Guide to California planning-4th Edition is a very invaluable text written by William Fulton and Paul Shigley. It gives very important information on the planning processes in the state of California. To begin with, it fully explores the elaborate city and urban planning exercise used by stakeholders in the development and expansion of the urban centers. As the authors argue, the planning exercise is a very vital process which is guided by numerous state and federal ordinances. These are enforced both by the country and state authorities.
More importantly, there is the laying out of all the laws used in the regulation of the planning process in this state. These are all essential because they help in guiding the conducts of all the involved parties which may be having diverse interests depending on the type of project to be put. According to the authors, these laws are very useful in ensuring aesthetical continuity of the state. If no stringent measure is taken, dire consequences like environmental degradation may be experienced. However, these must be taken into consideration since it can lead to the decay of all the existing urban centers in the long run.
Although the planning process should be entirely left in the lands of the authorities, a lot of challenges are faced during the implementation process. There is a considerably high level of interference from politicians who often mount a lot of pressure during the development of certain projects. This later ends up escaping the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), a scenario leading to adverse effects on the environment.
As already highlighted, this is a very educative book which acts as on uye opener to anyone willing to acquaint himself with the planning process in California. The information covered is quite accurate and if well followed, can help to bring a good state in which everyone is willing to live. It is quite relevant to the people of California who are willing to know much about the planning process in their state.
True to their assertion, the initiation of any project without carrying out the essential EIA is very dangerous. It is only through such a report that the possible dangers associated with a given project can be ascertained. If the assessment is carried out in professional a manner, the extent at which the project can affect the surrounding communities will be determined. As a result, it will be easier to come up with appropriate mitigation measures (Taylor, N., 2007).
All this information is presented in a precise and clear manner simpler for any reader. It can change the altitude of the people. Actually, the understanding of law is very crucial. All the legal regulations quoted in the text are in line with the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970 which has positively transformed the planning process of the urban centre in this state. As a result of its enforcement, it has been possible to tame the conduct of those interested in establishing private and state projects.
Issues such as aesthetics, historical preservation and geographical design have gained value. Amicable steps have been taken to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in order to help create a conducive environment for the settlement of humans, animals and biodiversity as a whole.
The reading can help to equip individuals on the benefits of smart growth especially in the cosmopolitan regions. It gives a good analysis on city planning and development. Understanding this concept can help in strategizing all the urban facilities like roads hospitals, schools and human settlement. Besides, proper planning of the urban centre can help to create room for the expansion of these centers should there be a need. This can lead to the creation of more settlements in case of population increase. Otherwise, there will be congestion and the cropping up of slums in nearly all the urban areas. These are shanty neighborhoods which are associated with poverty, poor living conditions, environmental pollution and diseases.
This chapter is very important to me because it has improved my knowledge on various concepts of city planning. Fundamentally, proper planning is essential for the protection of the cities’ history, biodiversity and environment. In my opinion, I would like to concur with these authors for suggesting that this is a very important exercise that should involve all the concerned stakeholders- investors, environmentalists, local population, municipal, and state and federal agencies (Daniel. M.J., 2008).
Surprisingly, it has come to my knowledge, through this book that the planning process suffers a big blow as a result of external forces. While state is in the hands of political elites, it is so distressing to learn that the same politicians who should defending the constitution often go against it by exerting unwarranted pleasure on city planning. Instead of reinforcing the efforts of the environmental agencies, they thwart their operations by forcing the establishment of environment unfriendly projects without undergoing the prerequisite EIA. This ends up causing havoc to the live of the local populations who should be beneficiaries of those projects. This is very destructive and should not be condoned at all.
Conclusively, I would like to agree that urban planning is very essential process in the development of any state. Just like William and Paul argue in this text, it should actively incorporate the participation of all the involved parties. It should be upon individual citizens to know that it is their responsibility to protect the environment. Such negligence leads to global warming which has greatly impacted negatively on earth. It should be incumbent upon us to sustain the environment for the benefit of the future generations from which we have borrowed it.
References
Daniel. M.J. (2008) The American City: A Social and Cultural History. England: Oxford University
Press.
Taylor, N. (2007) Urban Planning Theory since 1945, London: Sage.
