Today more than half of the world’s population resides in cities, and over 90% of urban growth is taking place in developing countries. There are 1 billion people living in slums and this figure will most likely double by the year 2025. In spatial terms, developing countries are projected to triple their entire built-up areas between the year 2000 and 2030, at an even higher rate than the growth of urban population.
Land use and urban form are becoming increasingly important as globalization advances and a vast array of unprecedented challenges emerge, ranging from global warming and climate change to economic failure and social unrest.
Within this context, World Bank Institute Urban Team, in collaboration with partners, is developing a global distance learning course titled “Sustainable Land Use Planning”, which aims to enhance the knowledge and skills of urban and regional planning practitioners, policymakers and key stakeholders in rapidly growing second-tier developing cities.
The objective is to ensure participants have a functional and integrated understanding of land use dynamics, and to demonstrate through various best practices how to effectively utilize planning instruments to achieve sustainable, equitable and efficient land use outcomes in the context of rapid urbanization.
The course is being developed and will be implemented and maintained through WBI’s extensive network of global, national and local partners in both developed and developing countries, to ensure that global state-of-the-art knowledge is appropriately adapted to local needs and perspectives. In addition, peer reviewers from around the world have been providing insights to improve and enrich the course.
Course Features
The course is based on a modular design using Moodle e-learning platform.
Seven modules have been under development:
1) Understanding How Land Use Planning Contributes to Sustainable Urban Growth 2) Institutions, Polices and Tools for Effective Land Use Planning 3) How to Integrate Land Use Planning and Infrastructure 4) How to Manage Growth in Peri-Urban Areas 5) How to Mainstream Climate Change and Disaster Risk into Land Use Planning 6) How to Promote Local Economic Development through Land Use Planning 7) Social Equity and Land Use Planning
The course includes a series of self-directed short notes with basic approach, techniques and tools such as Basic Spatial Techniques, and a library of case studies covering cities of different sizes and from different regions, illustrating key issues related to each module and proving relevant lessons and experience which participants could draw on. The course will also provide links to other WBI e-learning products and World Bank analytical works, as well as relevant resources provided by external institutions.
Tutored discussions, exercises on strategies, programs and action plans, as well as self-tests are built into each module, which will enable participants to share their findings with peers and receive feedback in order to build a community of practice.
Although the course mainly targets at urban and regional planning practitioners, it also provides a self standing executive summary course aiming to increase the potential audience to a wider group of stakeholders.
This summary version provides high-level policy makers and other non-technical participants such as private sector, civic leaders and journalists, who may not participate in the whole course, to grasp the underlying principles of land use planning.
The goal is to foster communication, understanding and consensus between the policy makers, urban/regional planners and key stakeholders, which is fundamental for an effective planning process.
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