in the field between the 19th-20th Century.

Peace out

Peter:)