Community planning refers to the process of determining goals and aspirations of a community dependent of community development. The results of comprehensive planning dictates what public policies are to be undertaken. The policies range from transportation, land use, utilities, recreation as well as housing. Comprehensive planning usually covers large geographical areas, with different policies to be covered in a long period of time. In other regions, it is referred to as strategic visioning or planning. This usually goes along with public consultation. Official community plan is the document that result from comprehensive planning.
Comprehensive planning is built on American history. It is mainly associated to the American revolution. During this time, cities had little powers of maintaining law and order as well as providing basic community services. Cities did not also have adequate power to direct development of the cities. However, during the Sanitary Reform Movement in 1940s, cities began focusing on the provision of basic services. In the 19th and 20th centuries, cities started urbanizing at aN extraordinarily high rate (Innes, 1996). This resulted to social problems like dense population and diseases. As a result of this, they were given an initiative for comprehensive planning.
Different authors may explain comprehensive plan based on different principles that revolve around public policies. They may define it in terms of community health, safety and welfare.
Comprehensive planning involves a process where a small group has a plan to participate in a process that is open to the citizens of a given community. However, processes differ from one community to the other, depending on the community issues to be addressed (Innes, 1996).
This is a city in the Broward county in Florida. In 1960, Norman Johnson a land developer paid $9 million for 2650 acres of land in Broward County. In 1961, Johnson named the city as Sunrise Golf Village. The city had a population of less than 350 residents.
Johnson and his counterpart F.E. Dykstra developed an upside-down house as a way to win prospective property buyers. The home had been furnished with every house essential with an upside-down automobile. The village became famous to a point it was published in magazines like the life magazine. The house structure became a national figure that attracted thousands of people to the village (Innes, 1996). As people came to explore the house most of them became part of the community.
In 1961, Johnson became the governor as well as the first mayor of Sunrise Golf Village.
However, the city has undergone some transition converting the city to a more modernized city. This would have only resulted form the comprehensive plan that the company has chosen to employ. Although, the city did not compose many residents as it began as a village, today it is one of the densely populated cities in the united states (Innes, 1996). This has come as a result of the improved status of the city through developments aimed at improving human living.
In the development of this city, several policies were consulted. Some of the policies include the following.
One of the goals in the land use policy was to create land for residential purposes. The aim of this was to provide enough residential area that would accommodate current residents of sunrise as well as those who would come to the city in the future. The land was supposed to allow flexibility that would bring in an upto standard mix of residential densities, as well as types of houses. This was just a beginning of the policies that were to be developed to monitor land use in the city. To ensure that there was balanced residential growth, policies were enacted to control the entry of residents to the city (Code Eubanks, 2009). This would ensure security of the region as it is easier to deal with few people than a large group of residents.
Commercial purpose
It is a component of a comprehensive plan of any city to ensure that the residents are commercially secure. This can be countered to the land use policy as it would be sufficient to accommodate existing and future residents of the Sunrise City. Land used for commercial purposes is one of the developments that would impact commercial purpose of the society.
Commercial recreation was a core aim for comprehensive planning in the Sunrise City. This was aiming at using Sunrise City map to allocate public and private resources to the residents of the city. A policy was developed to monitor development in the city. This is what was referred to as the City of Sunrise Land Development (Code Eubanks, 2009). It was used to determine the quantity, size and character of all developments within the city.
Industrial
The other aim of comprehensive planning was to improve the industrial status of the city. This was to be achieved following governed development and administration of industries in the city. One of the objectives that was to be achieved was industrial acreage. This was to ensure that the land that was segregated for industrial use was not used for any other purpose. This aimed at economical satisfaction of the residents of the city. Permitted uses of land for public purposes was under the Broward County Land Use Plan. This was according to the fourth amendment of the implementation act that allowed use of public land for industrial purposes.
Industrial intensity was the other principle that governed industrialization in the city. It was an act as regulation to use, location, intensity and type industrial acreage. It was approved that all new developments must provide a site plan, which would be used to determine whether the project was valid (Sunrise, 1989).
Public sectors
These were the next target for expansion of the Sunrise City. It had focus on maintaining community facilities under the land use regulations. The regulations were to be consistent with the Broward County Land Use Plan.
Transportation was the other crucial sector of public facilities that the local government was to ensure that was well maintained. Given portion of public land was to be set aside for use in construction of roads.
Eliminate nonconformity and incompatible areas of land use
This was a policy to ensure that the incompatible land was eliminated. Potentially dangerous conditions were to be eliminated to secure future for unnecessary uses of land. The incompatibility of land was necessary in defining the amendments that were to be conducted to the Sunrise and Broward County Land Use Plan (Sunrise, 1989).
Eliminate blight
The city was supposed to govern renovation of old buildings in the eastern Sunrise. The city would ensure that public and private funding were used in the right manner for expansion of housing and commercial activities.
Historical sites and natural resources
The city was rich of natural resources as well as historical sceneries. This were signs of a rich city which would be able provide necessities like water and power for its residents (Truitt, 2002). This would also govern City wealth following adverse natural resources.
Conclusion
Sunrise City is an outstanding example to developing countries on how to should implement comprehensive planning as they focus in growth and development. Recognizing the resources available for a City is fundamental in creating future for the city.
References
Innes, J. E. (1996). Planning through consensus building: A new view of the comprehensive planning ideal. Journal of the American Planning Association, 62(4), 460-472.
Eubanks, R. (2009). Goals objectives and policies. City OF Sunrise comprehensive plan, 1, 1-176.
Truitt, W. B. (2002). Business planning: a comprehensive framework and process. Westport, Conn.: Quorum Books.
Sunrise,. (1989). City of Sunrise: Comprehensive Plan. Newyork: The City, .
